Pinnacle Gymnastics Kansas City Blog

Pinnacle Gymnastics COVID-19 Safety Plans

Written by mochynka | Mar 16, 2020 10:36:57 PM

Update February 20, 2022

Barrier face masks will be optional (personal choice) at Pinnacle Gymnastics effective Monday, February 21.

 

Families are encouraged to remain diligent in conducting a personal health assessment each day. Individuals who suspect they are ill (i.e., fever, chills, cough, etc.) and are not feeling well should stay home.

 

The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment (JCDHE) will not provide contact tracing of COVID-19 cases at this time. To that end, JCDHE is focusing efforts on infected individuals. This means Pinnacle Gymnastics is not providing close contact information to the health department and JCDHE will not notify students if they are considered a close contact from a gym exposure. Any recommended quarantines would be through families who self-identify their own individual cases. 

 

We appreciate your support and confidence in our program and look forward to moving forward with you all! 

 

Thanks!

The Pinnacle Gymnastics Staff

Update January 2, 2022

Dear Pinnacle Customers, 

Our COVID-19 Task Force has updated our quarantine/isolation requirements to match the latest information from the CDC.  

Please click here to view our Back to Sport Protocol. 

Details of Back to Sport Protocol are below. 

If You Test Positive for COVID-19 (Isolate)

Everyone, regardless of vaccination status.

  • Stay home for 5 days.
  • If you have no symptoms or your symptoms are resolving after 5 days, you can leave your house.
  • Continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days.
  • If you have a fever, continue to stay home until your fever resolves. 

If You Were Exposed to Someone with COVID-19 (Quarantine)

If you:

Have been boosted
OR
Completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine within the last 6 months
OR
Completed the primary series of J&J vaccine within the last 2 months

  • Wear a mask around others for 10 days.
  • Test on day 5, if possible.
  • If you develop symptoms get a test and stay home.

If You Were Exposed to Someone with COVID-19 (Quarantine)

If you:

Completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine over 6 months ago and are not boosted
OR
Completed the primary series of J&J over 2 months ago and are not boosted
OR
Are unvaccinated

  • Stay home for 5 days. After that continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days.
  • Test on day 5 if possible.
  • If you develop symptoms get a test and stay home

As a reminder, all individuals (ages 5+) entering Pinnacle Gymnastics, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear a face covering while entering the gym, in public spaces (lobby and restrooms), and while exiting the gym.  Athletes will be permitted to take off their masks during training.  

We will continue monitoring the situation, seeking advice from medical and community leaders, and making decisions that keep Pinnacle customers and staff as safe as possible. 

Sincerely, 

Morgan Kuchynka
Pinnacle Gymnastics, Owner

Update August 5, 2021

Dear Pinnacle Customers, 

Our COVID-19 Task Force met today to discuss updating our COVID-19 policies.  Based upon the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in our area, Pinnacle will be adopting the following policies effective August 6, 2021. 

All individuals (ages 5+) entering Pinnacle Gymnastics, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear a face covering while entering the gym, in public spaces (lobby and restrooms), and while exiting the gym.  Athletes will be permitted to take off their masks during training.  We do ask that athletes keep a mask with them so that they can wear it when social distancing cannot be maintained, including when rotating between events or waiting for their turn.

In addition, for all classes 3:00pm and later, there is a limit of one spectator per family permitted in the lobby during your child's class time. 

We will continue monitoring the situation, seeking advice from medical and community leaders, and making decisions that keep Pinnacle customers and staff as safe as possible. 

Sincerely, 

Morgan Kuchynka
Pinnacle Gymnastics, Owner

Update June 15, 2021

Dear Pinnacle Customers, 

Our COVID-19 Task Force met yesterday evening to discuss updating our COVID-19 policies.  Based upon the continued progress in our community, Pinnacle will be adopting the following face covering policy. 

Those individuals that are fully vaccinated can be mask free indoors.  For those that have not been vaccinated, masks are strongly recommended in our lobby, common areas, and when social distancing cannot be maintained.  

At this time, we are continuing our car loop and parent watch week.  

Thank you for your continued trust and confidence in our program.  We are so grateful for all of the forward progress!

