WAG What is NDP?

[Ex member]

Being new to competitive gymnastics I am wondering what NDP is or means, my dd just had a great first competition picking up Silver on Vault and Bronze on Floor and Beam (they didn't compete bars), dd hasn't been gymnastics for very long - started in August and went straight into training for the competition she went to the weekend just gone.

While at this competition we were able to purchase a program and in this program they had upcoming competitions for the rest of the year - They were all Disability British Championship things - one being a British Selection trail and the other being a British championship - dd is not taking part in those lol but they did list some competitions for next year and one of them that the coach is thinking about taking them to is Disability Artistic NDP and I was wondering what that was. I have no idea what level dd is on as she competed a compulsory level 1 Special Olympics Routine for Floor, Beam and Vault in the under 12 section, dd will have her first training session tomorrow after the competition and she is wondering what they will do next in terms of classes and learning as competition routine work is all she has known.

If any one has any info on what NDP is especially for the disability side of things or what generally happens in gymnastics practices after competitions are over for the year I would appreciate it. I am clueless with things like this - I am that clueless that when dd and I got stopped at the competition by a judge (just a passing chat) she asked what dd was doing in the trampolining competition - was she doing a 6 bounce routine or 10 bounce routine I just shrugged my shoulders lol, as far as I was concerned the was just doing a routine she practice - had no idea of number of moves lol

 

[Flossyduck]

NDP stands for National Development Plan. It's the competitive structure set out by British Gymnastics to enable parity across the regions and allow clubs to work towards a common competitive pathway.

The plan is usually set out every four years (usually the start of a new 'quad', which is the name given to the four year period immediately following an olympics and working towards the next one), with the requirements for levels being adjusted and so on. Updates are also issued yearly so that smaller changes to the plan can be made.

Essentially it allows everyone involved in the organisation of coaching, coach training, judging and pretty much any other sort of organisation within gymnastics to work to a longer term vision and to plan properly. It also ensures, as part of the bigger picture, that British gymnasts are being trained in a way which responds to any wider changes at an international level and that this can be monitored on a regional and national level.

The plan is different for every one of the disciplines under BG - WAG, tumbling, trampolining, disability gymnastics and so on. I'm afraid I don't have any info on the disability side of things, but there is probably a download on the BG website which will set out the competitive structure and the requirements.

You could ask your dd's coach to explain it to you. In my experience they wont mind at all, so long as you aren't asking them to get out their crystal ball and talk about where your dd fits in. The first time I asked a coach to explain all the different groups in the gym and why they did different competitions he chatted to me for about half an hour and I walked out of there shellshocked and with a very different view of gymnastics - it would never be the same again!!

 

[Ex member]

Thank you for your reply it was most interesting, there is a disability handbook available on the British Gymnastics website for this year and there is another handbook due out January 2014, I have downloaded a copy of the hand book to read later.

If the coach decides to take the squad to the Disability Artistic NDP competition does it mean that the squad will need to follow a NDP plan? I haven't got a clue where dd fits in to gymnastics apart from what I have seen this weekend - training for competitions that the coach decides to enter them in.

I have another question that maybe you can answer - it relates to British Gymnastics Membership. Dd's membership has just been renewed or about to be renewed (the Gym club does it for us) and I am wondering what dd's membership level will be as he has taken part in a competition that I don't call local (it was 300 miles+ away) and the rest of the competitions next year that they are considering are at least 100+ miles away.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

I believe you will have to have silver membership - I know I had to upgrade P&F from bronze to silver once we went out of county.

 

[Flossyduck]

The ndp competitions are those which follow the national plan so they are usually organised by BG and promoted by BG. There are plenty of other competitions which are separate to the NDP - usually at regional or county level as even invitationals now tend to judge according to ndp levels.

The squad can organise it's own development/coaching plan to suit themselves, but if they enter an NDP competition there will be nationally set requirements the gymnasts need to meet both in regard to skills competed but also age and so on. This is what will be set out in the competitive pathway for your discipline.

I'd ask the coach about membership level. It sounds to me as though your dd would need silver, but it would depend on the type/level of competition as well as distance. Don't worry as you can upgrade to silver at any point during the year.

 

[Ex member]

With regards to membership level I have no idea what it is as dd hasn't got her membership card through yet.

The last competition that dd had (which was her first) was one that was sanctioned by British Gymnastics as in it was in the Event list on the British Gymnastics website and dd's routine was compulsory - every level had compulsory routines and they also had voluntary competitions stating : Gymnasts obtaining Distinction grade in the Disability Gymnastics NDP or members of the Disability Gymnastics National Squad should only enter the BG Voluntary Competition. As this is the first competition I have ever been to except a rec club one that was nothing like what I experienced during the past weekend.