Dear BHG Gym Families,

It is only after great consideration, that effective Monday, March 16, following the NTSD first date of closure, Black Hills Gymnastics will be closed due to the COVID-19. This decision has been made because we want to help flatten the curve of this pandemic, as Gov Inslee stated earlier. Once NTSD announced they were officially closing Monday we moved forward with this contingency plan we had in place, should this happen.

We thank you in advance for your patience and graciousness with our hospitality (front office) team, as we do our best in addressing all inquiries during this unprecedented event. They have been so amazing and we are so proud to have such a strong and empathetic front office staff. This has been very stressful for them as there have been many times they had no answers for you because we were waiting for answers from others.

We know that you will have many questions about what this temporary closure means for you. We ask that you please read this statement in FULL as a first step, and re read for additional clarity before you call as we are anticipating MOST answers to your questions will be here, in this email, if you will please read through thoroughly. We realize you are being bombarded by emails and a call to our front office might be easier for you, we apologize for that inconvenience.

All classes and activities at BHG are suspended beginning Monday, March 16 through March 29th, reopening March 30th. We plan to resume all activities at this time, however, as this is a rapidly changing situation, we will continue to monitor and assess further developments, and follow recommendations and mandates from government agencies. Updates will be provided if necessary.

This was an extremely difficult decision for us to make as we know our students look forward to our services and families rely on us for care. We ultimately feel this decision is in the best interest of our community, families, and staff.
This decision did not come lightly but we feel WE must close for the mandated 14 days that most people have shown to quarantine themselves from others.

Our incredible staff and families have been unwavering in the commitment of our enhanced disinfecting, cleaning and safety protocols, and we appreciate everyone’s effort. This closure is in no way because of a failure in those practices. We are committed to the safety of the community we serve and feel the most responsible thing we can do at this time is abide by the recommendations of our public health organizations as the schools have now closed.

While we are not mandated to close we feel this is our way to help flatten the curve of the growth to this virus.

Has BHG had a confirmed case of COVID-19?

No, to our knowledge, our facility has not been exposed to COVID-19. This closure is not to quarantine, but rather to align with the protocols our government and local agencies have put in place as a preventative measure to minimize the spread of the virus. We have had 2 people tell us they were tested for COVID-19, one has come back with negative results and the other has had no results returned as of yet, this particular exposure was on Tuesday March 10th for an approximate 10 minute period of time and we sent an email out immediately upon being told a test was taken. The parent told us her test was taken Wednesday morning, March 11th and she told us that she was told test results would be given to her 3 to 5 days from that date.

What does this mean for families currently enrolled in our services?

Instructional Gymnastics Classes -

Makeup classes will be given for all classes missed during this closure. Makeup classes can be used at any time and will not expire as long as you are enrolled in classes.

One of our 4 weekly closures (tuition is based on 48 classes per year) is scheduled for the week of April 6th thru the 10th which is the original school district’s spring break. We will use one of the weeks we are closed between now and the end of the month, in lieu of our normal spring break closure so you will have only missed one week of classes.

In addition, should you maintain your membership through this closure BHG would like to offer you a Parents Night Out or Hoodie sweatshirt, or leo as a credit on your account as a thank you to supporting our business which supports just under 50 TeamBHG Staff families. This is an approximate $45.00 value and is our way of thanking you for staying with us through this difficult period. We are a small business and this decision affects not only our clients but our employees. BHG is committed to assisting our employees during this period and hope that you will continue with us during this difficult time which will have a ripple effect on them directly.

If you wish to drop from classes completely, please let us know via email by March 19 we understand this tuition payment may be a financial strain to your personal family that you can’t take for us as a business that will give you service after we reopen. Please also note should you drop we will not be able to guarantee the class, time or coach you had originally, although we will do our best to accommodate.

Team Practice for all Girls and Boys

All team practice will be suspended during this time. We will work out a schedule for team make ups over the next few weeks, this will be either in additional practices or extended practice during summer hours to make up any lost practice hours. The Spring Break dates for comp girls will be used as stated above for instructional classes. Just consider the closure your child was going to have April 6th thru April 10th to be one of the weeks over the next 2 as a swap.

Tumbling Tots Preschool

All school days will be suspended during this time March 16th thru March 29th, to reopen March 30th.. We will work out a schedule for make-up school days missed over the next few weeks. This will be either in additional school week extended at the end of the year most likely. The Spring Break dates for school already being closed were April 6th thru the 10th will be used as stated above for instructional classes. Just consider the closure your child was going to have April 6th thru April 10th to be one of the weeks over the next 2 as a swap.

Open Gym, Parents Night Out and Military Appreciation Day

BHG had previously announced the suspension of these activities through the month of March, so this will remain the same. If you have prepaid for any of these activities a credit will be placed on your account to use for further activities. If you purchased our PNO family pass offered over Black Friday and New Year’s please note we will make up these missed PNO’s for you as we reopen we will send out emails to help you understand how we will be accomplishing this.

Birthday Parties

Credit will be applied to your account to reschedule a future birthday party.

As a business that has been a part of this community for 24 years this is the MOST difficult time we have endured but we will be here when this is over and for those that continue to support us during this EXTREMELY unprecedented time we will always be grateful to YOU, for because of you we will be able to continue to employ almost 50 employees who have families they must support.

We will be available via phone from a different location (VOIP) for 2 hours during the morning from 9am to 11am and 5pm to 7pm Monday, March 16th, Wednesday March 17th, and Thursday March 18th of next week for any questions you may have IF they are not answered in the above information.

All tuition will be drawn on the 20th and we will be waiving our NORMAL 2 week notice at this time should you not be able to continue your membership with us. ANY UNUSED TUITION AS OF 3/16 WILL BE APPLIED TO YOUR ACCOUNT AS CREDIT FOR WHEN YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE RETURNING. Please let us know via email at BlackHillsGym@comcast.net. This must still be in writing as it would be too difficult to handle this via our shortened hours of operations. For those that would still like to pay and have used the option of paying before the 25th please call during our office hours to ensure your spot is still secure when we reopen.

Sincerely, Alisa Muller BHG CEO