Lethbridge Gymnastics Club silent on refunds for concerned parents

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on August 12, 2022.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Mallory Kristjanson says concerned parents such as herself are being stonewalled in their demand for a refund after removing their children from summer camps at the Lethbridge Gymnastics Academy.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

After allegations of sexual assault against the co-owner and head coach of Lethbridge Gymnastics Academy came to light, many parents removed their children from their summer programming but say they are now being refused a refund.

As a concerned parent who removed her child from their summer programming, Mallory Kristjanson reached out to the media to speak on behalf of multiple parents who have reached out to her regarding their refunds.

“Many of us parents who have attempted to remove our children from the Lethbridge Gymnastics Academy have actually been denied a refund, our phone calls aren’t being returned, our emails are no longer being returned, they’re trying to say that there is no refund policy but in fact the refund policy they have has nothing to do with negligence and/or at fault of a staff member so we are demanding a refund,” said Kristjanson.

She explained that after three more charges were laid against the individual on Thursday, many parents grew even more concerned about the lack of communication, especially at their cost.

“It has cost parents $300 for our children to be enrolled in a summer camp, what is more is that there has been no internal audit done on the best safety and practices for these children who are attending this program and that is why we are concerned,” said Kristjanson.

She added that they are also concerned that there may be more children who were victims.

“We’re standing together with the victims of the first assault, but also with their families. We are absolutely standing with them,” said Kristjanson.

She said many parents, herself included, are very grateful that their children are not going to be attending LGA.

“Our hearts, our prayers, our thoughts, are with every single victim of these charges. There is absolutely no excuse that a parent should have to feel unsafe where they’re dropping their children off, there should be better standards of practice, code of conduct,” said Kristjanson.

She said the first victim was one too many and on behalf of the parents that are not only upset about the refusal of the refund, she is also speaking on their behalf to encourage anyone who has been impacted by this to reach out to the Chinook Sexual Assault Centre for support, counselling and any additional services that they may need.

“I also want to focus on the fact that I have friends who’ve used subsidized programming as well to enroll their children in these summer camps, and sometimes parents may not have the ability to speak to their children about inappropriate touching, so we want to also encourage parents to have these conversations with their children,” said Kristjanson.

She also wants more parents to speak out about their lack of refund.

“We know that there’s more, we are encouraging other parents that have been denied a refund to reach out to me directly so that we can come together and stand together and get our refund,” said Kristjanson.

“If we have enough bodies, we will look into also seeking legal advice, because in their refund policy there is nothing stating where staff members are at fault and/or negligent, nor has there even been any policy or updated standards of practice to ensure that our children would have been safe if we decided to keep them in this program,” added Kristjanson.

That sentiment was echoed by another concerned parent, Jenna Johnson, who had enrolled her two daughters in a summer camp that was supposed to take place this week.

“When we decided we were not going to send the girls anymore, I reached out to them by email explaining that we don’t feel comfortable with it at the end of July, and we were looking for a refund to find alternate childcare and they didn’t return my email,” said Johnson.

She said after not getting a response she reached out by email again last week but this time just asking for a phone call or a possible meeting in person to discuss the matter, which also went unanswered.

“My kids were supposed to go there this week starting on Monday, so on Monday me and my husband went to the gym without our kids, just to speak with them about what was happening and if we could get a refund, and when we got there we were told that the owner Andrea was not there, that we could leave our number and she would call us back for sure,” said Johnson.

As of Thursday afternoon, Johnson had not received a call from LGA.

Johnson said from the lack of refund she is out $600 at the moment and had to find alternative care for her daughters this week, which she also had to pay for.

“I reached out to her on Facebook Messenger as well with no reply, so just feeling a bit frustrated. I think overall that we haven’t had any communication, not to mention that our kids aren’t there this week, and nobody has reached out about that as well,” said Johnson.

When searched online, the Lethbridge Gymnastics Academy showed up as “temporarily closed” on Thursday morning, but the establishment was in fact open and had children in attendance, some were training while others were watching a movie. By Thursday afternoon, the same search showed them as “permanently closed” and they had published a statement on their social media that reads: “We were made aware yesterday of additional charges laid against the former co-owner of LGA. Andrea has been the sole owner of the gym since July 29. We have no additional information other than what police have released and will not be making any further comments at this time.”

Kristjanson said that after the COVID-19 pandemic, many parents were happy to support a local business, but now many parents are not feeling the same way about the LGA.

“After this whole situation came to light some of us received a very self-serving email that avoided any accountability and/or at fault, which obviously left a very distasteful feeling with us. There were no proactive measures being taken, there was no internal audit that was going to be done, some parents have also voiced their concern about any photography and/or illicit images taken. Parents are very concerned, and parents have every right to be concerned, and it’s important that we stand together,” said Kristjanson.

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