CLUB POLICY

General Information

Our club is a non-profit society that is run by our membership.

This means that:

  • All revenues stay in the club.

  • The direction and motivation of the club come directly from the members.

  • The responsibility for raising funds to run the society rests with the membership.

  • The members are required to assist with many events, programs, and tasks.

As a society we rely heavily upon the volunteer efforts of our membership. It is one of the three major aspects of the society that allow us to keep our fees reasonable and at the same time ensuring excellence in coaching and maintaining good quality equipment. Our fee schedule is unique in that as your child’s skills increase and the need for more qualified and therefore more costly coaching arises, the hourly fee actually declines. In a real sense, the revenues generated from fundraising and gaming are subsidizing your fees.

If we lose our fundraising revenue, we would be forced to increase our fees.

The other two major aspects are tightly related. These are the gaming and fundraising revenues. We are very fortunate to have our gaming license, which currently accounts for approximately 10% of our total revenues. If we did not have these revenues we would be forced to raise our fees by 10%. There are many other worthy causes that are vying for the same gaming dollars.

In order to keep our gaming license we must follow stringent guidelines set by the Gaming Commission. One of the requirements is that our membership must show that we are actively pursuing other sources of fundraising. This is why it is so important that we have other fundraisers even though they do not show the same return as the gaming revenue. A Representative from the gym will liaise with the Gaming Branch to ensure guidelines are being met.

Keep these points in mind as you read the following policies. If you have any questions regarding the policies of the club you can ask one of the administration staff, one of the head coaches or another parent who has been around for a while.

The Board of Directors holds monthly meetings to discuss current business and refine policies. The meetings are structured but informal. If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to contact the President or Club Administrator and request to be put on the agenda.

Each year we have an Annual General Meeting to pat each other on the back and encourage members to volunteer to serve on the board. The meetings are normally short and are held at the gym. At least one representative from each family is expected to attend.

As a member, you must agree to adhere to all of our policies.  To review all of them, please go to our website.  We have included a few that you must agree to prior to registering your child for any of our programs.

Sick/Illness Policy

If your child is noticeably ill or displays symptoms of any contagious illness, keep them home from gymnastics until they are well. 

We do our best to keep our facility clean and free from germs, but please make sure to keep other people in mind when deciding if your child can attend class each week. 

Athletes must be fever-free, without the use of fever reducing medications for a minimum of 24 hours prior to entering the gym. Athletes must be free from all symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea without the use of anti-nauseants and/or anti-diarrheals for a minimum of 24 hours prior to entering the gym.

Communication Policy

Policy allows for the parents to observe training at any time from the front entrance viewing area only. Parents are asked not to be on the training floor, except at the request of the coach. Parents should not communicate with the coaches or gymnasts in any way while classes are running OR during competitions. Giving directions, instructions, and even hand signals during training/meets is very disruptive. A loss of concentration at a critical time could result in injury. ​

Coaches welcome discussing your gymnast’s progress, specific concerns or possible problems. We require pre-arranging a meeting by sending the Club an email to set up a time. When dealing with specific athlete concerns the procedure is as follows: ​

If you have a concern or a problem, please follow the procedures listed below: 

Follow the 24- hour rule

1. Talk to the Coach…If not resolved in 24 hours proceed to step 2

2. Talk to the Head Coach…If not resolved in 24 hours proceed to step 3

3. Talk to and email the Administrator…If not resolved in 24 hours proceed to step 4

4. Provide a detailed letter to the KHGC Board of Directors. 

This procedure must be followed if the problem is to be resolved in a timely and fair manner.

Fees & Registration Policy

  • Kicking Horse Gymnastics Club requires payment for fees in advance, via Uplifter, by card/etransfer upon registering your athlete. For recreational programs, the entire fee is due upon registration.  For competitive programs, a deposit is due at the time of registration and the option to make monthly payments is available.

  • GymBC Insurance & Admin Fees (Annual) are due at the time of registration. These fees are paid once between September 1st and August 31st and are not refundable.

  • GymBC Insurance is collected by GymBC, as a Club affiliated to our Governing Body this Membership is a mandatory requirement of Kicking Horse Gymnastics Club, any queries regarding Refunds should be made directly to the organisation: info@gymbc.org

  • Refunds will only be given to athletes if they have an injury that prevents them from participating (doctor’s note may be requested), or if there is a waiting list and their space can be filled immediately. Refunds for program withdrawal are at the discretion of management.  Once an athlete has been withdrawn from a program, their space will not be guaranteed upon return.

  • Non-Payment of Fees: Should payment not be received we reserve the right to remove your child from the Register.

  • All enquires or queries regarding Fee’s should be directed to the Club Administrator (khgym@gmail.com) in the first instance.

  • For any classes that are cancelled due to employee illness/injury or other circumstances beyond our control (ie. Power outage, building maintenance emergency, etc) there will not be a make up class and the coaches will notify parents as soon as possible via email. If a class needs to be rescheduled due to training or competition, a make up class will be scheduled and parents will be notified well in advance.

  • The gym will not be open on any statutory holidays.

  • Prospective participants may join a waiting list in the event the activity they are interested in is full. When space in an activity becomes available, you will be contacted by email. Families are contacted in the order in which they were added to the wait list. You will have two hours to register then the next family on the list will also be advised of the open space.  This will continue until everyone on the list has been contacted and then the space will become publicly available.

