WAG gymnasts required to clean gym

[munchkin3]

Something excessive- yes the kids/s would clean up.....spilled drinks or food (that is not supposed to be in the gym).
our gym has the girls stack up the mats at the end of practice......general respect for the gym, but i dont consider this 'cleaning' the gym....it would be like school or something.....If there is a big mess that the kids made, they will be asked to clean it up...

We are lucky to have a person who cleans the bathrooms, vacuums and mops....and BTW, I have seen the gym owner mop and sweep too. It is his business and he likes things clean.

 

[profmom]

I think as you get more familiar with the gym, you'll learn who communicates well with email and who doesn't. I've had occasion to email the owners probably five or six times and have never received an email in return, but have had productive conversations with them. One of DS's coaches communicates well through Facebook and the other is strictly a face-to-face guy, but if you catch him at the end of practice, the problem can be too much communication rather than too little. In your shoes, I'd probably just ask the main staff person the best way to communicate with the owners or alternatively, at the end of practice, try to catch your daughter's coach on the event(s) she's cleaning up.

 

[GymDad9.9]

Something excessive- yes the kids/s would clean up.....spilled drinks or food (that is not supposed to be in the gym).
our gym has the girls stack up the mats at the end of practice......general respect for the gym, but i dont consider this 'cleaning' the gym....it would be like school or something.....If there is a big mess that the kids made, they will be asked to clean it up...

We are lucky to have a person who cleans the bathrooms, vacuums and mops....and BTW, I have seen the gym owner mop and sweep too. It is his business and he likes things clean.

Same in our gym, someone who cleans the bathrooms, vacuums and mops throughout the day and an owner who does the same.

 

[2gymkids]

The only time they take significant time out of practice to help with cleaning is: at the end of practice before the end of the year rec shows start (they spend probably a half an hour re-organizing the gym, sweeping, etc, and parents jump in to help too if they're there) and the last summer practice (they empty out the pit, etc).
When my daughter had her previous coach, she used to make the girls sweep up after they ate snack. But they were messy.

 

[vbdb]

Our girls clean up after themselves at bars (chalk is not used on any other event), no vacuum but there's always a dustpan and hand broom beside the bars. I have to wonder how much chalk the kids use on each event that there's such a big mess to clean up for 10 minutes between a bunch of kids.

The last group at night also does a tidy up to restack mats and make sure everything is in its place and they are not allowed to leave things laying around. This clean up is done after training and between 15-20 athletes it takes 10 minutes to put the gym right. Not putting away your weights or grips will get you a rope, it teaches the kids to look after themselves and prevents all the nonsense of lost equipment. I don't think it's that big of a hardship and to be honest my DD probably spends almost as much time there as at home and I'd expect her to participate in keeping the gym tidy as well.

We pay for chalk now, a fee paid quarterly to the gym. It was contentious when they introduced it last year but it's not a lot of money so we just suck it up and pay.

 

[Muddlethru]

Not heard of gymnasts required to clean gym every day. The girls put away mats and I think sometimes have had to clean up when there is a big mess. I prefer my daughter use practice hours for practice; but I don't think it hurts to teach them to clean up after themselves and/or care about the mess they are making once in a while. I've taken private tennis lessons and they run around $90-$120/hour for the pro. Of that, I think at least 15 minutes is spent picking up the balls. I am not happy about it at all primarily because I don't like to pick up the stinkin' balls! But I use so many (because I am not very good :-D and it is the way it is.

Is the gym doing ok? Perhaps they had to get rid of the cleaning crew? You also said the gymnasts are now required to buy their own chalk? I don't know how serious the gym owner is about all this? Perhaps as other posters have indicated the girls are making such a big mess and using unreasonable amount of chalk that the owner is trying to make a point. BTW, former team members of my daughter have told us the gym owners have stuck bars of chalk in their gymnasts bags while attending meets. Now, that is totally unacceptable. Is chalk that expensive?

 

[lindsaygymnast7]

On Saturdays, we spend about 15 minutes at the end of practice cleaning (organizing mats, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, etc.) but I have never seen anyone else clean during a practice or during the week except the people who work there.

 

[AmandaLynn]

BTW, former team members of my daughter have told us the gym owners have stuck bars of chalk in their gymnasts bags while attending meets. Now, that is totally unacceptable. Is chalk that expensive?

There have been times in the not so distant past where there was a shortage of chalk and it was nearly impossible to come by. If they were new, wrapped blocks of chalk at a meet with rented equipment from a vendor, it is possible that the coaches were purchasing blocks from the equipment company to get by until they could locate a case to purchase and didn't have a bag of their own to out them in.

If they were just putting them in the girls bags, straight out of the bucket, well... That's a different story.

 

[sce]

Again, there was nothing from the gym owners telling us of a change. in addition, I hear from other parents that our girls have to end their events 10 minutes early EVERY practice to clean up behind themselves.

