Gymnastics Camps- Worth It?

[toriluvsgym0618]

I was just wondering if gymnastics camps were worth it. Because they are sorta expensive and I really, really want to go!! My mom said I might be able to go next year if we start to save up for it. So I was just wondering wich one you guys think is the best. The ones that I have really wanted to go to is TBT camp(in florida) and IGC camp. But are other camps better? Like Woodward, Korolyi's Camp, Flip Fest, Lake Owen? Wich one would you guys go to, wich one have you guys been to, and wich one do you prefer? Do you go to any other gymnastics camp? Please Help, cause I really want to go to one!!

 

[taximom]

My DD has been to IGC and a gymnastics camp in Quebec called Gymrep. She enjoyed both experiences. I guess which camp is best depends on what you're looking for. Most camps are only one week long, not too hard on conditioning, and the coaches don't know you. Take advantage of opportunities you may not have in your home gym but keep your expectations realistic and have a great week!

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

Just to compare camps like Woodward and IGC to camps like, say Karolyi's. At the first two, you truly get the whole "camp" experience. Plenty of other activities after the gym workouts! My DD was at IGC for 2 summers and loved it. I've had friends at other camps that only focus on the gymnastics, so it's what YOU want to get out of it.

Also, from my experience, any new skills that you "gain" during the week of camp may NOT necessarily transfer back to your regular gym upon your return. So, if you're going to camp just to gain new skills, I don't think that's a good enough reason to go! Go because you want a different set of eyes, meet celebrity coaches, but most of all HAVE FUN!!!

 

[Ashley*Gymnast]

i have been to woodward for the past two summers and loved it! they have a mandatory class with kids your own level but also have a lot of open gyms to do whatever you want, plus you can choose to do many other activities. my friend has gone to igc and said they focus more on gymnastics, and less on other activities. i think it is up to you to choose why you want to go, and what you want to accomplish.

 

[cher062]

I think many of the gym camps out there are good. Like everyone else has said here it depends on what you want to get out of it and how much money you have to spend.

here is the link to the one my kids have been to over the last 7 years and they love it.
US Gymnastics Training Camps

My kids have always come back with a new skill. I think that a different coach does make a difference even though they may or may not know you. Just a different style of coaching can make things click.

If your hoping to come back with new skills however then I would say change your expectations. go for fun first and if you get a skill its a bonus.

I would recommend any gym camp out there however. I think a week having fun with girls or boys (I had one of each) that speak gymnastics is a plus. You get to meet other gymnasts from all over the country.

This year however my DD's roommate lives only 30 min from us. come to find out they did compete against each other this past season and never knew it. They are both 12 and both L7 this year. Now they are both looking forward to seeing each other this season - all that from just one day at check in. They really hit it off.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

WOW... it's too bad we live so far away from the Mt. Holyoke Camp. It looks awesome!

 

[coachmolly]

As a gymnast I went to camp at IGC, Parkettes, and a college camp at WVU. They all provided really different things and some I liked better than others. IGC had a lot of fun stuff to do, the gyms were huge, and some of the coaches were great. The downside was that some of the coaches were not so great. They put you in a group with kids your own age and skill level though which was good. Parkettes was a bad experience overall, just wasn't the right fit for me. The groups were done by level alone, so as an 11 year old level 5 I had lots of younger kids with me. You stay with host families there and I was with a family with a very high level gymnast daughter and the other camper there was also a very high level gymnast, I didn't quite fit in as an older level 5. I was also sick when I went, so maybe if I tried again another year it would have been better. WVU was my best camp experience. I was older and knew what I wanted out of camp. The coaches were great, the gym was awesome, I was with some really great girls who were my own age and skill level and pretty low key. There was lots of gymnastics and not all the extraneous stuff like at IGC which I loved. There were fun activities too, but it was more gymnastics focused. The coaches really cared about you and wanted to see you do well and I learned a lot. It was a great experience and my favorite camp.
I worked at Flip Fest after my competitive gymnastics days were over and it was a lot of fun. Great gym, great cabins, lots of fun activities in and out of the gym, an awesome ropes course, fun coaches who also know a ton, just a fun place. Probably less structured outside of the in-gym time than other camps, but still fun. The atmosphere is pretty casual and the guest Olympians are very approachable. Sometimes they eat meals with the campers, play games with them, actively coach, etc. so different than other camps where they are around just to provide a quick bit of encouragement or sign an autograph. And John Roethlisberger is just about the nicest guy you could ever meet. I transfered to a college pretty far away after my working experience there but hope to go back after I graduate to coach.
So I think they can be a good experience, just be sure to look around and find the one that's best for you. Some kids do better at smaller camps, others really have a great time at the bigger ones. It all depends on the kid and what they want to get out of the experience.

