WAG Gym/meets on Sundays?

[oplei]

I think this thread is a great example of the commitment required by the families of gymnasts. Do you rearrange a family of 5 religious obligations for one member of the family? In a similar vein, do you pull two non-gymnasts out of school to go to a meet because both parents want to watch the Friday meet? Or what about those Sunday meets that march in a 6:30PM and are 2 hours away from home? Does everyone in the family start their week exhausted or once again call in/miss school? And how do you explain the desire to do these things to schools, bosses, religious leaders because the response almost always is, "she's 8, right?"

 

[billise]

And last year, for us it was... "She's only 6 right?!?!"

I'm not about to forgo our church commitments for the extra curricular activities of my 7 year old, or for that matter my 11 year old or 14 year old. None of whom do I expect will make a living with their chosen sport. And if they do turn out to be talented enough to make a living with their chosen sport, a missed meet meet every now and then isn't going to hurt them

 

[lovemygymnast]

I think this thread is a great example of the commitment required by the families of gymnasts. Do you rearrange a family of 5 religious obligations for one member of the family? In a similar vein, do you pull two non-gymnasts out of school to go to a meet because both parents want to watch the Friday meet? Or what about those Sunday meets that march in a 6:30PM and are 2 hours away from home? Does everyone in the family start their week exhausted or once again call in/miss school? And how do you explain the desire to do these things to schools, bosses, religious leaders because the response almost always is, "she's 8, right?"

Well, our DD's team generally has meets that are only 1-2 hours away. For those meets, we have been lucky not to have Friday or Sunday night meets. The out of town meets (around 5-6 hours away) we have pulled all of our kids out of school early to drive to. We do things as a family and we always support each other. That said, if it was a big test they couldn't miss or would be detrimental to their grade, we would just send one parent with our DD or find an alternative for them. I don't want her to be under the impression that gym is more important than school, but gym is an obligation that we committed to and if she's scheduled at an inconvenient time to compete, we still have to go. That's the way we feel about it, whether that's right or wrong, I don't know.

 

[happychaos]

So here's my question. Let's say this was more of a "team" sport like softball, where your kid plays a position, and let's say the team has just enough kids to field a team. You sign up, not knowing *exactly* when all the games will be. Your kid's attendance means the difference between playing in a tournament that has Sunday games or forfeiting (this isn't a hypothetical, it literally is the situation with my son's baseball team this weekend) - what would you do? Force your kid to go to church on Sunday meaning the whole rest of the team forfeits the tournament? I would hope that wouldn't be the case..

Personally, I would ask the coach if they want my kid on the team, even though they won't play on Sunday. If the coach wants my kid for all the Saturday games, then I don't see an issue. It's the same with gymnastics....maybe the team wins every Saturday when Susie competes, but not on Sundays when she doesn't. That's still a lot more winning than the team would do WITHOUT Susie at all. Contributing only on Saturdays might be better than not contributing at all.

I think coaches love their sport, and are usually passionate about making a way for kids to participate whenever possible. I think it would be a shame for a coach to expect a family to go against a deeply held religious belief just for gymnastics. I don't think it is realistic (or healthy) to ask families to put gymnastics above everything else. Obviously there needs to be a strong commitment to be on team, but things need to be kept in perspective.

In our family, our priorities look something like this....
God
Family
School/work
Sports and music
kid friends (b-day parties, etc,)

Even in non-religious homes, gymnastics is not likely to be the top priority. In our home, this means that things like a family reunion, schoolwork, and religious education come before gymnastics. Thankfully, we are usually able to fit it all in, including gym. But, when two things go head-to-head and there's no way to do both, gymnastics sometimes loses.

 

[OzZee]

Is there a team element at all your competitions in the US?
Here in general there are team competitions (Gala's, State/National Clubs; some may have individual and team results) but most competitions are individual.
Team competitions there are 5 in a team with the top 3 scores counting.

For my youngest daughter WAG isn't her top priority and I wouldn't put her in a team competition if I thought there was a chance it was on a day that she might not be able to compete. But I would enter her for an individual competition and forfeit the fee if her session happened to fall on a time she couldn't attend.
But whilst I'm sure her team mates would like her to be there, it doesn't affect them if she isn't.

I would never put my child into a team sport (eg softball, netball, cricket, football) if there was going to be any days where there might be conflicts. Luckily here the games are at the same time each week (well in all the team sports my kids and husband has done) so you play Sat 9am and every week it's then so that's what you are committing to.

