WAG Common skills used in xcel

[agtc0424]

My coaches, teammates and I have recently began to look at what skills we want in our routines - for xcel gold + platinum. The decision is pretty much ours right now - if we can make it pretty and consistent by January (comp season) it doesn't really matter. However many of us are at a loss - hard skills or easy? Ie. For gold; kip free hip stoop circle long hang kip cast tuck flyaway, or pullover backhip squat on level 4 dismount? Is it better to do a front handspring or half on vault? What are the common skills/ routines for gold/platinum?

 

[ayyyrial]

Given all your posts recently, it seems like you and your coaches are new to Xcel. Here are the basic requirements for Xcel: https://usagym.org/PDFs/Women/xcel/2013RuleCharts.pdf
In general I would say that the best scoring routines would meet the minimum requirements and not do extra, unless the skills are really solid. But if this is your first year competing Xcel and your coaches don't know much about it, I would just say that you guys will be figuring it out this season and experimenting. So think of this season as a learning experience!

In response to your example bar routines -
The easier routine doesn't meet all the requirements of a minimum of 6 skills. It also doesn't have a cast to horizontal, or a circling skill.
The harder routine should meet the requirements.

 

[coachmolly]

We had a mix- some girls doing the minimum and some going with more difficulty. Our girl with the highest difficulty (kip, clear hip, and flyaway on bars; bhs on beam) scored very well and won almost every meet she entered, even against girls with easier skills. However, she did everything she competed very well. Her routines were definitely not the norm for Gold, she actually should have been competing Platinum but didn't want to compete by herself.
I think there is always room to experiment within the season. My Bronze girls did Silver level routines last season and we ended up rearranging and modifying routines throughout the season. They all started the season with a split leap and a jump (straight or tuck) in their routine, a few girls were getting major amplitude deductions for their jumps so we took it out as the season progressed. Similarly, we had girls start the season with easier routines and add on to them as they cleaned up some of their harder skills.
I think my main philosophy for my girls is to do as much as they can cleanly and confidently.

 

[cadybearsmommy]

There is an Xcel social group with a great group of ladies that are very knowledgable about Xcel, that might be a good group for you to look into. We have found it to be a great resource.

You will see a wide range of difficulty especially in gold. Our gold girls are doing the following routine:
Pullover
Cast to horizontal
Back hip circle
Cast to squat on
Tap swing x2,
L4 dismount or flyaway (if they have it and it's clean.)

From everything I've heard this is a pretty typical gold routine, a simple one that meets all of the requirements. Some like my dd have their kips but not clean enough to compete without deductions.

The beam and floor acro varies a bit more within our small group. Some will do ROBHS and FHS-RO. Some will do ROBHS and aerial, some will do ROBHSBT and FT. On beam some will do a CW and HS and some will do BW and HS.

I don't think I've ever personally seen a vault besides FHS competed in gold but I'm sure with the new 9.8 SV for FHS in platinum this year, we will see a lot of different vaults for platinum.

Best of luck to you and your teammates this season !

 

[Paint A Melody]

For Xcel Gold in my region (6), floor generally had both front and back tucks, although I've seen everything from ROBHS and arial to ROBHSBLO and FHSFT. Vault was usually handspring with some half ons, bars usually had kips, back hip circles, and flyaways, and beam was handstands, cartweels, and BWOs. There were exceptions, but this is what was generally seen.

 

[raenndrops]

The rule charts have been updated for the new season.
As for Vault, in Gold, I would suggest the half on vault as a progression towards a 1/2-1/2 for Platinum since Handspring and 1/2 On were downgraded for Platinum.

 

[3rd_time_around]

Have you competed before? Just wondering as there are new entry regulations and minimum scoring regulations. But you probably ace since you're talking knowledgeably about skills. I suggest skills that can be performed solidly with confidence and clean. That is what scores the best. And make sure all special requirements are fulfilled.