Frequently Asked Questions

I’ve heard you’ve moved, where are you located now? We are now at 352 Winnipeg St. Apologies for the lack of parking currently, we are experiencing issues due to the construction happening below our building. We are working to find a solution, but in the meantime we recommend street parking. There is free street parking on Winnipeg, Nanaimo, Martin, and Wade. We have a few spots for our coaches to park at the northwest corner of the building; for weekday morning classes and drop ins those spaces are not needed so it is available for customers to use. Please park in such a way as to maximize spaces.

How do we do Pick-Up & Drop-Off? Our entrance is in the alley, on the west side of our building. We are on the second floor, through the double doors straight ahead of the stairs. Parents are welcome to stay and watch, or to drop off. Children are not allowed out on the floor before their coach invites them to start class, so it is recommended to not arrive more than 5-10 minutes early for your class. Please remind your child to use the washroom before class! Pick up your child promptly after their class; let your child and their coach know if someone other than you will be picking up. For children meeting their parents in the parking lot: their coach will watch them at the door to ensure they make it safely to their vehicle. Please remind them to tell their coach before they head out alone as it can get hectic at pick up time.

What should my child wear to gymnastics? Do they need to bring anything? The short answer is comfortable athletic wear of their choosing. Gymnastics suits, shorts, leggings, sweats, shirts of any kind, are all great choices. Jeans, dresses, and poorly fitting clothing are not. All jewelry must be removed (earring studs are ok), long hair tied back, no hats or accessories, and either bare feet or grippy socks. Please send a water bottle for your child. If your child attends a class that is 2 hours or longer, please send a reasonably healthy and low mess snack.

What is your pay policy? We will do our best to be flexible in taking payment. We offer monthly billing, but require payment for the first and last month as well as the insurance/membership fee, before your child can participate. You can choose to pay by credit or debit through our online registration system Jackrabbit, at the gym on our POS, in cash, or by e-transfer to: info@flippengym.ca

What is your refund policy? By signing up for a class, you are committing to us to finish the full session. We allow for a three week trial period, where if for any reason you are unhappy we will release you from your commitment. Your insurance fee will be reduced to our $12 trial rate. After your 3 week trial, refunds will not be issued except in cases of medical necessity (with doctors note or proof of injury) or moving ( 1 months notice). We do try to be flexible, we understand that life is unpredictable. If you need to drop out for a reason other than medical or moving, please reach out to us, we may be able to help out some. Regardless of your reason for leaving, if we can fill your space, in a full class, those fees will be refunded to you.

Because we offer a monthly payment option, you may not have paid ahead; your committed fees are still owed. We take on a great risk by not charging all our fees up front, it is very important to us that families who can’t afford to pay in full are still able to provide gymnastics classes for their children. Abuse of our payment/refund policy would mean your family would be required to pre pay for any future sessions at Flip’PEN. If this policy is too abused we will have no choice but to revoke it, which would be very unfortunate for a lot of families.

*Please Note - you must contact us promptly by email to cancel your classes. Failure to do so will result in continued charging.

Why do I need to pay the insurance and membership fee? All sports have a degree of danger involved, and gymnastics is certainly no different. In order to protect your family, as well as ourselves, participants are required to have signed waivers and insurance coverage, which we provide to you for a cost. Our insurance is an annual fee of $40, covering the period of September 1st to August 31. This means once you pay, at any point in the year, you are covered until August 31, and then you will be required to renew in order to resume activity past September. We are not a part of Gymnastics BC, so if you have current waivers and insurance through GBC, you will still need to sign and pay for ours. We also have a casual visitor member insurance. This product allows for participant coverage for our drop in programs. The cost is $12, and this can be upgraded to an annual plan should you decide to attend classes instead. *We do not charge an insurance fee on your first drop in visit. Come on by, check us out and see what you think. If you enjoyed it and are planning to come back, that’s when you’ll pay it.

I’m having a hard time affording sports for my kid(s), what are my options? In cases of financial duress, we do accept funding from providers such as Jumpstart. Please contact us if you require assistance in applying for funding. If you are planning to apply for funding, please start your application process early to have enough time to receive funding before the start of your child’s session. We will do our best to work with you in your situation as we believe all kids should have access to sport, especially gymnastics! We also accept funding from home learning providers, let us know and we can sort that out for you.

Do you offer any discounts? For children wanting to sign up for more than one class, we offer a 10% discount on additional classes. For families with more than one child participating, we offer a 10% discount on each additional sibling. (Rec only). This is for a full session only. If you cancel your classes early, the discount will no longer apply.

