USA Gymnastics & 3rd Level Consulting: An Educational Partnership

The Business College within USA Gymnastics University is expanding with the adoption of six new online business education courses from 3rd Level Consulting. These courses are specifically designed for Children's Activity Centers, including gymnastics clubs. These proven, progressive business education foundation courses will give your current and future Program Managers, Directors and other staff the necessary perspectives and tools to grow themselves and your business.

These courses are normally offered as a series of online courses, but as a special introductory offer to USA Gymnastics members, the Level 1 - "Acorn" Management Course is being offered as a live workshop at National Congress. The session will be held on Friday, August 14 from 1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Congress registrants -- watch your inbox for a separate email we'll send in next few weeks that will include details about how to register for this incredible educational opportunity. There is NO ADDITIONAL FEE for this workshop but pre-registration is REQUIRED and space is limited.

Don't miss this opportunity to build your knowledge base and earn additional credit. The "Acorn" Course will last approximately 2 ½ hours, including time for a learning assessment test. At the conclusion of the test, participants are welcome to attend other congress sessions still in progress.

About the Level 1 - "Acorn" Management Course: This introductory course in the Business Foundations Course series covers valuable information for Program Managers, Directors, Club Owners and others. Course topics include the scope and major components of our industry (instruction, education and child care, and entertainment!), an overview of the "Magic 8" business success components (overall management, marketing, people management, information management, financial systems, facilities management, risk management, and inspiration), how program managers fit into the system, and personal organization and effectiveness.

This course satisfies USA Gymnastics University Level 1 Certification within the Business College. Check out the other online courses in this series at the USA Gymnastics University website.

Here are answers to top 5 most frequently asked questions:

Q. When will the 09-10 athlete membership cards be available?
A: Athlete's that have been renewed for the 09-10 season can expect to receive their membership cards in the mail the beginning of August.

Q: My athlete is attending camp in a week and I need to show proof of membership.
A: Athlete cards are unable to be provided at this time until after August 1st, but the club roster list is available. Clubs may print off their athlete club roster list from the USA Gymnastics website to show a list of their current athletes. Please click this link to obtain the list. Use your club number and club password in the user name and password fields.

Q: I renewed my Professional membership online today, but I received an emailed card with the old expiration date?
A: A membership card will reflect the old expiration date until the transaction has posted. Transaction typically post within 24-48 business hours. Once the transaction post a card with an updated expiration date will be available.

Q: Do Introductory Athletes receive membership cards?
A: Yes, new for the 2009-2010 season Introductory Athlete's will begin to receive a hard copy membership card in the mail to their home address.

Q: When can I expect to receive my membership card?
A: Membership cards are mailed out within 2-4 weeks from the date that the membership was paid, and requirements of membership have been completed.

It is also vitally important to keep Member Services updated on any changes to personal information changes in order to ensure that all membership material and benefits are being received in a timely manner.

For any questions or concerns please contact:

USA Gymnastics Member Services Department
Phone Hours: Monday 12:30pm-5:30pm eastern daylight savings time
Tuesday - Friday 8:30am-5:30pm eastern daylight savings time
1-800-345-4719 toll free
membership@usa-gymnastics.org

Membership Cards FAQ

Summer Educational Opportunities

National Gymnastics 2009 Proclamation Campaign -- You can help!

Attention Members: Update your Contact Information TODAY!

Summer is full of educational opportunities - don't miss your chance to participate, learn new information and ideas, and refresh and prepare yourself for the upcoming season! USA Gymnastics University will debut its colleges and certification programs at this year's National Congress but you don't have to wait to start earning credits towards certification! Here's what's "HOT" this summer:

• Safety/Risk Management Certification Course - new online and live courses to begin in August
• Fundamentals of Gymnastics Instruction - new online course to debut in August 2009
• Business Foundations (Levels 1-6) - six new online business courses to be available in August 2009
• Business Conference - with two special keynotes by the Disney Institute (August 12th in Dallas, TX)
• National Congress and Trade Show (August 13-15th in Dallas, TX)
• Regional Congresses (see schedule for dates and locations)
• Women's J.O. Compulsory Level Training Camp (August 6-9th in Huntsville, TX)
• Women's J.O. Optional Skills Technique and Spotting Clinic (August 27-30th in Huntsville, TX)

You can help USA Gymnastics in our goal to obtain a National Gymnastics Day proclamation from your state!