 

[gymnast695]

I have been to IGC and Woodward. I liked them both for different reasons.
IGC- you have a set gymnastics schedule, which is about 6 hours a day. The rest is recreation and fun and games. It is only a gymnastics camp with no other sports.
Woodward(PA)- You have a morning or afternoon session of gymnastics (3 or 4 hours) and the rest is open gym or fun and games. However, Woodward Pennsylvania is located in the middle of skateboarding and biking and other sports(with lots of guys haha) which i did not love. I'd wake up and look out the door and theres guys doing skateboard tricks on ramps right out side my door! At Woodward you have more freedom though, and if you don't feel like going to a meal you dont have to. And you could sit in your cabin all day if you felt like it. (at IGC you go with your cabin to meals and stuff like that and you can't be in your cabin at certain times.)

I liked them both!!!

 

[AerialGymnast11]

I was just wondering if gymnastics camps were worth it. Because they are sorta expensive and I really, really want to go!! My mom said I might be able to go next year if we start to save up for it. So I was just wondering wich one you guys think is the best. The ones that I have really wanted to go to is TBT camp(in florida) and IGC camp. But are other camps better? Like Woodward, Korolyi's Camp, Flip Fest, Lake Owen? Wich one would you guys go to, wich one have you guys been to, and wich one do you prefer? Do you go to any other gymnastics camp? Please Help, cause I really want to go to one!!

i've gone to woodward and this one camp called Gym Dandys.they were both good. but if you want more gymnastice then iwould go with gym dandys out of those 2.me and a couple other girls from my team went and we all got at least2 new skills. it was fun too.but i have heard IGC is good too.

 

[cathiann]

My girls have gone to gymnastics camp--Lake Owen this summer and Sami went to camps at Iowa State several years ago before the head coach changed there. They love gymnastics camps. Working with different coaches is a good experience. I would talk to your own coach though to see if they have recommendations. I know our coach doesn't recommend certain camps because he doesn't like the way they teach skills--you could come back and be worse off than you started. Overall though--the kids loved meeting other girls with similar interests. It's hard for them with school friends who just don't understand the long hours they spend at the gym (moreso with Beth now than Sami, since Sami went to HS gymnastics), so it's nice to meet friends who "get it."

 

[bogwoppit]

My girls have loved camp and I have loved the friends they have made there. They have gone to GymRep in Quebec and IGC in PA. I think finding a camp that fits is a great thing. I like camps with a set schedule and free time to do other activites. I decided not to send the girls to Woodward, PA as I felt it was too unstructured and my girls are young. The whole extrem sport thing they have going on at the same time didn't work for me either.

Camp is worth it if you can afford it and if your coaches support the idea. Working on new equipment with new coaches is so much fun. Our gym is very small, no pits, no TT, so gong to a place like IGC was an eye opener. Perhaps for girls who already go to large gyms it is not so amazing, but it is all part of the experience for us.

Also learning to be more independant and to take care of issues is a wonderful thing. They are supervised but there is no Mom or Dad waiting to fix everything for them.

 

[cher062]

WOW... it's too bad we live so far away from the Mt. Holyoke Camp. It looks awesome!

It' is awsome. My son was so mad when he couldn't go anymore. he did apply as a JR staff member but with the numbers lower this year he didn't get choosen. Usually there are about 300 - 400 kids a week but this year the 1st week had that but the week my DD is going only has 180 kids. I was delighted to hear that as they don't reduce staff because of that so the groups will be alot smaller and the kids will get more time on the equipment.

They stay in the college dorms which they love eat at the college dorm cafateria (each dorm has their own) and during the free time they can use any thing in the sports complex. So they can go to the field house where the gym is set up and do open gym or go to the pool, the basket ball courts, weight rooms etc. They also can be in the common areas in the dorms where they have fun things to do set up for the kids. They also have evening dances and fun events

They have kids from all over attend. Last year DD's roommate was from California the year before it was a girl from Texas. They also allow kids who have never done gymnastics or just do rec classes. The first day is testing to see what skills kids have once divided by skills they divide by age and try to put kids together. Boys are seperated from the girls.

