Parents Travel meets- schedule

[RTT2]

Do the big travel meets with a lot of out of town athletes coming in typically put schedules out earlier than local meets? DD is doing her first travel meet this season and I'm hoping not to have to book things last minute.

 

[rebcoola]

Not in our experience if we are driving we will book hotels with 24hr cancellation policies for the whole weekend and than cancel what we don't need. If we are flying we just plan for a long weekend and plan to enjoy the area.

 

[Natasha]

Many of the big meets we have gone to have had the schedule out 4+ weeks in advance- or at least a general travel schedule telling you what days which levels will compete. I think it is pretty rare for the big meets to not have it out at least 3 weeks in advance, whereas some of the local meets will be less than 2 weeks. Some meets will post a 'deadline' date for scratches- this is date is always before the schedule is released, so that may give you an idea.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Not in our experience. We have a travel meet (fly away) that usually doesn’t post the session info until 2-3wks beforehand. We have a cheap airline that does weekend special to this destination, but the last couple of years my DDs session has been early Friday which means we cannot use the cheap special which gets in Friday evening.... ugh.

 

[M2Abi]

For the travel meets I've been to, I've been able to wait to book flights until the schedule came out.

 

[Tuppy]

I don't think you get the schedule any earlier. You can expect to know the weekend it's on, but don't get expect the final schedules until a couple weeks out. We are always wrestling with whether we book and risk, or try to sightsee for a day or two more. Good luck!

 

[CuriousCate]

You may want to check with your coaches. This season will also be my DD's first time traveling out of state for a few meets, likely requiring a flight. The HC told parents that we could choose to book hotels for the full weekend and then cancel what we didn't need BUT not to book a flight until we know the exact day our gymnast will compete. He said that he doesn't want them showing up to a meet following multiple "unnecessary" days off from practice. Ie, if we book travel to leave Friday but she doesn't compete until Sunday, then the kiddo will be at a meet right after 2-3 days off from practice. He also warned that some of the travel meets have sessions Sunday afternoon, which could be a risk booking a flight in advance and then having to rush out to the airport or panic if sessions are running late.

 

[skschlag]

You may want to check with your coaches. This season will also be my DD's first time traveling out of state for a few meets, likely requiring a flight. The HC told parents that we could choose to book hotels for the full weekend and then cancel what we didn't need BUT not to book a flight until we know the exact day our gymnast will compete. He said that he doesn't want them showing up to a meet following multiple "unnecessary" days off from practice. Ie, if we book travel to leave Friday but she doesn't compete until Sunday, then the kiddo will be at a meet right after 2-3 days off from practice. He also warned that some of the travel meets have sessions Sunday afternoon, which could be a risk booking a flight in advance and then having to rush out to the airport or panic if sessions are running late.

This all sounds great, and I would love to do this, but I have found that if I wait, I pay a lot more in airfare. Our travel meets usually have sessions from Thursday-Sunday, so our coaches are gone as well. We just plan to be gone the whole time. We do look at the previous year's schedule to guestimate, but then we book. waiting 2-3 weeks before the meet will increase flight costs significantly.

 

[CLgym]

Some big meets will post a schedule (or tentative schedule) early; last year, the Chicago Style meet posted a schedule in late November for the February meet. For our travel meet last year, our HC was able to get the days our gym's levels would be competing (although not the specific sessions) a little more than a month in advance of the meet thanks to a helpful meet director; we were flying nearly 2,000 miles, so it was helpful to at least have the specific day we needed to work around.

 

[Seeker]

This all sounds great, and I would love to do this, but I have found that if I wait, I pay a lot more in airfare. Our travel meets usually have sessions from Thursday-Sunday, so our coaches are gone as well. We just plan to be gone the whole time. We do look at the previous year's schedule to guestimate, but then we book. waiting 2-3 weeks before the meet will increase flight costs significantly.

That wouldn’t fly at our gym - you’re expected at practice. Every gym has their own policies, but we’ve also always gotten the schedule in plenty of time to book tickets so it hasn’t been an issue.

 

[skschlag]

That wouldn’t fly at our gym - you’re expected at practice. Every gym has their own policies, but we’ve also always gotten the schedule in plenty of time to book tickets so it hasn’t been an issue.

That is probably some difference between MAC and WAG. All of the coaches are usually gone too, so there isn't often a practice to attend.