Parents Snow Day Practice Change?

[MaryA]

Does your gym offer earlier practices when there's a snow day? Ours often does. Today was a surprise snow day, and we just got an email offering the option of a practice starting right after lunch, for people who want to come then instead of at the normal "after school" time. It is nice because they don't have to share the gym with the rec kids and they get to have dinner at home at a "normal" time. Just curious if this is normal practice? Of course, it is a little funny that the roads are too bad to go to school, but not too bad to go to gymnastics!

 

[StatsMom]

Our gym does that, especially if it's an overnight storm that clears up mid-morning. Sometimes the girls will go in at noon or so and it's nice having them done at a normal hour!

 

[IreneKa]

The general rule at our gym is that if the schools are closed, the gym is closed too. But if the snow stopped in the morning, and the roads have been cleared, they might decide to open it for the normal afternoon hours.
It's snowing today here too, but the schools are open, so hoping the gym will stay open too. There is a meet this weekend, can't afford to lose a practice.

 

[MaryA]

Our gym NEVER closes for weather. We will sometimes get an email telling us to "be safe" or that "practice is not mandatory if you are uncomfortable driving" or whatever, but practice isn't actually cancelled. Not for team. Rec classes may be cancelled if the weather is bad.

 

[Seeker]

Yes, we have had that option in the past. But we have kids from many diff school districts and many parents who work, so it's not always easy to get there. I love it because they have the gym to themselves...make us realize how difficult the scheduling and sharing of space is.

Edited to add -- we also never ever close. It's way colder and snowier in Russia so to the coaches this is child's play.

 

[JBS]

Yes...we have moved our optional level practices earlier for all four snow days that we have had so far this year. The practices have all been 6 hour fun practices with lunch and lots of trampoline. One of the practices the whole team (compulsories too) where invited as we had enough coaches because school cancelled two days in advance.

 

[cbifoja]

Yep and I love it! I love getting practice out of the way and having the entire gym to ourselves.

 

[IreneKa]

Edited to add -- we also never ever close. It's way colder and snowier in Russia so to the coaches this is child's play.

LOL
I'm originally from Russia, but still hate driving in the snow. Our gym owner is from China, I guess it doesn't snow that much there. LOL

 

[skschlag]

Our gym frequently closes for snow days. If the schools close, it means that it is BAD, and the city has requested that people not be on the streets. So we close. If it clears up, or if we are closed for heat/cold/floods, then we often still have gym. It jsut depends on the reason, and how the city is handling the roads.

 

[vagymmomma]

Our gym does it for the optionals. It's a little hard to do too often because we also have multiple school districts involved and the closings are frequently different.

 

[MaryA]

We also have multiple school districts involved, and their "normal" calendars don't align very well (vacation days, inservice days, etc.) so it makes it hard to have early practices on scheduled days off from school, but USUALLY, when one district in the area is closed due to weather, they all are.

 

[Quadqueen]

Our gym does not close for snow, at least for team - not sure about rec. They rarely change the practice time to make it earlier either. They DO however, change practice times the day before a meet to make them earlier, which drives me insane, since we have other things to do.

 

[gymmomtoo]

Yes they frequently have early practice if most districts close. Gym has about four districts involved but typically most close at the same time

 

[gymisforeveryone]

It sounds funny that the schools actually get closed when it snows in US and it sounds like it happens pretty often?

We live in Finland and it snows here all the time from February to April and schools have never been closed because of the snow or cold weather. I remember going to school by bike several times during my school years when there was 50 cm of snow on the streets or when temperature was 35 degrees below zero!

 

[MaryA]

Clearly kids are made of tougher stuff in Finland! We're supposed to get 4-8 inches overnight tonight, followed by some sleet/freezing rain. It is already assumed that there will be no school tomorrow. I think this will be maybe the 4th weather-related cancelation this year. 2 hour delays are even more common.

 

[gymisforeveryone]

Ooops I meant to write from November to April!

Usually if it snows at night the streets are well cleared by the morning. Don't you have snowplows?? I don't think the kids are that different, maybe our snowplow arsenal is just bigger and stronger

 

[MaryA]

We do have snowplows, and trucks that salt the roads, but I guess sometimes it just takes them a while to do all of the streets, especially in the more rural areas. I also think that "snow days" are a cultural thing... an iconic part of childhood in some areas. I think it was the year before last that we had NO snow days, and my kids felt like they had been cheated somehow, even though it did mean that summer vacation actually started on time for once. One of my daughters is going to dance camp on June 15 this summer and I'm wondering if school will even be out by then!

 

[gymisforeveryone]

So they have to replace those snow days at the end of the school year?? Wow that doesn't sound too nice. I would have been pissed off if the teachers told me at the end of May that I have to stay at school for X more days because it snowed so badly in January! : D

 

[MaryA]

Yup, they get tacked on at the end of the year. You have to pay the piper!

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

Our gym doesn't change training times. Many of the higher level girls (L7 and up) start at 2:30 anyways, and get pulled from school early to start. There are a number of boards, and like others, the holidays/school days/snow days don't always match up. And some of our coaches drive an hour to the gym, so while the gym doesn't close as often as schools, it is touch and go some days for whether they'll be open.