Parents How do you feel about 100% medals placements?

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TumbleTimes4

Proud Parent
I’m just curious to know other parents’ opinions on 100% medal placement in the All-Around. I’m personally not fan of participation trophies (or medals in this instance). I also think it’s more embarrassing to be called up and announced in last place to receive your medal than it would be to not receive a medal at all. I think going out 50% is fine, but I feel like 100% takes away from those who placed high. My DD is usually middle of the pack so she may or not place at every meet but I feel like it would be a good life lesson and would encourage her to work harder.

On a side note, I think it’s fine to do 100% for levels 1 and 2, but starting in level 3 I think they should not do 100%.
 
OK for tinies. Once they are late compulsories or optionals, dear G-d please no. I think it's irrelevant for those who would have placed under any system, but it's embarrassing for those who wouldn't have gotten AA placements without going way out, and it drags out what is probably already a way-too-long award ceremony.

As for working harder? Eh, I think if it takes getting an AA medal to get them to put enough effort into training, that's a problem in and of itself.
 
My vote is no way above L2, no matter what age. All of our L3s knew exactly what was up, and some of the 8-year-olds were downright embarrassed, when they medaled all the way out at their very first meet. They have gotten better at being good sports about it as they've gotten older, but it's still pretty humiliating. My daughter categorizes all of her medals as "real medals" or "just participation medals."
 
UGH. I hate when they go out all the way at the upper levels. These boys KNOW! One of our optionals got an AA medal this weekend for doing 1 event. He did not want to be up there. HE is 16.

Really when tehy are little, I guess it is ok. but honestly, not necessary. Sometimes it is ok to learn that we do somethign because we love it, not because we are getting something.
 
I don't really mind it in the AA. I have been to meets that went out for all events. That was ridiculous. I prefer when they divide them up into groupings like bronze, silver and then the placement finishes if they feel they must go out for all spots for AA. My DD was 9 or 10 before she started realized some AA medals were just a participation medal. And yes, I think it's been discussed before - because I don't have a strong opinion in gymnastics. 8 week rec sports I find ridiculous to give a medal to all just because the parents paid for a season. I just know when I run a half marathon, I still love the participation medal! lol By golly, that was a lot of hard work. I hang that baby up proudly! : )
 
Yes at the lowest levels for the young girls where for most of them scoring well is probably not the top priority anyways. My little DD did exceptionally well last year and skipped a level this year causing competitions to become soul crushing where a symbolic piece of plastic would actually go a long way to making her feel a little better about gymnastics. She is "learning life lessons" but I know she is hurting and I really wish she didn't skip that level.

She went from "someday I want to be like Simone" to "I'm trying to not embarrass the team"
 
@GymDadWA I hear you, I am sorry she is experiencing those feelings. I think gymnastics happens at practice as the athletes learn and perfect their skills. A meet is a place to show the skills you have acquired. For me, it is hard to determine the "Level" that meet scores matter. I am sure it is different for every parent and every athlete. Possibly you can express to your little one that everyone is proud of her and that she should be so proud of herself. That her parents and coaches believed in her ability and that is why she skipped a level. That skipping a level is in of itself a great accomplishment.
 
Things are a little different here so at grades you either fail, pass, pass with commendation or pass with distinction, no placement medals at all.
Other comps vary, most are just 1st 2nd and 3rd, some are 1st, 2nd and 3rd and then everyone else gets a participation medal. When younger my dd did a few comps that depending on your score you either got bronze silver or gold so everyone came away with a medal.

I think when younger everyone getting a participation medal is nice because often they don’t fully understand about scores and places but once older I think 1st 2nd and 3rd are enough and I can’t imagine anyone liking getting called up in last place to receive a medal.
 
My little DD did exceptionally well last year and skipped a level this year causing competitions to become soul crushing
I know I am taking the thread off topic a bit. I apologize.

They do catch up. Short Stack skipped a level, and for the next two seasons, her tumbling really suffered. Medals were VERY few and far between except on beam, and not many there either. This season, she is regularly scoring 9+ on floor. It's so great to see her confidence and poise showing up on floor.

