Reply to Arlington proposing to close county gymnastics program

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This cut is absolute insanity. This program is so good for our kids. And listening to the meeting yesterday, they want to cut this and library to increase some salaries, namely in the police force, and build up reserves. How about we fund what we need today and let the reserves just be. What good is tomorrow if we kill our property values and community by cutting these sorts of programs.

[b]And I'll add to say that there are other programs in the area is a flat out falsehood. We have been at three other gyms in the area. They all have had MAJOR safe sport problems [/b]-- men treating young girls in a way that isn't okay. Coaches having relationships with gymnastics. Coaches using public body shaming on athletes. There are other programs on paper. But they are not all safe programs. [/quote]

This 100%[/quote]

Ok, but that doesn’t mean the Arlington County government needs to step in and fill the need. It’s not like we are talking about vital public service only a county government could provide.

I’m honestly not surprised there are no local programs. Who would want to pay 3x more  when Arlington is offering a taxpayer subsidized option? If the market demands gymnastics and safe sport verified coaches, the market will fill the need.

I don’t even know if 3x is the right number. That’s what it is for private swim clubs vs AAC. Does anyone know how much these gymnastics programs cost the county?[/quote]

DP. There is actually a dearth of gymnastics programs in the area generally, it's not just Arlington. But people need to ask themselves WHY this is.

Someone hit on it early in the thread -- gymnastics gyms that have the full range of apparatus and equipment have sky high insurance rates. That equipment also has to be responsibly and meticulously maintained. Also the equipment costs at a gym tend to spiral upwards. If you are offering a little tumbling program and maybe some low (on the floor) beams and a low kids-level bar, you can also use less expensive mats and dont' need things like a foam pit. You also don't need as much staff to spot because the equipment is all low to the grown and the tricks kids can do have a lower level of risk. Once you have high and uneven bars, a standard beam, and real vaulting equipment, you then need a ton of other equipment to try an make those apparatus as safe as possible (they will never actually be "safe"). You also need more and better staff to maintain that equipment, ensure equipment checks are being done regularly and correctly, and of course to spot kids on this equipment.

It's honestly not worth it for a county facility. It's actually not even really worth it for a private gym. Many gymnastics gyms struggle to be profitable, and the reason people are seeing safety issues at other gyms is because in order to try and make the profit model work, gyms will cut corners in ways that you shouldn't cut corners. That includes staffing levels, equipment, background checks for coaches, etc.

Gymnastics was popularized as a sport by Eastern bloc countries who sacrificed young women to the sport in government-paid programs in order to win Olympic medals. It's a fundamentally broken sport. I get it, it looks cool. But there's a reason it's hard to find good gymnastic gyms. The DMV also has the problem of expensive real estate, making the profit model even more dubious.

Just let your kids take tumbling and acro dance classes. Gymnastics isn't worth the costs. Not for the county, not for most private gyms, and not for most kids.[/quote]

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