Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do the prices of Team compare with other gyms??
A: AGI's Team trains more hours a week than most gyms and because of the greater hours, the price per month is comparable, yet you pay less per hour.
Q: What is the difference between AGI's Team and other gyms??
A: AGI's phylosophy is based on perfection. Doing the best you can all the time and never practicing a mistake is the benchmark of our program. Conditioning with perfect form, stretching with perfect form, performing every skill as if you are competing, and taking your training home as well (eating right, getting enough sleep, not doing other sports that might cause overuse injuries, etc.). Every athlete on AGI's Team is a star, and performs like one. Each athlete is expected to be on-time, attend every practice and work hard. Because of these requirements, each athlete learns the basic principles of life, if you want to excel in life, you have to work hard, be on-time and do the best you can (even when you don't want to). We always have had a smaller team because of the commitment and dedication that is required to be on team. We would rather have a small group of athletes that want to work hard and achieve their goals than to have a large team with only a handful of hard working athletes. Every member on our team is special, and is a winner. We are not big, but we are proud!!
Q: Why doesn't AGI have a Parent's Organization??
A: AGI is a non-profit corporation and is run as a business, one of the benefits of having a non-profit corporation for the team is to allow fundraising activities to offset the costs of competition and assessments. In a gymnastics program like AGA, each decision needs to beneficial to all athletes on the team, not just a few. Because of that, Greg is the President, Malcolm Parker is the Vice President and all decisions are weighed to allow a benefit to all members on the team. On the flip side, all parents are going to make decisions that benefit their child, whether consciously or subconsciously, so having a parent as a board member would cause decisions to be made that benefit the few. Therefore, only impartial members are capable of having decision making authority in AGI, and since AGI is run like a business, Greg and Malcom are the deciding factors in AGI. This helps provide the best decisions that benefit the program as a whole.
All families are able to perform fundraisers to offset the costs of competition and travel. All parents are encouraged to keep an open line of communication with the coaches to promote the best possible environment for training for their children. All families are equal in the eyes of the President and no decisions will be made that benefit the few. The team (AGI) is a 501C3 non-profit corporation and is set up as a business. All decisions involving the business, finances, operation, and structure fall on the shoulders of the President. As the Head Coach, Greg will decide what competitions to enter (after 25 years of coaching, Greg knows what meets are good and which are not), what uniforms will represent our program, and the phylosophy in which the program is run. As President, Greg will make decisions that affect the financial stabiltiy of the program.
A parent's job at AGI is to focus on their child. Focus on the growth and development of their own child and make sure that they are getting what they want from our program. Each parent is a representative for their own child and should be concerned that safety is number one, that quality is achieved in each practice and that their child is learning what is needed to succeed. A parent does not know what competitions are best for the whole team, what is fair for each member of the whole team, and therefore should not have a position of authority in AGI. Each parent brings their child to AGI because they trust our judgement, because of our standard of training, our quality and performance at competition and most importantly, because the staff here are concerned with each child's safety and well being in the gym. A parent does not bring their child to us because they want to make decisions that affect their training and/or the methods in which AGI is run.
Q: Why do we have to pay an assessment fee on top of our monthly dues??
A: Monthly dues are paid to cover costs of operations at AGI. This includes: Rent, utilities, salaries, advertising, insurance, legal and professional expenses, maintenance, office expenses, custodial expenses, equipment leases, equipment purchases and etc. The assessment is used primarily for coaches expenses for the competitive team. If your child is not competing now, they will be in the near future and are being prepared for as such and have the same expenses. The assessment covers: Coaches continuing education courses, background checks, certifications (safety, USAG coaches registration, corporate memberships), competition expenses (travel, per diem, session fees, mileage, etc.), equipment purchases and team events. The assessment fees are either comparable or lower than all the gyms in the area, and these fees can be subsidized by fundraising activities.
Q: Why do we have to participate in two mandatory fundraisers every year (i.e. Yearbook and Red Rose Invitational)??
A: AGI's expenses for the competitive year 2010 - 2011 well exceeded the income from monthly dues. Instead of increasing the monthly dues drastically to balance the deficit, two fundraisers are required to offset the deficit or to help purchase new equipment. The assessment fee structure for the 2010 - 2011 competitive year almost broke even, there was a deficit of only $500, which is acceptable to me, but does not allow for the purchase of new equipment.
The Yearbook Fundraiser is set up specifically to purchase new equipment for the Team. This year, a new set of Uneven Bars or a new Vault Table are on the list of new pieces necessary. The requirement of $250 raised per family will be enough to pay for printing the yearbook and to purchase one new item for the gym. Since the monthly dues fund and the assessment fee fund can not afford new equipment, the yearbook fund is the only time AGI can afford to purchase equipment for the team.
The Red Rose Invitational is a wonderful event that brings all the families of AGI and the community together. This is the one time that all of our patrons and the community can come and support a first class event in a fantastic venue. AGI promotes an incredible event that brings in competitors from all over our region and is talked about by judges and coaches all over. We need everyone's help to make this event a success and therefore make this a required fundraiser for every family in AGI.
Q: Why do we have to help for four sessions and help with set up or tear down at the Red Rose Invitational??
A: Most gyms in our area have two events per year and require help at both events. AGI only has the one event and therefore requires more help. The Red Rose Invitational is a world class event and requires a lot of help setting it up. Other gyms have the luxory of holding their meets in their gym, but AGI's gym is too small to accommodate any size competition. Most teams would rather come to a competition at an off-site venue instead of in a gym, so we provide a great level of competition and bring in some great teams. AGI only does this meet once a year and asks for the help of every team member. We understand that this is a great commitment, but it is a small price to pay to maintain the quality of instruction, the inexpensive monthly dues and quality of our facility. AGI would love to expand into a larger facility to accommodate in-house competitions, but until that happens, the Red Rose Invitational is the only event that we do.
Q: Where does the profit from the Red Rose Invitational go??
A: The Red Rose Invitational is a fundraiser to help offset the operational costs of AGI. Hosting this event is one of the main reasons that the Monthly Dues are not drastically increased. Because AGI is a non-profit corporation, any profit brought in from the Red Rose Invitational will be funnelled back into the Team program and will benefit each athlete involved in the program. We want our program to grow and succeed, and in this economy, asking for more money from each member is not an option. Doing a fundraiser to offset a $40,000 deficit per year is not asking a lot of each team member. It is a lot of work, but our staff will be there every minute to make this a world class event. We always aprreciate everyone's sacrifice and want everyone to know that your sacrifice is not in vain, our program thrives because of everyone's hard work.
10 Citation Lane, Lititz, PA 17543
717.560.4978
info@agagym.comcastbiz.net