That is odd. I would be upset by this. It adds up to a lot of time. Makes me wonder if the gym is struggling financially, and replaced the cleaners with the team girls.

 

[Gymmommy71]

Again back to my AT&T example, would AT&T ask you to vacuum one of their stores when you came in to buy a new phone? No - they wouldn't - they just include the task of cleaning and maintaining their retail stores as something that their employees are responsible for, and if necessary, they offset it w/ a rate hike. Moving around and putting away mats and cleaning up a major spill/mess is okay (if I spilled my coffee all over the floor in a retail store, yes - I'd run to the bathroom for towells to clean it up) - but really, employees of the gym, not costumers, should be doing the tasks the OP described.

Gyms get away with this stuff though, cause what are we gonna do? - disrupt our child's training and go somewhere else (that might do the same thing) and get labeled a "gym hopper" over 10 minutes of missed training and some cleaning? Something like this is probably just just not worth it to complain unless a large group of parents wants to get together and fight it as a group.

The actual vaccuums would really bug me though. How old are these kids doing this vacuuming?

Just crazy what some of these gyms will do to save a buck. Making children vacuum their floors after a 3-5 hour workout? Really?

 

[gymdog]

I think it really just depends on the overall atmosphere there. 10 min seems excessive to clean an area times 4. But I would make sure that's the case and not secondhand from the viewing area. I can't say this is automatically unacceptable but to me it just depends on the overall situation there.

 

[vbdb]

The actual vaccuums would really bug me though. How old are these kids doing this vacuuming?

Not to be a smart a$$ but my four year old can operate a vacuum without endangering himself.

It sounds like maybe the girls were being inconsiderate and making a mess so they're being taught a lesson that they're either tidier or they get to clean up their own mess. I'd totally be fine with that. If they are more careful it shouldn't take 10 minutes to clean up after themselves on an event.

 

[Bess]

How many girls are in this group that it takes a 10mins (times 4) to clean up. Is one kid doing all the work? Is it 10mins for 5/6/7 kids on the group to clean up? If so, holy cow they must have made a giant mess.

I've never seen any of our girls clean up chalk and what not...certainly not vacuuming. Of course, things would certainly not get to the point where chalk was so out of hand that it would have to be immediately vacuumed after a rotation.

I have however seen girls constantly moving mats and whatnot...especially during and after a rotation where they may have been using them for drills or conditioning. I chalk that up to more conditioning...use those muscles girlies. I find absolutely nothing wrong with that....

 

[GymDad9.9]

Not to be a smart a$$ but my four year old can operate a vacuum without endangering himself.

It sounds like maybe the girls were being inconsiderate and making a mess so they're being taught a lesson that they're either tidier or they get to clean up their own mess. I'd totally be fine with that. If they are more careful it shouldn't take 10 minutes to clean up after themselves on an event.

Not to be a bigger smart a$$, my four year old probably couldn't, but I sure could have used him this weekend. The house was an absolute tip!

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Like others, our gymnasts are expected to tidy up a little after events (like put away mats or other equipment). There has been times where they have been "forced" to clean up something excessive (usually food in the locker room etc) but not often.
We do have a cleaning person and the owner or other long time coaches are definitely not above stepping in and doing what needs to be done! During gym hours, the office person is the go-to person for immediate messes and maintenance (spills, accidents, tp shortage etc).

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Again back to my AT&T example, would AT&T ask you to vacuum one of their stores when you came in to buy a new phone? No - they wouldn't - they just include the task of cleaning and maintaining their retail stores as something that their employees are responsible for, and if necessary, they offset it w/ a rate hike.

Not the best example. More like a restaurant or better yet a hotel or car rental.

The services they provide include standard clean up. It doesn't give the person using the service the right to disrespect the place.

Or an even better example a "gym" . Any gym I have ever been a member of there is an expectation you wipe down the equipment you use.

The coaches aren't asking the kids to clean the waiting area or bathrooms. They are being asked to pick up after themselves.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Not to be a smart a$$ but my four year old can operate a vacuum without endangering himself.

Reminds me of when my daughter was 2. A couple of her friends and our mommy and me class had "toy" vacuum cleaners. I was like the heck with that. I gave her the dust buster, a duster and shortened the swiffer handle to her height and let her have at it. Really a toy vacuum................ how silly. Her and I would clean together.

 

[wordsmith]

Again back to my AT&T example, would AT&T ask you to vacuum one of their stores when you came in to buy a new phone? No - they wouldn't - they just include the task of cleaning and maintaining their retail stores as something that their employees are responsible for, and if necessary, they offset it w/ a rate hike. Moving around and putting away mats and cleaning up a major spill/mess is okay (if I spilled my coffee all over the floor in a retail store, yes - I'd run to the bathroom for towells to clean it up) - but really, employees of the gym, not costumers, should be doing the tasks the OP described.

