Parents Competing "out of level" or "out of session"

[CuriousCate]

Hey all,

My DD switched gyms mid-season and therefore will have to compete some meets "out of session/level" as the session her new gym's level 6 team is competing in is full, given that most deadlines have passed. She'll be competing as a level 6 with a group of Level 7s or 8s from the new gym (waiting on meet director to confirm which session). When I mentioned this to some more gym-experienced friends (coaches and parents, no judges), they said that she should expect to score low because even though the judges know to score her by the L6 code of points, it is sometimes challenging to turn off your level 7/8 scoring brain for one L6 kid in the middle. They said to look for this particularly on vault (is the scoring different for L6 vs L7 vault even though it is the same vault?). Have any of you experienced this or seen this before and if so, how do you think the scoring compared to the "in session/level" kids? Should I be prepping my DD for lower scores? Thanks in advance for any input or advice for my kid!

 

[MILgymFAM]

We’ve seen it done, though not with an frequency. I would expect her scores to be in line with what she deserves and would’ve gotten in any other session.

 

[Flicfliclay]

There is never going to be a way to know this.. Just go and let your daughter compete. Hopefully there will be scratches and your daughter will be able to compete with her team. Good luck

 

[CuriousCate]

There is never going to be a way to know this.. Just go and let your daughter compete. Hopefully there will be scratches and your daughter will be able to compete with her team. Good luck

Here's hoping for a scratch! She's pretty excited to compete either way...for me, I'd love to know so I can cancel the hotel for the day(s) I don't need before we blow by the refund window!!

 

[3rd_time_around]

Hey all,

My DD switched gyms mid-season and therefore will have to compete some meets "out of session/level" as the session her new gym's level 6 team is competing in is full, given that most deadlines have passed. She'll be competing as a level 6 with a group of Level 7s or 8s from the new gym (waiting on meet director to confirm which session). When I mentioned this to some more gym-experienced friends (coaches and parents, no judges), they said that she should expect to score low because even though the judges know to score her by the L6 code of points, it is sometimes challenging to turn off your level 7/8 scoring brain for one L6 kid in the middle. They said to look for this particularly on vault (is the scoring different for L6 vs L7 vault even though it is the same vault?). Have any of you experienced this or seen this before and if so, how do you think the scoring compared to the "in session/level" kids? Should I be prepping my DD for lower scores? Thanks in advance for any input or advice for my kid!

No, this isn't true. It's clearly noted who is what level, and they are judged according to their level. That's why judges have cheat sheets, to check before each Gymnast in a different level. It is very common to have multiple JO levels and Xcel in the same rotation.

 

[curlygirls]

One thing that you may want to prepare her for if she is truly out of level for the session (and not just in a different session from the rest of her team) is the possibility that she will not be included in awards, will not have her score count toward a team total.

 

[moogacat]

As an Xcel gymnast my daughter is often in sessions with JO gymnasts of various levels, shifting between compulsory and optionals. Her scores don't seem to vary depending on the level she's grouped with. She seems to be in the same general range whether she's with Level 4s or Level 9-10. Her scores vary more depending on whether there are "tough" judges at the meet, but that seems to carry through all the various levels in the same session. For example, there were some brutal beam judges at a recent meet, but the scores seemed low both for the XP girls as well as the L8 and L9 girls in the session.

 

[Sk8ermaiden]

I always hate it a little when our golds are with level 4s and 5s at a meet, but I don't think my worries have any merit. The scores are usually in the same ballpark as usual.

 

[CuriousCate]

One thing that you may want to prepare her for if she is truly out of level for the session (and not just in a different session from the rest of her team) is the possibility that she will not be included in awards, will not have her score count toward a team total.

Oh thanks for this piece of info! I had no idea but we checked and you are correct!