Club Guidelines

Safety

Parents / Guardians and other family members or friends are not permitted inside the main gymnastic hall during the training session except for the equipment set-up and put-away.

Parents / Guardians are responsible for ensuring the safe entry and exit of their children from the car park to the gymnastics hall and vice versa.

Please ensure that your child gets into class on time and is collected on time. We will try to assist you in the case of an emergency.

No one is permitted into the main gymnastics hall during training time apart from gymnasts attending their lesson time. The coaches are happy to help parents & guardians with any questions, only before the class starts or at the end of the class but not while the coach is in the middle of a training session.

Parents / Guardians and other family members or friends are not allowed on the competition floor at any stage. Failure to adhere to this rule can result in the gymnast or team getting disqualified from the competition.

Photo Release

Images and videos taken during gymnastics training and events, may be used for Leap Gymnastics Club promotional (the club website or Facebook page), advertising, gymnast training or coaches / judges educational purposes.

Change of Status

It is your responsibility to notify Leap Gymnastics Club of any change in your address, phone number, email address or any change in your child’s medical condition or behavior.

Fees Payment

In order to secure your child’s place for the following term, fees must be paid in time before the start of the new term. Failure to do so may result in forfeiting your child’s place in the class as there is an on-going demand for places.

Vacant positions will be offered to children on our waiting list.

Membership is renewed in September each year.

Gymnasts without current membership will not be allowed to attend training sessions.

Payment is accepted in the form of cash or cheque made payable to “Leap Gymnastics Club” and exact amount should be enclosed in a sealed envelope with the name and amount written on it.

Leap Gymnastics Club does not offer class fees refunds for any reason nor do we pro-rate for missed training sessions.

Equipment:

All gymnasts must help with the equipment set-up or putting away before exiting the gym.

No one is permitted on the equipment without coach approval.

Misuse of the equipment will not be tolerated.

Drinks & Food

No food is allowed in the gymnasium at any time.

Gymnasts are allowed to bring in their own water bottle (only water allowed) and leave it in the designated area for the entire session.

Personal Belongings

Gymnasts must leave their shoes, bags and clothing in the changing rooms and not in the gymnasium. This is to ease congestion in the gymnasium and to avoid trip hazards. Leap Gymnastics Club is not responsible for any lost or stolen items in the facility. It is advisable for items of clothing to be clearly marked with the child’s name.

Mobile Phones

Mobile phones are often given to children for security, enabling parents to keep in touch and make sure they are safe. Young people value their phones highly as it offers them a sense of independence. In addition mobile phones allow quick and easy contact, which can make a safe and efficient way to carry out club business. However such technology has also allowed an increase in direct personal contact with young people, in some cases used to cross personal boundaries and cause harm to young people. Within clubs there is a need to encourage responsible and secure use of mobile phones by adults and young people.

As a young person remember: If you receive an offensive photo, email or message, do not reply, save it, make a note of times and dates and tell a parent or children officer/designated person within the club. Be careful about who you give your phone number to and don’t respond to unfamiliar numbers Change your phone number in cases of bullying or harassment Don’t use the phone in certain locations; inappropriate use of your camera phone may cause upset or offence to another person, e.g. changing rooms Treat you phone as you would any other valuable item so that you guard against theft.

As a Leader remember: Use group texts for communication among athletes and teams and inform parents of this at the start of the season. It is not appropriate to have constant communication for individual athletes. Don’t use the phone in certain locations; inappropriate use of your camera phone may cause upset or offence to another person, e.g. changing rooms.

Bullying Policy

What is Bullying? Bullying is repeated aggression be it verbal, psychological or physical, which is conducted by an individual or group against others. It is behaviour, which is intentionally aggravating and intimidating and occurs mainly among children in social environments such schools, sports clubs and other organisations working with children. It includes behaviours such teasing, taunting, threatening, hitting or extortion by one or more children against a victim. It is the responsibility of Sports Leaders to deal with bullying that may take place in the organisation.

Combating Bullying. Leap Gymnastics Club promotes an anti-bullying policy, which includes the following measures: Raising awareness of bullying as an unacceptable form of behaviour. Creating an ethos, which encourage children, Sports Leaders and parents/guardians to report bullying and to use the procedures of the complaints mechanism of the organisation to address the problem. Providing comprehensive supervision of children at all sporting activities. Providing a supportive environment for victims of bullying. Obtaining the co-operation of parents/guardians to counter bullying.

Club Rules

Leap Gymnastics Club promotes and insists in values of equality, respect, tolerance and friendship. Any forms of discrimination or bullying are not tolerated. Gymnasts should be considerate to each other and work together as a team. Gymnasts should listen carefully when the coach is speaking and follow his/her instructions.

Girls should wear leotard and leggings (over the leotard) but if they do not have these, tracksuit bottoms or shorts with a tucked in t-shirt should be worn during training sessions. Please ensure there are no buttons, zippers or anything that can catch on equipment or injure the gymnast or coach during their training session. Boys should wear tracksuit bottoms or shorts with a tucked in t-shirt.

Bare feet or gymnastic shoes are the safest and only accepted footwear. Socks are not allowed as they can cause the child to slip. If your child has any medical concerns with his / her feet (Verruca’s or open sores etc.), athletic tape or gymnastics shoes must be worn.

Long fingernails and toenails present a risk and must be kept short by gymnasts

Hair should be secured back off the face and neck with elastics and clips

No jewelry to be worn by gymnasts – includes ear piercing, naval piercing and any other body piercing, rings, necklaces, bracelets, watches etc. Any gymnast who is unable to remove piercing must inform the Head Coach who will ensure that an appropriate covering is placed over the piercing to prevent any risk of injury to the participant, the coach and others

No running in the gym unless instructed by a coach.

Gymnasts must not leave the sports hall without a coach, parent or guardian.

Gymnasts must ask permission from the coach if they wish to leave the class for any reason.

If a child is unwell please do not send her/him to the class.

The coach must be notified in advance if a gymnast is unable to attend a training session. Please note that training absences are monitored.

The gymnasts are assigned to groups during the training session. The coaches are the ones who decide what group he/she should be assigned to (based on age group and level of preparedness). The coach has the final say as to who competes based on their opinion of the degree of preparedness for the competition.