Parents How does Xcel scoring work?

[TumbleTimes4]

My DD just competed the bronze level this past weekend and I was confused on how they do scoring because of the flexibility of skills allowed. For example my DD does a backhandspring in her floor routine but received a lower score than another child that did not do one. I'm not complaining or trying to say that my child deserved a better score, I just simply want to understand how it works. Are they rewarded for harder skills, or is it all just based on the technique of the skills that you compete?

 

[HoldThePhone]

There are no bonus points for harder skills. It's about how well the skills are performed.

 

[Sk8ermaiden]

Yep.

 

[CLgym]

There are minimum requirements for each Xcel division, but a lot of flexibility in how those requirements are met. My DD competed Xcel Bronze last year with a ROBHS on floor, but we saw many other gyms doing a RO+backward roll or similar. No bonus points for the "harder" skills. Deductions are taken based on the skills performed. If you want to see the requirements for each Xcel division, there is a comprehensive document on the USAG website.

 

[cadybearsmommy]

Exactly what PP said. In Xcel often simple clean routines score much higher than more difficult ones. I saw very few ROBHS in bronze, usually we don't see them until silver here. My dd competed hers once in bronze and it was reasonably clean but it still lowered her score substantially so the coach switched it out for connected back walkovers.

 

[3rd_time_around]

It like this, each level has minimum requirements to meet, with a list of acceptable skills to choose from to meet those requirements. So one gymnast could perform the bare minimum of required skills, and do them cleanly with little mistakes and score pretty high. Another gymnast could perform the "harder" skills from the list and make a lot of errors in executing the skill and score lower. It's normal to think "the second gymnast's routine had harder skills and more skills, so shouldn't it have scored better?" But it's more about how they are performed rather than what skill from the list of options is performed.

 

[CuriousCate]

yup. our gym trains lvl 3 but completes silver. Several kids including my DD did a kip and scored lower than those who did not in the first meet bc their form wasn't perfect. My DD has since "lost" her kip and therefore didn't compete it in the second meet and she scored much higher. That's sort of why I can't wait for lvl 4 where the playing field is evened out.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Clean, simple with good form will beat messy harder.

As long as the minimum is met.

Our girls didn't do BHS till silver. And they stayed on low bar in silver, no kip or squat on. Always scored well

 

[Tootsmom]

Our gym does the maximum skills for each level at least for the first meet of the season and then if a girl has an issue with a particular trick they change it.

 

[momof2gymmies]

Our gym does maximun skills as well for each level. Sometimes the routines get changed if a girl is having difficulty, but since they must have the skills before they move up they are usually fine. DD is kipping as a silver on both high and low bar, and she scores fine, she is doing robhsbhs and an aerial for floor - again she scores fine. But our kids are pretty clean. A cleaner skill scores higher regardless of what it is.

 

[TumbleTimes4]

Her routines are pretty clean. She won bars with the maximum skills. I just wish they got rewarded a little for competing a harder skill. I guess that's the advantage of JO.

 

[MILgymFAM]

Her routines are pretty clean. She won bars with the maximum skills. I just wish they got rewarded a little for competing a harder skill. I guess that's the advantage of JO.

JO is no different until very upper optionals. You will definitely see the same thing happening in L6 and L7.

 

[raenndrops]

JO is no different until very upper optionals. You will definitely see the same thing happening in L6 and L7.

Yep. In L6, for example, on beam one girl can do a cartwheel while another does a BHS, but a clean cartwheel will score better than a messy BHS.

 

[GYM0M]

Her routines are pretty clean. She won bars with the maximum skills. I just wish they got rewarded a little for competing a harder skill. I guess that's the advantage of JO.

Not until L9....DD competed L7 2 years ago with maxed out requirements on floor and beam. She's a pretty clean gymnast, but when you're trying to stick a full vs sticking a tuck, the 0.10s add up. Our coaches also don't allow her to step out, it's stick or miss. Cleaner, but less difficult beats more difficulty, less clean, even in JO.

ETA: in the particular meet I'm referencing, she came in 6th or 7th on floor with a 9.45, with a full and switch straddle leap.

 

[Jenny]

If you do a harder skill though the deductions are way more tricky . So it does't always pay off. Certainly not here under FIG deductions which are kind of double yours.