How to choose a gymnastics club: Location - how close is it to you - if you're more than 30 minutes away from a club, for example, that's time you could be doing homework and having more practice, or resting, eating, showering, etc... -what the gym is next to - is it next to a factory or garbage dump or car repair place, etc. that could affect the air quality around your gym - you don't want to breathe in chemicals right before going for your double back dismount - it does happen because gyms look for warehouses usually because you need to have the roof up high -surrounding area - is it safe, good location Coaches -really important to have experienced coaches who know what they're doing!! do they have good spotting technique, do they know what they're doing, is there a positive environment in the gym Equipment -do they have the latest equipment - bouncy spring floor, the new vault table, is the equipment in shape or are the bars crooked (they're supposed to be uneven, but parallel uneven!) or loose, do they have good 8-inch mats- if the mats are too empty, they are not good for landing and can hurt your back/knees, etc., do they have sting mats, small mats for learning skills like for placing them on the beam or on the bars for release moves, panel mats, do they have a PIT!!! Pits are very good for learning new skills, along with coaches's instruction/spot - Pit for all events = the best! do they have a tumble trak, trampoline, softer tumbling surface, like a tumbling strip Gym Area -is it clean, or are there bandaids and blood spots everywhere, do they wash any blood spots right away -do they heat and cool the gym when necessary, turn on the lights, or would they rather you practice in a cave and save some money -the gym management is very important, are they in this business for the business, or for the love of the sport -do they allow parents to watch - if not, red alert Talk to the gymnasts in the club and the parents, ask them what do they think. Watch some practices before you introduce yourself as visiting the club for attending - you don't want them watching what they say or what they're doing because they know someone is watching. Watch how the coaches/owners treat the gymnasts. Check what programs the club offers - do they do just recreational or also competitive JO program. The Gym Chat listings & ratings directory is a great yellow pages for gymnastics clubs! You know how they say, do your homework, it's like that. :-)

Another thing to consider is what are the club's rules, for example for workout attire, can you wear shorts or tight pants over your leotard in practice when you want, are there rules on how you have to put up your hair in workout/competition, do they tell you to put on make-up during competition...these may not seem that important to you, but it can still give you an idea of their thinking in general and how they like to run their club...more importantly: how flexible are they for each gymnast, do they treat each gymnast as an individual or make everyone conform to the team with the standards that they have set. Does the club's thinking match yours, if not do they allow you to think differently. Some clubs say you have to workout in leotards all the time, some are once a week or during beam and dance, etc., some allow shorts and those stretch pants over the leotard, some are wear whatever you want, just be safe. If the club doesn't tell you themselves about these type of rules, then maybe they don't have them or they think it's too soon to tell you because you haven't shown interest to join the gym yet. In any case, it's good to ask the gymnasts/parents themselves these questions on the club requirements, etc. , so you can digest the information and decide what you think about the atmosphere/environment of the gym. There is no I in team, but there are a lot of me's and the me's count too. Do they think about the me's? Or do they want robots and puppets. Does it match you?

This is also good advice for someone building their gymnastics club! Also: in-ground trampolines a good idea, rather than the trampoline that are built above ground - same for the pits. and, put foam under the carpet throughout the gym, so it's not like you're walking on asphalt covered with a thin layer of rug, it's safer.

Thank you for your replies they were helpful. Any other responses are welcome.