Is a gym club a business? Yes. However, the relationship between client and business where gymnastics clubs are concerned is a lot different than that of AT&T and its clients. I don't think the analogy fits.

The communication issue aside, here's how I see it when it comes to having the kids clean the gym as opposed to hiring janitors and parents thinking it's not their shared responsibility- that they pay tuition and that covers gym maintenance:

Polish the floor and you polish your soul.- Zen saying​

Having the kids clean the gym- whether it's once a year, once a month, daily, or each rotation, is more about character-building; not about the gym taking advantage of you and your kid(s) and making them do work that employees or hired cleaning crews should do. It's about taking ownership for what amounts to your second home; and taking responsibility for the actions of yourself and your teammates- making a mess; being inconsiderate and wasteful with the chalk.

I realize we're in America and not in Japan; and culture is different. However, when you read a story like this, does it reflect positively or negatively upon character and culture?

One of our former gymnasts moved to Japan. At her gym there, every single day, the kids are required to spend an hour before practice even begins to clean the gym. It teaches a lot of those intangibles that don't get measured and reflected in meet results yet are invaluable investments in time and money paid to the gym: Learning respect, ownership, personal responsibility.

Here's part of a blogpost I had written up a few years ago:

While out for my morning run to the park this cloudy morning, I was doing sit-ups at a station and watched a woman randomly picking up trash as she was walking. As she passed by me, I told her she was awesome and thanked her for the act and the inspiration. I was done running, and walked to the next station for push-ups, picking up some litter along the way. Not much of a trouble, either, considering there are trash cans conveniently placed throughout the park.

During summer and winter camp in previous years, other coaches and myself would on occasion, give a speech to the girls after noticing how not everyone was pulling her own weight in cleaning up after lunch. Some girls would be pretending to clean; or making a concerted effort to not put in much effort. Other gymnasts would occupy cleanup time with mostly socializing.

And then there were the few teammates who were actually engaged in quality work on cleaning.

Is this fair to the teammates who are shouldering most of the workload? Does the job get done more efficiently when more people help or when less people help?

Is it ever fair when a person has to clean up after herself, and the mess left behind by others? Who benefits? The person working hard, disciplining herself to do the right thing? The person being lazy and inconsiderate of others, not pulling her own weight?

When I phrase it in those terms, the answer is quite obvious.

The girls have been talked to as well, regarding the state of the gym, in general. At the end of the day, used athletic tape is discarded in a twisted mangle; paper wrappings to chalk blocks litter the floor by bars.

The gym is like a second home. How do you treat your home?

If you see trash lying around, do you pick it up? Or wait in hopes that the responsible party will return to do it, himself? Or trust that someone else will do it? Just not you?

When it's time to move mats, either to set up drill stations or clear some space; or to move mats to make it easier for the evening clean-up crew to do their job of cleaning up after us, I notice who is helping and who is not helping. Your coaches might not always say something. But they notice.

Have some character and integrity: Do the right thing. Clean up after yourself and others. Don't wait around for a coach to tell you; don't expect to be recognized or praised, either. Do it because it's the right thing to do- and do it especially when you think no one is looking.
Take ownership of the gym. It reflects who we are. Respect it. Think of others. Don't expect the cleaning crew to do as good of a job as you can do. (And please take the time to thank them when you see them).

When you're at an away meet, how do you behave? Treat the host gym with more respect than you are willing to treat your own gym. How you act and behave is a reflection of the kind of athletes that are groomed at your gym- athletes who know how to conduct themselves on and off the competition floor. You represent yourself; but you also represent your family, your gym, your state, your country....the human race.

I once did an off-site for the gym. The rec director Laura was in charge. When it was time to pack it in after several hours of promoting gymnastics and making sure no children died on our obstacle course, Lara said something that made me proud of her and the gym: "Clean up any trash you see. We represent the gym and our standard is to leave the premises cleaner than we found it."

When you are cleaning up, and doing so with enthusiasm and pride in doing it well, you are doing so much more than just cleaning up physical trash....

If everyone would clean up after their own mess, and the mess of others here and there, it would be a much cleaner world.
[/soapbox]

“There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” ​

~ Aldous Huxley (paraphrased)
​

Yes, you're paying good money for your athlete to be taught good gymnastics. Not to be janitors. However, consider for a moment that you just may be getting your money's worth and then some. Is the gym a second home that is cultivating and nurturing character into your athlete? Or merely a business to throw money at?

 

[bogwoppit]

Well different gyms have different requirements. My kids attended one where it was required that they help put up and take down the gym twice a week. Beams, bars, tramp, vault, tumbling strip and floor. Lots of work. I helped for years doing that, best conditioning program ever.

 

[wordsmith]

At her gym there, every single day, the kids are required to spend an hour before practice even begins to clean the gym.

Just a clarification: It's half an hour (sometimes longer, at the end of the month or before a long break) after gym. I got this information from the dad. The earlier quote came from one of our kids (prone to exaggeration. )