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

A couple of you have used the term LDS....,, I have no idea what this is.

 

[gymmomx2]

A couple of you have used the term LDS....,, I have no idea what this is.

Latter Day Saints. Also known as Mormons.

 

[profmom]

I've found that striking the balance gets easier as time goes on. For the first few years, making decisions about all the different priorities and interests is hard, but after four or five years of having a gymnast or two on a team, you figure out that 1) an occasional missed practice won't kill 'em, 2) both parents don't have to attend every meet, 3) having siblings attend more than 1-2 meets a year will just irritate them, and 4) you gotta save up those "must miss school" cards.

That being said, you need to recognize that as kids move up, the demands, both time-wise and emotionally, increase. As others have said, it's not going to be that hard at most gyms to say no to all sessions scheduled on Sunday mornings when your child is competing on a big team at a lower level. But if you get to the point where you're doing travel meets and looking at regionals, etc., something will have to give and you'll have to figure out your priorities. This will be easier or harder for you depending on whether your religious practices and level of observance are shared by a majority or significantly large minority of gym families in your area. If you are in a small minority, it won't be easy. At least if you are a Christian anywhere in the US, or a Jew in some areas of the country, you will never have to miss a practice or meet because it is scheduled on one of your religion's major holidays (though I recognize that for some observant Christians, the obligation to attend church is as strong on any given Sunday as on Christmas or Easter).

I have to say I am most impressed by the boy or girl who makes it all the way through all of his or her long practices for an entire month in the summer days with no snacks or hydration because it's Ramadan.

 

[rosettasmom]

You can't really compare gymnastics to other sports. Other sports (baseball, soccer, softball, basketball, football) often have a set roster of just enough kids to pay, plus a few extra (if they're lucky). missing a game can sometimes cause the entire team (who all also committed and showed up to play) to forfeit. I don't think telling the coach after you've committed to the team that you won't play Sunday is fair to the test of the team. To force a team to forfeit a game, and usually on Sunday you're playing for hardware, isn't right.
However, all that being said, I think gymnastics is a sport (at least for younger kids) that you can make it work to a certain extent.
I think for me, we have obligations that certainly come before gym, but I know our schedule far enough out that I am able to work out the few meets a year to be a priority on those days. It's teaching my kids flexibility in life as well as time management skills. Sometimes we have to make choices that aren't popular with everyone/other people, but we do so anyways.

 

[skschlag]

Is there a team element at all your competitions in the US?
Here in general there are team competitions (Gala's, State/National Clubs; some may have individual and team results) but most competitions are individual.
Team competitions there are 5 in a team with the top 3 scores counting.

For my youngest daughter WAG isn't her top priority and I wouldn't put her in a team competition if I thought there was a chance it was on a day that she might not be able to compete. But I would enter her for an individual competition and forfeit the fee if her session happened to fall on a time she couldn't attend.
But whilst I'm sure her team mates would like her to be there, it doesn't affect them if she isn't.

I would never put my child into a team sport (eg softball, netball, cricket, football) if there was going to be any days where there might be conflicts. Luckily here the games are at the same time each week (well in all the team sports my kids and husband has done) so you play Sat 9am and every week it's then so that's what you are committing to.

There is a team element. In some meets, you have to pay extra to have your team in the team competition or team cup. So it oculd happen that you have paid for the individual and team aspect of a meet, but have to forfeit the team part because someone can't be there for whatever reason. I think that is rare, but it can happen

 

[Canadian_gym_mom]

There is a team element. In some meets, you have to pay extra to have your team in the team competition or team cup. So it oculd happen that you have paid for the individual and team aspect of a meet, but have to forfeit the team part because someone can't be there for whatever reason. I think that is rare, but it can happen

I think that someone who knows that there is a possibility that they might have conflicting commitments on either weekend day (or Fridays for that matter)should then just opt out of being on the team part from the beginning. Then if their meet is scheduled on the day they can't attend, it is only them that is affected.

 

[skschlag]

Yeah..that is possible. Our team can't do that though. We aren't big enough. Usually if one person opts out, we don't have enough to compete in the team comp. We have only had it happen once at my ds' level.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Our meets are basically always on Sundays. The vast majority of clubs here will hold their meets on Sundays because the vast majority of clubs hold classes on Saturdays.

If the clubs host meets on Saturdays then it means they have to cancel their classes which is both a loss of income for the club and a loss of the class for the gymnasts, especially the recreational gymnasts who are not involved in the meet.