  • Late registrations will be at the approval of the Head Coach and will not be pro-rated.

  • Additional fees (such as insurance, fundraising, volunteer, etc) may be added to registration fees upon checking out.

Volunteer Policy

Kicking Horse Gymnastics Club welcomes any volunteers who wish to assist in our classes and will support them in the same way as a paid member of staff.  As such, KHGC volunteers can expect to:

  • Receive accurate information on the club rules and policies that apply to volunteers

  • Receive a clearly written and comprehensive task description

  • Receive training and mentoring appropriate to their role

  • Receive re-imbursement for any agreed out of pocket expenses

  • Receive recognition and thanks

  • Work in a safe environment

  • Be covered by GymBC insurance

  • Be consulted on any matters that affect them in their role

  • Work in an environment free from any form of discrimination or bullying

  • Be a valued part of the organisation

Kicking Horse Gymnastics expects volunteers to:

  • Observe the relevant Code of Conduct and Kicking Horse Gymnastics policies

  • Carry out their role to the best of their abilities

  • Be reliable

  • Attend training or meetings appropriate to the role

  • Inform the club if they wish to change the nature of level of commitment

  • Maintain confidentiality

CRIMINAL RECORD CHECKS

Any person who volunteers or works in the gym will be required to attain a valid Police Record Check.  A Police Record Check/Vulnerable Sector Check/Enhanced Record Check will be valid for a period of 3 years from date of issue, unless information is presented which shows that there are reasonable grounds for another police record check to be required.

OUR CLUB MAY:

  • Refuse to hire a staff person or appoint a manager, chaperone, coach, or volunteer who does not consent/agree to screening, and/or who does not cooperate in providing further information pertaining to the nature and circumstances of a criminal conviction.

  • Refuse to hire a staff person or appoint a manager, chaperone, coach or volunteer who has a conviction for, or has been found guilty of a relevant offense.

  • Suspend without compensation, dismiss or reassign the duties and responsibilities of any staff person, manager, chaperone, coach or volunteer as a result of a pending investigation or a criminal conviction for a relevant offense.

  • Suspend without compensation, or dismiss a staff person, manager, chaperone, coach or volunteer who does not cooperate in providing further information pertaining to the nature and circumstances of a criminal conviction.

To dismiss any staff person, manager, chaperone, coach or volunteer who has or receives a conviction for, or is found guilty of, a relevant offense.

Our club shall keep the results of criminal record checks confidential unless such disclosure:

  • is required by law

  • is necessary for a disciplinary proceeding or prosecution of a claim against the individual

  • is required as per our club’s membership eligibility requirements with GymBC or Gymnastics Canada

  • is in the best interest of the public or our club, GymBC and/or Gymnastics Canada

  • is in response to a reference check by other sports clubs, sports organizations or any other person whose membership or association may be affected by the person's criminal record.

All criminal record checks that do not indicate a criminal code conviction for a relevant offence shall be kept confidential.

Through out the history of the KHGC, the dedicated volunteer services of athletes, families and friends has remained an integral part of the club’s ability to flourish within our community. The KHGC, being a non-profit organization, depends heavily on the regular volunteer commitment from a large variety of individuals associated with our club, this enables us to provide both recreational and competitive programing to our youth and adults alike.

Acknowledging that time may be considered our most valuable resource and with consideration to the ever-increasing cost of club operations, our club volunteer policy strives to capture the reality of necessary service hours and provide a token acknowledgement for hours given back to the club. Logging hours enables the club to track a portion of the volunteer service hours, which in turn, improves our ability to qualify for grants and better our understanding of the needs of our club for administrative and financial planning purposes.

Recognizing that club members come from varied backgrounds with varied skills and resources available, volunteer credit hours can be acquired through flexible means overseen by the Board of Directors. Volunteer credit hours may be earned, as set out by the Board, through fundraising initiatives, grant applications, administration services, gym cleaning, snow clearing, professional photography, general maintenance, gym supervision, various committees, special events etc. In general, volunteer opportunities will be advertised to the club membership from the Board of Directors via the AGM, email or social media. If a member of your family or close friend has a special skill or resource to offer, please reach out to any board member to let us know about the opportunity as volunteer credits will need to be pre-approved by the Board of Directors.

Volunteer credit hours will be tracked by a designate on the Board of Directors and reconciled twice throughout the calendar year, in December and June. Volunteer credits will be earned at a value of $5.00 per hour, applied directly to your families account, against your registration fees. No cash value will be earned as income through this policy, any unused portion of volunteer credit hours will remain with the club and be considered donated time if the credit remains un-used for 1 year. Volunteer credits may be utilized against registration fees only and not towards any other goods or services such as insurance, competition suits, water bottles, photography, etc.

Senior athletes may be eligible to earn their own volunteer credit hours at the discretion of the Board of Directors this will be dependent on the maturity of the athlete and services provided. Please note, that if your volunteer services involve being in direct contact with our athletes, a valid criminal record and vulnerable sector check will need to be on file with the club. If this isn’t an option for you or a family member, there are ways to volunteer and support the club without direct athlete contact, please feel free to contact any board member to chat about opportunities to show your support!

In addition, it is important to know, it is our goal to offer optional and separate fundraising opportunities for our competitive program athletes to help minimize the financial burden of competition costs. These fundraising opportunities will be offered at variable times throughout the year and will be strictly dependent on volunteer response and effort from competitive athlete families.