Hi everyone, How do you decide if a bad gym is a good enough gym, better than nothing, or better than driving 50 minutes to a good gym? What are your thoughts on it? Thanks!

Hi, Check out the thread "How to choose a gymnastics club" at http://www.gymchat.com/messageboards/viewtopic.php?t=1034 - it gives some good things to think about when choosing a gym. It really depends on what is bad about the gym that would make you decide it is better not to go there, even if you have to drive a lot farther for a good gym - like you wouldn't want to go to a gym where the coaches are inexperienced, where the location is unsafe, where the equipment is unsafe, or where it is 50s in the winter because the gym owners refuse to turn on the heaters, etc. - some things are just unsafe. You can check out the Gym Chat club listings & ratings directory at http://gymchat.com/listings for clubs in your area; it is the most complete directory for gym clubs in the USA. There are club reviews there, post your own too, it will help others in deciding on a gym.

When it comes down to safety, a bad gym is a bad gym and not a good enough gym. Take for example the situation of a high school gymnastics program that had to close because of a lack of qualified gymnastics coaches: http://www.gymchat.com/messageboards/viewtopic.php?t=21006

It depends what you want to get from the gym. Safety is the number 1 issue. If there is more than 12 gymnasts to a coach it can become a safety issue and you can get severly injured due to lack of individual supervision. It also means a LOT of waiting in between turn which means a lack of progress and you are not getting your moneys worth from training. 10-12 gymnasts per coach is safer and fine for a recreational environment. Around 9-10 gymnasts per coach is fine for a lower level competitive gymnast but 7-8 gymnasts per coach is better for higher level competitive programs. If you want to compete and be successful you will need a gym that offers. 1. A low gymnasts - coach ratio (no more than 10 gymnasts to 1 coach) 2. Quality eqipment - ie vaulting table, full sprung floor, a few sets of bars and beams. 3. Enthusuiastic, energetic coaches who are driven. 4. Enough training hours for you to be successful (4-6 hrs for level 2-3, 8-12 hrs level 4. 10-16 hrs level 5, 12-18 hrs level 6, 14-20 hrs level 7+). 5. Competitive opportunitites. ie at least 4 or 5 comps a year.

Thanks for the help guys!