WAG Level 8 requirements

[munchkin3]

Hey there!
In a pretty competitive state. I have been hearing some pretty tough skills will be required for L8.... anything official coming out of USAG? Ive looked around and can't find anything......so this is what I've been hearing.
Beam, switch connected to BT,
Series, with a BT, or LO.
Dismount either, RO/BHS to BLO, or twisting

Bars, two direction changes....and double back

Vault, we already know the yuchenki piked.
And floor....I don't know, what would be normal here?
Any comments?

 

[mOm2gymnast<3]

This can't be true!

 

[kayjaybe]

Those sound like L9 requirements. As far as I know, none of that is required for L8.

 

[munchkin3]

That's what I said!

 

[MrsAnderson]

Is that an individual gym's requirements?
I know last year, I saw plenty of layout flyaways, tucked yurchenkos, and BHS BHS series on beam.

 

[QueenBee]

We, too, saw plenty of layout flyaways, tucked yurchenkos (and even FHS), and BHS BHS was common on beam...all the way through our State meet. Plenty of gymnasts competing those elements were scoring and placing well.

I will say that by Regionals, the highest scoring gymnasts were most often competing a double back on bars, piked yurchenkos (or tusks with SV10), and there were many strong beam workers doing BHS BHS and BT and fairly difficult dismounts (some with twisting).

For my experience, the skill differences at Level 8 start to indicate the difference between gymnasts participating in JO and gymnasts who are (and will continue to be) highly competitive on the Regional/National stage. It was illuminating to see so many highly talented athletes from a large enough area to see true excellence distinguished from the very good, good and competent.

 

[cadybearsmommy]

If I'm not mistaken I think I I read here somewhere that the new "requirements" coming through for L8 are not actually requirements but a more detailed explanation of what is required to make sure you don't get the "up to level" deduction. Even so, seems pretty drastic. I can understand the harsher up to level deductions for very tough meets and state, regionals, etc where the competition is fierce. However, at small local (not very competitive meets) where you will see virtually NO one doing these skills, what is the real benefit of this?

 

[Natasha]

The requirements are all the same.
The "up to level" .20 deduction has been clarified for L9 and L10. Last year's changes clarified examples of L8 beam to not incur the "up to Level." But no requirements (as in the 4 special requirements on each event and number of A,B,C skills) are changing for this competitive year. 2018 summer will mark the new cycle, so there may be changes then. Judging from the new clarifications for L9 and L10, the "not up to level" deduction could more accurately be labeled "Not up to max allowed difficulty."
OP- it may be that your gym is 'upping' requirements for L8- wanting maximum difficulty- so that gymnasts will be more ready for max routines at L9.

 

[3rd_time_around]

Hey there!
In a pretty competitive state. I have been hearing some pretty tough skills will be required for L8.... anything official coming out of USAG? Ive looked around and can't find anything......so this is what I've been hearing.
Beam, switch connected to BT,
Series, with a BT, or LO.
Dismount either, RO/BHS to BLO, or twisting

Bars, two direction changes....and double back

Vault, we already know the yuchenki piked.
And floor....I don't know, what would be normal here?
Any comments?

Each level 8 event has 4 special requirements. There are no specific skills required for level 8, just specific types of skills. You can easily google Level 8 requirements and read them. Even vault does not have a specific vault required, there is a whole list of vaults you could do. It is very difficult to do a Yurchenko pike the first year of level 8 unless you have been training it for quite some time. And it doesn't matter what state you're in, if you meet the minimum requirements that's all you need. There is no bonus at level 8.

For example, here are the level 8 bars special requirements:
1. Min. of 1 bar change
2. & 3. Two “B” elements, same or different: - One with flight (Not in dmt.); OR one with turn (Not in mnt. or dmt.) - One 360° circle elem. from Grp. 3, 6 or 7 (not in dismount)
4. Salto or Hecht Dismount - Min. of “A

As you can see, no specific skills are mentioned, just types of skills.

 

[wandrewsjr]

Level 8 does have compositional deductions for difficulty expected, but as others have said what you describe sounds more like level 9 difficulty expectations miscommunicated as level 8. A level 8 can't do a switch to back tuck and a series with a tuck or layout, it would violate difficulty restrictions. I also can't come up with a level 8 UB routine with 2 direction changes that doesn't violate difficulty restrictions. So neither could be expected at level 8, except as others have said maybe as training skill level requirements for a particular gym.

Using balance beam as an example, here is what is required to get no acro "up to difficulty" level composition deductions at level 8:

Acro series w/2 ‘B’ flight skills
Additional acro on beam
Acro connection to ‘A’ dismount OR isolated ‘B’ dismount

 

[LJL07]

Hey there!
In a pretty competitive state. I have been hearing some pretty tough skills will be required for L8.... anything official coming out of USAG? Ive looked around and can't find anything......so this is what I've been hearing.
Beam, switch connected to BT,
Series, with a BT, or LO.
Dismount either, RO/BHS to BLO, or twisting

Bars, two direction changes....and double back

Vault, we already know the yuchenki piked.
And floor....I don't know, what would be normal here?
Any comments?

No way! The beam you are describing is level 9! And only one direction change on bars. The double back is not required but I do know many girls will use that.

 

[Texasmomof3]

Last season my gym's level 8 team was undefeated at every meet they had even through regionals. None of them ever competed routines with those level of skills. Our gym's theory is clean and up to level.

 

[munchkin3]

I am glad i was not hearing things......I told the person no way and that these must be 'gym requirements'.
Then there was a discussion on how the requirements were changing for next season and that they were making everything harder. Because I feel in I know very little as a parent, I thought maybe there was a congress where they had conveyed increasing difficulty.....so, naturally I came to CB!
My thoughts are that this gym is making the L8 requirements crazy hard and the ones who make it, will be more like L9s competing 8......
I am not at this gym.....my DD just about had a heart attack when she heard, 'new requirements' LOL.....she said, 'well, i guess im doing another year of L7!'

I made it clear to my DD that gyms require different skills and they are free to do so if they please. But the official L8 requirements have not changed.
Thanks!!!

 

[kayjaybe]

Yeah, that would be a CRAZY jump from L7 to L8 if those were required.

My dd took 5th AA at regionals without any of those skills. She even placed on vault with a tucked Tsuk.

 

[sfts]

If I'm not mistaken I think I I read here somewhere that the new "requirements" coming through for L8 are not actually requirements but a more detailed explanation of what is required to make sure you don't get the "up to level" deduction. Even so, seems pretty drastic. I can understand the harsher up to level deductions for very tough meets and state, regionals, etc where the competition is fierce. However, at small local (not very competitive meets) where you will see virtually NO one doing these skills, what is the real benefit of this?

The rationale which I have heard for the publishing of examples and emphasizing the deduction at all meets from nationals to the smallest invitational in the least competitive region is so that gymnasts and coaches see more uniformity in scoring and do not get to states/regionals/nationals and suddenly end up with a deduction which they have not received all season. It will lower scores all around for meet-the-minimum routines, yes, but in theory it will help make them more uniform between meets and judges (some of whom always took the deduction, some of whom adjusted based on what was at a particular meet, etc.). If everyone at the meet receives the deduction because no one is "up to level" then rankings will still be the same.