Too Old?

[heart123]

I'm 14 and a half years old and have had very little previous experience in gymnastics. I really really want to become competitive in gymnastics and get up to level 9 in 4 years. Do you think this is possible? What are some requirements to becoming a competitive gymnast?

[kgymn]

Well, I'm not sure how the levels work in Canada so I'll let someone else cover that part as far as if it's realistic in four years. But I do want to say 14 is certainly not too late to start, and to compete. What the requirements are really depends on the gym, some bigger ones you have to be invited onto the team, others (like my old gym when I was in high school) allowed everyone who was working on the appropriate levels to compete and train with the team.

There are a lot of factors in how long it will take you to learn skills and advance through the levels, some people pick the skills up practically overnight, others take years. You'd be looking at a lot of hours in the gym, and many more outside the gym stretching and conditioning to get into good enough physical shape to perform the skills. It also can get rather pricey, so make sure your parents are willing to financially support your goal.

~Katy

[Aussie_coach]

It is unrealistic to set a time line like this on your progress. If you have done very little gym, and have no idea what stage you are at then you cant say "Will I be xxx level in xxx years" Because there is no way to know for sure. Everyone is different, some will take up gym and progress quickly and others will progress very slowly. If you set yourself a goal without any solid basis then you are setting yourself up for dissapointment. Progress cant be rushed.

However, congratulations for being determined and setting a great goal to become a competitive gymnast. Whether or not you reach level 9 in 4 years the experience you will get as a competitive gymnast will be one of the most rewarding and worthwhile things you can do. 14 is a great age to start, good luck with your journey.