Our family recently saw a boys' meet for the first time, and OH MY GOODNESS was it different from a girls' meet! Everyone, including the judges, was friendly and relaxed. Nobody was timing falls or routines. There was no horrid compulsory music. The boys' compulsory routines looked more progressive than the girls': for example, L5, which I believe is around the equivalent of girls' L4, didn't vault over the table or even onto a mat--they just did a front tuck off the springboard. Why do we expect teeny tiny little girls to vault over the table, but not boys?
Gyms also appear to be much more inclusive on the boys' side. In the L5 session I saw plenty of weak tumbling, horribly bent and separated legs, muscled-up kips, terrible body shapes, and flexed feet. And it was all WONDERFUL. If many of the boys in that session were girls, they would never have been allowed on team in the first place or would already have been driven out of the sport because they didn't have perfect form at age 8 or 9. But they are all getting the chance to learn and progress at their own pace.
Is boys' gymnastics just more fun and inclusive because there aren't as many boys interested in the sport, and gyms can't afford to be overly selective or apply ridiculous amounts of pressure the way they often do with girls? Or am I just having a "grass is greener on the other side" moment?
Gyms also appear to be much more inclusive on the boys' side. In the L5 session I saw plenty of weak tumbling, horribly bent and separated legs, muscled-up kips, terrible body shapes, and flexed feet. And it was all WONDERFUL. If many of the boys in that session were girls, they would never have been allowed on team in the first place or would already have been driven out of the sport because they didn't have perfect form at age 8 or 9. But they are all getting the chance to learn and progress at their own pace.
Is boys' gymnastics just more fun and inclusive because there aren't as many boys interested in the sport, and gyms can't afford to be overly selective or apply ridiculous amounts of pressure the way they often do with girls? Or am I just having a "grass is greener on the other side" moment?