Connections O C T O B E R 2015 I M P O R T A N T D A T E S : Oct. 12 Closed for Thanksgiving Oct. 30 Kids NIght Nov 1 Session 2 Registration Nov 27 PA Day Camp Dec 4 Kids Night Dec 18 Session 1 Ends Jan 2 Session 2 begins Welcome to Session 1 at HHGC Open House on September 3 rd kicks off Halton Hills Gymnastics Centre s New Season - Showing How $137,100 OTF Grant is Making a Difference The Open House was a very special day as we celebrated the growth of HHGC. We were honoured to have the Mayor of Halton Hills, Rick Bonnette perform the ribbon cutting ceremony as gymnasts, parents, coaches and dignitaries looked on. I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Rec 2 update Parkour is 2 Growing Chocolate 3 Fundraiser Competitive 4 News Thank You 5 Dr. Meldrum Gym Reminders 6 We are very excited to be celebrating our new facility renovations, now making us an accessible centre. This would not have been possible without the efforts of a very dedicated staff and board of directors, the support of the Town of Halton Hills and the funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Funding from the grant will enable persons including those with physical disabilities to enjoy a barrier free access to the facility. It will, additionally, provide a much needed third washroom, one that is wheelchair accessible and has a change table to accommodate all members. It will also assist our coaches as they look to integrate children of all abilities and needs into our programs by providing specialized training. Notable programs such as the Men with Autism will receive additional support and consultation. And finally, it will increase the safety and awareness of the Centre by providing funding for a new illuminated street sign. I would like to thank the Ontario Trillium Foundation for their significant grant which has made these renovations possible and will benefit over a 1000 individuals annually. Parents will benefit in knowing that HHGC is a safe and caring recreational optional for their children a place where coaches are trained and supported and who run exciting high quality programs. Michelle Mortimer President
P A G E 2 RECREATIONAL UPDATE I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all of our new members to HHGC and also thank all of our returning members for their support and dedication. This is going to be a very exciting year for us as we have just renovated our facility with a brand new wheelchair accessible washroom, wheelchair accessible front door as well as a wheelchair assessable parking spot. HHGC has also had a foam block sponge pit in Gym 2 to the Bars and Vault area. If that is not exciting enough we have also fully adopted a brand new program called Smart Moves. This program is a fantastic way for our gymnasts to get the best out of gymnastics. This program will allow the gymnasts to move smoothly throughout the level system and advance to new skills faster. This program breaks down these skills one step at a time so that the gymnasts fully understands each movement they need for the skill to be performed properly. Please understand that skipping through levels will not be an option, unless they are fully able to complete what is in each level. As skipping levels with this program could result into injury, as if they are not able to do step 1 and 2 of the skill they will not be able to jump to step 3. Note that this program is not like the other program we have been using in the past so please understand that if your child is now in a level 3 or 4 for example, it does not mean that they have gone down a level. It just means that the level they are now in is equivalent to the old program. Coaches will be following lesson plans each week, to ensure that your child is going through the smart moves program properly. If you have any questions about the program or would just like to know how you child is doing, please feel free to speak with their coach they would be happy to answer your questions. If you have any other questions about our recreational classes, problems or concerns please do not hesitate to speak with me. Brittney Johnson Recreational Coordinator PARKOUR FALL 2015 The new kid on the block in 2015 Parkour/Free running is still the most popular class for boys! In Fall 2014 we tried out a session of parkour with 1 class a week know we are running 3 classes they are all full and we had to open another one. If your kids never tried out please check our youtube video or any video on the web regarding parkour and tried it out one session, we guarantee that you will LOVE IT. Your kids will do it anyway in the park, backyard or at your friends house, why not trying it in a safe way, so they learn the RIGHT way to C O N N E C T I O N S
P A G E 3 Around the Gym.. Competitive Trampoline Update With a great year behind, lots of medals and experience our Advanced Trampoline Program Athletes are working hard to upgrade their skills and routines to compete this year at a higher level. Every year the skills are getting harder and harder and the jumps are getting higher and higher. With Canada being one of the best country in the world in trampoline we are always looking for new talents who would like to join our program and take their jumps to new heights!.-coach Florin Chocolate Bar Fundraiser Thank you to all our members who are participating in our Annual Chocolate Bar Fundraiser. We especially want to thank all those who going the extra mile to make this fundraiser a success. We are still handing out Boxes of chocolates to those of you competing for the top prizes that include a TV and an IPAD Mini! We are hoping to wrap up the fundraiser by Oct.22nd so ask that everyone return their money to the office by this date!
