SO, YOU WANT TO JOIN US?
That's awesome! We look forward to seeing you! Below is a step-by-step of how to join, start classes and have fun starting your pole and/or aerial journey with us at WPAA!
FIRST THINGS FIRST...
Let's get you to a taster!
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You might have already been to one of our taster, and it might be why you're here! If so, carry on scrolling to the next section!
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If it's the start of Term 1 or 2, keep an eye out for our free tasters; timetables will be up on our social media. These require no sign up, just turn up!
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If it's in the middle of the term, have a look at the following week's timetable and pick a beginner's class that you'll be available for. Then, message our exec (see our Contact page) letting us know you'd like to reserve a space in that class. We'll hold a space for you and let our teachers know that someone's coming for a taster, so you can rest assured that you'll be taught the very basics - unless you have previous experience, in which case let us know and we'll teach to your level! This taster will also be completely free!
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For more info on what to wear to a taster, keep scrolling for the Going to Lessons section!
To be able to sign up to lessons, you'll need to get yourself a WPAA Membership.
On our Warwick SU page, scroll to the bottom (or click the "Join this Society" button) so you see this:
JOINING THE SOCIETY
Add the relevant membership to your basket, then go to your basket (or add a few more societies to your basket first!). The Societies Federation Fee, a fee from the SU that you have to pay once a year to join most societies, will be automatically added to your basket unless you have already bought one. Choose the fee relevant to you, pay, and you're an official WPAA member!
SIGNING UP TO LESSONS
Here's the exciting part!
To sign up to our lessons, head back over to our Warwick SU page and scroll down, or follow this link that'll take you directly to the sign-ups section - bookmarking this page is a good idea!
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If you spot something like this, don't panic! This simply means there aren't any signups yet, which often happens over the holidays when we don't run any lessons. They'll be back soon!
Otherwise, you should see something like this:
Find the class you want to go to, click the sign-up button, after which you should see this (note that the sign-up button might look slightly different on different devices:
Sign-ups open at 12pm/noon every Sunday. Set your alarms as places go fast!
The number of places available for a signup does not change with the number of people signed up, but if the class is full, the sign-up button will be replaced with text that says "This sign-up is full". Keep an eye out for cancellations as you are free to grab that space!
We also have a special cancellation policy if you find that you can no longer come to a lesson. Please make sure you read the section about it below before signing up!
Lessons cost £4 each, which can be paid in cash to your teacher before the start of the lesson.
You can also get lessons passes which reduce the cost of lessons:
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5 Lesson Pass: £15
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10 Lesson Pass: £25
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15 Lesson Pass £32
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20 Lesson Pass: £40
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Term Pass: £50 (note: this is currently unavailable to buy online but we will be fixing it soon!)
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Lesson passes can be bought online on our SU page or in person with cash from an exec member at any lesson. They come in the form of physical cards that get ticked off each lesson, so if you have bought one online, please show your email receipt to an exec member at your next lesson and they will fill it out for you.
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All lesson passes except for the Term Pass carry over across terms and academic years. If you forget or lose your pass, don't panic! We are happy to replace any lost passes with no cost and if you forget your pass, we'll just make a note to cross off that lesson next time we see you.
PAYING
FOR
LESSONS
GOING TO LESSONS
POLE
What to wear:
A t-shirt and shorts that expose inner thigh skin are ideal, as it help you to grip the pole.
Expect to be taking shoes and socks off.
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Please make sure to avoid moisturiser and fake tan for 24 hours before your lesson as this can make you and the pole slippery.
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Where to go:
The IKEA rooms; the room next to the pharmacy in the lower floor of the SU building.
HOOP
What to wear:
A t-shirt and flexible trousers (i.e. leggings) are ideal, as the backs of your knees need to be protected to avoid scrapes.
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Expect to be taking shoes off but keeping socks on.
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Where to go:
The SU Atrium; the big space in the middle of the ground floor of the SU building.
