Parents 1st level 6 meet

[Panda-girl's Mom]

Well daughter survived her 1st level 6 meet this past weekend. She was so excited to get to do all 4 events she did alright in beam landed her backwalkover and vault was basically the same as she was in level5. She was having trouble with bars tapping her feet and had a bad rip which she refused to tape over because she insisted it would slide and if she put the tap over her wrist she would have difficulty shifting. She managed not to tap but kind of cheated by bending her legs. Her flyaway was really good though. Floor her worst event and went really bad she fell on her fronthandspring pass was squatty on her front tuck but landed her ROBHSBT. She ended up with only an AA of 31.1.( Her lowest AA score since her 1st year competing)
I thought since she kept bringing up quitting early in the year that if her 1st meet did not go well she would for sure want to quit. She surprised me that she handled it well and seems more motivated than ever, she went to practice tonight eagerly and came out smiling. She said she had a good time at the meet I was watching her talking to girls from one of the other teams smiling when it was all over. We stayed and watched the optionals from our gym compete in the next session and I think it gave daughter inspiratation to continue. These girls were amazing and tough there seems like very few girls stick with it to make it to level8 and 9. I can understand better now since daughter is only in her 4th year and she has been struggling with injuries, losing teamates and just the difficulty of the sport. Basically I think she realizes that winning and scoring high is not everything, I think she enjoys the sport and really enjoys the meets. I am hoping that things will improve scoring wise since our season is until April, Luckily she only needs a 32 to go to states I was hoping she could get that in the first meet and not worry about it but she has 6 more meets to go. Her teammate was lucky enough to get it but daughter does not seem upset, they are very close since she is the only one left from their orginal group and she is just the sweetest girl so their was no jealousy. I was also lucky sitting with the parents from our gym they are the nicest people, I do not have to deal with any crazy gym parents! So despite not having a great meet daughter and I had a good time.

 

[gymnut1]

She made a great start and that AA was really close. Sounds like she can make a few small improvements and get that score next time. Good luck and glad she is still enjoying her gymnastics.

 

[bogwoppit]

Great first meet, there are so many new skills in L6 it is a big step up and she rose to the challange. I am 100% certain that she will get to states, just a very few small improvements will get her that 32 AA, hopefully she can enjoy the process of improvement.

 

[gymmomof1]

Sounds like she is on her way to getting that 32AA, still lots of time left and seems like they improve a little more each time IMHO L6 skills seem harder than L5 so it will take some time. Glad that she is happy going to practice and at the meets.

 

[Ingwe]

She did great for her 1st L6 meet. Congrats to her!! I am sure she will get that 32AA in no time.

 

[AlexsGymmyMom]

Great score for a first meet! Alex got a 31.9 her first L5 meet and a 30.95 her second! She did her best (except for adjusting a wedgie in her beam routine)lol!! I am so glad that these girls can just take it all in stride and move on!! Your DD has LOTS of time to improve over the season! She will most likely peak at the right time!!

 

[Megley]

It sounds like she did really well! That is a great score for her first L6 meet. the scoring in Level 6 is so tough. I'm sure she will get her 32 soon, probably at the next meet. Great to hear that she is feeling positive about gymnastics again and wants to continue.

 

[mariposa]

Congrats to her on getting through her first level 6 meet and doing well, too! I am sure that 32 is coming soon.

 

[gymmom14]

Sounds like she is off to a great start! I always tell my dd that you don't want to do too good your first meet. That way you can really see improvement and progress...lol. Good luck!

 

[shelovestoflip]

A number of you have said the skills from 5 to 6 are a big change and/or the scoring is tough. I'm still pretty new to this (my daughter started last year at Level 5 coming from Prep Opt) and her first Level 6 meet was this past weekend. From what I could see, the floor routine was essentially the same, except for the back tuck (I'm not clear on all the tumbling passes, but they looked the same to me!) and on beam there was the back walkover and full turn. (is there a book out there that tells all the skills and requirements for each level?!!)

Of course the flyaway on bars and that, I know, is my daughter's challenge!

Is the scoring tougher at 6 than 5 because the judges look for skills to be that much more clean?

Just curious! My daughter's AA was 34.something (I forget now, sorry!)....she watched the recording I did of her on beam and was able to point out her knee was bent during her back walkover on beam (9.25 I believe) so it's good they know what to work on...more just my curiousity!

