Communication from the September 2014 Acrobatic
Gymnastics Program Parent Meeting at the Oakville Gymnastics Club
Congratulations
to all the Acrobatic Gymnasts who were offered spots in the Oakville Gymnastics
Club Acrobatic Gymnastics Program for the 2014/2015 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 Boys Acro group
Jane Kirwan – Coach of Jr/Sr Group and Age
Group group
David Scott – Coach of Jr/Sr group and Age
Group group
Mackenzie Senior – Coach of the Provincial 2
(9 hour) group
Vlada Markavich – Coach of the Provincial 1
(6 hour) group
Alyssa Belford – Coach of the 4 Hour Acro
group
Staff Biographies to be posted on the OGC
website.
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. Also at that
time we may invite them to try an alternative gymnastics discipline or program
in the gym as we do believe that gymnastics is for all and we wish to keep
everyone in the gym in some capacity.
Remember that Competitive Programs at the OGC are a privilege and an
opportunity not a right. We need to keep
in mind Competitive Wants vs Recreational Needs.
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 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. Also look to
plan family vacations at the same time or after major competitions so that time
is not lost prior to a competition or training camp.
Pair / Group
Parent Meetings: In the summer, fall and winter we
plan to have Parent Meetings for the pairs / groups so that the families can
meet, share contact information and give the coaches an opportunity to discuss
the long term plan for the pair group.
Notice of these meetings will be sent to you via email.
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.
Increased
Hours and Extra Training: This
year we have increased the number of Acro Group and increased the number of training
hours for most groups. As the level of
skill and competition progress the program will continue to increase the number
of hours trained over the course of a week.
Expect an increase in the 2015/2016 season. Day time training is now part of the Jr/Sr and
Age Group groups fall schedule. There
will also be a morning training and a rental training at Cheerforce Wolfpack
Cheer Club. It is necessary for us to
train a these peripheral times so that we can get floor time for routine work
and belt work. Space is at a premium in our gym so this is a must for our
highest level athletes. We put the day
time training on Wednesday afternoons so that athletes can receive homework for
the day before they leave and catch up early in the week so they do not fall
behind in their studies.
Extra
Tumbling Classes: The 4 hour Acro class is strongly encouraged
to pick up a Recreational Trampoline & Tumbling class once a week over the
fall/winter/spring. The recreational
Trampoline & Tumbling classes can be registered for through the main office.
The Boys Acro Group and the Provincial 1 &2 groups will have one extra
tumbling and individual elements class on Sundays from 4:00 to 5:00pm. Please communicate with your coach as to
whether or not you should or need to take the extra tumbling class.
Extra Tops
and Base Classes: An Extra two hour class for tops will be
offered to the Boys Acro group and the Provincial 1 & 2 groups as the tops
require some very specific flexibility and handstand skills. We are asking that they get on the pegs for
this extra class. As well all tops
should purchase their own handstand pegs to practice on at home every day. An extra bases class is also on the schedule
for those bases in the Boys Acro group and Provincial 1 & 2 groups. This class will focus on the special skills
that a base requires for supporting, throwing and catching their tops.
Choreography
and Routine Creation: See the Athlete Package Insert.
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. We plan to have the last week of August and
one other week over the course of the summer in 2015. We will post which weeks those are in April
or May 2015.
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.
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. On these days 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:
Currently the Acro Program is planning to run a Family Fun Night fundraiser in
January. The date is to be
determined. We may run another
fundraiser at some point during the season.
Event and
Competition Schedule: To be posted on the blog in the early fall.
Competitive
Structure Provincial and National – See attachment, previous post
The
Competitions – see attachment
Travel: It is
possible that we will travel outside of Ontario for competitions as acro is
still growing and we may need to travel to find competitions to attend. These events are not on our regular schedule
of Gymnastics Ontario Qualification events so you will have to cover the cost
for coaches to attend these events as well as pay for registrations. Your registration fees for the GO
qualification competitions are included in your OGC fees. The cost for coach’s expenses will be divided
up and shared across the athletes that attend.
Money from fundraisers may fully or partially offset the coach’s costs.
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 wear 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. More information to be circulated in the
fall. You will receive information
shortly about the warm up leos soon. If
you are in the Interclub groups you are expected to purchase the warm up leos as
it may be your competition suit for the year depending on the pair or group you
will be competing with. An additional
competition suit may 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 $600 dollars per athletes.
Tracksuits
and OGC apparel:
We have the royal OGC Acrobatic Gymnastics program t-shirt that will be
for sale on the rack across from the office.
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 to purchase in the fall. 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 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.
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 fall. These additional items are optional and make
great Christmas presents.
Therapy Clinic: The Glen Abby Massage Therapy and Sports
Injury Therapy Clinic located inside of the OGC is open to all. It is not restricted to the athletes of the
OGC. All Oakville Community members are
welcome to use the OGC clinic.
Sport Psych: We have a new
therapist working in the clinic who deals with Sport Psychology. Her name is Sarah Dybka and was herself a
power tumbler coached by Don and Niki.
She is available for one on one sessions and will be starting regular
additional work with the OGC National tumbling group in order to give them the
competitive psychological edge in the 2013/2014 season.
Car Pooling: If you are looking for Car Pooling options
please create a simple classified advertisement and email it to Don. Please include your Name, closest
intersection or school for pick up location, your phone number or email
address. Don will then distribute this
advertisement to the athletes in your child’s group or if you wish, to the
greater competitive gymnastics community within the OGC.
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/
Questions?
