WAG Pros and cons of xcel

[Deleted member 17723]

What are the pros and cons of xcel? I read through some posts here but have some specific questions.... Can you go back to JO once your in xcel? Could I start in silver/gold/plat or would I have to start as a bronze? For YMCA.... Are there a lot of girls who do it? Can xcel go to YMCA regionals and nationals? And I'm just wondering pros and cons

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Raindrops is an excellent source of Xcel info. YMCA info too!
Movement between Xcel and JO is usually up to your gym, as far as I understand, and lots seem to NOT allow going back to JO. In lots of gyms (if they use Xcel the way it's meant) Xcel have way less practice hours than JO so that in itself may make it difficult to accomplish the skills and polish needed for JO. I know at our gym JO kids from L4-up go about 3x the hours Xcel does... (Xcel gets 5hrs/wk, starting at L4 our JO kids do 13 and it goes up from there). Even our little L3's get more hours, they go 6-8hrs!

The first necessary level is Gold. (You must score out of Gold to compete Platinum and Diamond)

 

[Vivianflips]

Yes, you can go back to JO after you've competed xcel. Some gyms even have their compulsory girls compete xcel in the spring and JO in the fall! You can start at bronze, silver, or gold, you have to score out of gold to get to platinum though. So gold is like level 4 in that it's the first required level. Hope this helps!

 

[dmbgymnast]

You can do JO after xcel, but you must score out of compulsories to do optionals. You can go to YMCA regionals and nationals. You can start at gold or platinum, as a previous level 4

 

[MeetDirector]

Allow me to stress that point - you MUST score out of the required JO compulsory levels before going to JO Optionals. Whether or not you can move between the two streams is completely up to your gym.

 

[raenndrops]

Allow me to stress that point - you MUST score out of the required JO compulsory levels before going to JO Optionals. Whether or not you can move between the two streams is completely up to your gym.

Or your coach can petition you into L6/L7 if you are old enough.

 

[MeetDirector]

Or your coach can petition you into L6/L7 if you are old enough.

USAG Rules and Policies, page 78: "The petition must be accompanied by a video that demonstrates her skill level."

Personally, never seen success with this route.

Good Luck.

 

[raenndrops]

What are the pros and cons of xcel? I read through some posts here but have some specific questions.... Can you go back to JO once your in xcel? Could I start in silver/gold/plat or would I have to start as a bronze? For YMCA.... Are there a lot of girls who do it? Can xcel go to YMCA regionals and nationals? And I'm just wondering pros and cons

You can go back and forth... case in point, we competed against a girl last November as an Xcel Gold (age 15). In December, Xcel was in a different session than the rest of the Optionals and she would have been the only one for her team to compete (2 sessions AFTER everyone else). Her coaches knew this in advance and she competed L6 at that meet. She did well enough to qualify to Y Nationals... actually, she came in 3rd in her age group and 1st on vault and 2nd on beam.
You could start at Gold (especially based on your skills). When you move up to Platinum, you could use videos of those routines in your petition to move to L6.
There are more girls competing Xcel every year. The first year our team offered Xcel Gold, we had 3 girls on our team and 13 girls total in Gold in our district. The next year, there were 7 on our team and 19 total. This past year, there were 9 on our team and 25 total.
Platinum has also increased from 3 or 4 to 11 or 12 in the district.
Xcel CAN go to Regionals (our Regionals only does Gold and above) and Nationals (Silver and above this past year).
At my Regionals, there were 68 Golds (and only 14 of the 25 girls from our district went)... and there were 22 Platinums (and only 4 of the 11 or 12 from our district went).
At Nationals (with low turnout due to WHERE it was held), there were 41 Golds ( only 16 of them from my Regionals and 46 Platinums (only 6 of them from my Regionals).

 

[raenndrops]

USAG Rules and Policies, page 78: "The petition must be accompanied by a video that demonstrates her skill level."

Personally, never seen success with this route.

Good Luck.

There is more success with this route at YMCAs ... Also Platinum and L6 are pretty close to the same, so an AWESOME Platinum (think 180º split jumps and close to CHS can seemlessly transition into L6).