Thanks!

 

[Megley]

Shelovestoflip, the major changes/additions to floor are punch front, fhs stepout/fhs, and back tuck, as well as a different leap pass. Beam adds the bwo and the full turn, as well as the cross handstand/side handstand dismount. Vault of course is the same. Bars adds increased cast height requirements, the free hip, baby giant and flyaway.

Scoring generally is harder in Level 6 as they are looking for the girls to really have mastered the dance on floor and beam and to have much greater amplitude on everything. Bars are probably the most challenging at Level 6 because they are required to cast to 3/4 hs and to have the free hip going to 3/4 as well. A 34 is a great score for a first L6 meet. Sounds like your dd is doing great!

 

[shelovestoflip]

Hi Megley,
Thanks! I guess I am pretty clueless because I don't know of half the skills you refer to, much less what they actually look like! Though now that you say what the beam dismount is, I know what your are talking about (I have a vague memory of a handstand dismount last year, too!)
I have no idea what any of the floor things you refer to are!
I do know that vault is the same...makes my life easy!
I've heard my daughter talk about a 'free hip' on bars as well as a cast.
Floor and beam are her strengths and as I said, bars definitely the challenge.

Seriously, though, is there a place to read/see what the skills are? It would be good to know! How did you learn?! What level is your daughter? I"m new to this as you can tell!

I don't stay at her gym....luckily, we're 15 minutes away (only 7 miles but traffic gets in the way!)....so I just drop there and will walk in at night to pick up but don't actually see anything!

Thanks!

 

[Megley]

Sheloves to flip, I would maybe check out youtube to see if you can see some L6 routines there. Also, there are some websites like drillsandskills.com and gymnasticsrevolution.com where you can go to learn more. A punch front is a front tuck. I'm sure you noticed that in her routine!

My dd is getting ready to compete Level 7 this year. She did a couple of Level 6 meets last year in the spring. I have a couple of friends whose dds are doing Level 6 this year at the first meet so am reasonably familiar with the level.

 

[gym law mom]

PGM, yes, L6 is a real challenge. Judging is tougher and the routines are a challenge too. Sounds like your dd has a nice base to build from as the season goes on and she'll be qualified for states quickly. As long as she's happy and motivated, thats all you can ask for.

 

[mariposa]

Shelovestoflip,

This is a great website to learn the names of common skills. Gymnastics Revolution - Gymnastics Interactive-Index - 203-798-8651

 

[kamgymmom]

I think it sounds like she had a great first time out! I bet she'll have that 32 in no time! I bet it feels good for her to just have the first one under her belt!

 

[hakunamatata]

Sounds like she's doing great! It's a big jump from L5 to L6, and that first meet is tough for a lot of girls. Seems like she's definitely on her way to that 32AA! Most importantly, I'm glad she's loving what she's doing.

 

[shelovestoflip]

Megley and Mariposa,
Thanks for the site names so I can learn a bit about what she's doing....Youtube is a good idea, too!
Oh, and yes, I know what a front tuck is and did, indeed, see it in her routine. Didn't know it was also known as a punch front!

 

[Panda-girl's Mom]

Thanks for all the positive comments. I hope her next meet goes better. I just worry because she gets really sloppy on her tumbling skills and it takes her a long time to get and perfect them. I am sure that if she was at a lot of other gyms she would be repeating level5. Eventhough I have a lot of confidence in her coaches some are better than others. She had HC the day before the meet who insisted her floor looked good in practice, she usually makes them scratch an event if she feels they are not ready so I am surprised after seeing daughters floor routine that she let her compete it. After watching the older girls who the HC coaches I definitely think she knows what she is doing. She keeps telling me to relax and not worry but I worry that maybe daughter she have repeated 5 or should be competing in a less competive gymnastics. But daughter seems happy so and not at all bothered about it so that is the most important thing.

 

[Sunobo]

Sounds like she did great. It's still early in the season so I'm sure her routines will improve by the time states rolls around.

On a side note, I was ribbon writer for the L4 & L5 sessions and the other mom's were surprised by the number of kids that scratched events from your gym. I told them I wasn't surprised because it was early in the season and their coach wants them to do good routines not just ok routines. I said they have a great coach and that by the end of the season, they wouldn't be scratching events.