WAG Concerned in Canada

[qymmom???]

I am a canadian mother of an 8yr old grl level cr3 trains 12hrs/wk. I've been told next yr she will be pr2 training 16hrs/wk.

Also, she's been asked to participate in a sport-etude program where she will be in school for 4 hrs in the morning and training possibly as much as 20 hrs/wk in the afternoon. The problem is the school is easily an hours drive from home during rush hour.

I am extremely concerned about the sanity of allowing her to make such a big commitment for one sport. Changing schools. Waking up 2 hours earlier than she does now. What about her childhood? What about her mental/social develepment? What will the impact be in the future (positive or negative)?

And all for what? To get to where?

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

 

[EastCoastGymMom]

I can honestly say I'm not sure what I would do in your situation! My common sense tells me that I would not pull my daughter out of her regular school and put my family through the stress of an hour commute to a special school and 20+ hours of gymnastics a week, but if a coach told me my daughter had that kind of potential my common sense might fly out the window! From an outsider view, I'd prefer to do the 16 hours a week and stay in regular school. At 8 years old, I think it's important for them to be with their friends and also do other activities. Would the school day really be that much shorter once you take the longer commute into account?

You have great questions - what do they hope to accomplish with all this training? I'm not that familiar with the Canadian gymnastics system, but would this program be like a fast track to Elite?

 

[gymgal]

How does she feel about gymnastics? Does she want to go to the Olympics - is this a true dream of hers, does she eat/sleep gymnastics (or is she interested in other sports too)? If so, then its important to weigh all the options. If not, I wouldn't want to make such drastic changes in her life (and the family's life).

 

[iwannacoach]

My common sense tells me she's invested a lot of herself into the sport thus far, and may want to pursue this opportunity to get her "money's worth". It's tough issue and a difficult question to answer. Oh well, that's what they pay us parents the big bucks for, isn't it

 

[GymBeeMom]

This is one of those "there is no right answer" type questions. I believe in the "gut feeling" answer in moments like these because my common sense isn't always common and my reasoning skills tend to lead me in the opposite direction of others who "reason" out things in life. I do trust my gut feelings and try to let second guessing only last a second. I would love to know what you decide and how you come to the decision. Good luck with a very important decision.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

what do you say Bog? 8 is awfully young, but i'm can't make sense of the Canadian system as i'm not familiar enough to comment as to the efficacy of the system and how it might affect 8 year olds.

 

[bogwoppit]

I am in Quebec as well. The CR3 level is capped at 9 hours of training. That is the most they can do, in fact strictly speaking they are really only supposed to train 9 hours a week, but many gyms fudge the numbers and train way more.

For P2 most girls train between 12-20 hours a week. Lots do a great job on 12 hours a week though.

I am guessing you are in one of the bigger clubs in or near Montreal as those hours are unusual in the rural areas.

Ordinarily girls cannot join the sports etudes program until they are training P3, so I do find it a bit odd that they are offering it at P2, but clubs do that too.

Remember that big gyms are big money and they need gymnasts in the doors to keep their sports etudes and provincial gym programs running.

I would be hesitant to do sports etudes unless your dd excels a in school and is totally in love with gymnastics. Also for sports etudes they usually have to attend a specific school that offers the Quebec curriculum in a more condensed way to a group of children in advanced level sports. You can google this. The joy of sports etudes is that your child will get their evenings and weekends back as they are home for dinner each night with training over and time for the family and homework. However if she is not a strong student, she might struggle as the full curriculum has to be followed. LEaving a current school and leaving friends also needs to be taken into the eqaution.

Though I do love that in Quebec talented sports kids can have access to sports etudes programs it is only offered in limited schools and that can cause hardships. You could talk to your dd's current school and ask what they could do for her. We have some very talented skiers in our school and they miss two days of school a week and they school is great about helping them keep up. It may be that your current school will release her early a few days a week so she could combine day and evening training.

Some gyms are very flexible, others not so much.

If I was in your shoes, and I have been as both of my girls competed CR3 and P2, I would stick with the regular training to P2 as the option of changing school and getting up so much earlier is just not conducive to great family life or health. See how 16 hours a week goes, it is a lot, but it may work just fine.

Many, many kids in Quebec never do sports etudes and manage to get all the way to the national levels. SO do not feel you are holding her back by saying it's not for you.

 

[bogwoppit]

what do you say Bog? 8 is awfully young, but i'm can't make sense of the Canadian system as i'm not familiar enough to comment as to the efficacy of the system and how it might affect 8 year olds.

Dunno CR3 (circuit regional level 3), is about a L4, and P2 (provincial level 2) is between a L5/6. This will be the gymmies first real year of competition too. There are some very enthusiastic gyms in the city.

 

[bogwoppit]

http://www.gymnamic.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Admission_sportetudes_2011-2012.pdf

Above is a French document (assume you can read French?) from a big gym outlining the sport etudes program. What they say is standard. Your dd should fall into one of the following categories to join in SE.

