Does your gym require the gymnasts to clean?

[gymjourneymom]

A post on the the Make it or Break it thread got me wondering. How much cleaning of the gym & equipment, does your gym require the gymnasts do(if any)? It's just always been accepted practice at our gym, like chores at home. The last practice group of the night sets up the equipment for the morning classes. This can be time consuming & it's late at night. Then in the summer they do deep cleaning(mat washing, etc), including cleaning out the foam pit! Now that was digusting let me tell you! Do other gyms require this of their gymnasts? I've never complained, but when it's getting close to 10pm & the girls all have school the next day I do get annoyed. And the pit thing...well that was just plain gross. I think they should hire a biohazard company to clean that out! Interested to hear how other gyms handle these situations.

 

[ebie2005]

at my gym we get parents to clean out the pit once a year

 

[gymnut1]

coaches are expected to return anything they have set up or used to its place before they move to the next piece. It only takes a couple of minutes and the kids help.

We dont help with mat washing. Twice a year the pits are emptied and cleaned. They ask for volunteers for that - parents, coaches and kids. They get masks to wear and treats for helping. Kids with asthma can't do it because of the dust. It is done at a time when no classes are on. When we go to other gyms you can tell their pits are not cleaned out as much!

 

[flippinlolly]

Like you say at my gym its standard practice. Every night (cos were always last at the gym) we set up for the next days practices and we have to do all the cleaning of mats and in summer we have to clean out the pits too.....i agree this is the grossest thing ever!! We also clear out the changing rooms and make sure theres no rubbish or anything! Sounds like a lot but its just normal to us!

 

[cher062]

The gymnasts help put the mats and any equipment away they used. About once a month they empty the pit and get the hair clips etc that have fallen off folks. But cleaning with a bucket of soapy water is done by a paid cleaning crew every Sunday. Everything is cleaned and sanitized by them.

 

[Granny Smith]

The girls do clean and set up at dd's gym. They vaccuum the chalk around the bars, they don't do that great of a job, but the try. They also have to move the vault table at the end of the practice for the next morning when the little rec kids come cause they jump into the foam pit and stuff.

The girls did have to clean out the foam pit and have also replaced the foam.

Each level has a job. One might be to wipe do the cubbies in the locker room. Another level might have to go around and pick up all the empty water bottles and recycle.

Nothing major, but they do contribute - I have no objection, for the amt of hrs that they are there, they should help.

 

[westyscaptian]

Well our gym makes us clean the bar mats cause we have to rechalk the bars each day. When it comes to the pit we have to empty ours out and clean the bottom of it once a year before our home meet. Oh we also vacuum the floors every so often

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

The last group of the day puts the mats away, makes sure everything is in it's place. We take the last five minutes of practice time to do this, because we end at 8:00 and there are 8 year olds who really need to go to bed. However, if someone is really close to getting a skill or wants to show their mom/dad something, they are allowed to keep working for a couple minutes to finish up.

 

[marie83]

We have a cleaner who comes in twice a week and she hoovers all the carpeted areas, washes the wooden floors and dusts.
Our gymnasts are expected to tidy up the gym at the end of the night - each group takes it in turns. They are also expected to keep the changing room tidy.
Once a year our whole gym gets a massive clean - the sprung floor gets taken up all the beam mats come up etc - it is amazing how many pens we find under there! Parents and gymnasts and any other volunteers help out with this.

 

[gymchick14]

Our coaches have "chores" like cleaning the bars or the tumble track that they have to do like once a week. The pit gets cleaned every once in a while. Gymnasts really have no part in cleaning, but when we moved the gym, gymnasts helped.

 

[I-Heart-Beam]

Yep, each group has their own job that are rotated every couple of weeks. We had to sweep the wooden floor, make sure there were no bottles or tape or anything anywhere, just basic stuff. The pits got cleaned at Easter and at Christmas, and you could volunteer. Or be volunteered by your coach . I found two pairs of earrings I'd lost

 

[toriluvsgym0618]

well every tuseday and thursday (not sure about thursday, but for sure tuseday) every1 just has to put 2 mats away bcus we hav cleaners cum and clean up. other than that we dnt hav 2. we dnt hav 2 scrub mats like in make it or break it.

 

[gym law mom]

Let's see. At our gym, they ask all parents and girls to come in to clean out the pit 2x/year(yuck and really gross). In the spring, the girls have to get all their junk out of their lockers and clean them. On a weekly basis, the girls do have to put mats back at the end of practice, so the gym is ready for rec classes the next morning. They rotate that chore among the levels, so usually each team only has to do it 1 night/week.

 

[enginesmilez]

well, yes, we do have to clean up the gym and put mats away. and yes, it should be like chores at home. the boy gymnasts every few months scrub the mats and stuff to get all the chalk and dust off them. and once a year, everyone helps to clean out the pit of things people might have lost in there.

 

[cathiann]

Not mat washing, but the team girls do straighten mats and put things back where they belong at the end of the night. The rec coaches are expected to put things away after each class (I know, I was a rec coach), but it doesn't always happen!

A few times a year the girls help with a more major cleaning, but it's not a regular thing.

 

[UnoMas]

Our girls move mats for coaches and put them away every night...that's about it.

 

[CoachGoofy]

My gymnasts do most of their own mat hauling (take out and put away).

As for cleaning, I think that some cleaning lady person does that. I'd prefer if we had the gymnasts do it, or an option for them to help do it for a partial credit on their accounts. They're more skilled in "how to fold mats without wrecking them" than custodial staff is.

 

[MissBear]

At the end of every practise the gymnasts line up and put in groups with a leader (older gymnast) and then each group has an area to clean up. It only takes 10 minutes before they put their tracksuits on and line up.
Groups are suppose to put back anything they got out as they go along. They never do any cleaning or anything.

 

[jasmine196]

Well usually my girls are the last one's in the gym on any given night. They are responsible for putting away all the mats, and any other equipment they have used (balls, balance boards, etc). As for cleaning out the pit, its usually done once a month and yes the girls do it. Usually its the Sunday group that gets to do it. It is a kind of conditioning for the girls. Is it gross yes, but that is what the rubber gloves are for. And they get to kept whatever they find at the bottom (if they want to usually its just thrown out). However, with cleaning the pit not only do they use gloves but we have gotten them swimming goggles. It keeps the pit from getting in the eyes, its really quite funny. And they never seem to mind, and look forward to it.

 

[gymgirl_60]

we have pit cleanout once or twice a year, help put mats away, and sometimes sweep up chalk around the bars