TeamGym

[armbmom]

My seven year old daughter has been asked the last two years to try out for our gym's TeamGym. She is finally going to try out this year and I was trying to get more information about TeamGym by going to the USA Gymnastics site and it hasn't been updated in over a year. I know there is Nationals coming up, because a couple of our teams are going, but there isn't any information about it. It's sad to see so little information out there about it.

We are new to competative gymnastics and my daughter really enjoys it, however, I'm not familiar with how everything works. I know I'll learn more once we get started, but I was really suprised by the lack of information out there on TeamGym. Is TeamGym just a waste of time and money, or is it truely a great way for my daughter to get her feet wet in competative gymnastics?

 

[marie83]

I'm not sure what you mean re getting Into competitive gym. Did you mean artistic? If so, that really depends on the club and you'd be best off asking them. However, here in GB it's pretty much a separate entity to artistic, although it isn't impossible to switch between one or the other.
It is a really fun way to do gymnastics!

 

[Maitland]

TeamGym is a part of Group Gymnastics under USAG and is more recreational than artistic gymnastics. The good with that is the kids can compete without as much stress and time commitment. It is great for some kids.

There are two parts to TeamGym: group floor (a choreographed routine set to music with tumbling and dance skills) and group jump which includes streaming passes of tumbling, vault, and mini-trampoline (with only the last athlete sticking for the entire team.) It is pretty to watch, but it hasn't grown much.

If your daughter likes beams and bars, she won't get any in TeamGym. TeamGym is a group sport and the kids are always judged as a group--you never get an individual score. If she likes tumbling a lot and not the other events, then T&T (trampoline and tumbling) may be a better way to go because it is individual and she will be judged on her own skills and she will be able to move up when she is ready and not have to worry about the rest of the team. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[armbmom]

She is 7 years old and really enjoys gymnastics. She is basically in Level 2, but the artisitc team doesn't start until Level 4. She would be doing a regular class and then the Team Gym class and the Team Gym meets. I guess my concern was that it appears to be not important to USA Gymnastics, because the Team Gym page on the website seems to be so infrequently updated and there was no mention of Team Gym Nationals that occurred last week. I just wasn't sure if it was being discontinued or what the status was.

 

[Maitland]

She is 7 years old and really enjoys gymnastics. She is basically in Level 2, but the artisitc team doesn't start until Level 4. She would be doing a regular class and then the Team Gym class and the Team Gym meets. I guess my concern was that it appears to be not important to USA Gymnastics, because the Team Gym page on the website seems to be so infrequently updated and there was no mention of Team Gym Nationals that occurred last week. I just wasn't sure if it was being discontinued or what the status was.

I haven't really seen any growth in the program. I know some gyms that tried it for a season or two and just did not like the program for various reasons (I know the judging has been an issue for some). I don't know what criteria USAG uses for programs, but the lack of growth would concern me. Having said that, if you would prefer your daughter not go the artistic route, then it might be a fun way for her to compete. If she switches to Team Gym from artistic, she will not get beams or bars at all. So there are some trade-offs.