P A G E 4 Competitive Program News New season new challenges this season. While most of our more advanced gymnasts are polishing their skills for their fist competition of the season, our junior girls are still working hard on getting their skills required to go to the next competitive level this year. Gymnastics taught me everything - life lessons, responsibility and discipline and respect. Shawn Johnson Our competitive season starts with Tour Selection in Belleville, Ont. Followed by our first qualifier at the end of November in Orangeville where out gymnasts compete in the Provincial stream trying to qualify for the Provincial Championship that is hosted in Mississauga in April. All our competitive level 3 to level 5 will compete in their first competition at the end of February in Alliston. Gymfest Meet that we are hosting on February 21 st 2016. HHGC S New Bar and Vault Our youngest ones (Rising Stars) are getting ready for participating in our Annual New Equipment Purchased with Bingo Proceeds Pit! The proceeds of our regular bingos hosted by Delta Bingo in Oakville have been used recently to make a couple of huge equipment purchases to HHGC. Specifically, brand new foam cubes were purchased for the pit in Gym 2. This pit will now allow gymnasts to learn advanced moves with confidence from the bars, tumble strip and vault strip. Also, a new tumble strip along the far wall of Gym 2 has been added. The long term goal is to extend this strip so the Competitive Power Tumbling can be added to the many great programs at HHGC. As a result, the size of the competitive sprung floor has been increased substantially (HHGC Cheerleading in the future?) Thanks to Delta Bingo for allowing HHGC to raise funds for gym equipment. This equipment is critical is making sure HHGC is the best equipped gymnastics facility in the area. Thanks also to all the gymnastic parents who work these bingos. Your time and efforts are greatly appreciated! C O N N E C T I O N S
HHGC Gets a New Defibrillator P A G E 5 HHGC has recently received a brand new Defibrillator, compliments of The Heart and Stroke Foundation National AED Program. This acquisition was months in the making as many people and organizations contributed. In addition to the Heart & Stroke Foundation they include: Jack Krmpotic, HHGC Director Risk Management Paul Lamey, Public Safety Education Coordinator, Halton Region Paramedic Services Health Department Lisa Derby, Rescue 7 Inc. Automated External Defibrillators (AED s) have saved many lives when traditional CPR techniques just were not adequate. HHGC would like to express their great thanks and appreciation for all the folks who helped make this happen. Our Defibrillator is located in the foyer between Gym 1 and Gym 2. A Special Thank you to Dr. Iain Meldrum & Tandia HHGC would like to express our appreciation for Dr. Meldrum for his continued sponsorship support for 2015/16. Dr. Meldrum is your trusted and experienced orthodontist. Dr. Meldrum and the staff care about your health and happiness and want you to have a wonderful orthodontic experience. What Makes Meldrum Orthodontics Special? Providing family-friendly care for adults, teens, and children, Dr. Meldrum believes that everybody deserves the opportunity to have a beautiful smile. We are known for our caring, generous, and hard working staff members who are busy every day creating one-of-a-kind smiles, and making dreams come true. Dr. Meldrum specializes in orthodontics, providing patients with a variety of customized treatment options. We encourage all HHGC members to contact Dr. Meldrum at 116 Guelph St., Georgetown, ON L7G 4A3, (905) 877-0145 and we thank him again for his continued support. TANDIA When the Ontario Trillium Foundation was considering our grant application, they required us to provide funds from community partners to show that we had interest for other businesses and partners in the community. We were able to put forward several businesses that provided sponsorship dollars for us that we could direct to this Accessibility project. Tandia s generous contribution went a long way in convincing OTF to approve our grant and also helped pay for the project. The facility renovations (accessible entrance and washroom) were officially celebrated at our Open House on September 3 rd. Tandia (formerly Prosperity One) in Georgetown has been the financial institution for HHGC for many years and we look forward to many more years of a great business relationship.
Calendar of Events Oct 9 PA DAY CAMP Oct 12 Thanksgiving Day Gym Closed Oct 30 Kids Night Halloween Theme Nov 1 Session 2 Registration Nov 27 PA DAY CAMP Dec 4 Kids Night Dec 18 Last day of Session 1 Jan 2 Session 2 Begins Competitive Program Meets Nov 13-15 Tour Selection Quinte Bay Nov 28-29 1st Qualifier L6 9 -Orangeville Jan 29-31 2nd Qualifier L6 9 -Milton Feb 21 HHGC Gymfest ODP Feb 27-28 1st Qualifier L3-5 / Invitational Meet Alliston Mar 4 6 3rd Qualifier l6-9 -Cambridge Mar 18-20 2nd Qualifier L3-5 / Invitational Meet Woodbridge Apr 8-10 Provincial Championships L6-9 Apr 29 May 1 3rd Qualifier L3-5 / Invitational Meet Milton Jun 10-12 Provincial Championships L3-5 HHGC COACH OF THE MONTH Congratulations Coach Erin. Erin has done an outstanding job with her Classes so far this session. Way to go Erin. Keep up the good work! GYM REMINDERS WINTER WEATHER Please remember to take off your shoes and boots and place them on the shoe racks in the front hallway. This will help to keep the facility clean but more importantly keep it safe for our gymnasts who are in bare feet. In case of inclement weather and you are unsure if classes are running please call the gym. Daytime classes will be cancelled if Halton school buses are cancelled. There will be a message on the clubs phone if you are unsure. For evening classes after 4:00 pm and weekend classes, a message will be left on the answering machine with cancellation details. Please note that there are no makeup classes for classes that are cancelled due to inclement weather. Attire Please make sure your gymnast is either in a t-shirt and shorts (no buttons or zippers) or a body suit. All jewelry must be removed before class, hair must be tied back and children will have bare feet in the gym. Body suits are available for sale during office hours. Water bottles Please send your gymnast to class with a clearly marked water bottle. We provide filtered water to refill water bottles however, in doing our part for the environment, we no longer provide paper cups. Drop Off and Pick Up Please make sure that you come into the gym for both dropping off and picking up your child for classes. Gymnasts are not allowed to wait outside for parents regardless of age. Boots and Shoes Please remember to take off your shoes and boots and place them on the boot trays in the front hallway. This will help to keep the facility clean but more importantly keep it safe for our gymnasts who are in bare feet.