Thanks,

Morgan Kuchynka
Owner, Pinnacle Gymnastics

Update May 24, 2021

Dear Pinnacle Customer, 

Our COVID-19 task force was able to meet last week and agreed that we continue following the CDC guidelines for masking. This includes the new guideline that individuals fully vaccinated for COVID-19 (14 days after final dose) can now be mask free indoors. 

This means that fully vaccinated customers, staff, and athletes can be mask free at Pinnacle. Those staff members choosing to not wear a mask have provided proof of vaccination to our leadership team. We are trusting that our customers will act with the same integrity. 

For those that are not yet fully vaccinated, masking in our lobby, common areas, and when socially distancing cannot be maintained remains required.  

We look forward to continuing forward progress in retuning to "normal" operations.  Our next task force update will be June 15th. 

Thank you! 

Morgan 

Update April 30, 2021

Dear Pinnacle Customer, 

As you may be aware, the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners, working under the guidance of both the Kansas and Johnson County Departments of Health & Environment, voted not to extend its current public health order, but did pass a resolution that establishes public health recommendations to help combat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (click HERE to view the release). 

As we have from the outset of the pandemic and our safe reopening last June, we are continuing to rely upon the county and their team of health experts for guidance on how we maintain the safe operation of our facility for all of our member families.
 
In light of this news, we wanted to provide you with an update surrounding the specifics of this new public health resolution with regard to what our team will be doing, as well as what we are asking of members:
 

1. Face Coverings: All of our team members, including front desk and coaching staff, will continue to wear face masks for the foreseeable future. Given the ongoing health concerns, we feel as though this is absolutely the right decision to help keep our members safe and feeling safe as we run classes. For members, in light of the new public health resolution, the fact we have some members with a compromised immune system, some who may have not been able to get vaccinated yet, including 99% of our athletes, and/or some who may just not be comfortable from a safety perspective, we are kindly asking that you and any child ages 5 and up continue to wear a face covering over your mouth and nose while inside our lobby.  Athletes will not, however, be required to wear a mask while participating in classes.  We do ask that athletes keep a mask with them so that they can wear it when social distancing cannot be maintained, including when rotating between events.

2. Parent Watch Week / Car Loop: to help with reducing our capacity during each hour, we are continuing to kindly ask that only one parent or guardian accompany children 5 and up to class during their parent watch week.  Our preschoolers will continue to have one parent or guardian in the building for each class.  In addition, we will be continuing to operate our car loop for easy drop off and pick up on non-watch weeks.  

Wishing you all the very best, and we look forward to seeing you back in the gym soon!
 
Sincerely, 
Morgan Kuchynka
Owner 

Update on November 16, 2020

Dear Pinnacle Families, 
 
1. Thank you for wearing your mask and encouraging your child to do the same.
 
Thank you so much for encouraging your child to wear their mask during class!  Our staff was super impressed with the ease and success that our athletes were able to adjust to being masked for the majority of class time.  We know that this effort will help us protect families throughout this pandemic. 
 
2. Contact Tracing 
 
With the rise of positive COVID-19 cases in our area, we have been very diligent in following our COVID-19 protocol.  When a member notifies us that their child has tested positive, we review the 72 hours before symptom onset (or positive test, whichever comes first) to determine any members that might have had contact with the individual at our facility.  This does not mean that the customer "caught" COVID at Pinnacle, simply that they were at Pinnacle during a period of possible contagion.  We feel it is our social responsibility to participate in contact tracing in an effort to help curb the spread of COVID-19. 
 
We follow the CDC guidelines for exposure, which are more conservative than many local and state organizations including schools. 
 
3. Parent Watch Week
 
A very important part of our safety procedures includes maintaining a stable parent watch week.  For parents of non-preschool aged children, we ask that you only enter the lobby during your dedicated Parent Watch Week.  There are no siblings and only one adult per child permitted at this time.  All parents in the lobby must be in a mask that covers both the nose and mouth for the duration of their time at Pinnacle.  Team parents must participate in the sign up genius to schedule their watch time.
 
