Parents Difference in meets

[Tootsmom]

Hopefully I can ask without rambling. DD's gym tends to go to more local competitions (she does xcel) where there are probably 6 gyms competing approximately 70 gymnasts (of various age groups). Her gym usually does a clean sweep for awards. Some other gyms go to bigger name meets, would the competition at those be more competitive? Would the judging be harder at the bigger name ones ? Thank you for any advice!

 

[LindyHopper]

I can only speak about what I know, so I can't really talk about whether things are more competitive, or judging is more particular.

What I can say is that the Xcel teams at Short Stack's gym do the same thing--compete at local meets within a 2-3 hour drive. I think this is because of the philosophy the gym has about Xcel being for those families who want to stay in the sport, but want a lower financial and/or time commitment.

The "bigger" meets tend to be further away (sometimes requiring an overnight stay in a hotel) and entry and/or admission fees can be more expensive. Staying closer to home takes less time and is cheaper.

 

[twin2gymmie]

Our gym does mostly local meets with the option of going to bigger meets (out of state). I think it is good experience for the girls to see new gyms and be in front of different judges who look for different things in scoring.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Any differences would be in the teams participating, not so much in the judging.
So scores would remain relatively the same. Placement could be very different.

Not every gym does Xcel the same way. So that is where the differences are.

But then it's the same with JO, training differences, training time all impact.

 

[Sk8ermaiden]

Our team is similar. We had one big name meet this year and our gym was definitely not as dominant as usual, although they still did well. The judging was on the tougher side, though not out of the norm, but it was much better teams competing that made the difference.

Like the above poster mentioned, different gyms use Xcel for different purposes, and it seemed like the gyms that took it more seriously were the ones who were willing to travel, pay the higher fees, coach hotel fees, etc for the major meet. Competition was fierce.

 

[MILgymFAM]

Based on our experience only... yes to both questions.

 

[gymnastmom05]

I agree with above. Excel seems to be used differently at different gyms. Our rec team does Excel and sticks to mostly local (within 2 hours driving) meets. As far as judging, we live in a tri-state area and competing out of state is very common. Scores DO vary depending on which state we are competing in.