Policies

PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT

- All Sportac Gymnastics participants must abide by the following Policies. By enrolling, you are agreeing that you have read and understood the Club Policies. 
 

- Gymnastic activities have an inherent risk of injury and although we will endeavour to minimize any risk, accidents may still happen. It is important that all members abide by the safety rules at all times. Breach of the Policies may result in termination of your membership to Sportac Gymnastics.​

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GENERAL RULES FOR USERS

Be respectful of the neighbourhood and local residents

- Drive slowly and carefully, strictly adhering to the 20mph speed limit (there are many children and animals in the vicinity). 

- Keep noise to a minimum 

Be respectful of the facility

- Strictly no chewing gum allowed in the building.

- Dispose of all rubbish in the bins provided.

- No smoking or vaping allowed.

- Handle all equipment/furniture with care, clear away after use and store it safely/neatly.

- Only enter areas available for public use (behind reception and the kitchen is for staff use only).

- Park your car sensibly, and drop-off/collect being mindful of other drivers/pedestrians (NB Sportac will not take any responsibility for damage to vehicles).

Gymnasts

- All belongings to be stored in pigeon holes in the cloakroom. (NB Sportac will not take any responsibility for personal items – please do not bring valuables).

- Only water bottles and essential training aids (programmes, chalk, etc to be brought into the gym).

- Do not enter the gym unless supervised by a coach.

- On entry to the gym, water bottles should be placed on the shelving to the left.

Parents/Guardians

- For those wishing to stay, a seated waiting area is provided in the café to the rear of the building.

- Gymnasts will be dismissed by a member of staff from the main entrance at the end of each session. Please be outside ready for collection.

Hydration

- The taps in the bathrooms do not provide drinking water.

- There are currently no water fountains in the facility.

- Please ensure you bring a full water bottle to each session.

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​DRESS CODE

-  Please note that for safety reasons, all jewellery and body piercings are strictly forbidden and cannot be worn during gymnastics.

This is a British Gymnastics requirement and your British Gymnastics Insurance will be invalid if this is not adhered to. Earrings or any other piercings can be taped if they have just been pierced, but for no longer than 6 weeks. After this period they must be taken out.​

- No clothes with anything dangling from it or long frills/skirts attached. No skirts, anything with zips, bands on either wrist or ankles, belts or jeans. This protects the gymnast, coach and the equipment.

- Any bands that are worn for religious reasons can stay on but will be taped or should be covered with a sweat band.

- Long hair must be tied back as it can be hazardous. Please try to remember a hair band.

- Sportac Gymnastics accept no responsibility for any property left anywhere on site.

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FEES

Sessions are refundable up to 14 days after the initial enrolment email is sent, (minus any sessions attended and transaction fees). Thereafter sessions are non-refundable.

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Fees are paid monthly and are based on 48 weeks of sessions per year, (we are closed for 2 weeks in August and 2 weeks at Christmas). This is divided over 12 equal monthly payments.

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If joining part way through a month, the remaining sessions that month are calculated pro-rata. To cancel your membership and monthly fees, you must contact us to close your membership account. 

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British Gymnastics Insurance

- Sportac Gymnastics is proud to be a part of our National Governing Body: British Gymnastics. It is compulsory for all coaches and gymnasts to be a member of British Gymnastics, which covers members with accident insurance, alongside all of the benefits of being BG registered.

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​- All gymnasts must be a member of British Gymnastics and Sportac Gymnastics to take part. Please click the following link to register with British Gymnastics.

​​https://www.british-gymnastics.org/memberships

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Joining/ Annual Membership Fee

There is a £40 annual membership fee for Sportac Gymnastics which goes towards covering administrative costs and transaction fees to help us deliver the best service possible. Charged January-January, for new members joining part way through the year, the fee is reduced pro-rata. See below pro rata schedule:​

Joining January-March: £40

Joining April-June: £30

Joining July-September: £20

Joining October-December: £10

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Late Payment Fee

- Late payment fee of £10 will automatically be applied to your account if a payment deadline is missed. This covers the increased administration involved with chasing any late payments. 

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ABSENCE

- Classes will not be carried over or exchanged for any other class time or day for any reason.

