Religious Conflicts with Practice

[gymnasticky]

As a more-or-less observant Jew, having gymnastics practice on Saturdays is an issue. I am currently in a more advanced recreational program, but I would like to make a competitive team because I am getting older and the program I am in does not go too far beyond my current level. I don't want to cause too much trouble in arguing for my way in not attending competitions or weekly practices that conflict with this, but also do feel that this is a valid point and that I could be happier than I am now if I was able to work harder and get more out of my experience.

Is it possible to avoid Saturdays without causing problems? What do you think?

Thank you so much!

 

[GymSurvivor]

Honestly, this is really a question that you'd have to ask your gym.
Some gyms will completely understand and find a way to make it work for you (That is, if there is a way)
Some gyms there simply isn't a way to make it work.

We had a very talented little girl who was invited to team, her Mom approached the coaches and said that they had CCD (Catholic) classes every Tuesday and Thursday from 4-7. Well Level 3 practice Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30-7:30 so it simply wouldn't work for this child to participate in team as Level 4 practices at the same time.

But being only saturdays that are an issue, your level might not even practice that day. You'd have to check about meets and ask about future levels.

So really, bottom line. Talk to your gym.

 

[gymnasticky]

Thank you very much.
I am a level 6 and we have practices (with level 5) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Level 7 doesn't have practice on Saturdays, though, so I will look into it and talk to my gym. Thank you! I really appreciate it.

 

[Natasha]

You will also want to find out about meets. You have to register and pay for meets long before you know if the competition will fall on a Saturday or Sunday (or Friday). Also, that money is generally non-refundable.

 

[MaryA]

Yes, even if your gym is accommodating (as I hope they would be), I'd say half to 2/3 of DD's meet times end up being on Saturday, and you often don't find out till 2 weeks ahead of time which day you compete. You would have to register and pay for the meets, and then wait till the schedule comes out to decide if you're going. Probably neither you, your coach, nor whoever is shelling out big bucks for meet fees and coaching fees would want that.

 

[my4buffaloes]

Could you compromise by no practices on Saturdays, but attending meets where your time slot happens to fall on a Saturday? I know as a family we avoid any regular sports activity that falls on a Sunday. But an occassional meet or baseball tournament we will compromise for.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

I don't think competitions will be the problem as there are compromises that you can make like in this article.
Jewish Gymnast, 7, Balances Religious Faith And Sports

You need to speak to your gym to see if there is flexibility in the training schedule.

 

[gymgal]

I remember reading somewhere that you can request a Saturday/Sunday time to compete due to religious reasons. Obviously, it would have to be meet that does multiple days and your coach would have to be willing to coach you on a different day. You might be placed with gymnasts of a different level and you would not be in the awards ranking/place for medals for either of the levels. But you would be judged/scored, same as usual.

There have been girls in dd's gym that practice on different days from the rest of their level due to religious reasons (Wednesdays are big church days her in the south), but the owner is big on "family/religion first, school second, gymnastics third". Not all gym owners believe this way.

The best thing to do is talk with your parents and then to your coaches.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

well, i'm unique as i am both Catholic and Jewish. so then, and remember i'm old, God gave us gymnastics. therefore, gymnastics is also a religion. and our religion too has its tenets. there should be no conflict. compromise thru choice. God smiles down on ALL gymnasts. just sayin...

 

[AGM78910]

well, i'm unique as i am both Catholic and Jewish. so then, and remember i'm old, God gave us gymnastics. therefore, gymnastics is also a religion. and our religion too has its tenets. there should be no conflict. compromise thru choice. God smiles down on ALL gymnasts. just sayin...

OMG, Dunno, I laughed until I cried! Soooo true.

 

[Azgymmiemom]

We live in a very diverse religious area, and our coaches are really good about sorting practices out with kids of different faiths. Talk to your coach. I guess we are fortunate in that our coaches are also family/faith first, education second and gym third. Also, our registrar knows which kids won't compete on Sat's, won't compete on Sun's, etc., and she makes those requests to the gyms we are registering to compete at. They know either not to register those kids if their session falls on that particular day, or to reschedule them. This way, they don't have to pay for a meet they will not be attending. You might want to check and see if you can do this sort of thing, too. Best wishes to you!!

 

[dmytv]

Honestly, you should not have a problem. We have had Jewish ( my dd), seventh days and devout christians at my daughters previous gym and have had no real issues. Just be honest and up front with what you will allow and don't back down. The meet directors will usually be very accommodating. They should let her compete in a different session( like friday day or Sunday) Just, you may have to accept that her scores may not count towards team awards or what she places may be different than if she were in the session with her team.

 

[GymBee97]

I think this is an issue and concerns you need to discuss with your parents as they really will be the ones deciding what you can do or not do based on your religion. Then with your parents and coaches see what the plan can be if anything really needs to be done or can be done.