Guest Gymnast

[GymDad57]

What are most gyms policy on allowing competitive team gymnast (lets say Level 7-8) from another cross town gym to work at your gym. Last night 2 girls from another gym showed up and convinced the owner to allow them to take advanced level private lessons with one of top tier coaches. I believe this is not temporary. They said they needed extra work and equipment their gym couldn't provide. These private lessons are going to be at the same time as our regular girls team practices (however private with the other coach) and we will also compete against these girls at meets. Is this consider a normal practice in the gymnastic world to use your gyms coaches and equipment to train other cross town team girls.

 

[bogwoppit]

Odd, very odd. Maybe if the coaches were close and made an arrangement I could see it, but if it's just the girls making the arrangement I am very surprised.

My girls have trained at a competing gym an hour away from us, but only in the summer when our club couldn't offer training for team. That was only with the knowledge of the coaches too.

 

[TeamDad]

When we travel out of state on holidays during meet season, we look up local gyms so that dd can join regular girls team practices to stay in shape. The gyms have allowed her to practice with the team free of charge and have been very kind to us. I believe that it's a practice called 'reciprocation' or something like that. It does sound a bit different than your situation though.

 

[Invisible Duck]

I have done this before.
My gym does not have a pit and our vault set up is not fantastic (we run down a hallway, through a door way in to the gym).
My coach organised with another gym for me to go in and use their vault/pit when I was learning a new vault. For the first couple of weeks she came in with me but then I just went by myself and the coach there looked after me. I went pretty much every week for a year. I trained with a group of my level and with a girl I competed against. They even let me come and train with them on all apparatus during the holidays when my club did not train.
They were so nice and helpful and there is no way I could have learnt this vault had I not been able to go there.

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

One of our optionals trains sometimes at another gym because we do not have a pit yet.

 

[gymdog]

That specific situation sounds pretty unusual, but it isn't unusual to visit while on vacation. However when these arrangements are made it is key to keep the constant coach involved, many teams would have policies against private lessons at another gym for example and from the lesson giving gym side of it I would be concerned about burning bridges if I didn't know everyone was on board. I don't see why if it was an ongoing basis they wouldn't switch gyms. I realize there's more to staying at a gym than that but really at some point you have to question it. If the coach is willing to do it for what they are paying then I don't really see why it matters but it's not usually done.