A gymnastics club site should help a parent choose the right class: programs by age and level, weekly times, registration dates and fees, coaches, and how a trial class works, all easy to read on a small screen.

What the site is actually for

Parents choose a gymnastics class in August, for classes starting in September, usually on a phone in a spare minute between other things.

Their questions come in a predictable order: which class suits my child, when it runs, when registration opens, what it costs, who coaches, and whether a first class can be tried.

A site that answers those in order lets parents choose without phoning. A site that does not keeps the front desk on the phone through most of August.

Families looking at competitive programs ask different questions, about selection, training hours and travel, and deserve pages of their own.

Programs by age and level

Recreational gymnastics is usually organised by age first and level second: parent-and-tot classes, preschool classes, school-age classes by level, and classes for teens.

Give each program its own page: the ages, what children learn, how long each class runs, how many children per coach, the days and times, and the price for the session.

Class names that mean something inside the club mean nothing to a new family. Say in plain words who each class is for.

What parents check, in order

Parents work through the same short list, roughly in this order:

The first is where parents most often get stuck. A six-year-old who can already do a cartwheel and a six-year-old who has never been in a gym need different classes.

How children move up

Parents want to know what happens next: how long a child usually stays at a level, how coaches decide when to move a child up, and whether there is a report at the end of a session.

Describe each level by the skills it covers, in words a parent can picture: a forward roll, a cartwheel, a handstand against the wall.

Explain too how a child joins partway through the year, and how coaches invite children from recreational classes to try the competitive program.

The schedule, kept current

Put the schedule on a page, not in a PDF, organised by program and by day, with the session dates and every holiday closure.

Mark classes that are full, and say how the waiting list works. A parent who sees a class is full can choose another time instead of phoning to ask.

Fall registration

Say when registration opens, for returning families and for new ones if the dates differ, with the time of day and how it works.

List every fee: the class fee, the annual membership fee clubs usually collect for the provincial association, and any costs for uniforms. Explain refunds and credits for missed classes.

If popular classes fill in minutes, say so, and tell parents what to have ready beforehand: an account, the child's details and a card.

Coaches and their certification

A coaches page with names, photographs and what each person coaches tells parents who will be on the floor with their child.

Describe certification in plain words. A line saying a coach holds the national coaching certification for recreational gymnastics and has coached at the club for six years means more than an acronym.

Say how the club screens and trains its coaches, and how classes are supervised. Parents rarely ask directly, but they look for it.

A worked example

A gymnastics club that leases a converted warehouse on the outskirts of an Okanagan city runs recreational classes from parent-and-tot to teens, and a small competitive program.

Its site was a home page, a schedule in a PDF and a phone number. Every August the front desk answered the same questions all day.

The PDF changed each session, and parents kept old copies. Class names built from levels and abbreviations meant nothing to new families, who phoned to ask which one fit their child.

The new site has a page for each program, with ages and the skills a child should have before joining, and a schedule page in text marking full classes each week.

A trial class can be booked through a short form, and a first-day page covers clothing, arrival time and the viewing area.

Parents can now match their child to a class before calling, which leaves the front desk free in August for the questions a website cannot answer.

Trial classes and the first day

A trial class lowers the risk for a hesitant child and a hesitant parent. Say whether there is one, what it costs, how to book it and whether it counts toward the fee.

For the first day, cover what to wear: fitted clothing, bare feet, long hair tied back and no jewellery. Then where to go, when to arrive and where parents can watch.

Competitive programs

Competitive families need to know how children are selected, how many hours a week they train, when the season runs and what competitions involve.

Be clear about the costs beyond fees: competition entries, travel, uniforms and team suits. A parent handbook in text, kept current, answers most of the rest.

The counter-case

A small club whose classes fill every session from returning families and a waiting list may feel it needs little more than a phone number.

But the schedule, closures and registration dates still have to live somewhere current, and the waiting list needs a way in that does not depend on someone answering the phone.

And waiting lists turn over. The families who join next year will judge the club by what they can find before they ever walk into the gym.

What to build first

  1. Write a page for each program.
  2. Describe each level by the skills it covers.
  3. Put the schedule on a page, in text.
  4. State registration dates and every fee.
  5. Introduce the coaches and their certification.
  6. Offer a trial class with a booking form.
  7. Explain the first day on its own page.

Step two removes the most common reason to phone. A parent who can picture what a level involves can choose the right class without a phone call.

Another program in which children work up through levels with certified instructors appears in what a sailing school website needs.

Frequently asked questions

What do parents look for first on a gymnastics club site?

Which class suits their child, by age and experience, followed by times, registration dates, fees, coaches, a trial class and what to expect on the first day.

Should the schedule be a PDF?

No. Put it on a page in text, by program and day, with session dates, holiday closures and which classes are full. PDFs go stale in parents' downloads.

How should levels be described?

By the skills each one covers, in words a parent can picture, with what a child should already do before joining. Internal class names mean little to new families.

What should the coaches page say?

Names, photographs, what each person coaches, their certification in plain words and their years with the club, plus how coaches are screened and classes supervised.

Is a trial class worth offering?

It lowers the risk for hesitant children and parents. Say what it costs, how to book it, and whether the fee counts toward registration if the child stays.

What do competitive families need to know?

How children are selected, weekly training hours, the season, competitions and travel, and every cost beyond fees, ideally in a parent handbook kept current on the site.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Fall registration opening soon?

Send us your current schedule and class list, and we will sketch a program page that answers parents before they phone.

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