At Anima Gymnastics Club, we’re committed to providing the best possible environment for every child to thrive in their gymnastics journey. Over recent months, we’ve carefully reviewed our Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced classes and have made significant adjustments to enhance our teaching approach, assessments, and class structure. Here’s what you need to know:
Why We’ve Made These Changes
When we first introduced our Novice class, it successfully bridged the gap between Beginners and Intermediate, allowing us to better support and challenge our young gymnasts. However, we soon recognised a new challenge—our Intermediate group had an extremely varied range of abilities. This issue stemmed from two main reasons:
- Legacy placements: Some gymnasts were placed into Intermediate before the Novice level existed.
- Class overlaps: Determining which gymnasts would best fit Novice or Intermediate based on their skills became increasingly complicated.
As a result, some gymnasts moved into Advanced classes prematurely to address these discrepancies, causing a broader range of skills in Advanced classes as well. We realised this was preventing our gymnasts from receiving the targeted attention and appropriate challenges they deserve.
What Changes Have We Made?
We’ve clearly redefined the skills each class will focus on:
- Advanced skills previously taught are now refined within Intermediate.
- Intermediate skills are now foundational within our Novice level.
This restructuring does mean many gymnasts have shifted between classes. Please understand, however, that these changes are not a reflection of a gymnast’s decreased ability. Instead, it’s an enhancement of our syllabus, teaching quality, and clarity regarding expectations at each level. Each gymnast is now placed where they will receive the best opportunity for growth, skill mastery, and confidence-building.
Assessment Adjustments
We’ve also refined our assessment process. Previously, certain assessments contained skills that, while important, didn’t accurately reflect a gymnast’s readiness to move to the next class. Some gymnasts progressed prematurely, causing them to struggle with foundational skills necessary at higher levels. This often impacted confidence, progression, and occasionally even safety.
Our revised assessments now more accurately reflect each class’s skills and competencies, ensuring that each gymnast moves up only when truly ready. This not only helps maintain a positive and motivating environment but also significantly improves safety during practice.
You can see on our classes page what the requirements for each class are here.
Schedule Changes
Due to these adjustments, the overall membership in our Intermediate classes has reduced significantly. Therefore, starting from next term (April 7th), we will no longer be running Intermediate classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:00 PM to 6:25 PM and Sunday 1:30-2:55 PM also the Advanced class on Sunday 1:30-2:55 PM. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding as we prioritise optimal learning conditions and safety for our gymnasts.
The Benefits of These Changes
- Clearer skill development paths for gymnasts
- Better safety and supervision as gymnasts practice skills appropriate for their levels
- More targeted coaching, allowing each child to receive the right attention
- Improved progression and skill mastery for all our members
We believe these improvements will greatly benefit our gymnasts’ growth, confidence, and enjoyment of the sport.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out directly to us.
