WAG Xcel Friday morning sessions

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TheXcelMom

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We (and I mean WE because the entire family is affected) have THREE Friday 8am competition sessions this season.
That's three missed school days. Three missed work days.
Between now and regionals, there could be more Friday mornings.
This is our fourth Xcel competition season and we've had only one Friday session in the first three. Maybe I was just blind to the potential for an issue, but now that it's one on top of the other, I am *absolutely livid.*

We avoided the DP program for this exact reason.
This is not the promise of Xcel.
Livid. I don't even know who to be mad at, but I think it's the competition organizers.

BG: XG, 12YO, 6th grade.
Reposted from the group section b/c I'm still mad.
 
Unfortunately, it's just bad luck. Sometimes the host school district has that day off school so they don't see the inconvenience. Sometimes the meets are just too big and there are a lot of athletes. If there seems to be a trend with a particular meet's schedule, that might end up factoring into why we do or do not choose to attend in the future.

I definitely understand the frustration though; as a coach when I had weekday sessions - Monday or Friday - I would have to find a sub for my preschool/rec classes so I could go coach a meet, which I always found annoying. I was "taking off" so I could work more.
 
There are no rules or otherwise that state which days levels have to be run on.

Gymnastics is becoming more and more popular... there are definitely pros of that... the weekday sessions are a con... most people don't like them.
 
Then why have them?
Missing three days of school… is this accepted so blithely with other sports?

That’s a good faith question. I don’t know the answer.
 
I think you mean... "Why have the Friday sessions?"

Just let me know if I'm wrong... but I am going to answer based on that.

It's pretty simple... it all comes down to money. Some meets are easy to run and make money off of... others not so much. Large meets in great venues cost big bucks. Expenses run well over $100,000 for some meets. Without the Friday sessions... many of the meets would break even at best. There are very few people that are going to run great meets for no money... it's a ton of work.
 
Absolutely... my kid missed three days of school for a school sport.
But for a sport the equivalent level of xcel bronze/silver/gold? I could absolutely be ignorant to sports I am not familiar with, but none of the other sports my kids were involved in - soccer, rugby, track, lacrosse, diving, softball - involved missing 3 or 4 days of school during a season at the entry level of competition.

But agree that it comes down to money. The large invitationals have to have Friday sessions to be profitable. It is possible to compete at xcel and only attend smaller, in gym meets that wouldn’t involve attending larger meets that extend into Fridays etc, but would involve some shopping around to select a program that would prioritize this.
 
We (and I mean WE because the entire family is affected) have THREE Friday 8am competition sessions this season.
That's three missed school days. Three missed work days.
Between now and regionals, there could be more Friday mornings.
This is our fourth Xcel competition season and we've had only one Friday session in the first three. Maybe I was just blind to the potential for an issue, but now that it's one on top of the other, I am *absolutely livid.*

We avoided the DP program for this exact reason.
This is not the promise of Xcel.
Livid. I don't even know who to be mad at, but I think it's the competition organizers.

BG: XG, 12YO, 6th grade.
Reposted from the group section b/c I'm still mad.
Last year my daughter was level 6. We had 4 out of 6 comps on Friday, 3 of which required hotel stays on Thursday night because they were over 2 hours away and we had the 8 am session. it happens.
 
Around here kids very often miss school for sport. Mainly school sports, the kids have days off constantly to represent the school for swimming, athletics, cross country, volleyball, netball etc.

Also all the competitions for the school kids for band, choir, drama, dance team etc are all during school.

In dance comps for private studios as well comps are often on school days, because theatres cost too much on the weekends.
 
This is pretty common, even for Xcel. The only way around this is to be at a gym that only does smaller local meets. Even then, they often have Friday evening meets, which may require a child to miss a half day.

As for comparing to other sports, I think you're trying to equate to entry level and/or rec programs but Xcel is not comparable to those. It certainly is "less intense" than DP (depending on where you live) but it is still high level compared to rec or entry level. A comparable would be something like "in house" teams where they compete against each other and a few local gyms. Once you get to Xcel, it's like equating to travel leagues in other sports and many of them have friday-monday competitions.
 