Just like many small businesses, we would like to be able to continue offering in-person classes. We know that our ability to do depends upon the spread of COVID-19 in our community and are continuing to do our part to help.  If there does come a time when we are forced to close our doors temporarily, our staff has developed a virtual learning schedule and platform that we feel will provide continuous learning for your family. 
 
Thank you for your continued support during this unimaginable time. 
 
Sincerely, 
Morgan and the Pinnacle Staff
913-422-0161
 

Update on July 10, 2020

Dear Pinnacle Customers, 

We have been working hard to keep our facility clean and our athletes and staff members socially distant, however we know that at some point, we will likely be subject to a case of COVID-19 at Pinnacle.  

In preparation for dealing with COVID in and around Pinnacle, we have set up a COVID-19 Task Force including:

  • Dr. Alan Clement - Pediatrician, father of 5 (all attend Pinnacle)
  • Dr. Randy Goldstein - Board Certified Pediatrician with an interest in Sports Medicine, Team Doctor
  • Alan Long - Chief of Operations, Overland Park Fire Department (father of 3, one attends Pinnacle)

Together, with myself, our Task Force has developed a protocol for evaluating exposure and setting standards for the return to Pinnacle after each level of exposure.   Each athlete, coach, staff member and parent entering the gym will fit into a given category on any given day. 

We are asking families to follow the guidelines set forth to help us keep Pinnacle safe.  Please keep in mind that the information relating to COVID 19 is fluid and these recommendations are subject to CDC guideline changes. Thank you for your continued trust and confidence in our program. 

View the COVID 19 Return to Sport at Pinnacle Gymnastics.

Thanks,
Morgan Kuchynka
Pinnacle Gymnastics, Owner

 

Update on July 1, 2020

Dear Pinnacle Customers, 

In compliance with Governor Kelly's mask mandate, Pinnacle is adopting a new mask policy effective Monday, July 6th. 

All patrons ages 5 and up must wear a mask while entering the gym, in public spaces (lobby and restrooms), and while exiting the gym.  Athletes will be permitted to take off their masks during training.  Please send a bag for mask storage during class. 

Note: Children ages 3 and 4 can choose to wear a mask.  Children ages 2 and under should not wear a mask.

Thank you for your continued trust in our program as we do our best to navigate through this ever changing time. 

Sincerely, 

Morgan Kuchynka
Pinnacle Gymnastics, Owner

 

Update on May 20, 2020

Hello Pinnacle Families!

We are so excited to open our facility on June 1st!  Our staff has been working hard to sanitize and prepare our gym to be a safe place to return for our students, families, and fellow staff members.  Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the action items our team has taken as well as what we will need from our customers to make this a success! 

Operational Updates

  • Monitored car loop for drop off and pick up. Preschool classes will be allowed to have one parent enter the building with them for class.  All other classes will be drop off and pick up only.
  • Mandated hand washing. Upon entering the building, every staff member and student must wash their hands prior to class. We will have hand sanitizing stations throughout the gym to use between rotations. Upon exiting class, every staff member and student must wash their hands. 
  • There are designated spot to wait for class to begin.  Each program will be reaching out with details on specific locations. Dismissal will be to the car loop.
  • Cubbies and lockers are off limits. Personal belongings will be able to be held in a basket corresponding to class time.  Please send in a bag labeled with the child's name.
  • The water fountain is closed.  We have left the water bottle filler open to allow for touch-less water refills. If you would like to send a water bottle with your child, it will be kept in the personal belongings bag you provide. 
  • Lesson plans are single athlete stations.  We have removed partner stations from our lesson plans and have increased the distance between rotations. For example, in our recreational classes the four ten minute rotations have been changed to two twenty minute rotations staying on two events each rotation. 
  • We have changed our stamps to stickers.  Upon exiting class, each athlete will be given a sticker instead of a stamp to celebrate a jump well done.
  • Coaches and all adults in the building will be wearing masks.  Masks will be washed daily. 
  • Equipment will be sanitized frequently. Each program has a cleaning schedule that enables us to clean equipment and mats in between groups.
  • Our operations will be socially distant.  Lucky for us, gymnastics is a sport that requires social distance to be performed safely.  With the exception of coach assistance (spotting) our classes and activities will operate under social distancing guidelines. 
  • We have eliminated 57 classes from our schedule, allowing for more time in between classes.  We attempted connect with each of our customers over the phone to discuss ongoing enrollment.  If you did not have the chance to connect with us, please email or call us to confirm or cancel your enrollment. 

