WAG Qualifying Elite at the ranch and other thoughts

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You can drop back to 10 though, correct? I know we had a girl that qualified elite, competed in one classic, then decided she didn't want to be elite and went back to Level 10. (now the confusion there is whether SHE decided or Marta decided...my money is on Marta for that one!)

I really doubt Marta would ever make somebody quit elite. Why would she bother? She can easily just pass the gymnast over when it's time to assign team spots.
 
once you are National Team, USA Gymnastics picks up the tab for everything.


But before you reach national team, how does it work?

Who pays for development camps at the ranch?

Who pays for challenge, classics, championships? Are there meets fees, just like with regular meets?

Are there meets fees if you qualify at camp?

National team is very small, what percentage of girls who qualify elite actually make the national team?
 
I really doubt Marta would ever make somebody quit elite. Why would she bother? She can easily just pass the gymnast over when it's time to assign team spots.

I don't think she made her quit...per se...but she definitely made the girl's time there hard:) And honestly, the girl had attitude at the time, so it was good for her.
 
But before you reach national team, how does it work?

Who pays for development camps at the ranch? parents, club and booster club

Who pays for challenge, classics, championships? Are there meets fees, just like with regular meets? challenge same as above. classics same as above. championships paid for by USAG.

Are there meets fees if you qualify at camp? well, no. kinda? you pay for camp. i guess you could say it's included. they have to pay the Judges.

National team is very small, what percentage of girls who qualify elite actually make the national team?
it's whatever the needs are of National Team. there have been as many as 18 seniors and 12 juniors in years past. but since the new code it's really hard to get numbers.
 
I really doubt Marta would ever make somebody quit elite. Why would she bother? She can easily just pass the gymnast over when it's time to assign team spots.

Welllllllll............. not exactly. She can be very not nice, and say not nice things to gymnasts when she wants to. I've heard from the horse's mouth, so to speak, of how not nice she can be. I know a girl who was at the camp, told in a not nice way that she will never be an elite, even though she qualified HOPES. So, I don't exactly think that Marta just passes girls over. She actually can make it very difficult for them if she wants to.
 
listen folks, an Elite gymnast is born from biology. Marta does not "dismiss a lifetime of hard work and aspirations simply because she doesn't like you." this is an unfair characterization of what goes on.

Marta is simply a realist. some coaches & parents and their kids are not. Marta knows what an Elite athlete is. some coaches and parents and their kids don't. it's Marta's job to select those that are truly Elites. Elite gymnastics is Corporate Gymnastics. like it or not, the powers that be are not going to use resources on kids that are NOT elite athletes.

and there are check and balances. it's called the IEC and USA Gymnastics.

you guys got it all wrong...:)
 
Welllllllll............. not exactly. She can be very not nice, and say not nice things to gymnasts when she wants to. I've heard from the horse's mouth, so to speak, of how not nice she can be. I know a girl who was at the camp, told in a not nice way that she will never be an elite, even though she qualified HOPES. So, I don't exactly think that Marta just passes girls over. She actually can make it very difficult for them if she wants to.

this is out of context. and YOU didn't hear Marta say anything. what you were told was 2nd party. and qualifying Hopes is the equivalent of making level 8 regionals. let's not over glamorize the level, please. and if anybody is down there wasting everyone's time, it is her responsibility to "dis-invite" them. the core of our semi-centralized system ARE the athletes. it's her job to select those very best who will represent the USA in competitions. this level of gymnastics IS NOT JO.

you have to know Marta to understand her. she has done an awesome job in her position. and no one can argue her success at this helm. ask the rest of the world. :)
 
I don't think she made her quit...per se...but she definitely made the girl's time there hard:) And honestly, the girl had attitude at the time, so it was good for her.

you know, Marta is not the only one there putting metrics on the kids. come on, folks.
 
But before you reach national team, how does it work?

Who pays for development camps at the ranch?

Who pays for challenge, classics, championships? Are there meets fees, just like with regular meets?

Are there meets fees if you qualify at camp? NO, if you mean like Jesolo, Classics, Champs. etc;

National team is very small, what percentage of girls who qualify elite actually make the national team?
 
Artur said it best "when they have all the skills,,, they are elite,,, when they ready they ready,,,,until then,,," :cool:
 
But there's really nothing comparable to the Ranch system on the men's side, right? And the top men CAN be elites at the same time they are still competing JO. Does any one person have the power to name someone to the national team without that person having just competed in and done well at a designated meet (Winter Cup or Nationals), excluding injured guys who were previously national team members?
 
It is very good to understand the system before you dis it.

Elite is not easy at all, even many talented kids will not make it through and it is because it is much, much harder than L10. Some of these newly qualified junior elites have a very long way to go before they could even be considered for the National Team. The likelihood of actually making that lofty goal is still pretty small, even for them.

Many kids have decided that they are not up to the stresses and rigours of the elite training system, and the US one is pretty slack compared to those of other countries.

I think is is important for parents to see the rational behind the system and ask questions, but lets not bite the messengers when they can provide us what we want to know.
 
Bog, I hope your post wasn't directed toward me because I don't feel like I was disrespecting the system at all and I AM trying to understand it. I actually came here to state that and to ask more questions but I don't want to be thought of as "biting" at Dunno, a person I hold in the highest regard.
 
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Bog, I hope your post wasn't directed toward me because I don't feel like I was disrespecting the system at all and I AM trying to understand it. I actually came here to state that and to ask more questions but I don't want to be thought of as "biting" at Dunno, a person I hold in the highest regard.


No not at all. I just want to dig more than I want to prod. I have a lot of information gaps that need filling. The system might not be perfect, but I really want to understand it.

Lots of families come here to be educated about elite, we know so much about the JO system to L10, but honestly the elite track has always been like a muddy field to me. Really hoping that questions can be answered, and added, even if those raise new questions.

Dunno can handle being bitten a few times, 'cos he knows how to bite back. LOL
 
Whew..... Okay then my questions.....

Why Marta? How did this system come to be? Why not Bela? Or Liukin? I'm having a hard time imagining Marta putting in an application at USAG. LOL

And is it smart of USAG to "put all of their eggs in one basket", if that is indeed what they've done? I mean, eventually Marta will retire. Who is at the helm then? Will there be a power struggle or is there a system to groom leaders as well as gymnasts?

Dunno said Marta isn't the only one. So who are the other "big players"?

I do understand, and even support the idea of allocating your resources to where they will be used the best so I'm not criticizing. From an outsider's perspective, it looks very "monarchy-ish" so it's nice to have an insider share their perspective to understand the system more.
 

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