USAG Age Requirements

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

B

Billy

Does anybody know the exact USAG requirements regarding minimum ages of gymnasts competing in invitational meets? I was under the impression that the gymnast just needed to have reached the appropriate birthday (ie. 7th birthday to compete level 5) by the meet date. However, another mom told me that she was under the impression that the gymmies had to be of age by September 1st in order to compete that year. Can anybody enlighten me?
 
I do believe that they have to be that age by the first date of the level state meet.

How does that work, then for meets that are held after the state meet? The usual level 5 season is in the fall with the state meet in November. But, there are quite a few meets during the spring season that also have lower USAG levels. So when would be the next "cut off" date? At what point do they stop using the fall 2008 state meet date as a cut off and begin using the 2009 state meet date?
 
I believe gymnasts have to have reached the minimum age for that level (eg 7 for level 5) on the day of the competition.

However they compete in the age bracket for the whole season for the age they are at the last day of the state meet. So if you turn 8 halfway through the season then you have to compete for the whole season as age 8.

I think if you turn 7 halfway through the season you would only be able to compete the meets after your birthday as you cannot compete level 5 if you are only 6.
 
I believe gymnasts have to have reached the minimum age for that level (eg 7 for level 5) on the day of the competition.

However they compete in the age bracket for the whole season for the age they are at the last day of the state meet. So if you turn 8 halfway through the season then you have to compete for the whole season as age 8.

I think if you turn 7 halfway through the season you would only be able to compete the meets after your birthday as you cannot compete level 5 if you are only 6.

So for a gymnast who turns 7 in January, she could not compete L5 meets before her b-day in January but would be qualified to compete in February and later.

This is more like what I thought. I thought for minimum age requirement purposes, the gymnast just had to be of age by the date of the meet. But for state meets, they would compete as whatever age they are (or will be) as of the last day of the meet. I thought invitational meets could decide individually how they would group the girls (by specific birthdays or by age as of state, or whatever).
 
So for a gymnast who turns 7 in January, she could not compete L5 meets before her b-day in January but would be qualified to compete in February and later.

This is more like what I thought. I thought for minimum age requirement purposes, the gymnast just had to be of age by the date of the meet. But for state meets, they would compete as whatever age they are (or will be) as of the last day of the meet. I thought invitational meets could decide individually how they would group the girls (by specific birthdays or by age as of state, or whatever).

Sorry... I'm not usually thinking of ones who are too young... usually it's an issue for us of WHEN is the date of the state meet and will my daughter have to be bumped to a HIGHER age group! HA! Yes, your understanding is correct!
 
This is more like what I thought. I thought for minimum age requirement purposes, the gymnast just had to be of age by the date of the meet. But for state meets, they would compete as whatever age they are (or will be) as of the last day of the meet. I thought invitational meets could decide individually how they would group the girls (by specific birthdays or by age as of state, or whatever).

They almost always (for optional girls, now with boys my - limited - experience is completely different) seem to do the state meet in their state. Our invite (pretty big but not huge) does the state meet for compulsories too, but VA only has one season with L5 states in May. I'm guessing in a lot of places with fall state they use birthdays or something, but I'm much more familiar with the ins and outs of the optional system. Some of the really big invites do Jr A, Sr A etc and divide it out evenly using birthdates but that seemed more unusual. The small to medium ones that were more regional usually used the the state meet thing. For optionals, all the state meets tend to be in the same couple of weekends anyway because they have to be before regionals, which has to be before easterns/westerns or JOs for 9s and 10s. But they don't have to use the age groups the state uses, for example they could make their grouping ages 9-11 (using the state meet date cut-off to determine who is 9-11) whereas at the state meet they might be doing 9, 9.5, and 10 as separate age groups.
 
The way I understand it (and this is for MDL and I think USAG also), whatever age you are during championships (the State meet held in May) is the age bracket you compete in all season. So, my dd turns 10 on Jan 25 but has her first meet on Jan 4th. Even though she is still 9 on Jan 4th, she still will compete with the 10 year olds for that meet.


If this is wrong, someone please enlighten me!!!

Thanks!
 
Last edited:


Thanks for the link. I've already looked at that. I don't guess I was very clear in my original post. I'm not talking about the various ways of grouping girls by age for meets. I'm talking about determining when a young girl is old enough for any particular invitational meet. The USAG info only says they must have "reached the 7th birthday" to be eligible to compete level 5 but it doesn't say when they had to have reached their birthday.

