Reply to Arlington proposing to close county gymnastics program

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]For those interested, County work session on this yesterday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrPkJSDlBpQ&t=1657s

Take aways:

Gymanstics program NOT currently covering facility costs
Historically rec program used to subsidize competitive team.  
Serious issues finding qualified instructors and they detailed all the things they've done to try to recruit instructors.
Since there are not enough instructors, currently rec classes are being canceled to be sure the competitive team can continue on
Barcroft is NOT heavily used during the day as compared to other rec centers (this is based on data)

The issue of a recreational and adaptive gymnastics program should be separated out from the competitive team.[/quote]
The DPR presentation was completely misleading. It didn't contain any of the information that every single gymnastics class is filled the moment it opens and that there's tons of demand. They also made it pretty clear that they haven't considered any alternative classes for the Barcroft space to try to make up for the shortage of gymnastics coaches. Other gyms hosts related classes like ninja classes, cheer classes, birthday parties, and senior or adult fitness classes during the day. There are lots of options even without qualified gymnastics coaches. Competitive programs also often host private lessons at a super high margin to help cover overhead. None of these options have been explored by DPR.

In their presentation Dpr also made it sound like the facility is empty during peak hours with only one gymnast being on a piece of equipment at a time. But if you've ever been there, that's not how the program works. All the gymnasts are working in circuits so everyone is practicing and equipment is utilized by more than one gymnast and shared. It was a very misleading description. The facility used to support rec classes for another 1700 kids per year.  DPR is trying to represent that they don't have capacity for more classes because the equipment is so bulky and they need space for safety. That's just wrong.  The reason the facility isn't being utilized more is because DPR isn't scheduling more classes.

The DPR presentation also pointed to alternative gymnastics programs that make absolutely no sense and aren't real alternatives for those in Arlington, including those super far away including in Fredericksburg, toddler gyms that don't offer real gymnastics, or other programs that are completely oversubscribed with no openings and waitlists. It was very misleading.

The DPR presentation also decline to answer board member questions about out the rec gymnasts fee waivers, charging those costs directly to the program when those are fees at the county subsidizes. Those were broken out for the swim program but DPR lumped them in with the cost for gymnastics to try to make fee recovery look worse.

By contrast, AAC fees are barely increasing next year with some only increasing $2 and there was no assessment of cost recovery for that program. The County Manager is proposing to spend more than a million dollars subsidizing Long Bridge next year, with the facility cost running a deficit of more than $3 million only propped up by the Boeing donation.

DPR also haven't stated any actual need for the Barcroft facility other than gymnastics. The plan is to leave it empty for at least a year with no proposal for what to do with it. They've shown no need for additional gym space or a shortage of space for classes, or even a budget to host things in that space. There's been no actual assessment of what would be done with that facility that has already been purchased by the county and maintained by the county and outfitted by the county.  They also haven't done any assessment for what it will cost to turn the facility into whatever they think they are going to do with it because they have no plans.[/quote]

It really sounds like there is a secret plan for the facility in the background. None of this makes sense. [/quote]

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