My daughter is in her first season competing Xcel Silver (skipped bronze, was asked to join the JO team but we opted to begin with Xcel because she has other interests). We have found the program to be good for her overall, her gym treats Xcel with just as much care & respect as their JO teams. The meets though... I didnt know much about Xcel before she started competing (and I still don’t) but it seems a little bit crazy to me that she is sometimes competing against girls from gyms that have no compulsory programs, so all the girls that would normally be JO are competing Xcel. And training JO hours b/c they will go right to level 4 when they can. So when my daughter competes against gyms with “true” Xcel programs like ours (lower training hours), she does very well and is encouraged. She feels like she can actually compete. When she shows up for a meet and these other gyms are there, she knows right away that she has no chance at a higher medal spot. Such a bummer. I get that “winning” is not the end goal, and she does too. But every kid who plays a sport wants to know they have a shot, and that the playing field is level. At the risk of sounding like a whiny whiner, it just doesn’t seem fair! Can someone explain to me why this is ok and how these gyms can feel good about themselves coming to these meets and sweeping the podium with their “Xcel” gymnasts who everyone knows are not training the way Xcel gymnasts are meant to train? Was the program not invented for girls who want to train less hours?? Sorry, but it just seems like bad sportsmanship to me. I don’t get it