Insurance change bounces out recreational trampoline use at gymnastics clubs
Fall programs are rolling out at gymnastics clubs across the city but kids and their parents will notice a difference this season because of an insurance issue.
Recreational trampoline use will no longer be an option, according to the Alberta Gymnastics Federation, which sent a memo to its member clubs in July.
Scott Hayes, president and CEO of the AGF, says the new policy is due to a change in the federation's insurance coverage.
Underwriters recently informed the AGF that trampoline use was no longer going to be insured at the recreational and drop-in levels.
"We just basically had to revamp a lot of the programming just because birthday parties and drop-ins are such a huge component of their business," he said.
"So they had to look at some internal restructuring and Alberta Gymnastics had to look at creating some alternate programming and ensuring that the safety coaching expectations and certification were revamped in order to match the changes."
Jeremy Mosier of Pegasus Gymnastics says losing the recreational business hurts the bottom line.
"We just don't offer classes. We offer drop-ins and we offer birthdays, which has been substantially hit. You know, a lot of people call and just want birthday parties on trampolines, and unfortunately we can no longer offer that anymore."
Mosier's gym and others still do drop-ins and parties but without trampolines.
The new regulations only apply to recreational trampoline use. Competitive athletes and those enrolled in tumbling classes are exempt. But insurance rates for competitive users have quadrupled to about $60 a year.
