Parents National TOPS testing

[Muddlethru]

Thanks for getting the joke! My wife didn't think it was funny! Haha

Great visual. Exactly how I felt then.

 

[rbearclaw]

Good luck to your dd! My daughter did not make it to National testing. Unfortunately, her gym did not realize she turns 9 at the very end of the year and did not work to get her 9 year old skills. She will try again next year as a 10 year old. So hard to have an end of the year birthday with TOPs.

True, except your daughter has the advantage of being that much older than girls in your same age group, esp a girl born really early in the year. Pluses and minuses to everything.

 

[Jenny]

True, except your daughter has the advantage of being that much older than girls in your same age group, esp a girl born really early in the year. Pluses and minuses to everything.

I don't follow? If she is born at the end of the year she is going to be the youngest of all the TOPs girls she is up against. If she was born at the beginning of the year she would be one of the oldest. TOPs uses the calendar year for age like we do here in the UK.

 

[rbearclaw]

I don't follow? If she is born at the end of the year she is going to be the youngest of all the TOPs girls she is up against. If she was born at the beginning of the year she would be one of the oldest. TOPs uses the calendar year for age like we do here in the UK.

You are correct, I apologize....it's early Monday morning. I was thinking backwards. Sorry!

 

[JBS]

True, except your daughter has the advantage of being that much older than girls in your same age group, esp a girl born really early in the year. Pluses and minuses to everything.

No...she would be one of the youngest. The age is by Dec. 31st...so if an 8 year old turns 9 on Dec. 28th...they would be a 9 year old tester that whole season even though they would actually be 8 years old for all the tests.

EDIT: Looks like everyone already got it figured out...but I'm going to leave this post so everyone is aware of the age date for TOPs.

 

[rbearclaw]

See above, I stand corrected! Was just thinking backwards this morning.

 

[rbearclaw]

My daughter's bday is in June, so it's never an issue for us.

 

[JBS]

We have one that we are going to train into TOPs that turns 7 this Sept. She will have to test as an 8 year old next year...tough stuff!

 

[4theloveofGym]

My daughter has an early December birthday so I can totally relate! When she went to camp the first time she was still 7 and had her birthday when she got home.

Back to the waiting...this year seems especially hard. I wonder if it is because the scoring seemed so much more difficult and no one has a good idea of what kind of score it will take to make a camp? I know everyone is saying the scoring was consistent with the 10 yr olds, but was it consistent across age groups?

 

[JBS]

Scores...scores...scores...you really have to have the training to go with them if you are planning a future in elite gymnastics. There were definitely some high scoring kids there that didn't have much in the high level ability department.

Anyways...it's good for everyone to know what they are going up against.

Here's a fun account for you all to watch...

https://www.youtube.com/user/tammyandsorin/videos

An eight year old with skills...



There is definitely a big difference in clubs that do the TOPs program to provide a better future for the gymnast...and clubs that do the TOPs program to find the next national team members.

 

[kimmypie1]

This all sounds so exciting....but I have no idea what you all are talking about, lol.

Can someone explain what TOPS is for a new gym mom? I Googled it, but it doesn't really explain what it is, only talks about the process of the testing.

 

[JBS]

@kimmypie1

Here are some links...

https://usagym.org/pages/women/pages/overview_tops.html

http://gymnasticszone.com/blog/2012/04/28/usa-gymnastics-tops-program-expanded-but-watered-down/

And I have attached the manual from 2006 - 2007...the first few pages describe the program...the testing has changed now...but the concept is the same...

...find the athletes that have the potential to win medals for the US and give them access to the best coaching system on earth.

 

[kimmypie1]

Thanks JBS! What an accomplishment for your girls! congratulations to all who are involved in this!

 

[gopuckgo]

Scores...scores...scores...you really have to have the training to go with them if you are planning a future in elite gymnastics. There were definitely some high scoring kids there that didn't have much in the high level ability department.

Anyways...it's good for everyone to know what they are going up against.

Here's a fun account for you all to watch...

https://www.youtube.com/user/tammyandsorin/videos

An eight year old with skills...



There is definitely a big difference in clubs that do the TOPs program to provide a better future for the gymnast...and clubs that do the TOPs program to find the next national team members.

Agree with JBS. We saw and spoke with kids who were in my daughter's age group who widely ranged in their JO level. Some were Level 7 and some Level 9/10 in the 10 year old age division. It seemed like a vast number were at least level 8. Also some of the program's train TOPS skills a lot. Whereas others just use it to supplement strength and flexibility and only do the skills once per week. It was pretty cool though to mingle with parents from all over the US! On a side note: my daughter is one of those end of the year birthdays and had to test one year older too. She held her own and did great. It is not easy to test against kids who have one year on you developmentally, but it is not a death sentence either.

 

[Canadian_gym_mom]

My dd has a late December birthday and our system in Ontario has the age cut off at December 31. Competition season runs basically from November to May. She is always one of the youngest. Same for school. I've never found it to be an issue for her so far.

Sorry totally unrelated to TOPS just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in about the age thing.



Edited to add my TOPS related portion:

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't the majority of the TOPS things like handstands, leg raises, etc. just all part of normal conditioning? Because we have a similar program for 5-8 year olds where they compete all that stuff. My dd has had it as part of her conditioning since she started, and she has been at 3 gyms.

 

[gopuckgo]

My dd has a late December birthday and our system in Ontario has the age cut off at December 31. Competition season runs basically from November to May. She is always one of the youngest. Same for school. I've never found it to be an issue for her so far.

Sorry totally unrelated to TOPS just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in about the age thing.



Edited to add my TOPS related portion:

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't the majority of the TOPS things like handstands, leg raises, etc. just all part of normal conditioning? Because we have a similar program for 5-8 year olds where they compete all that stuff. My dd has had it as part of her conditioning since she started, and she has been at 3 gyms.

It used to be all conditioning (strength, flexibility, speed, etc) but last year they added a lot of skills. The conditioning piece is quite easy for most of them. Our gym has had a lot of A campers over the years and our older girls have told us that it is wayyyyy harder to make camp now with the skills portion then it used to be.

It is also learning all of the routines and skills to perfection that takes the time and effort. Plus, none of the routines are the same as their JO routines or their Hopes routines. Ugh, so much for a 9 year old to keep straight.

 

[LemonLime]

The coaches are supposed to hear on 10/25-26 and posted around 10/31-11/1.

 

[DefiniteMaybe]

The coaches are supposed to hear on 10/25-26 and posted around 10/31-11/1.

Oh, wow. So do they normally send/post results on the weekend? Trying to remember what day of the week we found out last year...

 

[Muddlethru]

When my daughter did TOPS about 3 years ago, our coach found out on a Friday night, after practice around 7:00pm.

 

[4theloveofGym]

I remember some people finding out on Thursday, the 24th last year. We didn't find out until the 26th, I think.