Parents How do you prepare for a meet?

[dna3262]

My daughter is 5 (level 2) and will have her first meet/competition (not sure which is proper) soon. Anyone have suggestions on how to prepare mentally? She does her routines really well in small groups but loses focus and tends to make mistakes when the group is big. I think she gets nervous.

 

[Natasha]

At this age and level, the best you thing you can do is to keep it fun! If she is nervous, focusing on having fun is going to help her more than anything. With experience she will learn how to mentally prepare.

 

[dna3262]

Good point. And who knows maybe she'll have no nerves at all. A bit premature anyway. She still has time and maybe they will prepare more for it when it gets closer.

 

[Quadqueen]

I'm with gymtigermom. Not much you can do to help a 5 year old mentally prepare for a meet

 

[dna3262]

I've never been to one so I thought maybe I could prepare her with what will happen so she knows what to expect.

 

[Natasha]

Is the group she trains with all new to competing? If so, the coaches should be going through this with the gymnasts. At our gym the week of the first meet with the new little ones, we take them to each event and pretend we are competing, complete with talking about taking off warm ups, putting everything in our bags, carrying our bags to the next event, sitting and watching our teammates, remembering to salute, etc, etc.

 

[dna3262]

I think it's everyone's first year but I'm not sure. I'm new too all this and I'm sure I sound like an idiot, but I am kind of embarressed asking these questions at the gym. They all seem to have experiance in the sport and I'm sure a lot of my questions/concerns seem foolish lol. The coach tends to be pretty busy so I try not to bother.

 

[rsm]

DD did level 3 in the spring as a 6 year old. We just kept it as fun as we could. She got glitter in her hair, which was a big deal, she watched a movie in the car on the way to the meets, we got ice cream after. She had no idea about scores, places, or anything else. Everyone got ribbons, medals and trophies, and I don't think she even understood that she was getting scored till the last meet. So just keep it as casual and fun as you can, and she will be very happy with all her bling at the end And you will need to find some room for all the trophies and medals.

 

[dna3262]

Thanks!! Great advice!!

 

[rsm]

I should also mention... I focus on making sure I am prepared, so that DD has everything she needs... Proper snacks or meals and drinks for before and after (it's amazing how hungry they are after the meet). Any clothing, accessories needed and labeled. Directions and making sure we get there in time to use the bathroom and not have to rush to warm ups. I'm sure there's more... But having everything they need always helps to make it a more enjoyable day. Have fun!

 

[dmytv]

At the begining of the season we usually have a mock meet, where the kids wear their leo and hair up and learn how to salute and such. Also, before someone joins team I recomend they go to a meet as a spectator. If we are going to a meet, I ask if they would like to come along and support the team. Or I recomend a local meet nearby that is going on that weekend. Pre-team parents will usually get together and go.

 

[MaryA]

They will walk her through it. Nobody will know what they're doing, but they'll just be so darned cute doing it. When you get there, there will be a table for you to buy your tickets (no, this is not a free event, sorry) and she will go to a different table to sign in. They will write a number on her hand. Then look for her coach, hand her over, and go look for a place where you can see all four events.

First they will all parade in with their team and each team's name will be announced. They'll rotate from event to event with their group. When they get to the event, they'll warm up. Then, as a group, they'll go up to the judge, who will talk to them a little bit, help make them comfortable, and then as a group, they will salute the judges (both hands up in the air). The coach will tell each of them when to take their turn. They will salute the judge, do their little routine, then salute the judge again. The judge will figure out her score while the next little girl gets ready to go. The judge will pass the score to the person who will hold it up, and usually the next child will be well into her routine before the previous girl's score is shown. You will be in the stands and won't be able to be with her or talk to her. If you think this will bother her, you could decide upon some secret hand signal that means "I love you!" or whatever.

At the end there will be awards. Generally they go out half the number of places as there are girls (so if there are 10 girls in your daughter's age group they will go out 1st-5th place). It takes them a while to figure out the places, so in the meantime there are often games, or music to dance to, and the girls get goodie bags, and often the host gym will have a table of gifts (balloons, stuffed animals, flowers, etc) that you can purchase (ahead of time, before the meet starts or between events) and have delivered to her out on the floor along with a note. Awards can sometimes take a long time. They'll do each event for each age group and then all around.

