WAG US Championships

[sce]

I just looked at the roster the the US Championships. There are only 16 seniors competing. Is this normal? Seems like a very small number.

 

[Terry]

It is indeed a thin field of senior women. And not all are competing AA. And with Simone and Kyla basically locks for worlds, there should not be many surprises.

 

[profmom]

I think the women's side is typically smaller than the men's, but 16 is small!

I just looked at the men's side, and no Stacey Ervin, probably because he's still recovering from his bicep repair. I am devastated and heartbroken.

 

[Terry]

but two years ahead of Rio its okay for the senior team to be small. There is a rich field of juniors coming up. (I am only commenting on the women's side because thats basically all I follow)

 

[bogwoppit]

16 is small, though there are a ton of juniors.

 

[Terry]

16 is small, though there are a ton of juniors.

exactly. With Simone and Kyla leading they will have a great worlds team. And its the juniors who will make up the bulk of the next Olympic team. Simone is the only senior I see making it to Rio. The only current senior that is.

 

[bogwoppit]

exactly. With Simone and Kyla leading they will have a great worlds team. And its the juniors who will make up the bulk of the next Olympic team. Simone is the only senior I see making it to Rio. The only current senior that is.

MY thoughts too, two years is a long time.

I always find the sad/scary thing is that there are always a ton of juniors and way less seniors. So many injuries and high burn out rate. Perhaps junior elite should have a higher age limit since the FIG no longer allows girls under 16 year old to compete at worlds/O's. Some of those juniors need to hang around until 2020.


Edited to fix my typing madness.

 

[bogwoppit]

Bt the way, at this point, of the 16 Senior WAG, only 12 are doing AA. That meet will be done in 30 minutes.

 

[Canadian_gym_mom]

MY thoughts too, two years is a long time.

I always find the sad/scary thing is that there are always a ton of juniors and way less seniors. So many injuries and high burn out rate. Perhaps junior elite should have a lower age limit since the FIG no longer allows girls under 16 year old to compete at worlds/O's. Some of those juniors need to hang around until 2020.

What do you mean by a "lower age limit"?

Also, it's funny you say that some of those awesome Juniors will not be age ready until 2020. My dd still insists that is "her year", lol. She will turn 17 in December of that year. Maybe it's to her advantage that she is nowhere near the level of some of those American Juniors. She won't have to maintain as long.

(Please note that I am saying this tongue in cheek. I have no personal ideas that my dd will ever achieve that level of competition. I am just not ready to dash her dreams yet though.)

 

[bogwoppit]

LOL I think I meant higher!!! Will edit that post.

It is definitely in your dd's interest to be turning 17 in that year and being paced more slowly.

 

[Terry]

LOL I think I meant higher!!! Will edit that post.

It is definitely in your dd's interest to be turning 17 in that year and being paced more slowly.

I'm not sure I get your point though. You want 17 year olds to be classified as juniors?

 

[bogwoppit]

I'm not sure I get your point though. You want 17 year olds to be classified as juniors?

No, I do not see the point of 11/12/13 year olds being juniors when they are years away from senior.

Too much hard pounding and too many kids being pushed forward who are not really ready. Why the rush?

A gymnast could test elite at 14 and be in a great position for seniors at 16 without enduring years of hard training.

 

[NCAAFAN]

I just looked at the roster the the US Championships. There are only 16 seniors competing. Is this normal? Seems like a very small number.

The field at the senior level has been shrinking for years. There are fewer and fewer opportunities for the girls to compete and Marta keeps telling girls to not come back to camp. Some ignore her and continue trying elite without being invited to camps. This year they actually went around asking level 10's to come back ( although since many had just dropped back the were ineligible). If you aren't going to get to compete and you have your college scholarship ( and making it to Championships as a Junior elite just about guarantees that) sadly there is not incentive. If they drop back to 10 they typically will make Nationals and will be on the podium somewhere in most meets. Sadly Marta doesn't want to send anybody anywhere the USA won't dominate. Look on the USAG site and see how few meets there are and how few girls get to go. By the time you turn 16 you typically have a clue whether you have a possibility of making a World Team ( 4 girls that Marta likes) , if that does not seem in the cards , then why continue to train at that level and risk injury? Liukin is doing a great job with the developmental program which is why Hopes ( which had gotten down to 2 kids a few years back) and Juniors are looking packed.

 

[Terry]

No, I do not see the point of 11/12/13 year olds being juniors when they are years away from senior.

Too much hard pounding and two many kids being pushed forward who are not really ready. Why the rush?

A gymnast could test elite at 14 and be in a great position for seniors at 16 without enduring years of hard training.

Got it. I think that makes a good deal of sense.

 

[kandkfunk]

No, I do not see the point of 11/12/13 year olds being juniors when they are years away from senior.

Too much hard pounding and two many kids being pushed forward who are not really ready. Why the rush?

A gymnast could test elite at 14 and be in a great position for seniors at 16 without enduring years of hard training.

Perfect example of this is the youngster that won the Junior competition at the Secret Classic. Jordan Chiles is not age eligible for Rio, yet she is already competing junior elite. I hope she has enough in her tank and can avoid injury long enough to make it to 2020, but it will be very difficult for her.

 

[wandrewsjr]

I just looked at the roster the the US Championships. There are only 16 seniors competing. Is this normal? Seems like a very small number.

Took a quick look at the results for the past 10 years and they range from a low of 13 seniors in 2013 to a high of 23 seniors in 2012, with an average over the 10 year period of 18.7 senior competitors. So I would consider 16 to be "normal" and not much of a deviation from what has been common in recent history.

 

[gymmomx2]

16 seems like so very few given the size of the US. In Canada we had 17 senior girls compete in the all around (21 seniors total).

 

[Terry]

The field at the senior level has been shrinking for years. There are fewer and fewer opportunities for the girls to compete and Marta keeps telling girls to not come back to camp. Some ignore her and continue trying elite without being invited to camps. This year they actually went around asking level 10's to come back ( although since many had just dropped back the were ineligible). If you aren't going to get to compete and you have your college scholarship ( and making it to Championships as a Junior elite just about guarantees that) sadly there is not incentive. If they drop back to 10 they typically will make Nationals and will be on the podium somewhere in most meets. Sadly Marta doesn't want to send anybody anywhere the USA won't dominate. Look on the USAG site and see how few meets there are and how few girls get to go. By the time you turn 16 you typically have a clue whether you have a possibility of making a World Team ( 4 girls that Marta likes) , if that does not seem in the cards , then why continue to train at that level and risk injury? Liukin is doing a great job with the developmental program which is why Hopes ( which had gotten down to 2 kids a few years back) and Juniors are looking packed.

Marta though has done wonders -- true wonders -- with our national team. I for one just will not second guess her.

 

[Terry]

Podium training will be live streamed today starting at 9 a.m. ET with the juniors. seniors start at 11:30 a.m. ET

 

[bogwoppit]

I am watching, no sounds and the split screens are tiny. Better than a kick in the head though.