This is yet another example of the market power the sport has over customers (parents). I think it's ridiculous that parents are expected to be able to pay the costs of their children's participation while also getting their kids to practice in the middle of the workday all summer and in the early afternoon during the school year, and to meets on weekdays. Gymnastics had a huge adverse impact on my career and in hindsight I wish I'd never let my daughter fall in love with the sport in the first place.

For a family that can afford gymnastics + a SAH parent or full-time driving nanny, Friday meets might be okay if you homeschool or if your child is in elementary or early middle school and your school district is relaxed about attendance. In our school district parents start getting threatening letters after five *excused* absences in one year. And in high school (plus eighth grade for kids who take classes at the high school that year) they need to be in class every day or they will get behind.

The reality is that even if a kid goes on to D1 gymnastics and then owns a gym, they still need to get a solid education to be successful in life. USAG should not allow meets during school except at the elite level where the athletes are all home-schooled.
 
This is yet another example of the market power the sport has over customers (parents).

This is partly my thought. I am very blessed to be able to set my own work hours. So I am taking two of my daughter's teammates to the meets their single working moms will miss. I am happy to do it! But not everyone has a me around.

I have never heard of another sport having Friday mornings (afternoons, yes, but not mornings), but I've never done another sport. My son chose scouting as his activity and he missed, I think one day of school to get to a backpacking trip. (Brag incoming: he's an Eagle Scout now). Thank you for letting me know what the deal is outside gymnastics.

When we applied for my daughter's middle school they asked us about the impact of gymnastics on her academics, and I explained the difference between the Xcel and DP programs. I think I was a little deluded.

I'm still very unhappy with this, and it prioritizes differently than I do, but okay. Still mad, but okay. Fine. (grumble)
 
While it is true that I resent having to use vacation time to get my DD to meets, and my husband has to take time without pay, we haven't had to miss too much time from school until this year. I would not say we are missing more school than any other sport though. Last year my daughter missed 3 days for track, and only 2 for gymnastics. But I know many of her peers missed a lot more due to volleyball, hockey, dance, figure skating etc. The sports that are through the school (volleyball, basketball, track, football) don't even get reported to the school as they are through the school itself. Not to mention the hours missed with the drama production that many of her friends were in. I suppose I would object if we participated in more competitions, but we are usually every 3-5 weeks throughout season.
 
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I consider my children's other activities in life just as important as school. I believe it's my job to sort through some of the nonsense. Taking summer gym because a child is 7 minutes lacking in school "days" doesn't make any sense to me. It's just all a junk show... 7 minutes... and that is going to affect "academics"... so then they have to take "physical education"... but they are missing for high level athletic education already. Mean while... kids have been suspended for more time than my child has missed... no issue there.
 
I consider my children's other activities in life just as important as school.

Every parent is different. In this case, I agree 100%.
However, there's a real injustice here when parents with fewer resources than I have can't make it work. If I wasn't there, the girls wouldn't make three meets this season unless they went out of session.
For some kids, *academics* is the most realistic path to a better life.
Anyway, I'm spinning this out into a bigger conversation than gymnastics.

We are unlucky this season. I am sad/mad/aggrieved. I'll get over it, and I will take care of our team because I can.

I appreciate all the feedback and information.
 
Every parent is different. In this case, I agree 100%.
However, there's a real injustice here when parents with fewer resources than I have can't make it work. If I wasn't there, the girls wouldn't make three meets this season unless they went out of session.
For some kids, *academics* is the most realistic path to a better life.
Anyway, I'm spinning this out into a bigger conversation than gymnastics.

We are unlucky this season. I am sad/mad/aggrieved. I'll get over it, and I will take care of our team because I can.

I appreciate all the feedback and information.

I totally get it... believe me... you are a good person... help them.

Unfortunately my son injured his elbow at the meet this weekend... or he would have been flying to Texas with another team family. My wife and I coach a girls team... our son goes to another club... we were planning on not attending the Texas meet as we had to coach our girls team. Not ideal... just life.
 
Frankly, I put this on the gym owners not being more up front with team parents from the beginning when gymnasts are invited to team. Spell it all out for the parents so they know what they are getting themselves into before they accept the spot.
 

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