When the kids from away places go to camp alot of times the families will vacation for the week in the area as the "vacation areas" aren't that far away. Six Flags New England is only a short drive away. the Basketball hall of fame is near by, Yankee Candle's main store is up the street, the butterfly museum isn't too far.

some families will drop off their child and then do a Boston vacation since Boston really is just about an hour and a half away. Many go to the lakes regions in NH at about 2 hours away. Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos in Conneticut are about an hour and a half away too. So if you and hubby want to vacation you can drop off the kids and then have a ball somewhere not too far away.

 

[Ingwe]

My DD went to Flip Fest this year (her 1st time going away to camp) and it was fantastic. She had an awesome time. She was there the week Nastia was there. I thought it was a good mix of gymnastics and "camp" I do agree that you are there to have fun and I wouldn't expect to come home with a whole array of new skills. She is a L7 and was grouped accordingly.(most of the girls in her group were between the ages of 8-12, which was perfect) She also got to work on a lot of L8 skills that she doesn't have the opportunity to work on at her Gym at this time.

Tracy

 

[luvgymnastix84]

I've been to the Mizozu and SEMO gymnastics camps and it was a lot of fun plus I learned lots of new skills. Those ones at least, you spend a lot of time in the gym. Pretty much all you do is eat breakfast, then go to the gym, then eat lunch, and go to the gym again,then eat dinner, then do an evening activity or challenge and go to the gym again. Then you go to sleep and the next day has pretty much the same routine, but I mean it is called gymnastics camp. I've never been to an actual gymnastics "camp" where you sleep in cabins like lake owen or something so i can'y say about them, but I would suggest it if you want a chance to work on higher level skills you don't get to work on at normal practices. Hope that helps!

 

[gym law mom]

My gymmie would say camp is "so worth it." She will be going back to Lake Owen for her 3rd year this summer. She's met lots of girls from all over the country, worked with other coaches--getting that different point of view and had fun with many of the girls from her gym.

We have a great setup in that 2 coaches usually go with the girls and this year we may have as many as 30 team girls going. If there are questions about a skill someone should be working on, a coach from our gym is there to offer the camp coaches some advice. Also the regular coaches get to see their own girls work new skills and know where they are with skills when they leave camp.

I really haven't heard her complain much about the extreme sports kids. It really sounds like they kind of keep their distance from each other. I know she loves the coaches and always feels she has made progress(not completely learned)on a couple of skills. The older/higher level girls have more time in the gym per day and there is always that optional time in the afternoon.

 

[Optionals United]

i recament woodward. it is sooo much fun.basically you wake up at 7:30 and clean your cabins
you can go to breakfast anytime from 8 to 9
mandatory class 9:15-12:15 or like 9 to 12 idk sometime around there
lunch is from 12 to1
free time
3-5optinal open gym from
dinner 5-6
6:45-8:15 somthing like that mandatory class
optinal open gym is after practice
free time
10 is curfew
11 lights out
i mean you have a pretty full day but you really only have to go to the gym for like 4 hours a day and can go up to 7.there is lots of things to do and if you want to you can just sit in your cabins.you can roam around with whoever you want. it gives you the oppertunity to basicallly live in the gym or only go the minimum and do tons of things.when i went i went to every practice and open gym but still had plaenty of time to roam around,make new friends,and do everything i wanted. it really is an ideal camp!!

 

[Dancing-gymnast]

Me along with a few of my teammates are going to flipfest this summer week 4! This will be my first time going to camp, but I am so excited!From what i have read, flip fest is an awesome camp, and is a great mix between gymnastics and "camp" I am so so looking forward to it!

 

[socko]

My daughter has been to both IGC and Woodward and liked them both...she prefers Woodward and has been back several times ...she liked that it wasn't as structured as IGC and she did make good use of the Open Gym times to actually do gymnastics. I would pick either of these over the Karolyi facility which is VERY primitive...at least at these PA camps, there is air conditioning and showers that were pretty decent by camp standards. She thought the food at both was good, and especially loved the chocolate milk at Woodward!!

As far as the boys' presence on the Woodward campus, that didn't really affect her that much except for entertainment value when watching them do their stunts.