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Champion Gymnastics Booster Club 2010-2011 PARENT HANDBOOK Revision 9, September 15, 2010 Dear Parents,
Welcome to the Champion Gymnastics Booster Club! Parents become booster club members when their daughter joins the team at Champion Gymnastics.
The CGBC was created in 2000 at the suggestion of the previous gym owners, who realized the expense of competition was beyond the means of many families. Through the fundraising efforts of the CGBC, some of the expenses related to competition can be covered.
Over the past eight years the CGBC has been run as an extension of Champion Gymnastics, with parents elected as officers to coordinate the booster club activities. In the fall of 2009, after years of deliberation and with the approval of the current owners, we began the process of making the CGBC a non-profit organization and achieved non-profit status in the spring of 2010. This move allows us to pursue many fundraising opportunities previously unavailable to us. With more fundraising efforts we expect to cover a larger share of the coaches expenses for the season.
This handbook explains how the booster club works and how you can get involved. Weʼre asking each family help with fundraisers this year on a team basis so we can distribute the load evenly and benefit from the energy, skills, ideas, talents and experience of each family. We look forward to doing our part to help our gymnasts experience much success in the 2010-2011 competition season.
Welcome aboard!
Melissa Struk, President
Gretchen Clatterbuck, Vice President
Loretta Larkin, Treasurer,
Jennifer Horowitz, Secretary
CGBC ORGANIZATION OFFICERS
Each spring an election is held and officers are elected. Officers for the 2010-2011 season are:
President Melissa Struk
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Vice President Gretchen Clatterbuck
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Treasurer Loretta Larkin
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Secretary Jennifer Horowitz
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The officers meet as needed, often weekly, and are in frequent contact with one another
as well as with the gym owners and coaches.
OFFICER JOB DESCRIPTIONS
President
The CGBC President works with the officers to set yearly goals for the club and is re-
sponsible for their implementation. The President coordinates yearly election of officers,
builds and maintains working relationships with each committee, with the gym owners,
coaches, club officers, and team parents. The President plans and runs all booster club
meetings and has the authority to write checks for the booster club.
Vice President
The CGBC Vice President fills in for the President when necessary and is the Chair of
the Fundraising Committee, overseeing all fundraising activity.
Treasurer
The CGBC Treasurer is responsible for managing all financial operations of the booster
club. With information from the gym owners and coaches, and in consultation with the
other officers, the Treasurer sets a yearly budget for booster club expenses. The
Treasurer maintains accounts for each family and handles all financial transactions.
The Treasurer provides quarterly financial reports to the membership and is available to
answer any questions regarding the booster club finances.
Secretary
The CGBC Secretary is responsible for clerical tasks of the booster club including noti-
fying families of meetings, taking minutes at meetings, preparing monthly newsletters,
developing and updated the Parent Handbook, maintaining inventories of supplies,
posting notices and assisting the other officers as needed.
TEAM LIAISONS
Each team has a liaison who coordinates communication between parents and coaches. They keep families informed of up to the minute changes related to meets or practice. The team liaison may coordinate hotel or travel arrangements for their team, organizes special team events, coordinates the purchase of team gifts, and participates in meetings of the booster club officers. If you are running late to a meet or your gymnast turns up sick the morning of a meet, call your team liaison, who will communicate with the coaches. Your team liaison is the first person to go to with questions pertaining to your teamʼs competition or activities. Liaisons will also be in charge of recruiting two families per team to help plan and execute this year’s End of the Season Banquet. Liaisons will be chosen before the meet season begins and their information will be sent out to each team member.
