Perth Gymnastics Club is a registered Scottish Charity. We hope that our gymnasts and their families will have a long and happy association with us. We recognise that the vast majority of our members and parents act in a manner consistent with our core covenants of mutual respect and high standards of behaviour, share our values of sportsmanship and appreciate our culture – one that has produced happy, respectful and successful individuals over many years.

We are delighted that many of our former gymnasts are still involved with us coaching, judging and volunteering, repaying the club and the sport at a local and national level – all sharing their passion for gymnastics with future generations of gymnasts.

We always encourage exemplary behaviour within Perth Gymnastics Club. Conduct which does not meet our expectations or which falls beneath standards consistent with our core values may result in disciplinary action. Parents and gymnasts should therefore familiarise themselves with the information contained below to ensure everyone’s involvement with us is a successful and happy one.

Conduct During Training Sessions

Gymnastics is a sport that requires a high degree of personal discipline. The gym is a highly stimulating environment but also one where accidents may happen if people are careless and do not follow instructions. As a result, we expect all our gymnasts to listen carefully to the instructions given to them by the coaching staff.

In the first instance, gymnasts are given a warning by their coach. A further infraction of the rules will result in the gymnast sitting out for ten minutes. Normally, parents are informed if their child has been asked to sit out during a session. Should a gymnast have to be spoken to a third time by one of the coaching staff during the session, then a parent is called to collect the child from the gym. Repeated bad behaviour may result in suspension from training and possible termination of membership.

Please ensure your child is aware that he or she must follow the instructions given to him or her by the coaches and ensure that your child understands that there will be consequences for bad behaviour during a training session.

What we Expect of Gymnasts

Gymnasts should:

• turn up punctually at the start of each class and be dressed appropriately for gymnastics. Hair tied back, properly attired and no jewellery.

Absolutely no form of jewellery, earrings or adornment is permitted.

• show respect for their coaches, fellow gymnasts and club officials at all times.
• refrain from entering the gym until a coach is present.
• inform their coach if they are likely to be late to or absent from training.
• attend the requisite number of training sessions in order to meet their training objectives and to maintain their place in their group or squad. Unexplained absences of three weeks or more may result in your child losing their place or returning to the waiting list.
• understand that success in the sport of gymnastics is directly dependent on their own effort.
• appreciate that flexibility is the key to gymnastics and that good physical preparation and conditioning is vital in order to progress within the sport.
• inform their coach if they are unwell or injured at the start of their training session
• treat both the gym and the equipment with respect.
• adhere to all instructions given to them by their coach.
• refrain from running in the gym.
• keep their hands to themselves unless instructed by a coach to assist in spotting one of their colleagues.
• attend training with a positive attitude.
• always do their best.
• be aware that gymnastics is a high risk sport and take responsibility for their own safety and act responsibly within the gym environment.
• show good sportsmanship at all times.
• appreciate that the gym is a learning environment.
• be prepared for training and attend with all necessary kit.
• maintain a high standard of self-discipline and be a good role model for other gymnasts to follow.
• represent the organisation and the sport of gymnastics in a positive manner.
• appreciate the efforts of their coaches, their parents, and their teammates in supporting their participation in gymnastics.
• appreciate that their membership is a privilege, not an entitlement, and may be revoked in the event of misconduct.
• refrain from openly criticising their teammates, coaches or the club.
• refrain from bringing themselves, their coaches, Perth Gymnastics or the sport of Gymnastics into disrepute.

What We Expect of Parents

Parents should:

