It makes me sad to write this review because just last week I would've given 10 stars. My 4 year old has been going to Tumble Tech for a little over a year and she absolutely loves it. Her coach, Mikayla, is amazing, the gym looks new, clean, and in good condition, they have fun extra events and contests, and it's overall just a highlight of our week. I have no tumbling experience and honestly do not care about her abilities, but she is strong and I've noticed that she can do "tumbling" activities at least a little more than most kids her age who aren't in gymnastics, so I think she's definitely learning.
The only reason I'm giving 3 stars is because this place is absolutely not safe if you have a toddler. Two years old and up with a decent attention span will be fine here. Babies who can be worn in a carrier or sleep in a carseat - no problem. Curious, always active, 13-23 month olds...forget about it! The times I've tried to keep my youngest upstairs, she has fallen and hit her head on the bleachers (there are sharp metal angles everywhere), she has tried to walk down the stairs (see photo - there is nothing blocking either set of stairs and it's a very long, hard fall). I almost have a panic attack thinking about how I could be trying to take a picture of my daughter doing gymnastics while my 1 year old climbs these short rails, falls over and cracks her skull.
When we first started coming here, we were told several times we could stay in the corner area during the preschool class as long as the gym overall wasn't busy, using that area, etc. There have always been signs saying no parents allowed downstairs and I do understand why they don't want parents or anyone other than participants in the gym; we have just been told it's okay on more than one occasion. I assumed that was because it's pretty obvious that the normal viewing area is not safe for little ones. Last week, we were told that we could no longer be downstairs. I had to drop my daughter out of her favorite class (and we've tried all types of things - dance, music, soccer, yoga, art, and more) because I just can't put my youngest in danger right now. Maybe in 6 months she will have an attention span and I can keep her entertained with some toys, books, or even a show on my phone, but right now that is impossible.
I've been in a lot of "kid classes" around Austin and most places have some sort of area for younger siblings. A small shelf with some books and toys is pretty normal but even at places that don't have that - at least your kids are on a ground floor where there's not an immediate, real possibility they could get seriously hurt. I have repeatedly recommended Tumble Tech to my mom's groups, friends, neighbors, even random people I see touring the facility. And I will still recommend Tumble Tech but just make sure to add the disclaimer if they have a toddler that will be coming with them.
We are joining another gymnastics studio that has a little area with mats that younger siblings can play safely. If we don't fall in love with that studio the way we have with Tumble Tech, I promised my daughter we could come back when Halle is a little bigger. Luckily, she understood and agreed.
I was thinking that maybe the youngest gymnasts just aren't their target customer, but they should be. Maybe our $50/month for preschool classes isn't much now, but if we continued classes until my daughter was even just in middle school, that's at least $10,000 they're missing out on from one family long term.
Tumble Tech is definitely a 5 star operation in my opinion...just not if you have to bring a little one along. read more