Has anyone been to Karolyi camp? Questions

[Mo's Mom]

My daughter is 8 years old & just finished her first season competing level 5. She will be attending the Karolyi camp this summer with her coach & a couple of girls from her gym & a few more from the state. I've tried calling & emailing the camp & haven't gotten any response, so I'm hoping that someone who has been there can answer some basic questions about communication (cell service, wifi availability, etc) and what to pack. Also, they will be flying in on Sunday so that they can start in the gym on Monday morning, but can they stay at the camp?
Thanks in advance

 

[Deleted member D3987]

you should have asked BEFORE you decided. waste of money. there are better camps.

edited to add: if your coaches have never been there, they'll be in for a bit of a surprise. if this is the case, post up again. if they have been there, they know about the environment, cell phones, etc; they should be able to answer those questions.

 

[kimskids]

Some of our girls were going to go last year now I am glad they did not!! LOL! Ours ended up going to UF Camp instead and they really had a ball. They are not having camp this summer though due to renovating the gym so my daughter is a bit disappointed. I am happy to save the money! LOL!!

 

[sally]

Why is it a waste of money?

you should have asked BEFORE you decided. waste of money. there are better camps.

edited to add: if your coaches have never been there, they'll be in for a bit of a surprise. if this is the case, post up again. if they have been there, they know about the environment, cell phones, etc; they should be able to answer those questions.

 

[ThreeGirlsForMe]

Dunno - what camp(s) would you recommend? My daughter has gone to IGC a couple of times, but I wonder if there are better options.

 

[Mo's Mom]

The coach has never gone before, so she has no information either! If I could just ask the coach I would not have resorted to this group with questions. Our daughter is only 8 and we weren't looking to send her to an away camp, the coach said she was going to Karolyi and asked if she would like to attend. Our daughter is going because her coach is going - we wouldn't let her go otherwise - she's too young to travel to another state by herself. But if you have information that would help us to prepare and pack for her I would really appreciate it.
Thanks

 

[Deleted member D3987]

the cell reception is dismal. you have to stand in the 'cowpatch' with the phone at your ear and continue to walk around in circles so that you stay connected. you can text though as that is not affected.

send her with lots of snacks. the food is...well that's if you call it food. lol. but the kids don't seem to complain much cause they're kids.

the cabins are adequate. they stay on site. their living quarters are separate and away from the coaches and staff. send a pillow and pillowcase. they have blankets. they pack them in like sardines and the kids love that closeness. big sleepover!

send with bug/mosquito spray and all necessary toiletries. and a small flashlight. this environment is VERY dark at night. sometimes the kids get a bit scared when they hear all the wild animal sounds coming from the other side of the property. this property is located smack dab in the middle of the Sam Houston national park.

if you read my posts, i'm not in favor of your age child going away to camp. and if she is attending a TOPS, these are different than the Karolyi camp.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Dunno - what camp(s) would you recommend? My daughter has gone to IGC a couple of times, but I wonder if there are better options.

any of the woodward/owen camps. John and John's camp in tennessee. and any of the college camps cause you get to be with the college gymnasts. and of course, IGC.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Why is it a waste of money?

no substance. it's the allure of the place. then Bela gets off his tractor and comes in and says something unintelligible intending to cheer them on...and then leaves. end of story.

 

[2gymmies]

I have to concur the waste of money for the gymnastics side of it, but the kids have alot of fun. My dd loved the skit night - they practiced for a month before - and she loved the swimming. She learned nothing new, but had fun getting thrown through all kinds of skills (she was a tiny 7 year old at the time) and had fun (she went with 22 teammates and 2 coaches). We have never been back.

 

[Mo's Mom]

Thank you for the helpful information. I appreciate your insight. The middle if nowhere is what we are used to, so that's not a problem for my daughter. Her coach was a dancer, but never did gymnastics, so even something that is not so great for the gymnastics if you are coming from a top gym will likely be a great learning experience for both her and her coach. As for her age, ghat's why she's only going because her coach is. Thanks again for answering my original questions.

 

[Esoteric]

It saddens me to read this. Waaaaayyyyy back in the summer of '86 I was supposed to go to Karolyi's, but broke my wrist a a few weeks prior, so didn't attend. Before that I had gone to a gym camp in Washington state for 3 summers. (And starting at age 6 I used to go to an all girls Catholic summer camp in New Hampshire.) I had been accustomed to sleep away camps, so my parents felt fine with sending me across the country. And I was 11 when I was first sent 3000 miles from home to a camp.
My little one is 8 and wants to go to a camp. She has a summer birthday, so I told her that maybe next summer- when she is turning 10- we can do something, but she is still too little for ME to be comfortable sending her away. When I was a kiddo, it was all about the opportunity to meet Bela. My daughter wants the opportunity to meet Martha, and of course train in the same facility the National Team does.
I guess I assumed that the gymnastics training would be top notch- even if the facility is not. We have family in the Houston area, and I figured I could fly down and visit with them while she was at camp. DD would, if she progress on the track she is now, be just finished with level 6 and training level 7. (Or I guess 6 since everything 8 and below is being taken down a number about that point.) Would it really be pointless to send a kiddo who will probably be focusing on giants, handsprings on beam, and layout tumbling and learning/perfecting dance skills?

 

[sally]

So he doesn't even coach? I had a look at the website for that and how I read it is that he is there coaching there as well. Very interesting!

no substance. it's the allure of the place. then Bela gets off his tractor and comes in and says something unintelligible intending to cheer them on...and then leaves. end of story.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

lol......

 

[Esoteric]

I am pretty sure Bela quit coaching in the late '90's.

 

[CJO]

Karolyi Camp

I have to concur the waste of money for the gymnastics side of it, but the kids have alot of fun. My dd loved the skit night - they practiced for a month before - and she loved the swimming. She learned nothing new, but had fun getting thrown through all kinds of skills (she was a tiny 7 year old at the time) and had fun (she went with 22 teammates and 2 coaches). We have never been back.

My daughter (level 8, age 11) is attending this summer with several girls from her gym. They range in age from 10-15. One of the older girls(level 9) has been there for the last 4 summers and absolutely loves it! We are much closer to Lake Owen in Wisconsin but she prefers Karolyi. I agree that their communication is pretty dismal and I hear the cell reception is not much better but according to our veteran camper, they do learn a lot as far as skills go. She recommends staying for two weeks for this reason. One of the other draws this year in particular is a possibility of the Olympic team being down there toward the end of July. This is what happened four years ago and the camp girls were thrilled to get an opportunity to see the elites. I don't expect them to come back with HUGE increases in skills but rather to get a different experience than they would in their own gym and to have FUN!