Club Grade gymnastics vs Compulsory

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Hi, new to this forum but just after some info. My daughter ( 6) has been in a squad for nearly a year now. We weren't really told anything at the time about what she would be competing and I didn't know how it all worked anyway. Fast forward to now, she's in a lovely group with other girls (all age 6 and 7) and making brilliant progress.

So last week, we were told a younger group was merging with us (great) except one of the Mums was furious that her child wasn't picked to be in the 'proper squad' and do proper gymnastics. Turns out we are doing Club Grades and this Mum felt her child was (in her words) worthy of doing compulsories as in her opinion she was far more talented than our lot!

I can't speak for this Mum but the bit that's now bothering me is all the chit chat that's been going on about how basically our girls are wasting their time as they're not ever going to be 'elite' . It's now been pointed out to me which girls are in the compulsory groups and without knowing really what I'm talking about, I can say that our group is a lot better than the younger compulsory group. We are neater, more streamlined, more controlled.

I do love our coach, so don't really have a massive issue with this BUT would love to know, what's the actual deal between Club Grades and Compulsories? If your child hasn't been picked for compulsories by age 6 are they basically rubbish and not going anywhere??

Can a coach please elaborate? I might just add that it's only the compulsory girls it would appear who get taken on any training camps, or trips to Lilleshall etc, yet some of those girls do not have the skills of some of our girls. I didn't even know these two groups existed until just recently not having a gymnastics background myself and I wasn't too bothered as I said daughter is only 6.
 
I don’t have information on the differences for you, but I just wanted to say that if you are happy and you feel the group is getting appropriate training and your daughter is happy, then I don’t think the path makes a difference. Elite type/style training is a bit of a beast and so few girls will make it anyway. If you read the “would you do it again” thread on here, you will see that it seems the parents of gymnasts who were not in the “elite feeder” program all mostly said they would do it again, while many parents of the JO girls said they would not. Enjoy the lessons gymnastics will teach her and the competition/team aspect while appreciating the fact that (hopefully) this path will allow time in the future for your daughter to pursue both gymnastics and other interests. Now, if you are unhappy or the training is subpar or the club grades girls are treated as less than the compulsory by the gym or coaches, that is a whole different story.
 
You are definitely not wasting your time in club grades. Enjoy that she has a great coach and a great group of girls. That will foster her love for the sport and she will go a long way. Don't even worry what the others are doing. Encourage her to be her best and be the best teammate she can be. Celebrate that with her and enjoy it all! Most kids don't make it all the way on the compulsory pathway anyway.
 
I can still remember how gutted I was when we were told my daughter would be doing club grade while the others in her group were going compulsory so I can see where the other mum is coming from. 8 years down line I must say that her coaches were absolutely right on the best path for her and she still has her love for gymnastics while the others have left or moved to cheer. She's now competing FIG Junior and made it to Challenge Cup last year as an Espoir. About 3 years ago we had a new coach join the gym who thought my daughter should be doing compulsories so she moved to that comp stream for about 3 months - to be honest it was the worst move we could have made as she couldnt deal with the intensity or pressure and it was the only time I've ever heard her say she wanted to give up. She moved back to grades and has never looked back - made national finals 2 years running and posted the best score on beam at nationals last year!

From what I've seen as a parent grades and compulsories are 2 routes with the same end point - national finals and ultimately British Championships - grades just get there by a slightly longer route. At the end of the day it's what's best for the child and the coaches are (usually) in the best position to determine that.
 
Thank you all so much for your replies. She has a fabulous coach and she's happy. The only bit that struck a chord was this - ' if the club grades girls are treated as less than the compulsory by the gym'....Not by her direct coach no, but by the gym as a whole, yes I now think so. Small things. Compulsory girls given xmas presents, invited to training sessions not offered to club grade girls etc. I think we do need to raise this with the gym tbh.
However, from a point of view of progression, it's great to hear such positive stories. I do believe my daughter has some talent. She's amazing in competition - very composed and very elegant/precise. Really rises to the challenge of competition so it's great to hear she could still make some good success!
 
The Christmas present thing is not acceptable. They are all competing gymnasts for the same club they all should be treated the same. If the presents don't come from the club but from the individual coach then that is a personal and financial decision each will make.
Sometimes training sessions are for a specific level/ pathway, sometimes there are maximum numbers available. So I understand all girls won't be invited to every opportunity. However all the girls should be included in some 'reward' type opportunities over the year. (camp, training, team event, night out, etc) Definitely worth speaking to the club about that.
 
Does Compulsory 4, 3 at regional events have a pass mark requirement for Range and Conditioning, if so what is the pass marks ?
 
Thank you for confirming that. Was it changed recently when compulsory pass mark was increased from 50 to 52 ?
 

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