Why does USA Gymnastics need your help obtaining proclamations for your state? The FIG and USOC have proclaimed National Gymnastics Day as an official day to celebrate, and each year we try to secure a proclamation from all 50 states. The regulations state that a resident from the state to request it, and so now we are asking the clubs to send them to their governor, and once you have their signature, scan a copy for us to put on the web site. We like to share all 50 proclamations with every club! Many clubs post them in their gyms, and it adds credibility to the club when a press release is sent to the local media with the state proclamation attached. Clubs will even get the mayor to come to their events or to proclaim National Gymnastics Day locally within their community, similar to the proclamation the governor has signed for the entire state.

Please check the USA Gymnastics National Gymnastics Day proclamation web site regularly to see if your governor has already proclaimed September 12, 2009 as National Gymnastics Day in your state. If your state isn't listed, you can follow these easy steps to help us obtain a proclamation.

Fax or send your Governor a letter asking him/her to proclaim September 12, 2009 as "National Gymnastics Day" in your state. In the letter you should also include your club's plans for National Gymnastics Day as well an explanation of the importance of proclaiming NGD in your state and how it affects your residents. Along with the letter, be sure to include a copy of the sample proclamation available at the USA Gymnastics website. Also include any additional information that you feel may be useful for the Governor in making his or her decision.

Call your Governor to follow up and make sure that he/she received your letter and information. If your Governor issues a Proclamation, send him/her a thank you letter expressing how much it means to have National Gymnastics Day proclaimed in your state.

These steps can also be used to get the Mayor of your town to give your club a proclamation!

National Gymnastics Day is September 12, 2009 -- have you started planning yet? How will you celebrate? Now is the perfect time to brainstorm and begin putting your plan into motion! Here are some ideas to start promoting your business in order to get new clubs into your gym: host a carnival, a fitness fair, an open house and welcome your community into your gym. Get creative! Ask local healthcare providers to set up information and activity booths at your gym, invite local kids-focused businesses to vend or donate items to a raffle. Invite the public and show them all that gymnastics has to offer! By doing so, you can build healthy connections in your area. Hold a family fitness day or combine it with the Tyson Fitness Challenge you can raise awareness and funds! Use this as an opportunity to educate others, celebrate gymnastics and all the wonderful benefits it offers your community. Once you have raised awareness and gained community support, you are sure to make National Gymnastics Day a huge success!

USA Gymnastics presents these links not as an edorsement but as an educational resource for our members in keeping with our interests in promoting the importance of safety in the sport of gymnastics.

Update Contact Information

Attention All USA Gymnastics Members!!

We need your updated contact information!!

USA Gymnastics is reaching out to all USA Gymnastics members to ensure that we have the correct contact information on file. It is vitally important that USA Gymnastics be notified of changes in your personal and club information.

You may miss important member benefits and updated membership information if your contact information is not up-to-date. Your information can easily be updated on line by following the steps below.

Steps to update individual contact information:

1. Visit the Member Services page.
2. Click on the blue membership button located on the left-hand side.
3. Select your membership type and select the update Personal information.
4. The username is your member number and the password is your 8 digit date of birth.

Steps to update club contact information:

You may also contact Member Services via phone at 800-345-4719 or via email at to update your contact information.

USA Gymnastics is a non-for-profit organization which is the sole national governing body (NGB) for the sport of gymnastics in the United States. Our mission is to increase public awareness of, and encourage participation in, all aspects of gymnastics, and to support athletes in their pursuit of competitive excellence.

Tell us what you think! We'd like to hear from you about what information you'd like to see in Member News. Contact us by clicking here.