COMMUNICATION We communicate with the membership by email, monthly newsletters, and postings on the bulletin board at the gym. Booster Club information is also available online at the Champion website www.championgymnasticsannarbor.com. If you have a booster club question or concern, bring it to your team liaison or contact any officer by phone or email. If you arenʼt sure whether a question or concern pertains to the booster club or the gym, please contact one of the booster club board members. BOOSTER CLUB MEETINGS General membership meetings are held each six weeks in the gym lobby. Meetings are mandatory for all team families and attendance will be taken at each meeting. We understand that everyone has busy schedules so we will hold on two meetings during the week to accommodate all team families. If you are not able to attend please contact a board member by email, phone or at the gym. Attendance will be taken at each meeting. A $20 “donation” to the booster club will be assessed to those accounts of families who are absent and have not contacted a board member in advance. Gymnasts whose accounts are not paid in full will not be permitted to compete. Please mark the following dates on your calendar. Meeting Dates will be as follows: Monday Sept 13th OR Friday Sept 17th Monday Oct 25th OR Friday Oct 29th Monday Dec 6th OR Friday Dec 10th Monday Jan 17th OR Friday Jan 21st Monday Feb 28th OR Friday March 4th Monday April 18th OR Friday April 22nd Last Meeting will be scheduled once our Banquet Date is set. PARENTS RESPONSIBILITIES All parents of team gymnasts are members of the CGBC. As a member you are re-
quired to: · Pay membership dues and coaches expense fees to the booster club on time. Gymnasts with delinquent accounts will not be permitted to compete until account is current. · Keep the Treasurer informed if your status changes to “non-competing”. Should you have trouble making payments please contact Loretta Larkin. · Assist with the tasks associated with hosting two fun meets per year for the Champion recreational gymnasts. · Assist with any outside meets the gym decides to host. · Attend mandatory membership meetings. · Bring concerns and complaints directly to a booster club officer or team liaison. BOOSTER CLUB EXPENSES Parents of team gymnasts are responsible for making payments to both Champion Gymnastics and to the CGBC. Although many payments are necessary in the fall, we are committed to working with the gym to spread out the expenses over many months.
To clarify:
PAYMENTS TO CHAMPION GYMNASTICS include (make checks payable to Champion Gymnastics and place in the GYM collection box):
Monthly tuition
Yearly registration fees
USA Gymnastics Membership Dues
Cost of competition leotards and warm-ups
Meet registration fees (Meet registration fees are collected by Champion and paid to the host gym to register each gymnast for competition. These fees typically range from $50 - $120. This fee also includes the cost of entering into the team competition with the hope of placing high enough to win a team trophy.) PAYMENTS TO CGBC (make checks to CGBC and place in booster club collection box) include:
CGBC annual dues (September 15th)
Coaches expense fees: first installment of $50 due Sept 15th (remainder paid in 4 monthly installments once calculated, January-April)
Annual dues for competing gymnasts are $100. Dues for Non Competing gymnasts are $30. Dues must be paid by September 15th CGBC ANNUAL DUES cover the following booster club expenses:
Coaches gifts (holiday and year-end) $20
Misc. expenses related to gymnasts $25
Banquet expense $20
Special events for gymnasts $10
Gymnast year-end gift $25
* Dues for non-competing gymnasts includes $20 for coaches gifts and $10 for special events. Families may pay the additional amounts if their daughter would like to attend the banquet or receive the end of season gift. (Refer to next page for definition of non- competing gymnasts.)
*Non-Competing Gymnasts: Coaches Expenses and Fundraising
There are two types of non-competing gymnasts:
1. Those who have made a choice not to compete prior to the beginning of the season;
2. Gymnasts who sustain a season-ending injury at some point during the competition season (a physicianʼs note may be required).
Category 1 gymnasts do not pay coaching expense fees and are not required to participate in fundraising activities (but participation is appreciated).
Category 2 gymnasts will not be required to pay coaching expense fees for the meets they donʼt attend. They will be required to participate in fundraisers.
CGBC COACHES EXPENSE FEES represent the balance of the coaches expenses not covered by fundraising and include:
Session fees (a stipend for each session coached)
Meals
Travel
Lodging
Coaches expenses vary widely from meet to meet and are difficult to predict. Factors determining the actual cost include the number of sessions at each meet, the number of coaches at each session (based on the number of girls on each team), the distance the meet is from the gym (mileage or other transportation such as train fare), and the timing of the sessions. Travel guidelines are in place to control these expenses. The CGBC Treasurer estimates the expenses at the beginning of the season based on the meet schedule. To determine each familyʼs share, expenses are calculated for the actual meets each level will attend and then divided amongst the families of competing gymnast in each respective level. Invoices will be sent to each family in early December with 4 monthly payments due on the 20th of the month beginning in January 2011. Once again, our fundraising efforts will directly affect how much our coaches fees will be for the year.
Since coaching expenses are calculated based on the entire team, families are expected to pay the total fee even if their gymnast will not attend all the scheduled meets (unless a season-ending injury occurs).
Coaches expenses will be determined and invoiced by email once the meet schedule is set.
The final payment may be adjusted based on fundraising results. Keep in mind that the more successful our fundraising efforts, the less each family will need to contribute.
SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
Each year the booster club and the coaches offer opportunities for the gymnasts and families to have some fun. Examples include the end-of-year award banquet, the Grillinʼ At The Gym picnic, and the Holiday Party. While all social activities are optional, we encourage you and your gymnast to participate whenever possible, as it provides an opportunity to bond with other gymnasts and families.