Parent and Family Updates

  • Please use the car loop for drop off and pick up.  You will need a paper with your child's name on it for pick up.  For detailed instructions, please see the button below. 
  • Please be punctual.  To make our car loop successful, we need families to arrive on time for drop off and pick up. 
  • Please use the phone or email to get in touch with our desk staff. If you have questions about your account or want to speak to our front desk, call us or email us. 
  • All personal belongings should be sent in a bag with your child's name on it. Personal belongings will be stored by class time.  This includes shoes, clothes, and water bottles. 
  • Please read and accept our new COVID-19 policies and waiver.  Thank you for taking the time to accept our new waiver that outlines wellness and operational policies. 
  • Have a question that wasn't answered above?  Please call us or email us! 

We look forward to seeing you back at Pinnacle soon! 

Sincerely, 
Morgan Kuchynka
Pinnacle Gymnastics, Owner

Update on May 5, 2020

Hello Pinnacle Families!

We have entered a home stretch for the Johnson County Stay-at-Home order and are looking forward to returning to the gym to start preparing for our athletes' return soon!  Based on current projections, we are planning to open the gym for all classes on June 1st! However, procedures will look quite a bit different as we have made changes to allow for social distancing throughout our program. 

First, we are asking our customers to participate in our drop off/pick up car loop.  This loop will be monitored by a Pinnacle staff member making sure students get in and out of cars safely.  We understand that preschool age children frequently feel more comfortable with a parent around.  For that reason, our preschool classes are allowed to have one parent accompany them into the facility each week. 

Second, hand washing will be mandatory for all students entering and exiting classes. In addition, we will ask students to wash their hands after we finish our bar rotation as well as any time a coach feels like it would be beneficial. We also will have hand sanitizing stations in the gym for in between rotations and as needed.  

Personal items will be handled in two different ways. For recreational and ninja participants, anyone bringing in personal objects will be asked to leave them in a dedicated basket.  The item will remain in the basket for the duration of class.  At pick up, our staff will assist with distributing personal items back to students. For team participants, we are asking that athletes bring a back pack to hold all items needed during workout (including grips, water bottles, etc).  There will be no cubby use until further notice.

Next, our staff members will be wearing masks until we are notified that it is no longer required as a best practice.  We are not encouraging students to wear masks based on the research that frequent touching or adjusting of a face mask issues more risk than not wearing one.  In addition to concerns with students touching the masks, we also feel that maximum oxygen intake is important for successful and safe training. 

Our lesson plans have been modified to have individual stations.  Each athlete will work at his or her station for approximately one minute before switching to the next station. Our staff will continue to assist (spot) one of the more challenging stations as necessary. 

Cleaning will be more frequent than ever. Each rotation will be sanitized every 40 minutes (50 minutes on team equipment) with coaches using their time in between classes to wipe down each event.  Our lobby staff will be wiping down all surfaces twice an hour.  We will continue to have a professional cleaning crew do an all facility clean three nights each week. 

We have canceled 57 classes. In addition, we have transferred several other classes to afternoon times in order to balance our schedule and reduce the number of people in the gym at any given time.  We will be contacting all customers this month regarding class schedules and changes necessary. 

All families will be asked to accept our updated waiver which includes a COVID-19 section.  These updates include agreeing not to enter the building within 24 hours of a fever or a cough, adhering to the 14-day quarantine period if someone in your household has or has had COVID-19, and acknowledging that even with our best intentions, there will be times when incidental contact breaks the 6 foot separation recommendation. 

We know that these changes will take some getting used to.  In the meantime, we hope that we can remain an important part of your family's schedule and provide a positive, supportive, and healthy learning environment.

