A Question for Moms with Kids in Gymnastics Classes.

**Good** gymnastics gyms UNIVERSALLY smell like chalk and high impact floor mats. There's also the prepuberty sweat smell (kind of metallic), but MOST of what you're smelling is the chalk & mats on the floor and unfer the beams.

There's no way to change the chalk & mat smell (safety issues). It not like a workout (or gymboree type) gym where it's hard floors, 'slick' blue mats, and no chalk.... and adults with deodorant.

It's just the way that gymnastics smells. Like pools and chlorine, or hockey and corpses.

If you get a good vibe from the place then stick with it. Do your children Love or Like gymnastics and the location? Are the instructors good with the kids? Are the kids really gaining skill or does it feel more like play time?
I've been to a few gyms for my 3 girls over the last 10 years and some had a strong odor and some not so obvious but they ALL had some smell.

It seems to me that larger facilities had a stronger smell then the smaller ones, for example The Little Gym didn't have a strong odor.

I also think of other factors lending to the smell mystery.
1. Special cleaning products designed for mats and equipment.
2. The mats and rubber material on some of the equipment have a unique smell.
3. The days your there might be the day before they do their major clean for the week and your smelling 6 days of sweat.

Well that's all I have for now but remember if you feel good about the place and the kids really enjoy it and the price is right then I say stick with it!

Every gymnastics place has that funky smell. I teach dance in my home and my dance rooms smells that way. I do everything possible to eliminate it but it always comes back. It does start out sweet smelling but smells funky after my classes.

Hi N., my daughter is a retired competitive gymnast, and I was a coach for many years, and I can assure you the very best gyms have the strongest August Flip Flop scent wafting out the door!

I have never been in a gym (and I've been in DOZENS) that didn't smell like feet, moldy mats and chalk dust! Ah, home sweet home!

:)

Yep they all do. I grew up as a competitive gymnast and was in many many gyms both in the usa and international. They all smell. Mostly I think it is the chalk and sweat, but it is just the "gym smell". My kids now take gymnastics at the place I did, and it still smells the same. You just have to remember hundreds of kids are running around sweating, dousing chalk on everything, and dragging the sweat and chalk all over. No matter how much you clean, it won't get rid of that smell. I guess I don't really notice it much since I grew up with it. Now there are gyms that do not clean well, but they are horrendous smelling, and you would know it. I doubt any reputable place would allow that, but check the place out and if it just has the typical gym smell go for it.

Haha, that's the way they smell! Like sweat and chalk. Most gyms vacuum the carpets (and even have them cleaned every once in a while) and wipe down the mats with bleach. But they still smell. After a while it just smells like gymnastics :)

Yes, every gym I have ever been in smells like feet. I wonder too, the kids take off their shoes and they have cubbies but the still leave them laying around the front of the gym.

The mats and pads in the gym can't really be cleaned too easily either. We have a mom that comes in and vacuums the strip of carpet between the areas and she often will vacuum the one gray pad area where the high school cheerleaders do their flips and stuff but the other surfaces are just there and not cleaned.

Um, we just don't take summer classes! Gym smell + no A/C = take swimming lessons! Otherwise, we don't mind it in the winter months. I'd be more concerned if I saw visible dirt. The place my daughter goes is very big on hand sanitizer when they do events with food, so I feel they want to keep it neat and clean, but unfortunately the kids are busy, the equipment is mostly vinyl and there are few windows. I'd go with the reputation unless you really just can't handle it;)

My daughter's does not.

Yep, well used gyms have that smell.
A newer gym may NOT have it at first, but it will before long.
My daughter was a competitive gymnast so I speak from experience!
The smell may be annoying and gross but the quality of the coaches and program is ultimately what matters most :)

My daughter's does not, but they have a state-of-the-art air filtration system and go through something like 6 complete air changes an hour, plus everything gets thoroughly wiped down and cleaned between each class.