WAG optimal level to begin competition?

[iwannacoach]

On the other hand, in terms of getting kids into your program "long term" before they're drawn away by soccer or cheer or whatever, competing is a huge carrot. The blingy leotard, the roar of the (albeit small) crowd, the pretty ribbons, glitter in your hair... what more could your early elementary girl want? (Though of course there are older girls who compete at the early levels as well.)

This kinda reminds me of a "Gilligan's Island" episode where poor Gilligan here's the professor's argument on an issue and responds with...."The professor's right", but then moves on to agree with everyones starkly contrasting opininion. I like the idea of the current level 4 serving as a "draw" to continued participation, but not as a forum to develop true gymnastics skills. Sure there's gymnastics skills in the L4 routines, but the truth is that they are transitional skills passed through quickly by some kids, that don't need to be perfected and maintained from August 1st until December 10th.

I agree that learning how to train and present routines is an important step, but wonder how the kids will ever get into the substantial skills when they spend 1/3 of their first three years training for competitions with skills that pale in comparison to the skills they're yearning to learn.

So all of you are right, but if I had to lean one way or the other......Skipper!!!


QUOTE=Geoffrey Taucer;208584]Ideally, assuming kids wouldn't get bored, parents wouldn't get antsy, and both coaches and kids would stay motivated and excited?

Level 10.[/QUOTE]

 

[MaryA]

As I said at the beginning of my post, I could see values in both opinions. Surely you know by now that when I have a strong opinion on a subject, I will state it strongly. DD started competing at level 3. That worked out well for her. Current gym starts competing at level 4 (with a preteam I and II who start to get to do some things with the team) and that seems to work well too. I know there are gyms out there that start at level 5 and I'm sure that works for them too, or they wouldn't do it. Bottom line- find a great gym and compete when the coach tells you to compete at the level they tell you. There are a lot more important things to consider when choosing a gym than when they start competing.

Edit: as a level 3 she only competed 3 meets a year. I STRONGLY BELIEVE there would be no value in a level 3 having the same rigorous comp schedule that my level 7 does (8 meets plus states). In fact I'm not entirely convinced there is value in it for my level 7, though the HC assures me otherwise. But it's a great gym and my daughter is happy, so I turn over control of my weekends and my checkbook to the HC and hang on for the ride.

 

[aerialriver]

If I got to pick I would say compete a few level 4 meets, noting too far away mostly to get used to competition then compete level 5. I would use levels 1-3 as developmental but would do a yearly or bi annual exhibition for parents to ooh and awe and for the kids to get familiar with crowds. Or do friendly meets with other gyms if they shared the idea where the kids could modify skills and just for fun not spending lengths of time perfecting the routines.

That said when I was a kid we didn't start competing at all until level 5 at the elite gym I went to the rec gym I attended before did the friendly rec meets. Things were much different at the time though it seemed that you were either a rec. gymnast that went to a rec. gym or you were striving to be an Olympian at an Elite gym. There really was no in between. The elite gym was serious, strict and only kids that really wanted to be there were because any one else was shown the door. I'm not saying I agree at all with that business model and times and the economy have changed to where that is no longer an option.

I have to say honestly I was rather shocked moving down south at all the gyms mine included that compete 2's and 3's, especially because they wanted full commitment (leos, warmup's, to attend all meets in and out of town) and parents of the 4 year old level 2's were just not ready for that type of commitment at that age, which I can understand. And you did level 1 and then had to be a competitive level 2 or that was it. Now my gym has more rec. classes, tumbling, trampoline, cheer tumbling, teen and intermediate rec. which offers more options. But yeah rambling IMHO competition at level 2 and 3 is strange.

 

[Quadqueen]

Really, it is more cost beneficial to keep them in rec/developmental classes and "force" the parents to increase their class sign-ups, though if they compete, they will aid in sharing the coaches/travel fees so that helps keep the overall team fees down a little. But it really doesn't benefit the gym's profits.

I do agree that the lower levels are good for those who likely won't stay in the sport. Problem is you just don't know who those will be. With dd's gym competing xcel, we have very little attrition until platinum/L7, when there is a huge increase in commitment (have to quit other sports).

Not really...you have a kid doing one 45 minute-1 hour class a week thrilled to be invited to L2 team at 3 hours a week, and hopefully getting them hooked for the longer haul. I realize the amount the family is paying per hour goes down for team, but in this case, I think it works out for the gym. Our rec kids don't seem to last longer than a year or two.

 

[gymgal]

Not really...you have a kid doing one 45 minute-1 hour class a week thrilled to be invited to L2 team at 3 hours a week, and hopefully getting them hooked for the longer haul. I realize the amount the family is paying per hour goes down for team, but in this case, I think it works out for the gym. Our rec kids don't seem to last longer than a year or two.