So, let's say there is a level 5 meet on January 20th and one on February 1st. If a girl turns 7 on January 29th, does that mean that she is not eligible to compete in the meet on the 20th but would be eligible to compete on the 1st?
 
Yes, they must have their birthday and reach the age before they can compete. They will not be able to compete until after their birthday and the required age is met. We have had girls have to wait until mid-January to compete if they have a December birthday. Even if it is the day before their 7th birthday and the need to have reached 7 years old, they will NOT be able to compete.
 
I believe in the scenario of the meet on January 20th, b-day on the 29th and another meet in Feb that the girl could not compete as a level 5 on Jan 20th, but could compete as a level 5 at any meet following her 7th b-day.
I also think that in states w/only spring state meets that the gymnasts compete the whole season at the age they would compete at states. If states are in March and the child turns 7 in April that child could not compete level 5 that season.
 
Okay, that's what I thought. Thanks for the clarification.

Your Boo is already 7 though isn't she - so she is OK to do level 5. Will she still be 7 for Spring State or do they just have an autumn one. If they only have 1 a year it would make quite a big difference. Alot of children would be up an age group by then.
 
There is only the fall state meet for USAG compulsaries here. Fall is the primary season. But, there are meets that compete compulsaries in the spring, too. And yes, my DD is already 7.

The reason I was asking is because our club owner decided to change her team from competing USAG this spring to competing AAU instead, presumably because "several" of the girls wouldn't be old enough for USAG. And three of the girls are still just 6. But, two of those girls have January birthdays and our first meet isn't until February. So it sounds like the owner changed the whole team for just one girl, which doesn't seem fair to me.

DD was supposed to use these spring meets for mobility and now she can't do that, which means she's stuck in L5 until next fall, messing up the plans her HC had for her progression.
 
DD was supposed to use these spring meets for mobility and now she can't do that, which means she's stuck in L5 until next fall, messing up the plans her HC had for her progression.

That is kind of a bold harsh statement, don't you think Shawn??? I mean, if you put it that way, you make it sound like your dd has already perfected all her Level 5 skills (in just 5 weeks???) and from the video of her critique meet, it looks like to me that she has her fair share of work cut out for her. Remember, Boo just finished competing Level 2 last year and she has made tremendous progress in the past year--don't take that for granted or belittle that. You have to have patience...what's the big hurry? She is definitely a talented gymnast and she will shine in her own time.

By saying that she is "stuck" is insulting to other parents whose kids may not be in Level 5 yet. You're attitude just sounds a bit too cocky IMHO.
 
Last edited:
As the mom of the second year level 5, I do not feel my daughter is "stuck" in this level. There is much to be learned. If you are looking to get the bare minimum and score out, then maybe your daughter would be fine. I have seen many talented girls compete a full season in this level, as they work to polish their skills and make all moves look complete and "pretty". They are not rushed out of their level (and I don't think they are held back just to win team awards either). Look up Nica Hults some time on Youtube. She has competed a level each season, although she is clearly beyond talented. Her routines are finished and beautiful. And even if your daughter was to have to compete level 5 next fall, that does not mean that she can not uptrain. I think that if she did compete USAG L5, you would see that there is a big difference in scoring from what you previously experienced. The routines are longer and there are more chances for deductions.
 
That is kind of a bold harsh statement, don't you think Shawn??? I mean, if you put it that way, you make it sound like your dd has already perfected all her Level 5 skills (in just 5 weeks???) and from the video of her critique meet, it looks like to me that she has her fair share of work cut out for her. Remember, Boo just finished competing Level 2 last year and she has made tremendous progress in the past year--don't take that for granted or belittle that. You have to have patience...what's the big hurry? She is definitely a talented gymnast and she will shine in her own time.

By saying that she is "stuck" is insulting to other parents whose kids may not be in Level 5 yet. You're attitude just sounds a bit too cocky IMHO.

Comments like this are why I didn't post the reasons for my question in the OP. Changing the entire team for one child has messed up the progression planned for my daughter. That's all. I am sure there are other girls who had the same hopes but as I don't know them, I couldn't be sure. As always, any "plan" for any child is dependent on a lot of factors. Changing the status of the entire team is not usually one of them.

I very rarely get offended but in this case, I am.
 

New Posts

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

Gymnaverse :: Recent Activity

College Gym News

New Posts

Back