ATTENDING MEETS: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND SPORTSMANSHIP! Gymnastics meets are exciting for our gymnasts! Itʼs provides them with a chance to show off their skills, look awesome in their competition gear, and enjoy being with their teammates. Taking home medals and trophies and achieving a personal best are usually the goals for each gymnast. Attending gymnastics meets is fun and exciting for families as, well, but it can also be stressful! Gymnastic meets can be expensive for families (admission fees are typically $5 to $10 per person) and sometimes require a hotel stay. The length of the meets (typically 4 hours) can wear down even the most supportive sibling (bring lots of toys and reading material). The last-minute nature of notification that is unique to this sport (sometimes less than a weekʼs notice of the day and time) often requires families to change plans or “divide and conquer” to avoid missing out on important events. Finally, driving to gymnastics meets in the winter can mean hazardous conditions and late arrivals. Planning ahead helps minimize family stress and helps your gymnast feel less stress. Determine to bring a good attitude to each meet. Recognize judges are human beings who sometimes make mistakes. For the sake of your gymnast, donʼt let a lower-than-expected score bring you down. Keep your focus on preparing and encouraging your gymnast and make every effort to demonstrate good sportsmanship for the benefit of your gymnast, their teammates and Champion Gymnasticsʼ reputation. (Oh, and donʼt forget to turn off your camera flash so you wonʼt blind a gymnast!) Please refer to your Champion Gymnastics handbook for a list of items needed for meets. GYM “Speak” A parentʼs guide to understanding gymnastics
Womenʼs gymnastics rules are established by the USA Gymnastics organization. The USAG consists of Regions, and Michigan belongs to Region 5. Each region and each state set additional guidelines for itʼs clubs. Since rule changes can occur at any time and at any level, this guide is intended to be very general in nature.
Pre-Team: These gymnasts train twice a week to gain and refine the skills necessary to eventually compete at USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic Womenʼs Artistic sanctioned events. Pre-team gymnasts compete compulsory routines (Level 1 –3) created by USA Gymnastics and revised every 8 years. They compete at fun meets, where they earn different colored ribbons based on a judgesʼ interpretation of how well
they performed each event. (The quality of judging can vary from meet to meet, as fun meets do not require “sanctioned” judges.) All pre-team gymnasts are invited to attend the state meet at the yearʼs end.
Coaches use this program as an introduction to competition and to see if the gymnast likes competition.
Prep-Optional: This program is for gymnasts who want to continue with gymnastics competition but do not have time or desire to commit to the Junior Olympic Teams. The minimum age to compete in this
program is 10 years old. Prep-Optional is comprised of four divisions. The Bronze division is equivalent to J.O. Level 4; Silver to J.O. Level 5/6; Gold to J.O. Level 6/7; and Platinum J.O. Level 7 and up. Prep-
Opt gymnasts are scored on individually choreographed routines in USAG sanctioned events judged by sanctioned judges, and receive, medals and team trophies. They do not need to compete in all four
events and can qualify for states by attending only one meet.
J.O. Compulsory Teams (Levels 4, 5 and 6): Compulsory gymnasts compete in the USAG Junior Olympic Womenʼs Artistic program. Each gymnast performs the same routine on each of the four apparatus and receives a score based on their performance (perfect is 10.0 for each event). They attend two types of competition: state qualifiers (“SQMs”) and invitationals. At SQMs, gymnasts are given a ribbon based on their all-around score (total of all four events). At invitational meets, individual gymnasts are awarded medals, competing by age group. Approximately 40% of the field will receive an award. Invitationals also award Team Trophies to the top teams. Team scores are usually calculated by adding the top three individual scores in each of the 4 events. Compulsory gymnasts are required to compete in at least two SQMs and achieve a certain score to be invited to compete at the state meet. Because of the large number of gymnasts competing, state competition is often divided into divisions so the competition is against gymnasts of like ability.
J.O. Optional Teams (Levels 7-10): Optional team gymnasts perform individually choreographed routines designed to complement each gymnastʼs strengths and style while incorporating required skills. Required skills increase in difficulty with each level. Routine start values depend upon the skills attempted. Bonus points can be earned. Gymnasts at this level perform amazing skills with names that are difficult to pronounce. A “series” is a required combination of skills on beam or floor that must be connected to earn credit. Optional gymnasts qualify for the state meet with a score of 34 or better at any meet. Level 8-10 gymnasts can earn a trip to REGIONALS with a score of 34 or better at the state meet and if they score high enough on individual events, may represent the State of Michigan in the team competition. Level 9 and 10 gymnasts may compete at NATIONALS with a good enough performance at Regionals. Optional meets are fun to watch!
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Handbook
