Parents Meets per year?

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

Does your gym make you go to every meet they enter or can you pick and chose the number your child goes to?

How many do you go to and do you take advantage of each meet or allow for some time off from meets?
 
At dd's gym you pretty much have to do all the meets the team is doing unless you have a very good reason to miss one. For compulsories that means up to 8 meets in the fall season (they compete late August through November). That breaks down to about 2 meets per month.
For optionals that means 4 to 6 meets including regionals and Nationals if you qualify.
 
Not sure yet at DDs new gym, but her old gym you had to do all of them unless you had a very good reason not to. I am assuming that it is the same at her new gym. Last year at her old gym they had 6 during Fall season (Sept-November) and 5 during Spring season (January-March). New gym said there were 6-7 for Fall and Spring season is less intense, only doing a few meets to keep the girls interested.

You will find that different areas of the country have different meet seasons, etc. Most optionals only compete Spring because of Regionals and Nationals. Compulsories seem to vary. We have States in November for levels 4/5/6, but there is a Spring Championship to end the Spring season, but it isn't considered States.
 
This is all very individual gym to gym, so you're best bet is to ask at your gym. If I can remember all the way back to DD's L4 season...I think the L4 team only went to like 5 meets(between Jan.-May). All fairly close to home & pretty well spaced out, so DD attended all of them(didn't consider not doing them-she loved them so much:D!). Our gym didn't consider L4 "real" team...so they weren't really competitive. They didn't venture far from home...so these meets were often different meets then the upper levels went to. This was the "try it on for size" level at our gym. It was all so fun back then!!! Our gym didn't even go to L4 states, although most of our girls did qualify. They didn't want the little ones to feel too much pressure to win. But that all changed in L5...once you committed to team...you committed to team, LOL!!! L5 is when they amped up the pressure & it got competitive at our gym. L5-L10 still only go to about 6 meets/season, but then go onto sectionals, states, etc. Attendance at meets is expected...except some very costly fly to meets we were excused from, (only optional levels go to the fly away meets at our gym). Good luck to your DD! What level is she?
 
Last edited:
This is all very individual gym to gym, so you're best bet is to ask at your gym. If I can remember all the way back to DD's L4 season...I think the L4 team only went to like 5 meets(between Jan.-May). All fairly close to home & pretty well spaced out, so DD attended all of them(didn't consider not doing them-she loved them so much:D!). Our gym didn't consider L4 "real" team...so they weren't really competitive. They didn't venture far from home...so these meets were often different meets then the upper levels went to. This was the "try it on for size" level at our gym. It was all so fun back then!!! Our gym didn't even go to L4 states, although most of our girls did qualify. They didn't want the little ones to feel too much pressure to win. But that all changed in L5...once you committed to team...you committed to team, LOL!!! L5 is when they amped up the pressure & it got competitive at our gym. L5-L10 still only go to about 6 meets/season, but then go onto sectionals, states, etc. Attendance at meets is expected...except some very costly fly to meets we were excused from, (only optional levels go to the fly away meets at our gym). Good luck to your DD! What level is she?

My dd is level 4, just made team last week. We are use to cheer competitions so I am not sure how it's all going to work. I thought I heard someone say the girls have the option to go or not go to meets. Since she is so new I am not even sure she will be ready to compete by the fall. However if she is doing well I would want her to compete at all the meets. Real comps are the only way to get true experience.
 
Congratulations to your DD on moving to L4!!! If she's used to cheer competitions I think she'll be ready to compete by fall...she's already used to learning routines & puttin' on a show:D! Good luck & have fun!!! Enjoy!!!
 
Our gym is pretty flexible...although they WANT you to go to every meet, and IMHO that is the whole point of being on a competitive team, there are parents that pick and choose and they will say "oh my dd qualified already so she doesn't need to go", meanwhile they qualified by the skin of their teeth!

For USAG, we usually do 2 invitationals at the beginning of a season, followed by as many Sectionals as the team needs, then States. We always do the Greater NY meet in early Dec which is an invitational not "needed" by the teams that competed in the fall, and considered the start of the season for the optionals. Around March we start USAIGC and do 2 invitationals, then States. So its somewhere between 8-10 meets depending on level.
 
Our gym requires you go to all meets unless there is a very good reason. We have a very small team with just a few girls at each level so we need everyone
 
Does your gym make you go to every meet they enter or can you pick and chose the number your child goes to?

How many do you go to and do you take advantage of each meet or allow for some time off from meets?