I'm sure I'm missing something. This will be my daughter's 6th year competing (she started when she was 6 too) so it's pretty much old hat, but I do remember being very confused, starting with when I arrived at that first meet and was expected to pay to go in. Good luck, and have fun!

 

[JBS]

My 5 year old has a L3 meet tomorrow morning. I went to the store tonight and got the Wheaties box with Mary Lou Retton on it. Breakfast of champions...that's the way to go!

All gymnasts in Level 3 meets in our state get a medal/trophy...winner!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

we I-talians...we light candles.

 

[MaryA]

Here's a cute level 2 meet video I found on YouTube, complete with march-in, saluting in the opposite direction from where the judges are sitting, massive leotard wedgies, wandering lost across the floor not quite sure where to start, falling off the beam, lots of big smiles with teammates, and a bit of bling at the end... Pretty much covers all the bases, I think.

Aja's Level 2 Gymnastics Competition - YouTube

 

[wallinbl]

Tell her to have fun. Don't worry about her scores. Enjoy the first one. Certainly don't get caught up in winning, as it will detract from all the other fun.

 

[shelovestoflip]

Here's a cute level 2 meet video I found on YouTube, complete with march-in, saluting in the opposite direction from where the judges are sitting, massive leotard wedgies, wandering lost across the floor not quite sure where to start, falling off the beam, lots of big smiles with teammates, and a bit of bling at the end... Pretty much covers all the bases, I think.

Aja's Level 2 Gymnastics Competition - YouTube

That was so cute! How I miss those days! My daughter didn't start competing until 3rd grade. But those first meets were still cute....I had no clue at the first meet....nor did she, I don't think! The other mom's had to give me a play by play in the stands! My daughter placed 2nd AA and was thrilled beyond belief with the first trophy of her life (never did soccer or the sports that give a trophy for showing up).

Now 13 and Level 7/8 and all the stress and injury that comes along with it. She still loves gymnastics but I must say, watching these Level 2/3 girls makes me wish for those days sometimes!!

Enjoy your daughter's first of many meets! She will have a great time!

 

[Quadqueen]

MaryA gave you a very thorough explanation…I just wanted to add that not all meets are like this. Our Level 2s and 3s go to VERY small local meets, not invitationals. They get ribbons (usually not just the first five places), not trophies and medals usually, and no bling! (we usually see that at invitationals). There’s no signing in process, etc. I just want to make sure you don’t disclose all these things that may or may not happen there. Most of all, make sure she has fun!

 

[profmom]

Ah, welcome to the joy of meets. You're lucky to be starting with these smaller, less pressured affairs. We started with L5.

Here's our ritual.

Stay up too late the night before. Inevitably. Get up (if you're lucky with the time slot) way too early the next morning, shower, inhale coffee, leave a note for the fam about their responsibilities. Attempt to roust out the little competitor, who doesn't want to get up because she/he stayed up too late the previous night wondering if she/he was going to fall on her squat on, sit her tuck, lose his press handstand, etc.

Finally blast her out of bed and prod her/him to eat. Cereal. Toast. Donuts. Anything, dammit, it's getting late! Finally, finally, finally -- for the boy, brush the hair, which, despite last night's shower, looks like a haystack and requires a thorough soaking to get into shape. For the girl, do the bun. Do it badly so it has to be taken out and redone. OMG, LOOK AT THE TIME! Grab the relevant meet bag, taking care not to confuse it with the non-relevant meet bag, and rush out the door.

Drive, using those directions printed out late last night, to the meet. Find out about the weird turn or one-way street that didn't come up somehow. Curse under your breath and haul out the GPS. Mistype the address twice, but finally get it in correctly. Follow some bizarre set of convoluted instructions leading you through a series of turns that make you feel like you are driving in spirals and lead you to panic that your GPS is malfunctioning, but manage, somehow, to arrive just before the coach has gone into stinkeye mode. Shove your kid out of the car and into the meet locale, and watch as your kid runs toward her/his teammates without even giving you a chance to wish her/him good luck.

Breathe a deep sigh of relief and head to the viewing area where your gym's parents have congregated. Have a drink or a snack. Pull out your camera and discover that your batteries are dead.

This is a super fun sport.

 

[MaryA]

Profmom, your description is far more accurate than mine, thanks!