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SILKS
What to wear:
A t-shirt and flexible trousers (i.e. leggings) are ideal, as your skin needs to be covered to protect from fabric burns. Please make sure to cover your mid-riff (i.e. no crop tops).
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Expect to be taking shoes and socks off for grip on the silks.
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Where to go:
The SU Atrium; the big space in the middle of the ground floor of the SU building.
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For all three, please make sure you are wearing chest support if needed (i.e. a sports bra or similar) and prepare to take rings, bracelets and anklets off before the lesson. We also know that not everyone is comfortable showing skin; at the end of the day, any clothes you are comfortable to work up a sweat in will still do fine! Your comfort is top priority and we will never pressure you to show skin if you don't want to.
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What's Strength and Stretch?
Strength and Stretch is a supplementary class for people from all three disciplines, that focuses on strength and flexibility to help you in your classes. We primarily focus on core strength and leg strength and flexibility, but we do mix it up to make sure you're strong and flexy all round!
What to wear: Any workout gear that you feel comfy in!
Where to go: The IKEA rooms (see above)
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What's a jam?
A jam is an open practise session where the equipment is free for anyone signed up to use as they like. They typically come after beginner lessons in our timetable and we have a 3-hour open jam every other Saturday.
Jams are an excellent places to practise moves you've learned between classes and are also totally free!
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Whilst no teaching happens in jam sessions, a teacher will always be present to supervise and, at their discretion, can answer questions, help out, and demonstrate moves. Just remember to ask nicely!
We highly encourage everyone to use jams as much as they can, as there can often be too little time in lessons for people to get a move completely, and jams are the perfect place to practise them until you get it - many people have anecdotes about only fully understanding a move when they've been able to go over it in their own time in jams!
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Jams are also often used to put together routines for performances, showcases and competitions. We have two major competitions each year, the Inter-University Pole Dance Competition (IUPDC) and the Inter-University Aerial Hoop Competition (IUAHC).
We also have two major showcases each year, our Christmas Showcase (~ Week 9, Term 1) and our Summer Showcase (~ Week 8, Term 3). In the week(s) running up to these events, we often dedicate some of our jams to performers. We still always aim to have at least 1 jam for everyone a week!
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For more information on the specific disciplines, head over to Classes!
CANCELLATION POLICY AND STRIKES
If you can no longer make it to a lesson, please let the exec know as soon as you reasonably can. This allows someone to take your place and avoids teachers having empty lessons!
The easiest place to let us know is to comment underneath the weekly cancellation posts in WPAA Community, our Facebook group. You will need to request to join, but it usually doesn't take long for an exec member to approve you; simply message us if we're taking a while! The post can also sometimes be late. Please don't worry if this happens - if we are too late to approve you or make the post, then any late cancellation is our fault and so will not have any penalty!
You can also email us or message us on Instagram or Facebook! Any point of contact works!
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We operate on a 3-strike system for late cancellations and no shows.
The scary part: A strike is gained when you are not present at a lesson and you have either not let us know or let us know less than 2 hours in advance of the lesson. After gaining 3 strikes in one term, we will ask you to pay us the full amount for the lessons you missed (£12), and if you miss additional lessons without letting us know, we will ask you to pay the full price for them (£4), and will turn you away from lessons until this is paid.
The much less scary part: We absolutely understand that things happen and plans change. Last-minute emergencies, illnesses, etc are perfectly valid reasons for not being able to let us know earlier and so don't result in a strike. This system is intended to deter those few who very frequently take up spaces in small classes, preventing others from being able to go to classes, not to punish the majority!
We don't count any strikes before we know that people are fully aware of the system and generally err on the side of avoiding strikes.
We also send out an email each week to those who have received strikes to let you know where you're at (and inform you of the system if you didn't already know, in which case that strike would be cancelled), and strikes are all reset at the start of each term.
Essentially, as long as we know you're making an effort to cancel on time, you're completely fine. If you have a schedule that tends to change last-minute or something similar, just give us a shout!