Our Gym requires that you go to all meets. We have to pay for the meets well in advance. (all meets fees for the season must be paid by Dec 1st)We compete Jan thru March/April (depending on when states are) last year as a L5 my DD competed in 10 meets. This year as a L7 she will compete in around 7 meets.
 
HC likes to do about 8-10 meets per level. Only the 8s - 10s compete out of state. As a parent of a higher level gymnast, I receive an email asking if I would like my dd to partake in the travel meet. If I say no, than that is fine, but if I say yes I am then committed to going. You are expected to attend all other meets with the exception of the fly away meet. Level 7 and under is in-state only, so you really don't incur the travel costs like the higher levels.
 
HC likes to do about 8-10 meets per level. Only the 8s - 10s compete out of state. As a parent of a higher level gymnast, I receive an email asking if I would like my dd to partake in the travel meet. If I say no, than that is fine, but if I say yes I am then committed to going. You are expected to attend all other meets with the exception of the fly away meet. Level 7 and under is in-state only, so you really don't incur the travel costs like the higher levels.

It's going to be interesting to see how the cost of competitive cheer and gymnastics meets compare.
 
At the gyms my granddaughter has been at, they tell you which meets you are eligible/ready to compete.
 
You are expected to do every meet the gym does--unless you have a prior commitment (like a wedding or vacation or something). We do 7-9 meets a year. I can't recall what next year is (I'm on the booster board, so we already know the # to plan for budgeting as the booster club pays for meet fees). I know it's likely we'll only do one out of state meet next year--CHicago STyle--and ALL the team is going--level 4-10.
 
Our teams do about 8 a year that includes sectionals and states. We don't start "fly away" meets until level 7.
 
At prior and current gym, you are given a schedule of meets and expected to compete at all unless sick or injured. Both gyms do about the same number of compulsory meets(6-7) and optional meets(5-6).

I think it would be a nightmare for coaches to have a different "team" at each meet. Our HC does try and do meets every other week during meet season to allow for a little down time and also time to work routines/skills.
 
Our gym is very team oriented so all of the girls are expected to be at every meet to help the team. They are reminded that a team victory is more important than individual scores which adds to the team spirit. The coaches set goals for each level at the beginning of the season and keep working towards them as the season progresses. HC set the L9 goal this past season to win state champs and they achieved it. We actually beat CGA at L9 state this year which HC said was a real accomplishment. We usually do 8 optional meets plus state each year. DD has also done regionals at L8 and Eastern nationals 2 times at L9.
 
Does your gym make you go to every meet they enter or can you pick and chose the number your child goes to?



How many do you go to and do you take advantage of each meet or allow for some time off from meets?


We are required to go to all the meets unless the girl is sick or the parents are too sick to drive. Our gym is a little more hardcore when it comes to girls missing anything. If you don't want to go to a meet prior to the meet then you have to get it ok'ed by the HC in writing and then give it to the office long before the meet.

Usually we do both the Sept - Dec session for meets and then the Jan - April sessions. So we have 2 sets of states etc every year.

The Sept - Dec session are all signed up for by the end of Aug so we have to make decisions in Aug usually for all the meets in that time frame (letter from HC not to go to a meet). then End of Oct usually all the Jan - April meets are paid for and same story with HC.
 
At my daughters gym you pay for the meet fees along with the coaches fees all together according to level so it does not make sense not to go. They do around 8-10 meets a year. the compulsaries are statewide while the optionals travel throughout the country. In the 2 years my daughter has been on the team she has never missed a meet.
 
We are required to go to all the meets unless the girl is sick or the parents are too sick to drive. Our gym is a little more hardcore when it comes to girls missing anything. If you don't want to go to a meet prior to the meet then you have to get it ok'ed by the HC in writing and then give it to the office long before the meet.

Usually we do both the Sept - Dec session for meets and then the Jan - April sessions. So we have 2 sets of states etc every year.

The Sept - Dec session are all signed up for by the end of Aug so we have to make decisions in Aug usually for all the meets in that time frame (letter from HC not to go to a meet). then End of Oct usually all the Jan - April meets are paid for and same story with HC.

How does the 2 sets of states work?
 
How does the 2 sets of states work?

Not sure what you mean but;


We have meets almost every weekend from mid sept - just before thanksgiving then usually the first weekend or two in Dec there is a Winter state dependiong on the level.

Jan comes around and we have a meet almost every weekend until April then there is a Spring States usually at the end of april into the begining of may depending on the level
 

New Posts

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

Gymnaverse :: Recent Activity

College Gym News

New Posts

Back