Reinforcement from the non English speaking part of the world

[Redford]

Hello everybody,
I've been hanging around here for a while now, researching and replacing my bedtime novel with a few ChalkBucket Threads. I've found a ton of great tips for both me and my gymnasts and finally decided to join the community.
I live and train in Germany so please be nice and don't pick on mistakes, English is not my mother tongue.
I've been a competitive gymnast up to the age of twelve but had to quit due to a combination of pressure issues and some serious injuries. Now at the age of 19 with the help of my wonderful coach I am fighting my way back up. It is frustrating sometimes when my body can't do no more where my mind wants to keep going but all in all I'm surprised at how easily the skills come back.
For about a year now I am also coach to various groups of girls, age 3-14 who light up my life every time I enter the gym.
After a break of many years I've found that my love for gym and its smell and sound has never really died.
I'm glad to be here and I'm open to any questions concerning me or gymnastics in Germany. I might also have a few questions myself, as I'm utterly confused with everything right now... How do you join groups for example?

 

[OzZee]

Would love to hear an overview of how gymnastics is run in Germany. What levels system do you have? Is it very popular?
Your english is very good!

Groups - I'm guessing you found it - there is a groups button up the top.

 

[Jenny]

Your English is very good. Welcome

 

[Redford]

Thank you very much!
English is obligatory and a very important subject in German schools as no sane person ever learns German.

Yes! I found the groups all by myself. It directly gets me to the next question: How do you disable Email notifications? It might be quite useful but I don't want to jump at my mail program everytime someone replies to a thread.

I'll create a seperate post for the German level system tonight, the thing is somewhat complicated.

 

[gymmomtoo]

Hey! I took German in high school and college--are you questioning my sanity LOL?

 

[lovegymnastics]

I learn German at school as wel as English, does that make me nuts? ;p

 

[Redford]

Not at all, but let's face it: German is not exactly the easiest language to learn. The grammatical structure is as complicated as it could be and a reliable system on pronounciation does not seem to exsist. Furthermore it's only spoken in 3 petite countries and isn't one of those beautiful languages in my opinion. Meanwhile it is relatively easy for German kids to learn English.
Just out of curiosity, why did you choose to learn German?

 

[lovegymnastics]

Yes I understand, exactly why I learn English. I am from Holland, so same story... I learn German because I had to pick another modern language. But I agree that English is way simpler to learn, or at least it is to me.

 

[gymmomtoo]

I learned German because I'm half German and seemed more fitting than French (the two choices I had back then!)

 

[billise]

As English is not Redford's first language I just wanted to make sure you knows that lol means "laugh out loud"

 

[Redford]

Thanks but I know It is actually used quited often around here. The young generation loves to pick up all kinds of English stuff. So we "lol" in the middle of a German conversation and if "bro" makes a very funny comment we even "rofl" sometimes. We wish each other a good "n8" and I was recentley left alone -totally confused- by a friend who told me she'd be "afk" for a while.

_________

So, the main difference between gymnastics in Germany and gymnastics in most other countries is that there are no private gyms. Gymnastics is present in most sports clubs alongside with basketball and scoccer. That makes the sport a lot cheaper and more affordable for everyone but it also means you can't buy a spot in a good and well equiped gym. The big competitive clubs are very picky and rarely offer recreational programs.


There are 3 competitive tracks:

-Level 1-10 (P1-10) variation A: unlike in the US those levels cover compulsories only. P10 might equal L7. This track is thought for smaller clubs and is not bound to age.

-Level 1-11 (P1-11) variation B: all German, olympic gymnasts you'll see probably went down this path. This track is designed for those big clubs mentioned above and is strictly age limited. Once they are done with compulsories they move on to optionals followring the CdP.

-The KM-track: From what I've read it is very similar to the Excel program containing 4 different levels of difficulty with KM I being the most difficult.

Apart from speacial meets like National Championships or Regional Championships, gymnastics competitions are held in a league system where juniors and seniors compete together.

As for the popularity of the sport, I don't think gymnastics is too popular around here. Most children have done toddlers gym classes because you practically pay nothing for it but they stop soon. I guess a lot of it comes from that fact that it is practically impossible to get rec classes at a good club. So you're either on a competitive team by the time you're 9 or you'll be setting up the beam at your local club for the rest of your life.

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

Welcome. I too took .german in high school, then ended up marrying into a German family. Where abouts are you from?

 

[Redford]

That's great, so I suppose you actually get to use your German from time to time.
I'm not really a fan of posting exact locations but I'm from Baden-Württemberg in the Southern parts of Germany.

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

They are from nearby....... Ehingen.

 

[Redford]

Well that indeed is around the corner (I admit I had to google it though)

 

[Kiwi]

Hey! I took German in high school and college--are you questioning my sanity LOL?

Me too! I have some German ancestry.