My husband and I visited this establishment when we went to Monterey to visit our son and his family. My daughter-in-law stated she enrolled our grand-daughter in class at Rising Star, so the family went to show our support at her weekly session. To my surprise, the place was undesirably and disgustingly dirty. The mats had layers of chalk on them, which leads me to believe they do not wipe them off frequently. The air quality had a terrible odor of musk. My husband had to step outside to get some fresh air. The stair case that leads to the viewing area upstairs was filthy. I visited the ladies bathroom and the condition was the same, filthy. There was trash on every stair and dust accumulation so thick you could see it with the visible eye. Once upstairs, I looked around the bleachers and on the floor was fruit, stains from soda or coffee cups. The floor appeared as if it had not been swept or mopped for weeks. I looked behind me, on the ledge behind the bleachers, at the large number of trophies which were displayed. They were completely covered with layers of dust and many spider webs. It was clear to me the owners, nor the workers at this gym cared at all about sanitation and cleanliness. It was obvious there was no pride of ownership.
I also had a concern for the instructor of the 3 year olds and under age group. There was only one instructor assigned to these little children. Several times during the visit, I viewed a safety hazard for this age group: children climbing up the ladder without immediate supervision (the instructor was in another area showing another student how to flip). Only one child should be allowed on the ladder at a time. As a matter of fact, only one child should be allowed on the mats at a time. There were several children flipping, tumbling, and jumping all at once on the mats. This happened because the instructor was at another station, while the children are allowed to move to the next activity.
On one occasion, the group moved to the long trampoline against the back wall. For about five minutes, the instructor did not notice she was missing a student. The child was off playing by herself at the different stations. The classmates completed the trampoline and they and the instructor moved on to the next station, when finally, the little student found her way to the trampoline. Once she was on the equipment, she ventured off into an area she was not to be. The instructor had to quickly mount the trampoline in an attempt to catch the student before she exited the steep stairwell...all the while leaving the other students unattended.
I was very frustrated after this visit, especially after watching these small children go up the ladder (several feet off of the floor) unattended, with at least three children on the ladder at one time; clearly an issue of safety. I advised our children to take a complete tour of the facility before enrolling our grand children in any program at an establishment. I also explained to them to watch how the staff interacts with the children and to be vigilant when it comes to safety.
The ladies conducting the classes were good instructors. The issue at hand at Rising Star Gymnastics is improper manning for the small children's group and cleanliness. The establishment "Rising Star" DOES NOT exemplify the characteristics of the name of the establishment: heavenly, luminous, radiant--bright with joy and hope, or influential. read more