It is gymnastics season for our gym. We are a Winter/Spring club. An exciting time of new leotards, warm-ups, and new gymnasts talking about what the first meet will be like. Our first meet happens to be our own meet, not at home however, at a swim resort a state away. The Great Wolf Lodge is home to a 100,000 square foot water park, and the entire resort is kid centric, family friendly galore. The memories the kids leave with after staying for the night, competing, and hanging out are priceless. Soon however, the Lodge meet will be behind us, and the excitement often turns into a mission for a lot of parents. This blog is dedicated to the new parents of this amazing sport we call competitive gymnastics. This is your first lesson.
· The first year is a learning year.
· Your child does not understand deductions, or the complexity of scoring that is inherent to this sport. The coaches will not be discussing scores with the gymnasts during or after the meet. Neither should you. The focus for first year gymnasts should be improvement. Hopefully, by the end of season, you will see dramatic improvement in the scores. Help your child maintain their love of the sport by focusing on small improvements and goals.
· Let’s talk about scoring. The gymnasts will perform the same routines, to exactly the same music (on floor), each and every meet until they move up to the next level. The routines are judged by the book-- meaning each movement, each element or skill is worth a certain amount of points totaling 10.00. All gymnasts start out with a 10.00 and Judges take a deduction each time a gymnast under executes, misses, or adds an element or skill. The final score will reflect these deductions.
· Etiquette for gymnastics spectators. While not quite “tennis polite” it is definitely not a soccer game. Parents and fans should clap, however loud screams, or whistling is a no-no. Imagine standing on a four inch wide beam getting ready to do a handstand and have a whistle rock through the gym. This is a safety concern folks. Loud noises can startle a gymnast and lead to falls. Parents are also not allowed on the competition floor for any reason. Talking to your gymnast while they are out on the floor, gesturing for them to come over (so you can fix a ponytail gone awry) again, not allowed. These are safety measures (imagine the distractions and potential concerns) designed to keep your child safe. Your coach is a USA gymnastics professional member, and carries a card with a specific code of conduct (behavioral expectations) for meets. They are also very knowledgeable in fixing ponytails gone wrong.
· There is no flash photography allowed at a meet. Again, this is a safety measure. The flash can temporarily blind and disorient a gymnast. This poses a big problem when upside down mid air.
· Performance: Your child will likely receive feedback in the moment or shortly thereafter from their coaches on how they performed. They should not hear a play by play from you on how they messed up. Your job is to praise and be proud of their accomplishments.
· Your child is going to generally improve every month. The caveat to this statement is this: this sport is a building sport. Each practice builds on the previous one. Attendance for visible improvement is extremely connected. I can’t tell you how many times I have had a parent whose child missed practice all the time complain about lack of progress. Yes, effort plus time equal skill. If your child is also doing soccer/band/French great! Please adjust your expectations accordingly.
· I have to address the music. I mentioned earlier your child will compete the same routine each meet for the duration of her level. Along with this information comes this warning~ you will hear the floor music about 90 times each meet. This little jingle will haunt you (not in a good way). You may even dream about it. I’m sorry.
Welcome to season, let’s have a great year!