 

[lovethelord]

What are the pros and cons of xcel? I read through some posts here but have some specific questions.... Can you go back to JO once your in xcel? Could I start in silver/gold/plat or would I have to start as a bronze? For YMCA.... Are there a lot of girls who do it? Can xcel go to YMCA regionals and nationals? And I'm just wondering pros and cons

1. Yes, you can compete JO once you've competed Xcel.
2. Yes, you can start at a different level than Bronze.
3.& 4. We don't do YMCA so I can't answer these.

When a gymnast competes Xcel they need to at least score out of Level 4 & 5. Our Silver gymnasts usually compete in one Level 4 and Golds in one Level 5 at the end of the summer. Someone could compete 1 level 4 & 1 level 5 and then compete Level 6 in Jan or 7 depending on skill level. We love Xcel.

There were 1400 girls at Region 8 Xcel Regionals.

 

[duyetanh]

I think you will do well wherever you go, but I am confused, I thought you said you were a level 4? I could have this wrong, my apologies if I am way off here...

 

[Deleted member 17723]

I think you will do well wherever you go, but I am confused, I thought you said you were a level 4? I could have this wrong, my apologies if I am way off here...

That's what I am supposed to be, and what I did last season. However I think I'd be happier in xcel, so my parents may talk to the coaches about it.... I'm just trying to figure everything out.

 

[gracyomalley]

not really an option for my kid, but I am wondering a bit - what would happen with a kid who was a very high scoring L7 with lots of L8 skills but totally burnt out and having lost all confidence if they wished to try xcel? age 13....

 

[dmbgymnast]

not really an option for my kid, but I am wondering a bit - what would happen with a kid who was a very high scoring L7 with lots of L8 skills but totally burnt out and having lost all confidence if they wished to try xcel? age 13....

They could enter at platinum or diamond, and likely do very well.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Platinum and Diamond have score outs.

For Platinum, min 31 at Gold or 8.0 IES
For Diamond min 31 at Platinum or 8.0 IES

https://usagym.org/PDFs/Women/Rules/Rules and Policies/2015_2016_w_rulespolicies_0818.pdf

Also gives comparable JO levels

 

[MILgymFAM]

Platinum and Diamond have score outs.

For Platinum, min 31 at Gold or 8.0 IES
For Diamond min 31 at Platinum or 8.0 IES

https://usagym.org/PDFs/Women/Rules/Rules and Policies/2015_2016_w_rulespolicies_0818.pdf

Also gives comparable JO levels

A successful L7 gymnast isn't allowed to compete in gold. The code states when coming from JO, girls should start at the level appropriate to their experience.

 

[dmbgymnast]

A successful L7 gymnast isn't allowed to compete in gold. The code states when coming from JO, girls should start at the level appropriate to their experience.

The JO to Xcel mobility chart states that you do not have to score out, and a level 7 gymnast can start competition in either platinum or diamond.

 

[MILgymFAM]

The JO to Xcel mobility chart states that you do not have to score out, and a level 7 gymnast can start competition in either platinum or diamond.

I know, I was agreeing with you.

 

[gracyomalley]

Thanks all - I do wonder if that would be an option - there's one meet our team attends that has Xcel and it would allow her to keep doing gymnastics without having the pressure of the new all or nothing gym standards...she could probably drop her training hours in half too...And probably be the only Diamond in the state LOL!

 

[raenndrops]

Thanks all - I do wonder if that would be an option - there's one meet our team attends that has Xcel and it would allow her to keep doing gymnastics without having the pressure of the new all or nothing gym standards...she could probably drop her training hours in half too...And probably be the only Diamond in the state LOL!

Some states have very few Diamonds and some have a lot more. Diamond seems like the perfect place for a burnt out "almost 8" ... Requirements are 5 A's and 2 B's like in L7, BUT they are allowed to do any C's and up to one D on each event. They can also do "flipping" vaults, but if that is a problem, a basic Handspring has a 9.4 SV.