• complete a gymnast on-line registration form when their child joins the club and ensure that all details pertinent to their child are updated as and when required.
• ensure their child’s annual joining fee is paid on enrolment and renewed annually. This is normally due in September each year.
• ensure that all membership fees, affiliations and competition fees are paid timeously or discuss any problems confidentially by way of the club administrator or the Head of Operations.
• be aware that a £5.00 administration charge will be due should we have to chase late fees or payments.
• Annual Membership Agreement: annual membership fees are collected over 12 monthly payments, due on the 1st of each month paid by direct debit. By accepting our monthly fee agreement, which benefits parents by spreading the cost of annual membership fees, parents are required to provide one month’s notice when their child leaves. Payments are still due over holiday periods to maintain your child’s membership. A final invoice to settle your account will be sent out once we receive your months’ notice if any outstanding membership or competition fees remain due.
• Fees are the responsibility of parents, once final payments have been made, parents are required to cancel their standing orders. A maximum of 1 additional month membership fees will be refunded in the event that standing orders are not cancelled on time. Amounts paid beyond this 1 month period will be considered to be a donation.
• be aware that as a community of members, all members are expected to contribute towards the running costs of the charity and that it is the membership fees alone that support the organisation’s activities and maintain our equipment and facilities.
• ensure that their child arrives punctually in time for the start of each training session.
• ensure their child is appropriately dressed for gymnastics and has the required training kit, water bottle etc. for each session.
• take their child into the gym to ensure their child’s coach is present and subsequently collect him or her from the gym to ensure they have been safely returned to a responsible adult at the end of each training session.
• ensure their child understands that he or she must follow the instructions of the coaching staff at all times.
• inform the coaches of any condition their child may have that may affect his or her participation in the sport of gymnastics.
• understand that the preferred and most efficient method of communication is by email, then by Facebook and via the website and undertake to check regularly for communications.
• encourage their children to value their own performance and not just their result. Winning is not within their control, their own effort is!
• refrain from comparing their child’s abilities, performance and success in the sport with others.
• understand that the single biggest factor for success in sport is their child’s own personal effort.
• accept that individuals progress at different rates and that development in gymnastics is not linear.
• appreciate and respect the efforts of the coaches and organisation officials in the development of their children and understand that success in gymnastics takes many, many years of hard work and dedication on the part of both gymnast and coach alike.
• appreciate that without the interest, attention and goodwill of a coach, that progression in gymnastics is simply not possible. There are no gymnasts without coaches.
• maintain a good working relationship with their child’s coach, and the coaching staff in general, without which we cannot coach your child.
• accept that the coaching staff are entitled to be treated with respect and dignity in their workplace and that abuse of the coaching staff will not be tolerated.
• be realistic in relation to their child’s attainment in gymnastics. Success in gymnastics requires a high volume of training. High performance gymnasts are the result of training programmes that span many years and require a great deal of personal effort.
• avoid trying to coach their children and leave the coaching to the coaching staff, who are best placed and qualified to do so.
• let their child enjoy their participation at whatever level and avoid setting their own goals on their children at the expense of their child’s enjoyment of the sport.
• recognise their child’s effort, improvement and successes in every form and encourage him or her to understand that although trying to win is important, that it is not the be all and end all when competing. Competitions are just as much about learning, improving, and doing one’s best as they are about winning.
• understand that all matters concerning selection and deselection are within the purview of the coaching staff.
• support the efforts of the coaches and committee members and assist where possible by lending your help and expertise to further the objects of the charity.
• share in the safety and welfare of all members and report any concerns they may have to a coach, the Head of Operations or to our Club’s Safeguarding Officers, Sarah Nixon and Sue Menmuir.
• accept that membership of the club is a privilege and not a right and that misconduct on the part of a child or a parent may result in their child’s membership being revoked.
• refrain from public criticism of the club and its coaches and avoid bringing the organisation into disrepute or in any way acting against its interests. Doing so may forfeit your child’s membership and family’s association with the club.
• appreciate and accept that children first and foremost engage in gymnastics for fun, enjoyment, camaraderie and all the other benefits associated with sport. Taking part in gymnastics in a club environment will provide your child with many other benefits and life skills other than just being good at gymnastics.

No Code of Conduct can cover every eventuality and the Coaching Team will endeavour to ensure that our policies, terms and condition serve the organisation and its members practically and effectively and that they are available and communicated to gymnasts and parents alike. That said, ignorance of our policies and this Code of Conduct will provide no refuge or defence in the event of misconduct.

Should parents have any issues, then these should be directed in the first instance to their child’s coach. If the matter cannot be resolved, then the Head of Operations may intervene to resolve matters. Complaints will only be accepted in writing or by email and should be addressed to the Head of Operations. Complaints received will be acknowledged in writing.

Instances of bad behaviour will be dealt with by the coaching staff. Matters of misconduct and gross misconduct will be resolved by the Head of Operations and senior staff as appropriate. Appeals against any sanction or termination of membership may be made to the Head of Operations in writing or by email, whose decision on the matter will be final.

Leaving

At some point your child may decide he or she no longer wishes to continue gymnastics. It is our wish that all our gymnasts and their parents leave on good terms. All gymnasts training ultimately comes to an end for a variety of reasons and we hope that gymnasts may continue with us in a either a coaching or judging capacity, putting something back into the club and the sport and thereby maintaining their interest in gymnastics. Nevertheless, we wish everyone well for the future when their time with us comes to an end.

Leaving on good terms means settling your child’s fees and the gymnasts acknowledging their coaches personally for the time spent developing them during their involvement with the organisation, demonstrating the mutual respect, good manners and sportsmanship we endeavour to instil in all our members.