Oakville Gymnastics Club Acrobatic Gymnastics Team: September 2011

For all of those parents of athletes in Acrobatic Gymnastics program who are a little confused or missed the parent meeting here is everything that was mentioned during the meeting. Always check your emails and keep you eye here on the blog for more info. If you have questions feel free to contact Don.

Congratulations to all the Acrobatic Gymnasts who were offered spots in the Oakville Gymnastics Club Acrobatic Gymnastics Program for the 2011/2012 season. We do appreciate your dedication, commitment and loyalty towards the acro program.

Biographies:
Don Holmes – Head Coach/Director of the Acrobatic Gymnastics Program – Coach Elite Acro Group
Niki Lavoie – Coach Provincial Acro Group
Dana Khan – Interclub Acro Groups 1 & 2
See the OGC website under Competitive Staff.

The One Year Contract Policy: As you know the Acrobatic Gymnastics program offers your child a space in the program for one year and at the end of each season we do ask all of our athletes to “ReTryout”. By implementing the ‘Re-Tryout’ and ‘Tryout’ protocols we are not trying to be mean or unsupportive of those athletes that we have been working with and developing over the previous year (or years). Our program is a competitive program with a limited number of spaces. We are simply trying to ensure that those athletes who are the most deserving of a spot on the team are receiving those spots. If at some point we do ask your child to leave the program this may be thought of as a good thing allowing the athlete the opportunity to explore other sports where he/she may be more suited physically, mentally or socially.

Summer Attendance: During the summer session we expect 50% attendance as a minimum. We would prefer that your child attends 100% of their scheduled classes but we understand summer schedules are far more diverse and we would hope that kids take the time to enjoy summer camps, weeks at the cottage and time with family. Please send an e-mail to your athlete’s coach with the dates that your child will not be at gymnastics. Low attendance in some groups on specific weeks may allow us to accommodate other athletes who have summer training conflicts and permit them to make the minimum number of training hours.

Fall/Winter/Spring Attendance: During the school year we expect 80% attendance as a minimum. Obviously the less your athlete trains the less they will progress and the less they will be prepared for competition. It is in your best interest to have your athlete at the gym as much as possible.

Note: Attendance in Acrobatic Gymnastics is very important as when one of a pair or group is not at the gym the entire group cannot work on the specific skills that make acro what it is. Please make sure that your athlete and family are accountable to the other group members. Share phone, cell numbers and emails so that you can communicate before a practice whether or not you are sick or going to be absent for some reason.

Violation of Attendance Minimums and Removal from the Program: We cannot hold spots for athletes who do not attend the program. If you have schedule conflicts that will prevent your athlete from reaching the minimum attendance requirement but wish to remain as part of the acrobatic gymnastics program please e-mail the Acrobatic Gymnastics Program Director outlining your situation.

OGC Code of Conduct: We have created a specific code of conduct for our athletes while part of the team, mostly for traveling with us while not with a parent. As we travel to competitions you will see this document and if you have any concerns with it at that time we can address them then.

Schedules: Summer Schedules and Fall/Winter/Spring schedules have been distributed. We understand the logistical difficulties that families encounter by receiving these schedules in June as summer camp registration and vacations need to be booked several months in advance. Please note that we create our schedule with careful consideration. We realize that there will be conflicts and we have outlined how we are attempting to provide concessions for these conflicts. Also note that due to the ever evolving space usage of the gym we may find it necessary to change a scheduled class temporarily or permanently depending on the situation. We cannot foresee these situations but we will try to provide you with as much notice as possible prior to changes.

Acrobatic Gymnastics Program Weeks Off during the Summer: Note that these change each year as we need to address the competition schedule that is also ever changing. We will try to let you know well in advance so that you can plan vacations/camps/etc.

Active Rest: During the rest periods we expect athletes to remain active. We give the acrobatic gymnasts a checklist of activities to do during their off time in order to keep them fit.

Maternity Leave: We are in the process of hiring a coach from abroad to take over the Provincial Group coaching for Niki as of October 1^st. If there is a delay in the paper work needed to bring this coach we will simply continue with the present groups and coaches until that coach arrives. When the new coach arrives she will also take the Interclub 1 & 2 groups. When this change over occurs the Provincial Acro group will have a change of training times: Tuesday will change from 4:30 to 6:30 to 7:15 to 9:15pm, Thursday will change from 3:30 to 5:30 to 7:00 to 9:00pm. These later times work better for gym loading and will provide out acrobats with more time on the floor as they work on building their routines. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation regarding schedules. These changes will remain in effect until June 30^th, 2012.

Nutrition: We will post some nutrition information on the blog at some point to assist you with meal planning for effective trainings and competitions so keep you eye on the blog.

