Crown arms

[coachjen]

I have been trying to decide what to teach my gymnasts in their compulsory beam routine as of crown arms. I do not want them to have "text" deductions, but I think arms stretched up teaches better body position and stability on the beam. If I have them stretch their arms up but turn their palms in (as Ive seen in a lot of high scoring youtube videos) will they get the text deduction or not. I have freedom at my gym to teach the way I want but on this I am not sure which way to go.

What does your gym teach? What is your opinion?

 

[T.Gymnastics]

im a little confused about what your asking... crown aarms to me is arms up, elbows slightly bent, fingers facing each other, thumbs tucked behind the hand. i use this position for turns such as pivot and full. if you are talking about a dance step on the beam i would also use this. however when im just walking into a skill i have arms up hands in as you have mentioned.

 

[coachjen]

I am talking about the written text of the compulsory routines specifically level 5, I use crown forward middle on turns but I am talking about the other places that it is written to use crown instead of arms high.

Like the quick steps before the arabesque or the crown to step back before the leap.

 

[T.Gymnastics]

Well i am a level 7 now... however i scored 9's on beam in level 5 and i used crown arms as i described above in the steps before the arabesque. i stepped back in crown arms after the snap turn (before the leap) then flicked hands out to finish on releve then leaped. there are also DVD's you can buy from usag with girls doing the routine pretty close to perfect. i own one and used to watch it before meets to visualize. i cannot gurantee that my methods or the girls on the tapes methods are exactly correct but but i think its pretty close. i think your best bet would be get ahold of one of the DVD's.

 

[nevertooold]

I used to teach the arms high and straight, palms turned in. We have a nationally rated judge who works at our gym (I have passed the level 5/6 judging exam but have not tested higher than that yet). She told me that while she probably would not deduct for it specifically, it was not technically what the text was asking for and that "crown" is soft elbows, pretty hands, palms turned toward the top of the head. I now teach that position and personally I think it creates a nice differentiation in the routine as the arms go from crown to press after the heel snap turn, and in steping out of the coupe turns to a finish position. We also teach crown in the stretch and tuck jumps (as per the text), and the releve steps before the arabesque and in the pivot turns.

Taught properly they can be stable and in correct body position while keeping arms in crown, and I think it is more technically correct. In my experience it also helps keep the shoulders pressed down and back whereas our girls seem to pull shoulders up more with straight arms. Just my opinion.

 

[gymalex]

I am a L10 judge- I wouldn't deduct for that. Keep in mind that the max text deduction you can take over the WHOLE routine is .4. I judge in Reg 3/District 3 where kids often need a 9.95 to win the event, and I see many excellent routines where the kids finish straight arms with palms turned in, then flip the wrists to finish with palms out. That's fine. I do agree with previous posters that a slight arm bend with arms in crown looks a little nicer. The routine is supposed to be supple and flowing, and straight elbows and sharp movements change the style of the routine. I also agree that soft elbows in crown encourages the athletes to keep their shoulders pressed down. The only risk is making the routine look too stiff and robotic- you could be hit with an artistry deduction.
Your call-- but you can pretty safely say that your kids won't be deducted for text on your choice.