Gymnastics Sort-Of Reopening Next Week

[JumpyTheFrog]

I got an email from my boys' gym. They are scheduling some two hours sessions for next week. Here are the details.

• Kids will have some sort of health assessment before drop-off
• Parents must socially distance.
• Equipment will be cleaned between rotations.
• There will be 8 kids in the gym with two coaches.
• Zoom lessons will continue during this time as they wait for state guidelines about officially reopening.

 

What does everyone think? Would you even consider sending your kids back? I wonder if they are using it as a dry-run to see how they could resume practice since I can't imagine they'll be able to reopen and fill the place with rec kids like they used to.

My metro area has about 3,000 cases. In my county cases are increasing about 2% per day. We pulled our kids from practice two months ago, which wound up being only a few days before they had to shut down anyway. Since then I've been to outdoor farm stands three times, to the dentist for an emergency once, to get my cars inspected, and to grocery pickup. The only store I've been in is the homeschool store once. It feels weird to be staying home so much, avoiding people, and wearing masks, yet I find myself tempted to let them try to see how it goes. At the same time, after asking advice here a few days ago, we decided dental cleanings don't seem worth the risk at this time.

 

 

[Selkie]

I wouldn't do it. I've read that indoor sports are a danger at this time, because people are breathing hard and spewing droplets in an enclosed space.

[JumpyTheFrog]

I know we should wait. It's just frustrating because their Zoom lessons have been so lame.

I know it will be quite a while before I begin playing indoor soccer again. Outdoor soccer would be better than indoor, but contact sports are definitely out for the foreseeable future. I don't know when it will be safe to send them back, but I suspect they'll get to restart gymnastics before I get to play again.

[TheReader]

I'd wait, but that's just me. 

Our son's fencing club is opening next week -- they are, at this time, ONLY opening to private lessons, and there will be one student & two coaches in the club at a time. Parents/families must wait outside (they will escort door to door for under 10 & anyone who asks). They are also disinfecting all masks/gloves/equipment between users (and actually our son has his own mask & glove he would use). 

We would go back under those circumstances, but the conversion from group lessons to private switches a 1.5 hr class to a 20 minute private lesson (which is accurate and fair, but not worth the drive). They have let us keep using his borrowed gear, so we're going to keep doing that at home until a later date. 

[barnwife]

I would wait, due to reasons mentioned by a pp. Gymnastics is exercise; people are breathing hard and therefore (I'd think, anyway) spewing droplets everywhere. So, even with masks (which I wouldn't think they'd be wearing), it'd be a no for us.

[mathnerd]

I have been getting polls from sports summer camps my son has attended in the past to check for interest. Along with the things mentioned by you, they also said that one of the conditions to opening would be that most of the time would be spent outdoors and kids restricted to their own groups and their own coaches. Even under such circumstances, there has been very little interest and they are going to reevaluate in July. 

Exercising indoors is risky at this time. I actually told my child's martial arts studio that we would like them to keep the video lessons going even if they decide to open the Dojang because my son does not want to go to the studio.

[Laura Corin]

My employer's gym is offering free membership to staff once it reopens (no date set).  My response is, 'No way', due to the amount of panting and coughing that goes on in there.  I'm really surprised that they would want to take on the liability, to be honest.

[Guest]

Cheer is reopening under similar rules. Even if DD were dying to go back, I wouldn't want to risk it. I don't see how it can be safe to stunt until there's a vaccine. 

[katilac]

Gymnastics would be close to the bottom of my list for things to return to, lol. You have the hard breathing involved in sports, with the added fun of rolling and tumbling on mats while sweating. No, thank you! 

Gymnastics on a cruise ship, that would be lower on my list 😄

[mom2scouts]

Our gym is planning to reopen in early June with a long list of safety requirements. DD will have been out of the gym for three months by then. She doesn't know how it's going to go with all these requirements as well as the problem of getting back into shape, getting back her old skills, learning new skills at a higher level, and distancing at meets. She's decided she's going to retire from gymnastics. I'm not sure if I'm sad or relieved.

[easypeasy]

Can't even pretend to tell you I know what you should do... but we are in the same boat. One of ds's gyms is already open (he hasn't gone back) and the other is opening soon.

One day, their precautions sound reasonable... the next, I'm like, "Heck, no!"

So, I dunno. DS spends 6/7 days there with his coaches. While the coaches have done their very best, the Zoom stuff, of course, isn't cutting it. DS is barely maintaining... 😕 DS even travels out of state to yet another gym for specialized lessons, so that's another consideration we have to ponder.

We've continued paying gym/team membership dues for these past 2 months to help support the gym, but I'm still not enthused about ds going back. I know he'll be careful, but evenso... so many chances for contamination.

*sigh* Who knew it would all suck so bad? 😕

[JumpyTheFrog]

Next week the gym is having regular morning and afternoon camps with three groups of eight kids in each. They will have team “camps” in the evenings for three hours three times per week. These are optional, and Zoom lessons will continue as scheduled. I think they will probably be opening July 1 for regular classes and practices.

I don’t know what attendance has been like this week and last for the team camps. I do know we are all getting quarantine fatigue around here. 

[Meriwether]

Our academy is open now, but only for private lessons. And only noncontact private lessons, so basically for forms technique. Two of my people are teaching private lessons; three of them will be taking them starting next week. All staff will be masked and everything will be wiped down between classes. It isn't zero risk, but it is a risk we are comfortable with at this time in our location.