Gymnasts My parents won't let me do competetive gymnastics. What should I do?

[Deleted member 30064]

For a while I have been wanting to do xcel bronze, and with a new gymnastics season coming up, I asked my parents a few times to let me do it. They said no, saying how I'm not ready for the time commitment since I start middle school next year and I'm in all G/T classes. However, I believe I am okay with the time commitment(only 8 hours a week on Wednesday and Saturday) and I really want to do it. They said maybe next year, once I get to know what middle school is like, but by then I will be 12 and I really don't feel like being the oldest in my team. How can I convince them to let me do it?

 

[Deleted member 30064]

By the way, I have all of the skills required for xcel bronze.

 

[JBS]

User is too young so they have been deleted. Feel free to respond to the thread though.

 

[HopefulGymnast]

For anybody still reading this in a similar situation: I think there's not much you can do, just a few things you could try.
You can try asking your parents if there's anything you can do to demonstrate you'll be able to do this. Or if a deal can be made that you can do Bronze so long as your grades stay above a certain average.
You can try bringing up how demotivating this may be. That if doing well in school and making the cut for gifted programmes means not being allowed to do your hobbies fully, it won't help motivate you to do well in school.
You can try showing other people's stories that having more time in their hobby kept them well rounded, which turns to academic success. And that focussing on school first all the time can cause academic burn out, leading to worse chance at success later in your academic career.

But all in all, if your parents have made up their mind it's unlikely they'll change their mind.
Good luck anyway.