FAQS
The link provided in your offer email will take you to Love Admin so that you can set up a direct debit mandate. This must be set up prior to attending your first lesson otherwise your child’s name will not be on the register.
Once you have done this the monthly payment will be transferred from your bank account to us. Please note, that this payment takes up to 2 weeks to be processed after set up.
In addition, after your first class, your Annual Membership Fee will be processed.
Finally, after 2 months of starting we will request a £20 deposit. This will be deducted from your last month’s payment when you leave the club.
All payments (both monthly and one-off payments) are processed with London & Zurich.
See below for more information about the Annual Fee and Deposit.
We totally understand that it is a lot of money to commit when some children have never done gymnastics before. However, we also need some guarantee that you will come along to the class that you have accepted. Therefore, we ask you to set up your monthly direct debit before the first class, in order to secure your place. If your child does not want to continue after their trial class, please let us know within 48 hours and we will charge you a one-off class fee of £10 and refund the rest of the monthly fee. After the initial 24 hours, the notice period is four weeks.
After your first class with Stortford Gymnastics, an Annual Fee will be debited using London&Zurich. This is then due again at the same time each year.
The fee is £21.50 for Trampolining, General Gymnastics, Squad and Pre School classes at London Road and includes your insurance. The fee is £5 for Courageous Cats & Kicking Kittens
This deposit was introduced in Sept 2020. Please see our reasons below:
We have a 4-week notice period for any cancellations of membership. In the past, we have relied on customers’ goodwill to ensure these terms are met. Unfortunately, when the time comes to leave, not everyone is following our procedure, parents cancel their direct debit without notifying us, leaving us with unfilled spaces. This, not only has a financial impact on our club, but also is frustrating for those children who have been on our waiting list and want to join.
Therefore, we have no choice but to make some changes. Other clubs address this, by taking a month’s payment as way of deposit. We appreciate this would be a lot for everyone, so instead we will ask all members for a £20 deposit, as a way of security. Providing you give the notice period of 4 weeks when leaving the club, the £20 will be deducted from your final month’s payment, allowing us time to fill your space.
We believe strongly that we run a fair club. Members are able to leave the club at any time and are not tied to signing up for a full term. We have resisted introducing a deposit for many years, but we can no longer sustain this financially. By introducing this policy, we are able to keep your fees unchanged for as long as possible despite escalating overheads.
Therefore, please be aware that £20 will be requested for all current members, after 2 months of joining the club.
We trust that you can understand the situation that we have been put in. We sincerely thank everyone for their support. We are a compassionate club, so please do let us know if this payment will cause an additional financial burden and we will look at alternatives; as the last thing we want to do is cause any further stress at this very difficult time.
The description on your bank statement will be London&Zurich. Some banks may also give you further information. If you are in any doubt as to what the payment is for, please get in touch with your bank who will be able to provide you with the full reference so you can identify the payment.
Availability varies by day and class. Once you have registered with us, you will receive an email with our current availability. We do not run by school terms, & members can leave at any time, so waiting times are not normally longer than a few months (with the exception of some busy classes such as Saturday mornings).
We are a fully inclusive club and will do what we can to accommodate your child. Please call Janine on 07808 808815 to discuss your child’s individual situation.
Children should wear a t-shirt and shorts/leggings or leotard if they have one. T-shirts should not be baggy as these tend to fall down when the children do handstands! Gymnasts should not wear crop tops. All jewellery should be removed, long hair tied back, with no shoes and socks. Please arrive in plenty of time for the start of the class. Earrings can be taped up for 6 weeks after being newly pierced, but after that they must be removed otherwise your child will not be insured.
No, there is no compulsory uniform. However, we have an optional girl’s leotard and black shorts, a zoodie and a Club T-shirt. You can take a look at our online shop here.
At London Road we have a wonderful space for parents to watch through a large glass window. We have comfortable chairs and a kitchen where you can help yourself to tea/coffee and a biscuit for £1. For trampolining there is a viewing gallery but it will depend on which trampoline your child is on as to whether you can see them.
Parking at London Road. We have 9 parking spaces in front of the gym but this can get busy when one class finishes and another starts (hence whilst we leave time between classes). You may find it easier to park in one of the neighbouring residential streets and walk a short way. On Saturdays, when our neighbouring businesses are closed then parking is much easier.
Parking at Herts & Essex Sports Centre: There is a large car park which is accessed from Beldams Lane. You MUST register your vehicle if you are staying for more than 20 minutes otherwise you will get a fine. This can be done on the tablets in the reception area.
The ceilings in our London Road gym are relatively low so we would not want to jeopardise the safety of our gymnasts in any way. Therefore our club is for children up until they start secondary school. However, our Trampolining classes at Herts and Essex Sports Centre are for children up to 18 years.
Our notice period is 4 weeks. Please let us know by email and we will cancel your direct debit accordingly. Please do not cancel your monthly payment yourself otherwise there may be the need to collect a final payment from you which will incur an admin fee of £20.
As a Sports Club, unfortunately, we are unable to accept Childcare Vouchers. These can only be used with Childcare providers register with Ofsted.
The classes are calculated on a pro rata basis i.e the total cost of lessons is spread evenly across 12 months.
Why am I paying the same as everyone else for a Monday class, when you do not open on Bank Holidays?
There are no classes on any Bank Holidays but we do understand that Monday classes are most affected. Therefore, we can offer you a replacement class during school holidays. We run a drop in scheme in the Summer where children can make up for all missed classes throughout the year.
Alternatively, if this is a problem, please let us know and we can move your regular class to another day as soon as a place becomes available.
We offer drop In sessions during the 6 weeks summer holidays when we are less busy. However, during the rest of the year it is not possible to have extra children in our classes due to our strict coach ratios as directed by our Insurers.
With regards to the wearing of earrings, we have to follow strict guidelines otherwise our Insurance will be invalid. Our Insurer states that they can be taped for the first 6 weeks, but after that they need to be taken out. During the first 6 weeks, we will ask you to fill in a form as authorisation.
Due to high class numbers, the transition is not automatic or guaranteed. However, please be assured that existing members are given priority over non-members. With this in mind, we start the transition early. Therefore, as spaces become available, we will be offering these to our Pre-School members.
It is a tiring time for children when they start full time school and we have many children dropping out of gymnastics by Christmas as they struggle to cope with an extra-curricular activity. Therefore, please do not worry if you are not offered a place straight away, we will do our utmost to accommodate you asap.