In addition to all of the updates above, here is a little more program specific information for your family: 

Recreational/Tumbling

  • Increased warm up space and new independent warm ups
  • Eliminated partner stations - each gymnast will have their own station
  • All events will move at a designated time to reduce the amount of traffic during rotation times

Preschool

  • Modified preschool lesson plans featuring fun, skill appropriate stations set  6ft apart
  • Reduced number of students in preschool area at one time

Ninja

  • New warm up space in sports performance room
  • Extra rotation space added

Gym and Learn

  • Students will be divided into small groups of 7 or less and will stay with that group and instructor throughout the day
  • Students will participate in a drop off and pick up circle, to limit parent/ staff exposure.
  • Students will maintain social distancing through activities both in the classroom and in the gym.  Class structure will stay the same, with centers, art project, snack, circle time, and gymnastics each day

Team

  • Gymnasts will use backpacks for their personal belongings, snacks, and water instead of cubbies
  • Gymnasts will be required to wash their hands in between each rotation

Lobby

  • Marked viewing spaces for parents
  • Cleaning all seating, doors, sinks, railings, drinking fountain, paper towel holders, bathrooms hourly

We can't wait to have you back at the gym soon!

Sincerely, 

Morgan Kuchynka
Pinnacle Gymnastics, Owner

 

Update on April 28, 2020

Dear Pinnacle Families, 

Can you believe it is almost May?!? We have been keeping busy with our new FlipGrid curriculum and hope you have enjoyed our free trial period.  Beginning May 4, all FlipGrids will be available to those customers that are paying full or partial tuition. We truly appreciate the continued support of our amazing customer base and are proud to be able to offer FlipGrid in return! 

We are pleased to announce that we did receive some funding through the Payroll Protection Program.  These funds will help us continue to pay our staff, rent, and utilities through the end of May.  Even after the funds run out, we will make every effort to continue paying our staff through the duration of the shut down.

We are monitoring the recommendations from government officials, including the Johnson County Task Force.  While our re-opening date is still unknown, we are in constant communication working toward opening in a safe and timely manner.  If you would like to offer feedback on our re-opening, please take a couple of minutes to complete this 8-question survey. 

Our staff has been participating in Zoom meetings for our training sessions.  We have enjoyed taking on a variety of topics and can't wait to share our new ideas with all of our gym kids!  It has also been nice to get to see everyone's faces from time to time. 

We hope that your families are staying healthy and finding ways to enjoy the gift of time together we have been given.  Even though some days are filled with screaming matches and tears, others are filled with family games, nature walks, and homemade meals! 

We can't wait to see you back at the gym soon. 

Sincerely, 

Morgan Kuchynka
Pinnacle Gymnastics, Owner

 

Update on April 16, 2020

Hello Pinnacle Families! 

We are excited to introduce a new at home learning platform to our customers!  Pinnacle has built out weekly classes through FlipGrid.  Please visit our FlipGrid page to learn more about accessing this at-home learning resource.  

As the Governor of Kansas extended the stay-at-home order through May 3rd, we will be unable to re-open for classes this month.  While we are away, our staff is working hard to continuously update our FlipGrid learning platform to provide the best and safest at-home gymnastics, ninja, and gym and learn classes possible. 

In addition, we are researching and educating ourselves with what our return to business will look like.  We know that there is no magic light switch to allow us to return to the exact business practices we used previously.  Our leadership team has been updating lesson plans to maximize social distancing during classes as well as in the lobby. We will continue to do our best to prepare our facility, program, and staff for a smooth transition back to gymnastics! 

We hope that you are healthy, safe, and finding small ways to make the most out of the current situation. 

Sincerely, 

Morgan Kuchynka
Pinnacle Gymnastics, Owner

 

Update on March 17, 2020

Dear Pinnacle Families:

Effective immediately we will be temporarily suspending ALL gymnastics activities (practices, camps, and activities). We will continue to update you as needed.
 
Please watch our social media accounts, as we will update with new activities and work out options for our gymnasts to help them stay active during this time.
 
While we are disappointed our athletes will not be able to participate in gymnastics at this time these steps are necessary to help ensure that we do our part to avoid potentially spreading the virus.  
 
If you have specific questions please don’t hesitate to reach out.

For more details on Covid-19  please refer to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Kansas Health Department
 
Center for Disease Control
Kansas Health Department

We appreciate your support and understanding during this time. 

Morgan Kuchynka
Pinnacle Gymnastics
Owner
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