Pour être admissible au programme Sports-études, la gymnaste doit être identifiée sur
une des deux listes suivantes :
1) Liste Excellence-Élite-Relève dont les critères sont énoncés à l’article 2.7 du PRP
(Document des procédures et règlements de la FGQ).
2) Liste Espoir qui est composée :
• Des gymnastes qui remplissent l’un des critères de la liste Excellence-Élite-Relève mais
qui n’ont pas été retenues sur la liste
• Des gymnastes qui ont participé à au moins une compétition dans les catégories du
programme national lors de la saison précédente
• Des gymnastes qui ont participé à une compétition officielle des catégories tyro, PPC 3 et
de toutes les catégories PPC 4 et plus lors de la saison précédente
• Des gymnastes du réseau national n’ayant participé à aucune compétition lors de la
saison précédente en raison de blessure. 3
Pour être admissible à un programme Sport-études, le gymnaste doit être identifié sur la
liste Excellence-Élite-Relève ou Espoir de la FGQ.
Les critères de la liste Excellence-Élite-Relève se retrouvent à l’article 2.7 du PRP de la
FGQ. La liste espoir est composée :
• Des gymnastes qui remplissent l’un des critères de la liste Excellence-Élite-Relève
mais qui ne sont pas retenus sur la liste
• Des gymnastes qui ont participé à au moins une compétition dans les catégories du
programme national lors de la saison précédente
• Des gymnastes qui ont participé à une compétition officielle des catégories Niveau 2
et Niveau 3 durant la présente saison (il est toujours possible de surclasser les athlètes en
âge afin d’accéder au programme Sport-Études)
• Des gymnastes du réseau national n’ayant pas participé à une compétition durant la
présente saison en raison de blessure

 

[bogwoppit]

Just to add, I do think 16 hours a week is a lot for P2. Effective coaching is the key.

 

[sophiagymgall]

I think P2 and 3rd/4th grade is really, really early for sports-études. Your daughter probably doesn't have a whole lot of competition experience, if any, because of her age - I'd be very hesitant to let her get involved in a very intense program before she even knows what competitive gymnastics truly entails. Plus she is 8, and there's no guarantee that she'll even want to do gymnastics this time next year, even if she's dedicated now. Sports-études is a big commitment, and I'd be inclined to wait until 5th or 6th grade before making that decision, so that everyone in your family knows what you're getting into.

Moreover, depending on your region, the quality of the education offered in schools with sports-études programs tends to be underwhelming. I'm not as knowledgeable regarding elementary schools, but I know several people who have struggled a LOT with the transition from high school to CÉGEP because their high school education/working techniques just weren't up to par. It depends on where you are and you'll need to do your research - I know that where I am, I'd be inclined to delay the switch as much as possible because of the schools' reputation.

Finally, no matter where your daughter is standing skill-wise, level-wise or motivation-wise, I firmly believe that there is absolutely no way a 3rd grader should live an hour away from their school. It'd be acceptable if she was older, but right now, her quality of life would suffer more than anything else. I just can't imagine an 8-year-old child, no matter how talented, having to wake up at the crack of dawn every single day to get to school on time, and I can't imagine that she'd like it very much either. Give yourself some time and reevaluate every year, but as of now, there is absolutely no need to make such an intense commitment, IMO.

 

[catou]

Just asking, maybe bog could confirm what I think... I tought cr3 gymnasts couldn't train more than 9 hours a week?

In our club (we also offer sports-études) P2 gymnasts are training 12 hours. You have to be at least a P3 gymnast to be in sports-études while in primary school, P4 in high school.

Here's something I found on this site: Sport-études | L'Envol

Pour le niveau primaire, les gymnastes de catégorie P2 peuvent être acceptées en Concentration sportive. Toutefois, en 6[SUP]e[/SUP] année, elles devront faire le niveau P3 dans le but de compétitionner dans la catégorie P4 en secondaire 1 (obligatoire).

So it looks like you need to be at least P4 once your get in secondaire 1.

 

[bogwoppit]

Just asking, maybe bog could confirm what I think... I tought cr3 gymnasts couldn't train more than 9 hours a week?

.

You are correct Catou. Some clubs make up their own rules, this is why clubs that stick to them struggle at competitions. In our old club our CR3 do 5 hours a week, CR3 A and Sp train 9.

 

[qymmom???]

Thanks for all the opinions and information. It's good to know that it's ok to be concerned.

 

[qymmom???]

Do you think that I should be concerned about the club? Should I be looking at other clubs, it's just that this one is the closest to where I live.

 

[bogwoppit]

That really depends what your other options are. For me there were no other clubs to choose from within an hours drive of home, so we stuck with what we had. There is nothing about what you say, except for the hours, that is a bright red flag. I do know of a club in Montreal that was asking for 21 hours for P2 tyro. If you want to discuss this more privately, as in do not give out your gyms name here, feel free to message me.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

well, i love Muskoka Woods. just sayin...

 

[bogwoppit]

well, i love Muskoka Woods. just sayin...

Well it is Canadian!!!