Parents IGC Thanksgiving Clinic – Report

[NY Dad]

What follows is my very long/detailed report for IGC Thanksgiving Clinic (just drop-off). After I pick her up I’ll report back again. There’s a ton of detail (no questions) so feel free to skip this post if you’re not interested.

Arrival
Check-in officially opened at 10:00 we got there about 20 minutes early and there was already a line. The doors opened about 9:50 but it still took us over 20 minutes to get through. The line ended up getting very long and I know that those further back in the line had to wait longer to check in than we waited. Based on my observation many of the girls came with at least a friend and many came with their team (my DD was alone). After check-in there was an area to discuss/hand-off medications. IGC also had merchandise for sale (on sale).

Bunks
After we checked in we went to DD’s bunk. When we arrived at the bunk there were 2 other girls there (one with her parent/coach representative). The bunks are very nice. Her's had 2 stalls and 2 showers. Also, heat blasting (which was nice). We were told in summer they have AC. After DD settled in we were had some time before the first activity so we walked around.

The Facilities
We ran into the head coach outside one of the gyms. I don’t remember his name. He wave very nice and walked us into the gym and told us a little about IGC/the facilities. We saw the bar gym and the all-purpose gym which he said is mostly the boys gym b/c they have a little of everything. To me the gyms looked very impressive but I really don’t know anything about gym equipment or gyms.

Back To The Bunk
We got back to DD’s bunk and it was filled to capacity (maybe 12-14 girls, (I didn’t count). There were approx. 3-4 girls that came alone (as my DD) and then about 8 girls that came together from a team. They were 7, 8 and 9 years old. I was surprised b/c I had been told that she would be bunked with only 7 year olds. When I asked the counselor about this she said that they all came as a team and they wanted to stick together but during the summer (when there are more girls) they do bunk by age. We hung around for a few more minutes and then left. As we left DDwas feeling a little overwhelmed but I know she was really excited for two solid days of gymnastics to come.

 

[Jenny]

Good for her. HOpe she enjoyed it.

 

[bogwoppit]

By the way, that line in summer is very long and very, very hot in the full sun.

 

[CTMOM]

My girls also attended, but did not sleep over. They had a blast. My YDD is also 7. I wonder if they were in the same group? She is level 3, but she said there were some level 2s in her group. I think they grouped them by age.

 

[NY Dad]

I wonder if they were in the same group?

I think they were in the same group (see below: Overview), was your DD in the pink group? Are you planning to send her to IGC Camp this Summer?

What follows is a (very) detailed description of IGC Thanksgiving Clinic through the eyes of my DD (with some info I gathered when I was there). Since much of this info is from a 7 year old, I can’t guarantee it’s 100% accurate.

My DD loved camp. She didn’t want it to end. I asked her what she enjoyed most she said “everything”. Part of my decision to send her to the clinic was to determine if she would be interested/ready to go to IGC camp for a few weeks next summer. Without a doubt, she said that she wants to spend her entire summer there (That's not happening)

Overview
There were approx. 275 girls that stayed overnight, 45 day campers and about 25 boys. She did not see the boys too often they were mostly in one of the gyms. There were 20 to 30 7-year-old girls (but it was plenty as far as my DD was concerned.) The girls were grouped by age/ability but I I was confused b/c my DD is level 2 and she said that in her group one girl did RO connected to 4 BHS. Also on beam when some girls did cartwheels others did BWO. (We didn’t talk a lot about the skills, she just mentioned it.) - Update - I think it was more based on age then on skills.

Sessions/activities
In addition to warm-up, they had 6 sessions that were 45 minutes each (both days). Floor, beam, bars, vault, conditioning and dance. In the evening they had a few different activities. She mentioned that she watched the movie Inside Out, roasted marshmallows and colored in T shirts. (She had a ton of fun.)

Night/Bed
After the last activity of the day they went back to the bunk and hung out (she played cards, she said she wished she brought more games). I was told that the lights were out at 9:30 but my DD said she stayed up later than that. She got a long really well with the girls in her bunk.

Food
From her POV the food was very good (but she mentioned Doritos and Gatorade in the canteen as part of the food so I’m not sure how much to weight her opinion). For breakfast there was apparently fruit but she opted for Fruit Loops instead. She ate with her bunk-mates.

Pick-Up
If you get there early you can go to the canteen where there is merchandise for sale (including pictures of your gymnast with the celebrities). (Or you can go after you pick up your gymnast). There’s a line for the celebrities/Olympians to sign stuff/pictures. Paul Ruggeri, Svetlana Boguinskaia and Brittnee Habbib where at the clinic but Paul wasn’t there for signatures.

My Take Away
I had been worried that it might have been too much gymnastics for a 7 year old used to only 4 hours per week at the gym but she left wanting more. She didn’t want to leave when it was over.

DD works on splits at home several evening per week. Yesterday when she was doing her splits she pointed out to me her form. (Which she hadn’t volunteered to me before) I felt like she was more aware of her toes and alignment. I wonder if it’s something that was pointed out to her at the clinic. She told me that she learned some new skills but wasn’t sure what they were. I wasn’t sure if she was referring to new exercises or actually skills but she was happy about it so I was too. She had a great time, felt like she got a got to do a good amount of gymnastics, and possibly learned some new stuff. All in all, it was exactly what I was hoping she would get out of it. We’ll most likely be sending her there for a few weeks this coming summer.

One funny side note when we were leaving my DD mentioned her legs were tired. I asked her if she knew what it was from. She mentioned the steep hill (to get to bunks and some of the gyms). She said that lots of the girls were complaining about their legs being tired/sore from the hill.

 

[CTMOM]

Yes, she was in the pink group. She said there were some preteam and level 2 with her, but they did break the girls out during each event by skill. She loved it and will be going this summer.