WAG L8 Artistry and Composition Deductions?

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What the heck are these?

We just had a meeting with DD's coaches (she got to be one of the first this year instead of one of the last right before season begins! Yay!) Their 'plan' (as much as a coach can have a plan, at least) for her is to do 7 this year and 8 next year; 9/10/Elite will take care of itself after the Level 8 season (2017). Both DD and I are satisfied with this plan, but she did ask (because she's still a child) why, if she were training 8/9 skills she needs to compete 7. A fair question and one of the coaches told her 1) it is better to train ahead in the gym so there is less pressure during meet season (I completely agree with this) and 2) at 8 they start judging artistry and composition. That prompted me to ask what the heck those were and HC said those were things we didn't need to think about until next year (I assume at our yearly meeting)...But, I'm curious....I'm such a nerd that if there's something to learn I want to learn it instead of putting it aside. I know it doesn't affect DD this year, but still....what are these deductions and how do they factor in to a score? Are they on all events or just the 'dance' events (beam/floor)? Is it a general deduction (off the final score) or is it per element? So many questions.... :/
 
At L7 routines are judged on how well the skills are performed as long as all the minimum requirements are met to start from a 10.0. It is a great chance to get used to performing optional routines without the added stress of worrying about some of the finer composition details of routines. Starting at L8, routines also have a "not up to competitive level" deduction, so routines with maximum difficulty are scored better (assuming both are performed well). Now that L8 allows 1 C skill on each event in addition to certain other allowable skills, it is common to see more of these at L8 (So for example a double back dismount off bars, back tucks on beam). They also look at a bunch of other things in the the composition and artistry like equal distribution between dance and acro elements, variety in both dance and acro elements, having the difficult elements spaced out in the routines, forward/side/backward elements, for floor the "fit" with the music, and there are several others, but can't remember off the top of my head. The lack of artistry/compostion deductions is one of the reasons that L7 typically scores much better than any other optional level.
 
Actually, they are judging artistry at all levels now - just not composition. Artistry is "prettiness" as the Judge at the Clinic told our girls last year. It is not a huge deduction... I think that plus dynamics is only worth 0.30 (at least that is what YG lost on floor at the Judges Clinic).
 
Thanks for the detailed answer, gymtigermom. I'm not thinking much about it now since we have another year before we get there, but my curiosity got the better of me and now I have an answer! (It all seems so subjective, though....)

The artistry/composition answer is a very strange answer to the question "why compete Level 7!"

It is, and while DD has never struggled with the 'prettiness' factor, I think her coaches want to give her another year to gain some maturity with her dance ability (as opposed to thrusting her into something she may or may not be ready for).
 
Thanks for the detailed answer, gymtigermom. I'm not thinking much about it now since we have another year before we get there, but my curiosity got the better of me and now I have an answer! (It all seems so subjective, though....)



It is, and while DD has never struggled with the 'prettiness' factor, I think her coaches want to give her another year to gain some maturity with her dance ability (as opposed to thrusting her into something she may or may not be ready for).

But they can/do take artistry deductions at Level 7, and a composition deduction is really an error made by the coach when they are composing the routine, not an error a gymnast makes when competing it. I'm just wondering why you were given a reason that can't possibly be the real reason.
 
But they can/do take artistry deductions at Level 7, and a composition deduction is really an error made by the coach when they are composing the routine, not an error a gymnast makes when competing it. I'm just wondering why you were given a reason that can't possibly be the real reason.
My guess would be that they didn't want to say that at least one meet at L7 is required and we want her to compete the entire season at this level so she can score really well and make the gym look good :)
 
Or it is a gym that wants their girls' routines perfect and she will not have perfected those higher level skills by competition season - particularly the ones that will cost you the 'composition' errors. Most gyms train skills 1-3 levels above the current level. So that is not unusual.
 
Well, the coach did give reason 1, first, which may be his primary reason, and reason 2 is probably just additional information, but it may be that he wants to build confidence and that your gym competes the highest level skills allowed at each level.
 
But they can/do take artistry deductions at Level 7, and a composition deduction is really an error made by the coach when they are composing the routine, not an error a gymnast makes when competing it. I'm just wondering why you were given a reason that can't possibly be the real reason.

But the coach did give reason #1 also.
 
After reading everyone's replies, I am wondering if the reason her coaches mentioned artistry and composition was because she would not be able to keep her L6 routine? The coaches prefer to change routines after 2 years or longer, so this year would be her 2nd year with her current music. She would do 8/9 with new music/routine, which could then factor in the artistry and composition? Just a thought as we did not get much explanation beyond 'it's not time to think about that yet.'

Her gym DOES compete the maximum level skills IF they are solid and consistent; if not, the girls will continue to train those skills, but will drop to the minimum required for the level.
 
It could also just be a function of her strengths and weaknesses. Powerful gymnasts can often have great tumbling that's L8 or L9 quality, but not be as good at leaps and/or dance, and they may want another year to work with her on these skills before giving her a routine that incorporates more difficult dance and leaps/jumps.

However, I wouldn't overthink this or worry much about it. Girls at DD's gym also keep routines for two years and regularly have these routines modified if they move up a level, whether it's 7 to 8, 8 to 9, or 9 to 10. I think the coaches are just telling you in a nice way that your DD will benefit from a year at L7 before she moves up to L8 and beyond -- she can continue working upgraded skills in the gym without worrying about putting them in routines until they are more solid. If I'm remembering right, she's still pretty young, so it's not like this will hurt her.
 

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