Viewing Area Closure: During the summer months and on some holidays the viewing area may be closed in the evening so there will be no parent viewing. Your child will be let in at the sliding glass doors at the front of the club and be ushered out at the end of their session. When the viewing area is closed no one is permitted in the gym lobby for safety and liability reasons. Our apologies for the inconvenience that this might cause. If there is an emergency and you need to contact us inside the gym we ask that you bang on the back door of the gym to try and get our attention.

Individual Parent Meetings: We offer individual parent meetings as we or you feel they are necessary. If you have individual questions that pertain to your specific situation we ask that you not address these in a public forum but leave it to an e-mail or individual meeting.

Chain of Command: Speak to your child’s coach(es) directly for anything you may have questions about. Then you may speak to Don. If he is not able to help you then you can speak to Wayne Hussey the COO. If you have a question about an event/competition DO NOT contact Gymnastics Ontario directly. DO NOT contact the host club of an event directly. If you have a question address it through the coach(es) and we will ask GO or the event host for you as your question is likely one that other’s have.

Sponsorship: Athletes are able to search for sponsors to offset the costs of training and competitions. The OGC has created a sponsorship package for all competitive athletes. Please enquire if you are interested in sponsorship.

Fundraisers: No fundraisers are set for the Acro Program as of yet but we are open to ideas from parents. Simplicity, appropriateness and fund generation are key points to remember when making your suggestions. Thanks.

Event and Competition Schedule: See attachment.

Competitive Structure Provincial and National – See attachment, previous post

The Competitions – see attachment

Training Wear: For acro we prefer that athletes wear a leotard and shorts. Athletes with long hair are expected to keep it in a high bun so that it is out of the way while performing skills. Boys shorts should be above the knee as you may be doing elements where another athlete need to stand on your thighs. Please not long board shorts. Gymnastics shoes are optional.

Competitive Wear:
We have a warm up leotard/shorts or singlet/shorts combo for the Provincial and Elite Group that they need to have when we go to competitions. This Warm Up clothing if for the stretching and warming up portion of a competition. Usually the suit you will wear for competition is more elaborate and we don’t want to cause damage to the competition suits by doing too much activity in them. The royal and black suits for the girls can be purchased through Saucy’s World. Boys are permitted to get a black singlet and shorts from any manufacturer as it is a simple black suit. You will receive information shortly about the warm up leos soon. If you are in the Interclub groups you are welcome to purchase the warm up leos but it is not mandatory. Only a competition suit will be required.

Competition suits: Each pair or group will have a matching leotard or singlet/sorts/pants for each competitive routine they perform. We will generally keep the same suit for the season. Athletes going to larger competitions or higher levels may have three competitive outfits. Plan for this cost as competitive suits usually cost between $100 and $300 dollars per athletes.

Tracksuits and OGC apparel: We have the royal OGC Acrobatic Gymnastics program t-shirt for $12 at the gym. This all you need as a minimum. There are OGC Tracksuits that will be available through the main office. We will also have OGC fitted women’s tracksuit in a Lululemon style available in the next couple weeks. Stay tuned for more information on these items. What do you need? The t-shirt (parents and family members are welcome to buy the royal acro t-shirt as well). If you are on the Elite or Provincial Team women should have either the general OGC tracksuit or the new fitted tracksuit. Boys we prefer that you have the general OGC tracksuit for competitions. Interclub athletes all tracksuit and OGC apparel is optional for you. I suggest getting the royal blue t-shirt if you plan to attend a training camp or competition this year (and you will be so get the t-shirt).

Other OGC Apparel: We will have a navy or white hooded sweat shirt avail and navy or white OGC sweatpants available to purchase in the next couple weeks. These additional items are optional and make great Christmas presents.

Any Financial questions please direct to Agnes Jankura in the main office.

Check your e-mails regularly for OGC info.

READ THE BLOG REGULARLY: It is VERY IMPORTANT that YOU keep up-to-date on the blog. It is the online bulletin board for our program. Everything is archived there so you can go back and pull any information that you might need. http://ogcacrobaticgymnastics.blogspot.com/

OGC AGM Sunday, October 2^nd in the Rec Centre. You get 3 volunteer hours for attending so it is worth it to come and sit through the meeting. It is an important part of your responsibilities as a Parent of a Competitive athlete to attend this annual event.
Questions?

Any questions can be directed to: dholmes_tumbling@homail.com

Hi Everyone,

Here is the September 2011 Acrobatic Gymnastics Schedule.

Please note that Kirby is now off to university. For the month of September Dana Khan will be taking Kirby's Interclub Acro classes.

If you would like to see the image in a larger format simply click on the image. To print the schedule first enlarge the image, then right click on it to "Save As" image and then print the image as if it were a photo.

I will be emailing you today with the schedule. If you do not receive an email today (Friday, September 2nd) then you are not on my email list for the Acrobatic Gymnastics Program. Be sure to send me a message at dholmes_tumbling@hotmail.com or dholmes.acro@gmail.com so that you can be added to the mailing list.

We will have an IMPORTANT Parent Meeting on Sunday, September 18th.