What if my kid is sick? Please do not bring your sick child to gymnastics. If your child is struggling with an excessively runny nose, coloured discharge, difficulty breathing, inability to stop coughing, fever, nausea, diarrhea, etc, they will stop activity and you will be called for pickup. Remember that physical activity increases any symptoms your child might have, so what might not seem bad at home can easily become worse in class. This cold and flu season has been brutal, many children have been in some state of sickness the entire winter. If a child has a slightly runny nose (clear) or a bit of a cough, don’t jump to assume their parent brought them despite being sick. It is not reasonable to lock kids up for months on end because they can’t quite shake it. Parents, please just use your best judgement.

What if the gym has to cancel one of my classes? If Flip’PEN has to cancel classes for any reason, we will remove that class from the next month’s fee. If you have prepaid, you can choose a refund or credit. Credits can be used towards the next session, camps, private lessons, birthday parties or rentals.

Do you have a discipline policy? We understand that all children are different, with their own strengths, weaknesses and attitudes, and we will do our best to be accommodating with each child’s needs. However, our gym does run on safety, respect and responsibility. Listening is expected at all times, and bullying will not be tolerated. Coaches will be actively encouraging a growth mindset; hard work, perseverance, personal responsibility, and reflection as examples. Reminders and warnings will be given as needed. In more serious cases, children may be asked to sit. If the issue is recurring, the coach, child, and parent shall have a meeting to discuss remedies which may include verbal or written apologies with action plan, code of conduct contracts, missed gym time, or a change in class. If all options have been exhausted with no change in result, expulsion from the session will become necessary. In this event, the participant will still be responsible for payment for all classes up to that point, as well as the last month’s fee held in deposit. The participant will be welcomed back to try again at the start of the next session.

I think my kid would do great in a competitive program, why do they need to be assessed? At Flip’PEN, we believe that gymnastics is for all. However, we have an obligation to keep your child safe and happy, and we can do neither of those things when they are in a program not suited to their skill level. If you are interested in one of our competitive programs, call the office to book an assessment, and your child will receive a one hour private gym time with a competitive coach. The coach will be looking at current skill level, but will equally factor in strength, flexibility and attitude as well. We will do our best to challenge your child in whichever class they are recommended to.

Here in BC we are now at Phase 4 of our restart plan. What does this mean? *taken from BC’s Return to Sport plan & Gymnastics BC

Physical distancing does not need to be maintained on or off the gym floor. Floor markings to direct traffic flow and physical distancing are no longer required but may be maintained.

There is no maximum group size (occupancy limit) for participants, coaches, volunteers, staff and officials.

Spectators are allowed, with no capacity restrictions.

Socializing before and after sport activities is now acceptable.

Contact tracing and screening requirements are no longer required. However, clubs should maintain attendance records.

Masks are not required for participants or spectators.

Hand sanitizing stations are no longer required but may be maintained.

All clubs must have consistent cleaning processes.

Interprovincial travel is allowed. International travel must follow federal restrictions and guidance.

What does this mean for my kid at Flip’PEN Gymnastics?

While physical distancing of 3 meters is no longer necessary, personal space is very important while practicing many gymnastics skills. We will not be using floor markings to direct flow or spacing. Your child will be reminded as needed about safety spacing and traffic flow as necessary in a gym setting.

We are not limited on occupancy by Covid restrictions, however we are limited by the city and our responsibility to keep your child safe. Class sizes will vary depending on the age and skill level of the children as well as coach experience. We will be returning to a schedule that accommodates multiple classes running simultaneously.

Our spectator area is limited, so if you would like to drop off and pick up, feel free to. If you would like to stay to watch, that’s good too!

Socializing is always great but we ask that you are courteous about not blocking the path through or keeping the gym from closing.

We have always maintained attendance records, nothing will change here.

Masks are not required, but you may choose to wear one. We do not recommend the wearing of masks by participants for safety reasons, but it remains your choice. As we all start to re-enter normal society, please remember that everyone has their own comfort levels and be kind; let’s give others some space to ease back in at their pace.

We will have hand sanitizer available in handy spaces all over the gym, as well as two bathroom sinks in which you can wash your hands. Hand hygiene should always be in fashion;)

High traffic hand touch points will be cleaned daily. A whole-gym clean will be done weekly, and spot cleaning as needed.

We have no intentions of travelling anywhere with your kids, so nothing changes here!

Have we missed anything? If you have questions that you haven’t found an answer for here, please email info@flippengym.ca