Broken arm at gymnastics and now asked to pay half-fees for gym sessions whilst she's in plaster and can't go.

[yzzil1302]

My daughter broke her arm at gymnastics last week and will be in the cast for six weeks. She goes to a squad session for 3 hours a week. I had an email from the gym club today saying that I would still have to pay half-fees while she isn't attending her usual classes (£30 per month). I was rather shocked - I had thought that especially as she had broken her arm at the gym club whilst doing gym under their supervision we wouldn't have to pay fees for the 2-3 months she wouldn't be going. As a comparison, she also does a ballet and a modern dance class at a local dance school. Whilst she can mostly continue with the ballet, she won't be doing the modern class for the rest of the term, and we've been credited with the modern dance class fees immediately. Has anyone else had experience of having to pay or not having to pay for activities whilst injured and unable to take part? I'm not out to blame anyone - it was an accident, but I do feel rather fed up with their attitude.

Is there a waiting list for the group? It could be that they're holding the space but limiting their loss.

It never occurred to me to ask when DD broke her arm tbh, we just put it down to bad luck. Maybe that makes me a mug.

How many in her group? They need to take enough to cover the hall, coaches' rates etc. I can see that in a rec class of 25 they could bear the cost but in a smaller squad class, when you are probably paying less per hour per child too, it might be harder for them to cover their costs.

For squads this is quite routine to 'keep' the place. Usually squad hours are a discounted hourly rate compared to rec hours and there will be a list of kids dying to get their opportunity at squads.

My dd broke her arm at Trampoline lesson. They credited me the unused sessions and kept her space on the class list until she was able to return. The manager at the leisure centre rang me to find out how she was.

Perhaps you could claim the cost back against their public liability insurance?

I appreciate that accidents happen but they're supposed to be keeping your child safe. I'd be fuming depending on circumstances. I guess if my child was at fault for not following instructions or mucking about then it would be a different story.

GAllicgirl Gymnastics is a risky sport.
Clearly if the OP's DD is only doing 3 hours a week she is at a very low level, but even so there are risks.A kid can have done a skill a hundred times before and then inexplicably fall.It happens. What savings do you think the gym will make whilst they are keeping this girl's place open?
Normally once the initial pain has subsided she will be able to go in and do conditioning

Seems harsh. Maybe suggest they deduct it from your claim!

It really depends how tight their profit margins are - you can't compare ballet and squad directly.

When DS broke his arm just after I had signed him up for a terms swimming lessons they said they would reimburse me if I provided a doctor's note to prove that he was unable to continue with the course. DS was standing next to me with his arm in plaster FFS!!!! Did they think I'd just got him plastered to get out of paying!?

The leisure centre where he had the lessons really pissed me off anyway with their attitude of the conveyor belt of swimming lessons, over-crowded changing rooms, lack of concern about anything other than raking in money etc so I have to admit that I was rather curt with them.

If the gym club is a small affair though it may be different. One 'empty' slot might make a difference.

I wouldn't occur to me to ask TBH. If the agreement is you pay whether you go or not, then you need to pay or let the place go.

DS has his wrist in a cast ATM and is missing climbing, gymnastics and swimming. The standing orders are still going through as usual, same as if I'd booked theatre tickets and couldn't go.

Perhaps different because the injury was at gym but not really, unless you think they were responsible for the injury.

My ds is a gymnast. If he has an injury at gym. Providing it's listed in the accident book all fees are waived until he is well enough to return.
Also have you paid for insurance within your fees. If so you might be entitled to claim for physio or other treatment costs.
I would have a chat with British Gymnastics to see what their stance is on this.

Same at our gym club. Reduced fees for injury or long term illness etc

I think thats fair enough. As others have said, it costs the same for the room hire and to employ the staff, etc. etc. If they can't use the slot for someone else as your dd wants it back, they have to still balance the books.

They are being unreasonable, when you signed up did they give you a contract type document that stated should you be in this situation you would have to do this? If not then theyve not got a leg to stand on and cant make you pay...however your daughter probably wont be welcome there anymore, so its a hard and frustrating issue

Gymnastics clubs are charities and children in the squad are heavily subsidised by the parents of the rec children. The squad group costs the same to run whehter your daughter attends or not. At our gym club the rec children are expeced to pay full fees if they break a bone and want to keep their place. Infact I feel that the gym club have been very generous in only charging half fees.

My DD trains 8 hours a week and broke her arm really badly at gym just before Christmas. We were told we didn't have to pay fees for the time she couldn't attend and then only a proportion related to how much training she did when she started to go back. We decided to carry on paying her fees as we have another child at the gym, they have a huge dedicated building to run and we're in a position to do so.
We did have her swimming lessons refunded and her place kept until she could go back (had to provide a doctors note though).
She broke her leg a couple of years previously whilst on holiday. She was just in a recreational class at a different gym at the time and we weren't expected to pay until she could go back; they kept her place open and credited us for the classes we'd paid for but she'd been unable to do.
So, in my experience, it's usual not to be expected to pay for training when there has been an injury, especially if it occurred at the gym although different gyms will have different policies.
Also, does she have BGA insurance? If so, you can make a claim for physio costs etc.

My DD who is a squad gymnast broke her hand doing gym and was not charged at all for the time she was off (3 months) which i think was very very generous as they couldn't save any money at all by her being off, and she did infact go in for just the first hour of each session 3 times a week to do whatever conditioning she could.
It is a big gym though and I can see how a smaller one would not be able to absorb the cost.Gymnatics is a dangerous sport.People can sustain a fracture simply by tripping over their own feet, or falling off a bench.It is in no way indicative of fault on the part of the gym or its coaches.