Let Lily climb!
The issue
Kia ora, tena koutou katoa,
I would like to thank you in advance for reading this petition, and for whatever response that I get from it.
My name is Caroline Atkinson, and I am a volunteer climbing coach in Christchurch, New Zealand and have been for over two years now. I have started this petition independently from any organisation, with my husband Douglas, in the hope of achieving a fair outcome for our family.
My daughter Lily turns one today, Monday 21st June 2021, and she has been coaching with me in the YMCA Adventure Centre three times a week since she was five days old. We have never had an issue previously with her being in the gym with me (obviously under full supervision) and she has even been to a number of climbing competitions as well, including the National Speed, and National Top Rope and Lead Competitions that were held in Tauranga and Rotorua respectively in March this year.
Over the course of the last few weeks, the YMCA who run the climbing gym here in Christchurch have decided that my daughter (along with anyone else under the age of five) is no longer welcome in the facility.
The email that I received from their CEO on Thursday 17th June 2021 says that they "have checked with other climbing centres and have yet to find anyone who allows children under 5 in their climbing arenas", as well as telling me that my daughter isn’t gaining anything from being in the facility. I have since contacted a number of climbing facilities around New Zealand, and one in London, England, to check what their policies were for our situation. For the most part, the responses have been a mixture of outraged on my behalf, and full of support for me fighting the decision made by the YMCA.
My daughter has no family in New Zealand, and the climbers have filled that gap for her since day one. She has her own harness (properly fitted) and has recently begun experimenting with how it feels to wear it on a rope. Socially she is far more adept than other children her own age, she is happy to go to anyone in the gym environment, and is already imitating the movements my climbers make both on the wall and in their conditioning exercises.
I am trying to do everything in my power to fight this decision, so I am trying to collect as much evidence and sources to back myself up as possible before going to the YMCA Board of Trustees at the end of the month. One of the gyms that I contacted has suggested that I start a petition within the climbing community, asking for support and to help to fight this decision. If any of you can think of any other way to fight this please let me know.
Ngā mihi
The Atkinson Whanau
The issue
Kia ora, tena koutou katoa,
I would like to thank you in advance for reading this petition, and for whatever response that I get from it.
My name is Caroline Atkinson, and I am a volunteer climbing coach in Christchurch, New Zealand and have been for over two years now. I have started this petition independently from any organisation, with my husband Douglas, in the hope of achieving a fair outcome for our family.
My daughter Lily turns one today, Monday 21st June 2021, and she has been coaching with me in the YMCA Adventure Centre three times a week since she was five days old. We have never had an issue previously with her being in the gym with me (obviously under full supervision) and she has even been to a number of climbing competitions as well, including the National Speed, and National Top Rope and Lead Competitions that were held in Tauranga and Rotorua respectively in March this year.
Over the course of the last few weeks, the YMCA who run the climbing gym here in Christchurch have decided that my daughter (along with anyone else under the age of five) is no longer welcome in the facility.
The email that I received from their CEO on Thursday 17th June 2021 says that they "have checked with other climbing centres and have yet to find anyone who allows children under 5 in their climbing arenas", as well as telling me that my daughter isn’t gaining anything from being in the facility. I have since contacted a number of climbing facilities around New Zealand, and one in London, England, to check what their policies were for our situation. For the most part, the responses have been a mixture of outraged on my behalf, and full of support for me fighting the decision made by the YMCA.
My daughter has no family in New Zealand, and the climbers have filled that gap for her since day one. She has her own harness (properly fitted) and has recently begun experimenting with how it feels to wear it on a rope. Socially she is far more adept than other children her own age, she is happy to go to anyone in the gym environment, and is already imitating the movements my climbers make both on the wall and in their conditioning exercises.
I am trying to do everything in my power to fight this decision, so I am trying to collect as much evidence and sources to back myself up as possible before going to the YMCA Board of Trustees at the end of the month. One of the gyms that I contacted has suggested that I start a petition within the climbing community, asking for support and to help to fight this decision. If any of you can think of any other way to fight this please let me know.
Ngā mihi
The Atkinson Whanau
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on 20 June 2021