WAG Filling the stands at national JO meets

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tomtnt

Proud Parent
We just returned from Missoula montana. The small town atmosphere was great - it seemed the entire town knew about the event and the local news covered it.

One thing I think they should have done was just make the meet free for all the locals. This would have helped fill the (very large) stands instead of just parents and family. I doubt any of the locals were paying the $20 to watch JO gymnastics... free admissions means more exposure for the local gym hosting the event, people buying concessions, etc.
 
I am not sure free would have helped either. Around us, the college gymnastics programs are free admissions and they still can't fill the arenas. just the nature of gymnastics in some areas.
 
It's always like that at Eastern and Westerns. At nationals the crowd appears larger because a hundred college coaches are attending as well. Not to mention the meet hosts absolutely do not make enough money hosting these two events (from what I hear).
 
So, as a parent, I pay $20 to watch my kid in a sport I've already paid $$$ for, and then I can't get a seat because the place is packed?

I'm not in favor.


to be completely honest, the meet organizers would probably have to pay me to go watch a JO gymnastics meet if my child weren't the one competing... I'd doubt you would have much of a problem finding a seat in a huge arena.. as someone noted above, not alot of casual gymnastics fan willing to spend their weekends watching level 9/10/college gymnastics....

Does anyone routinely stay an extra session to watch other gymnasts compete?
 
to be completely honest, the meet organizers would probably have to pay me to go watch a JO gymnastics meet if my child weren't the one competing... I'd doubt you would have much of a problem finding a seat in a huge arena.. as someone noted above, not alot of casual gymnastics fan willing to spend their weekends watching level 9/10/college gymnastics....

Does anyone routinely stay an extra session to watch other gymnasts compete?
At 9&10, yes, we hang out and watch a session or two, especially regionals/nationals.
 
When you host Nationals, USAG makes a lot of the decisions. I'm not sure if this includes admission price, but it could. We hosted MAG Nationals a few years back and I know there were a lot of things we couldn't do because of it.
 
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to be completely honest, the meet organizers would probably have to pay me to go watch a JO gymnastics meet if my child weren't the one competing... I'd doubt you would have much of a problem finding a seat in a huge arena.. as someone noted above, not alot of casual gymnastics fan willing to spend their weekends watching level 9/10/college gymnastics....

Does anyone routinely stay an extra session to watch other gymnasts compete?
Yes. We do. My child LOVES to watch the higher levels. I so don't love eating dinner at their snack bars, but that is a subject for another thread....:rolleyes:
 
I guess my question is why? What's the need to fill the stands? So the kids have an audience? Again, why? We do all this work teaching them they are competing against and for them so I wonder why there would be a push to get people there, especially if it didn't help the fundraising efforts of the host gym.
 
I guess my question is why? What's the need to fill the stands? So the kids have an audience? Again, why? We do all this work teaching them they are competing against and for them so I wonder why there would be a push to get people there, especially if it didn't help the fundraising efforts of the host gym.
I suppose for some, they feel the kids get motivated by the crowd, whereas others are happy to not have a crowd as it adds pressure...probably depends on the child. I personally don't care. I asked my child. She doesn't care either. One plus about low crowds is I actually get a good seat...:D
 
For college bound athletes, it gives them some preparation to going onto a level where there may be bigger crowds. I've also heard the speculation that kids leave gymnastics for high school sports because it gives them more recognition. Finally, for the meet sponsor, it generates more revenue.
 
to be completely honest, the meet organizers would probably have to pay me to go watch a JO gymnastics meet if my child weren't the one competing... I'd doubt you would have much of a problem finding a seat in a huge arena.. as someone noted above, not alot of casual gymnastics fan willing to spend their weekends watching level 9/10/college gymnastics....

Does anyone routinely stay an extra session to watch other gymnasts compete?
Yes, if we have team mates competing
 
Guilty....when we went to JOs, we went for the duration, especially with my oldest as she's a total gym junkie....we'd watch every session of JOs and when they added the NIT on the Sunday, we stayed and watched that too....call us crazy!

call me selfish, but we spend enough time inside the gym.. the moment my DD is done, we like to explore the town and surrounding area... Love to see places we'd likely never would see if it weren't for gymnastics -- I doubt I would have ever visited Missoula, MT!
 

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