Skipping level 4

[Natalia]

Hi everyone,

I have a 6 year old little girl who started pre team about 8 months ago.The coach held a meeting informing us that part of the group will be competing level 4 next season.However he feels that it would be beneficial for 2 girls of the group to skip level 4 and rather work directly towards level 5.One of the girls happen to be my daughter.

He asked to have another meeting with me and the other girls mom on Monday.I don't really know what to make of this as I'm pretty clueless about this sport.

I'd really appreciate some opinions .

Thanks
Natalia

 

[Gymnasticgrandkids]

Thought you had to "score out" before moving up but maybe not in the lower compulsory levels....My DGD is having a meet in two weeks just to "score out" of 6 as they will be competing 7 in January...they will not compete L6.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

First off, congratulations to your DD!!! Second, don't worry about it. Many gyms do NOT compete L4, they start w/L5. Her coach must think she'll be ready to compete that level, so just soak it all up!

 

[Muddlethru]

Like tumblequeensmom said, many gyms don't even compete L4. If the coach feels she is ready to train L5, then she must be ready. Good for you and your DD, one less year of compulsory level tuition to pay for.

On a somewhat related note, gy,nasticgrandkids brought up something I am pretty puzzled about. That is she thought you had to score out of a level to move up. We had a girl join our team last year start L8 right away. She had never competed before. After many years of dance, she made the switch to gymnastics. She has all her skills because she had taken gy,nastics summer camps through the years. And needless to say, she is pretty talented. We've also had a few start at L7, they were 7 yo L7. Why do some kids have to score out and some don't?

 

[MaryA]

I can't imagine how the 7-year-olds could go to level 7 without scoring out (are 7-year-olds even allowed to compete level 7?), but I know that there is something for older girls... if you're over the age of 14 (or something around there) and you can prove that you have the skills necessary for level 7, you can petition to start there rather than having to compete levels 5 and 6 for a move-up score. I thought it was only to level 7 though... I didn't think you could move right to level 8.

I do know that level 5 is the first level you need to get a "move-up" score in. Before that, it's just the coaches' discression.

Natalia, good luck to your DD at level 5! When does she turn 7? I'm pretty sure 7 is the minimum age for competing level 5, isn't it?

 

[agymmom]

7 is the minimum for level 5, but I also thought it was the minimum for 6 & 7, too. I assumed the 7 year olds competing level 7 had just done 1 level 5 meet and 1 level 6 meet to get there, but I'm not really sure.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Level 4 is not required in USAG. Gymnasts can start at Level 5, from level 5 on they are required to get a minimum score at a competition to be able to move up to the next level. Because of this some gyms don't even do level 4, they focus on level 5 and start competing there.

The main reason gyms choose to skip level 4 and go straight to level 5 is that it is not as progressive. Level 4 is really an experience level, a chance for girls who do not have the level 5 skills on each apparatus the experience of competition, learning routines, being in front of judges and so on.

But level 5 covers all the key skills on each apparatus, that are more developmental, meaning they lead more towards the higher level skills.

If your gym is choosing to skip your daughter it will usually be because they feel she is very talented and would do better at the higher levels. So instead of spending time learning the level 4 routines, they will focus straight away on the more advanced more progressive skills.

 

[Natalia]

Thanks for the congratulations,the other mom mentioned that she was worried about "rushing things",that a positive level 4 season would be a good confidence booster, she was also worried that our girls would no longer be with their group of friends,she mentioned that other girls who had skipped level 4 usually had a "bumpy"first couple of meets because they were more nervous and not use to competing like the other level 5's who had done level 4 the previous year ....I felt a bit guilty that none of this crossed my mind,but I can see her point.

The coach listened and nodded while she voiced her concerns and said that he would like to have another opportunity to talk with us to go over our concerns.He also said that he "strongly recommends a certain path ,but if a parent prefers their child to compete level 4 after being well informed ,then he would respect that preference"

MaryA,my kid will be 7 in October.

 

[Natalia]

Thanks Aussie coach,I was busy writing and hadn't seen your post,that helped me understand things better.

I'm a working mom and the bus takes my kid from school to gym and I usually arrive 10 minutes after the end of the lessons so I'm the terribly clueless mom .

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

Aussie_Coach explained everything the best!!! Also, as others have said, the girls must score out of a certain level before moving up after L5. The move up scores are really low, I think right now it's a 31 to move from 5 to 6, 6 to 7, and maybe the same for 8? Those move up scores can be found at the USA Gymnastics website. Some gyms bring in a judge at the end of summer/early fall, hold a sanctioned "in house" meet in order for their gymnasts to obtain that move up score. In some of those meets, those scores are never really published anywhere anyway, so these girls may have met those scores and you just didn't know. As another poster mentioned, if the girls are above age 14, they CAN petition to move up to that level too.

 

[lilgymmie7]

Thanks for the congratulations,the other mom mentioned that she was worried about "rushing things",that a positive level 4 season would be a good confidence booster, she was also worried that our girls would no longer be with their group of friends,she mentioned that other girls who had skipped level 4 usually had a "bumpy"first couple of meets because they were more nervous and not use to competing like the other level 5's who had done level 4 the previous year ....I felt a bit guilty that none of this crossed my mind,but I can see her point.

The coach listened and nodded while she voiced her concerns and said that he would like to have another opportunity to talk with us to go over our concerns.He also said that he "strongly recommends a certain path ,but if a parent prefers their child to compete level 4 after being well informed ,then he would respect that preference"

MaryA,my kid will be 7 in October.

Congratulations to your DD! My DD also did not compete level 4. I opted to just let her train and when she turned 7, she competed level 5. Honestly, I perferred that she not compete level 4 because like Aussiecoach stated level 4 has many skills not geared to help the gymnast progress. Level 5 is more the entry level in my opinion. The girls learn skills that transfer to level 6 and beyond. I did not worry about the competition so much because I figured that if DD 'wanted it' she would go for it. Thus far that has been her mindset. I drive and pay, she motivates herself to do the rest. She turned 7 in January and competed in her first level 5 meet on her birthday. We have since moved her to a new gym prior to state and she is progressing quite nicely. Level 4 is truly not needed. But that is just my opinion. Good luck to your DD!!

 

[Mariainlv]

Congrats to your DD! She sounds talented.

To answer the poster who mentioned entering as a L8, this can be done. If a gymmie is a TOPS team member USAG allows them to start @ L8. (Never personally seen this but it IS possible)

 

[JBS]

If she is capable of starting at L5...go for it!

 

[gymmutti]

Congratulations to your daughter! I agree - go for L5 (although I'm about as clueless as you!) Our gym does not compete until L5 although the pre-team performs L4 routines at their mock meets (minus the mill circle on bars). If your daughter is ready, let her work now on all those L5 skills - especially the kip!

 

[Pickle's Mom]

In my limited experience, the first few meets are bumpy whether they are L4 or L5 meets. It's a lot for a little girl to take in and competing is a really different feeling than working out. For Pickle, she needed to get used to the waiting more than anything else. If you are used to working out hard for a few hours, going to a meet where you might have 30 minutes sitting between events is hard.

But, after the first few meets she will get used to it (whether in L4 or L5).