- Membership cannot be frozen, or transferred to someone else for a short period of time. 

- Members who choose to cancel their payments will be considered as leaving and their membership will be terminated. Any previous member rejoining at any time will be required to repay the Joining/ Annual Membership Fee due from that date in order to restart their membership.

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REFUNDS

A refund will NOT be given for:

1. Missed sessions.

2. Any injuries occurred whilst outside the gym.

3. Deciding to leave after the 14 day cooling off period from initial enrolment email.

4. Classes that have to be cancelled due to extreme weather conditions, fire evacuation, possible terrorist/bomb threat, or any other extreme unforeseeable circumstances.

5. We reserve the right to make adjustments to the normal class timetable to accommodate displays, competitions, events etc.

6. Entry fees for competition if withdrawing. 

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ADMISSION/ COLLECTION

- If fees are outstanding, the gymnast will not be permitted entry to the gymnastics hall until any outstanding amount is settled.

- If a gymnast's British Gymnastics Insurance has lapsed, or the gymnast does not have it they will not be permitted to enter the gymnastics hall.

- Warm up is very important, try to be on time. If you are more than 15 minutes late you wont be allowed to join in the session.

- Please be on time to collect your child, if you have arranged for someone else to pick up the child inform the coach. We will not let children leave with other people who are not on registration forms or if we have not been informed.

- Parent/Carers must be present at the entrance to collect your child/children. Please do not wait in your car as we will not let them go until we see you. This is for their safety.

- If any child under the age of 16 is travelling home alone we must have written confirmation.

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BEHAVIOUR

- Any parent/guardian caught being rude to any member of staff or any coach will mean expulsion of their child/children from the club. 

- Inform the coach at the start of a session if gymnasts are feeling ill, have a previous injury or if any medical conditions have changed.

- Gymnasts must not go on the equipment without supervision of the coach.

- Gymnasts that do not listen, behave in an inappropriate manner, who may be a danger to them selves and/or to others and will be asked to sit out for the rest of the session. This is for the safety of other members and the coaches.

- Bullying is not tolerated. Any member who is found to be bullying will be suspended from the club.

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SOCIAL MEDIA

- The purpose of this guidance is to provide a recommendation of best practice to all British Gymnastics club members and parents on the use of social networking sites. If used correctly, social networking can be a fun, safe and productive activity.

Note: Throughout this guidance a young person/ child relates to anyone under the age of 18.

-BG members in a position of trust and/or responsibility (as defined in the British Gymnastics Safeguarding and Protecting Children Policy) should not be in contact with any young people through any social networking sites whether the young person is a member of their club or any other club.

- Should a young person request to become a named friend on your Social Networking Page or request that you become a named friend on their Social Networking Page you should decline as you are in a position of trust and responsibility within a BG registered club.

- The above also applies to official club social networking sites. Only club staff and parents, should be permitted access.

- The publishing of a photograph or video footage on a social networking site is governed by the same requirements as any other media – see the Safeguarding and Protecting Children Policy.​

PHOTOGRAPHY

- All BG clubs and members must ensure that any photographs or video of children is not used in a way that would place a child at risk of harm. Photography or filming must not be used in a way that is inappropriate given the age of the participant and the context that the image was taken.

- When publishing images of children, the publisher must ensure there are appropriate safeguards in place to minimise the likelihood of anyone who is not authorised to view or use these images from doing so.

- Any photography taking place should be done in line with the policy and procedures. Any breaches of this should be reported to the British Gymnastics Integrity Unit for further investigation.

- Before taking any photography on behalf of Sportac, ensure that those individuals who will feature in the images and, where appropriate their parent(s) / guardian(s), are fully informed in advance. Approval is required on the Sportac membership form.

- Unless an individual is a person of public interest e.g. an elite gymnast, no personal information of children, other than the name of the subject and the name of the club should be published with the images. It is advisable to use just the forename of the subjects rather than their full name.

- Any images should not be stored on portable equipment without encryption. Only photography taken for personal purposes should be stored or shared on personal devices or personal social media accounts.

- Anyone organising an event that is open to the public must ensure those attending, whether participants, coaches, officials or audience members know your rules around the taking of photographs. Clear guidance should be provided for all those attending the event.​​​​​