Any questions can be directed to:
Don Holmes dholmes_tumbling@homail.com
Jane Kirwan janemkir1@gmail.com
David Scott aenb@live.co.uk
Mackenzie Senior m.senior94@gmail.com
Vlada Markevich vicvlada@gmail.com
Alyssa Belford abelford@cogeco.ca
Athlete Package Insert for Competitive Acrobats
Coach, Parent and
Athlete Guidelines – for Acrobats
4.0 Acrobatic Gymnastics Attire and Hair for Training
4.01 Always be prepared by wearing a gymnastics-appropriate body
suit or tight-fitting top with shorts, tights or leggings for girls. Male acrobats are permitted to wear a singlet
and pair of shorts or just shorts and a t-shirt. The shorts should be short so that partners
can stand on your thighs without slipping on the material. No excessively long shorts will be
permitted. When representing Oakville Gymnastics Club at
training camps and other events it is expected that coaches and athletes wear
Oakville Gymnastics Club attire only unless specified. The only exceptions are Gymnastics Ontario
attire or Gymnastics Canada attire again only when you are told to do so.
4.02 All athletes with long
hair must wear their hair up in a secure fashion. Loose hair can become a hazard. All training camps and warm ups at
competition girls must have their hair in a high bun.
5.0 Competition Expectations
5.01 Athletes should arrive
with all items they might need for competition: water bottle – hair products –
athletic tape – snack – braces or supports (white or beige only) – competitive
attire – etc. It is not up to the
coaches to bring these items for the athlete.
5.02 Athletes should plan to
arrive at the start of registration to allow extra time for unforeseen
issues. Come prepared in full OGC attire
including competitive attire and the OGC tracksuit. All levels of Acrobats should have the
Tracksuit. All girls must arrive at the
competition with their hair in a tight bun.
No ponytails will be permitted.
It is not up to the coach to take care of hair issues at competition. If your athlete’s hair is too short to put in
a bun an alternative hairstyle for competition must be agreed upon before
arriving at the competition with the coach.
Head bands are not permitted. No
jewellery, piercings or nail polish are permitted at competition.
5.03 Show good sportsmanship
by being humble when winning. Stay positive
when facing adversity and be composed when things might not be going too well.
5.04 Competitive
Leotards and Singlets/Shorts and
Tracksuits
The Oakville Gymnastics Club Acrobatic
Gymnastics program requires that all Interclub, Provincial and National Level Acrobats
get either: the girls training leotard or the boys training singlet/shorts. We keep the same suits for a minimum of 2 years. The cost ranges from $80 to $110 for the
Training suit. This training suit allows
our club to look similar and professional at training camps and during warm
ups. It also permits athletes who are
put into last minute partnerships to still have at least one suit that will
match with everyone else. Interclub
Level Acrobats (4 hour and 6 hour groups) may get additional competition attire
if the partnership so desires. The cost for
more splashy competitive attire ranges from $100 to $160. Provincial Acrobats (6 hour and 9 hour
groups) are required to get a more elabourate competitive outfit. The range for this level is between $100 and
$250 per outfit. The Age Group, Junior
and Senior groups are expected to get 2 to 3 competitive outfits that can range
between $250 and $600 per suit. Tracksuits
range from $150 to $190 for the whole suit.
5.05 Competition Fees
Rough Schedule of events for the different levels of Acrobatic
Gymnastics:
Interclub: 4 or 6 hour Groups: 2 to 4 event per year. Approximately $55 per event.
Provincial: 6 or 9 hour Groups: 2 to 4 events per year. Approximately $55 to $100 per event. Events may be in other provinces or in the
US.
FIG Level Acro (Age Group, Jr, Sr
Acro Groups): 2 to 3 Ontario Cups ($55
per Ontario Cup included in your competitive fees at the beginning of the
year), Ontario Championships ($55 registration fee not included in your
competitive fees), National Acro Cup ($100).
There are numerous International competitions that athletes may be
invited to as part of Team Ontario or Team Canada. Information on these events will be shared
with competitive families as information becomes available. There is also a plan for an international
training camp for our athletes to attend in Europe in the fall of 2014. The cost for this training camp could range from
$1100 to $2200 depending on flights, location, billeting with other acro
families, etc.
6.0 Acro Choreography Sessions
Choreography and Routine Creation: We are requesting that routines for the
Provincial and Elite group be created during a daytime training session as the
gym is very full in the evenings when we are training. As the coaches dictate for each group you may
be asked to sign up for one or two, 2 hour daytime sessions to learn a
routine. The cost will be $25 per hour
per athlete in the pair or group. A 1
hour session at the same cost may be required after the choreography session to
polish the routines. Once the routine is created the coaches will be provided
with a video of the routine and will continue to polish and refine the routine
during the regular training sessions.
Routines may be recycled from year to year. Additional choreographers may be used other
than the coaches. These expenses will
only be for athletes performing Levels 6 and higher. Levels 4 and 5 will be choreographed during
the classes and kept very simple as there is no score for artistry. The Interclub Boy and Interclub Girl groups
may be invited in to work on a routine closer to a competition if the routine
is in desperate need of work though.
Clean, tidy, and simple routines will score better but choreography will
be introduced.
7.0 Wolfpack Cheerforce Facility Rental:
We have made plans to rent floor
space at the Wolfpack Cheerforce Gym, 1060 South Service Road West in
Oakville. Athletes who attend trainings
on the Friday night at the Wolfpack gym will be required to pay a facility
sur-charge to help cover some of the rental cost. We will start this rental in September. A detailed schedule of rental dates and fees will
be provided by the time September arrives.
We are currently finalizing the details of this rental agreement. We desperately need to rent this space as the
OGC is becoming very full. Acro is the
most portable program as it uses the least amount of equipment and renting
floor time at a cheer facility is the cheapest and logistically easy
solution. Thank you for your
understanding in this matter as the time on the cheer floor will greatly
increase the acrobat’s time to run routines.
