ACROBATICS SQUAD INFORMATION Acrobatic Gymnastics Acrobatic Gymnastics is a discipline where gymnasts perform individual and acrobatic elements in a partnership or group. This form of gymnastics promotes team building, communication, friendships, trust, as well as developing strength, balance, flexibility and new acrobatic skills. Partnerships: Women's pairs - two females Men's pairs - two males Women's groups - three females Mixed pairs - one male base and one female top Men's groups - four males Acro Squad Structure PREPARATION SQUAD Saturdays 12:00-1:00pm PROGRESSION SQUAD Saturdays 12:00-2:00pm JUNIOR DEVELOPMENT SQUAD Wednesdays 4:30-6:30pm Saturdays 1:45-3:45pm SENIOR DEVELOPMENT SQUAD Wednesdays 4:30-6:30pm Saturdays 3:45-6:00pm JUNIOR SQUAD Wednesdays 5:30-7:30pm Saturdays 1:45-3:45pm SENIOR SQUAD Wednesdays 5:30-7:30pm Saturdays 3:45-6:00pm All preparation squad members must attend a GfA class in addition to their squad class and it is recommended, but not compulsory for other acro squad members.
When committing to any of the squads, please ensure the training hours of the next squad are possible. If it is not possible, you must inform Kirst ASAP. Calendars can be found for all squads at http://www.infinity-gymnastics.co.uk/gymclub/classes/acrobatic-gymnastics/squad-info/. Training changes during school holidays. Training Please try and make sure your child attends all trainings sessions and attends promptly. We understand there will be times when they can t attend, in this event, please inform me as soon as possible. Feel free to text Infinity, if, for example, they are unable to attend due to illness on the day. As Acrobatics is a team sport, it is good to keep the partners informed if they can t attend. Infinity reserve the right to ask your child to leave the squad if the appropriate commitment is not being made to the squad. If possible, please communicate with your child s partners parents to aim to holiday as similar times to reduce the number of training sessions they have to train by themselves. In the three weeks before a competition, all gymnasts MUST ATTEND every training session. If they are unable to attend, Infinity reserves the right to withdraw your child from the competition if they feel they are not prepared. No refund available in these situations. Please ensure that all gymnasts: Bring trainers and a drink to every session (must be enough drink for the session) Wear a leotard for health and safety reasons as the training will primarily be partner work Gymnasts can wear shorts but no leggings. Hair must be tied up IN A BUN, with all strands of hair out the gymnast s face No jewellery, including earrings. Aspects of Training Acrobatics Programme Kirstine & the coaching staff decide which gymnasts will work with each other. Partnerships are chosen to ensure you child is progressing to the best of their ability. Kirstine sets out specific programmes for each partnership. The Acro programmes are the majority of what the gymnasts do in training. Conditioning Conditioning is one of the most important (and sometimes least fun) aspects of gymnastics. We have to ensure the gymnasts are strong enough to ensure they are safe when performing their elements. At times it will be tough; however these programmes are set out by coaches to prevent the risk of injury and therefore are necessary. Due to limited hours in the gym, it is recommended that gymnasts do at least one home programme session per week.
Stretching The main key to gaining flexibility is dedication and consistency. No matter what method we use, if the gymnasts do not stretch regularly, they will not gain flexibility. All coaches have been trained to be able to stretch gymnasts correctly and without injury. Due to limited hours in the gym, it is recommended that gymnasts do at least one home programme session per week. Competitions Competition Acro Squads Infinity Acrobatic Gymnastics squad compete in approximately 2-3 competitions a year in the South East region depending on squad (see below). Entry fee varies from each competition. It is compulsory for all competing gymnasts to be a member of British Gymnastics at a cost of 41.00 for the year. In the two weeks before a competition, girls will be required to train with no shorts and boys must wear white socks in preparation for the competition. Progression Squad Sussex Championships & any invitational competitions Junior Development & Junior Squad Sussex, Regional Championships & any invitational competitions Senior Development & Senior Squad Sussex, Regionals, National Qualifiers & any invitational competitions Club Events & Competitions Club events are confirmed in advance and is COMPULSORY for all gymnasts to attend. Parents & Guardians It is the parents and guardians responsible to ensure all gymnasts attend training, displays and competitions on time. All appropriate information is given out regarding these events in advance. Infinity will not be sending out reminders after this. Any queries regarding the event, please contact Infinity IN ADVANCE and not the day before or morning of the event. Squad Merchandise Please see below the full list of squad merchandise: Squad Merchandise Description Cost Girls Competition Blue & Black Leotard with glitter swirls & diamantes 55.50 Boys Competition Blue & Black Leotard & Trousers with glitter swirls & diamantes 60.00 Tracksuit Blue Trousers, white, grey and blue tracksuit top 60.00-70.00 Acro Squad Hoodie Light blue hoodies with Infinity Gymnastics Acro Squad on back 17.50-25.50 Girls Training/Display Navy Blue Sleeveless Leotard. Used for displays and training 22.00-24.50 Boys Leo & shorts Plain Navy Blue Sleeveless Leotard and shorts. As above 30.00-37.00 Coaches
All Infinity Coaches are solely there to coach your child gymnastics. With any questions regarding payments, please contact payments@infinity-gymnastics.co.uk and regarding holidays, training sessions etc, please contact Kirstine via info@infinity-gymnastics.co.uk. Keeping Infinity Informed As I m sure you can understand the coaches are unable to be with all gymnasts, all of the time and therefore might be unaware of anything other than hard work occurring in the partnership or in training. Please can you ensure the gymnasts feel they can come and talk to any of the Infinity Coaches at anytime regarding training or anything else. This can be as little as them not understanding a term we use. Safety is compromised if the gymnasts do not talk to the coaches! Injuries We hope to not have many, but unfortunately injuries happen inside and outside the gym. Please keep me informed with any injuries your child may have to ensure we do not train that specific area and potentially make it worse. For most injuries, ice and elevation is the most effective way to recover from small tissue injuries and for the gymnasts not to change anything in everyday life and in the gym; like walking awkwardly or trying a move differently from normal. This is when other injuries can occur. Although all coaches have a basic understanding of injuries, we cannot diagnose what might be wrong. If the injury lasts longer than a week, please ensure they are seen by a medical professional to determine the injury, ways to assist recovery and the recovery period. Many will say rest. In most occasions, this shouldn t affect your children attendance to training as we can completely rest the injured part of the body within training and work other areas of the body to maintain strength, flexibility and rapport within the partnership as it can be very de-motivating for partners to train alone. Diet and nutrition Infinity do not want to say what your child can and cannot eat but we recommend they eat appropriately to ensure they maintain their energy levels during training and with the appropriate nutrition, it can potentially make training easier, more enjoyable and aid progression more efficiently. Please also ensure your child drinks enough fluid during the day. At competitions, please ensure the gymnasts have appropriate healthy food and drinks for the competition to ensure they maintain their energy throughout the competition. Facebook Squad Page There is a private squad page for reminders and for parents to communicate with each other. For example, selling old squad merchandise, sharing lifts etc. If you would like to join this group, please add Kirstine Infinity as a friend and you will be added. Only squad parents are members. Contact Details If you ever need to contact Kirstine please email info@infinity-gymnastics.co.uk. However, if you prefer to contact via phone, please call 07763 185554. This is the Infinity phone number (not
personal) and therefore will not be responded to unless someone is in the office. As Infinity run classes every day, please leave a message if there is no answer and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Text and email are the most effective way to contact.