All the gym owners will tell you that it is the rec classes, not the teams, that keep the gyms in business. If a gym does not offer low level teams the parents will sign up their kids for more developmental classes, at higher rates than team rates. These kids are the ones who would get funneled into the teams - they will stick around because they love gymnastics, even if the average rec kids stay less than a year. And while it is true that rec kids usually stay for only a short while, there is a revolving door on sign-ups so the gym always has an influx of new kids and income.

I think the biggest stumbling block with my thinking of keeping the little ones in the developmental classes instead teams is that other neighboring gyms who do have lower teams may look more attractive to the parents because they want the competition aspect. I know I did when dd was little. I see it very differently now, but back then, I wanted my child to experience real competition, not just recitals/exhibitions. So, the gyms that buck the system and wait on teams until L4-5 can potentially lose a lot of their future potential to neighboring gyms.

 

[Quadqueen]

All the gym owners will tell you that it is the rec classes, not the teams, that keep the gyms in business. If a gym does not offer low level teams the parents will sign up their kids for more developmental classes, at higher rates than team rates. These kids are the ones who would get funneled into the teams - they will stick around because they love gymnastics, even if the average rec kids stay less than a year. And while it is true that rec kids usually stay for only a short while, there is a revolving door on sign-ups so the gym always has an influx of new kids and income.

I think the biggest stumbling block with my thinking of keeping the little ones in the developmental classes instead teams is that other neighboring gyms who do have lower teams may look more attractive to the parents because they want the competition aspect. I know I did when dd was little. I see it very differently now, but back then, I wanted my child to experience real competition, not just recitals/exhibitions. So, the gyms that buck the system and wait on teams until L4-5 can potentially lose a lot of their future potential to neighboring gyms.

I don’t see too many beginner/rec gymnasts taking more than one class a week…maybe that’s just at DD’s gym. I know clubs aren’t “making any moneyâ€￾ on the higher level gymnasts.

I do agree with you that a gym that competes the lower levels can appear more attractive to new/beginner gymnasts and their families.

 

[Natasha]

Our gym has preteam for the little 5-6 year olds who are just starting out. They do not compete their first year. For girls ages 7 and up staring on team, they usually start at the bronze xcel level and only do about 3-4 meets, mostly local. The pre-team girls either go to bronze the next year or stay as pre-team working on skills and start at L4. I agree that lots of meets with travel for little ones is ridiculous. A local gym last year had their little 5 year olds who had just started team competing at all their meets. I watched these little ones be completely coached through their routines by their coach, not able to get over the (flatback) vault, score in the 7's on their events....the kids were really cute and little....but I kept thinking, I would not be wanting to pay $100+ for each of those "cute" experiences..... On the other hand, some parents apparently prefer that, as two of our pre-team girls went to the other gym last year when they found out they could compete.

 

[clark222]

Our gym (which is AAU only) starts competition at L2. Most L2s only attend 1-2 meets, mostly for fun. I thought this was a bit silly at first. But gymnastics is not very advanced in our area. Our team girls usually top out at L5 or L6, then go into a prep-op-like optional category where they stay until they quit or graduate. We only have one L7 and one L8, both 18 years old. I doubt we will ever see a L9 out of our gym. Our girls tend to start really late too. We have a handful of 11 and 12 yo L2s, for instance. Taking that into consideration, I am glad they compete early. Dd competed L2. She is a L4 this year and I doubt she will make it past L5 before her body type and limited training hours force her either into the AAU version of prep-op or to quit altogether. Each family is allowed to decide how many competitions they attend so cost can be tailored for each family's needs. Why not enjoy all aspects of the sport for the time you can?

 

[Amber]

Our gym competes at Level 2 and up. We are given extensive financial details in the summer so we are aware of what the money commitment is. I actually like the way it is done. The number and distance of meets correlates to levels. So little ones have around 4 meets locally, level 4/5's have around 6 or 7 meets with 2 being in a neighboring state, and level 7 and up do around 8 or 9 meets with about 4 being in our region. We also have the choice to add on meets. Yes, everyone shells out for the competition leo, so that is a disadvantage (tell that to DD, who would sleep in her fancy leo if she could!). But what I like is that the team is very equal, the youngest members are as valuable as the level 9's. Teammates are encouraged to go to different sessions and cheer their teammates on. We have a big sister/little sister program.
When my youngest DD did level 3 last year, we were told that is was a participatory level, and that the focus was on :getting the girls not only used to competition, but how to handle falls and mishaps and keep going; the parents learning how scoring works and how meets function; and the girls learning how little things like pointed toes, straight legs affect scoring. This year, I notice a difference already between girls who have competed, and girls who have not-much more attention to smaller details.
We are lucky, though, because our gym does uptrain while reinforcing routines. DD has worked on many level 5 and 6 skills, so she will be ready to advance in the spring/summer. The system is the same for Excel, which our gym has too.
So I guess my main opinion is: competing young is an advantage, as long as it is realistic with number of meets and distance. I personally find them really fun and exciting to watch. And I am not the only one, the system our gym has has been so successful, our team has almost doubled in the last two years!