What is more coaches often coach on a Saturday and may lose their income, many clubs will still pay them their regular class wage but will also have to pay a replacement coach. Sundays are easier.

I understand some families have church commitments and I agree that religion is very important but meets are not every week, there are just a few every year for each group. If they are not prepared to commit to a Sunday from time to time then they should not join the team.

If we have an in house meet, I usually have multiple times for each age group, so if a family can't miss church I will put them on at a different time to accomadate them.

 

[Flipomaniak]

I've had training on Sunday before and many many meets on Sundays. Meets are usually Friday, Saturday, or Sunday just depending on how big the meet is. May I ask what it is about Sunday meets that you dislike? Many other sports have meets/games on Sundays.

 

[sce]

I don't want this to turn into a religion debate, just want to give my perspective to those who already have church as an important part of their life. For me, I don't feel so legalistic about this. Our faith and commitment to our church are very important to us. Missing a few Sundays is not an issue for us. Serving is a big part of that as well. I especially had to juggle commitments when I worked for the children's ministry. But my co-workers not only encouraged ds to do his Sunday meets, but insisted I attend them as well. In the end, I don't want my kids turned off by church because they feel it's all rules to follow, when that's not really what it's about. They spend years of Sundays in church, and most definitely are impacted by that. Missing a few Sundays will not change that, but they may always remember missing even a few meets, which could overshadow the greater lesson of their faith. For us it's about their faith impacting their whole life as well, not just whether they spend a certain amount of time in church.

 

[Orangesoda]

For me, it's not so much about missing church as it is about keeping Sunday as a day of rest. We try to keep it as a holy day - "try" being the operative word there. Having said that, I'm still not really 100% sure where I stand on the issue. Dd is still on pre-preteam so I have some time to work it out in my mind. I do think that it's fair to opt out of Sunday meets so long as it is made known to all affected parties at the onset. I also don't think it's a super big deal to spend six Sundays a year doing gymnastics instead of going to church - even though that is probably not the popularly held belief amongst those with whom I go to church.

 

[happychaos]

I don't want this to turn into a religion debate, just want to give my perspective to those who already have church as an important part of their life. For me, I don't feel so legalistic about this. Our faith and commitment to our church are very important to us. Missing a few Sundays is not an issue for us. Serving is a big part of that as well. I especially had to juggle commitments when I worked for the children's ministry. But my co-workers not only encouraged ds to do his Sunday meets, but insisted I attend them as well. In the end, I don't want my kids turned off by church because they feel it's all rules to follow, when that's not really what it's about. They spend years of Sundays in church, and most definitely are impacted by that. Missing a few Sundays will not change that, but they may always remember missing even a few meets, which could overshadow the greater lesson of their faith. For us it's about their faith impacting their whole life as well, not just whether they spend a certain amount of time in church.

Different sects of Christianity have different views about Sabbath observance. Some view Sabbath observance as an integral part of their faith, and an important commandment. A typical Sunday might include church, a family meal, scripture study, listening to uplifting music, perhaps playing board games as a family, reading, etc. Some common things that might be avoided are work, shopping, sporting events, yard work, big parties, etc.

On the other side of the spectrum are Christians who believe that observing the Sabbath just means going to church.

Obviously there are so many views on this, and I would expect most fall between the two extremes. I don't mean to offend anyone by generalizing, but there seem to be some CB'ers who are unfamiliar with the idea of the Sabbath and I was just trying to give a few examples based on my own experiences.

In my part of the country it is more common for the idea of a "Sabbath" to be associated with those of the Jewish faith. In our community there seems to be wide variations in how Jews observe the Sabbath as well. In some neighborhoods, real estate listings include the distance to the local synagogue because it is important for some to not have to drive on the Sabbath.

 

[stxrdusty]

No Sunday practice for us, just Saturday for 4 hours. Meet sessions are held on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays depending on the level (optional levels) and age group (for some meets). If I remember correctly, older level 8s are usually Sunday evening for some reason. I'm also from San Diego.

When I was a compulsory gymnast I had a lot of meets on Sundays, usually in the morning though if I can remember correctly.

I feel that my gym would personally be accommodating if someone didn't want to PRACTICE on Sunday due to personal reasons, they probably be okay with not COMPETING in meets on Sundays as well as long as they weren't state, regionals, etc. However, all the girls on my team don't want to miss meets on a Sunday even with their church commitments, so it's not really an issue.