So, if your DD can stick it out, she should eventually catch up. One thing that helped was focusing on goals--we did one for each event--that Short Stack could control (you can't control scores or placements). That way, even if there were no medals, and the scores weren't great, we usually had two or more things to celebrate at each meet because of attained personal goals.
 
I am a big fan of entry level gymnasts (Bronze and whatever is the common lowest compulsory level in your area) getting achievement awards. Our state used to do this way back when, but not anymore. Girls would get a ribbon for events (Blue for 9+, Red for 8s, etc, etc, and then an AA medal, the color also dependant on the score. The girls were excited to get the awards, the youngest littles usually didn't even know what the different colors meant and older girls would work to better their score, but, there was no team competition and no holding girls back to win AND when girls moved up to harder levels, they didn't get upset that they were no longer winning. Mid to upper levels, I don't really care anymore what they do for how many awards, as long as they do it quickly!
 
I am a big fan of entry level gymnasts (Bronze and whatever is the common lowest compulsory level in your area) getting achievement awards. Our state used to do this way back when, but not anymore. Girls would get a ribbon for events (Blue for 9+, Red for 8s, etc, etc, and then an AA medal, the color also dependant on the score. The girls were excited to get the awards, the youngest littles usually didn't even know what the different colors meant and older girls would work to better their score, but, there was no team competition and no holding girls back to win AND when girls moved up to harder levels, they didn't get upset that they were no longer winning. Mid to upper levels, I don't really care anymore what they do for how many awards, as long as they do it quickly!

We had these when I was a kid. They were fun, but you end up with stacks of them if you compete long enough. Where I was the judges would staple them to your score card as soon as they scored the routine so we would always watch the judge after waiting to see what color the ribbon was. Everyone got excited when they picked up the red white and blue one because that meant you scored above a 9.5. I wouldn't put them in the same category as participation trophies because you still had to earn the color ribbon you got. We always thought of them as ways of remembering meets and tracking our personal progress, really nothing more than getting score cards. It was also fun to look through a season and see how the colors changed as your scores increased.

And yes, I would have been mortified to be announced in last place. I don't think that would be fun for anyone. I'll be curious to see how gyms near us handle it when my DD starts competing.
 
I’m a fan of 50% receiving places/medals, which is usually what is done at the meets my kid has been to. 100% (even for level 3) seems like too much.
I don’t much like the meets that pass out ‘participation’ awards before the placements- so everyone knows right away if they didn’t place then the kids have to stand up there and smile with their participation trophy knowing they didn’t place.
The last meet placed out only 3 places which made the awards go speedy quick, but was tough on the kids who maybe usually place top 10 but not top 3.
 
We have attended meets where they still give out ribbons (blue for 9s, red for 8s, etc) after they are scored on an event and I think that’s great. They earn something for their hard work, everybody gets one, and they aren’t part of the awards ceremony. So everyone is a winner in that aspect!

Just let the meet gift count as the participation medal. We attended a meet last year where they only went out 50% on AA and apparatuses and they handed out a gift bag to every gymnast that did not medal before they started the awards. It was a shorter awards ceremony, every gymnast received something, the medals actually meant something to the ones that placed, and nobody was embarrassed.
 
I’ve always wished they did medals for top 3-4 (in case of a tie) and called it a day. The only exception is states, when I don’t mind everyone getting an AA medal (though I do think 1-3 should get a different medal). My DD thinks my 1-3 preference is harsh and is happy with the 50% that is common.
 
I think it's fine for level 3s and maybe level 4s (and lower level xcel). Although I am not thrilled about it for optionals, DD kind of likes the one-of-a-kind medals for AA from larger meets -- she thinks they are nice souvenirs. If they are exactly the same as every other medal you' re awarding, it doesn't mean much though.
 
I think it's fine for level 3s and maybe level 4s (and lower level xcel). Although I am not thrilled about it for optionals, DD kind of likes the one-of-a-kind medals for AA from larger meets -- she thinks they are nice souvenirs. If they are exactly the same as every other medal you' re awarding, it doesn't mean much though.

One of the meets we attended this year gave out snow globes with a gymnast inside for 1-3 all around. Kids loved it.
 

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