WAG USA Gymnastics 2022+ TOPs Program Discussion

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I don't have much experience with TOPS as we're just a regular DP/Xcel family, but I find it interesting to look at. Personally, I think no more testing for 7yos is a good choice. Some kids are too young to really know what to correct at age 7. Especially since some of them are actually still 6.

I like the 8 year old vault! Good progression for a yurchenko. Is that new this edition?

The level of talent needed to get into TOPS surprises me every time. 9 year olds doing fulls! And that is on the spring floor with good form, too. It would be amazing to watch a testing.
 
This is probably a dumb question, but is TOPS age for the fall and 22-23 testing their age in December 2022 or their age in 2023?
 
This is probably a dumb question, but is TOPS age for the fall and 22-23 testing their age in December 2022 or their age in 2023?
FIG ages are usually calculated as the age they are at December 31, ie the age you turn that calendar year. TOPS has usually used this calculation too.

So this Autumn testing 2022 would be age on December 31 2022
Next January onwards would be age on December 31 2023
 
The piece that's confusing to me is that a gymnast's age for TOPS testing has always been based on the age on December 31 of the year she tested. But here, testing will take place during two different calendar years--physical abilities in fall of 2022 and skills in spring of 2023. So will age for TOPS purposes be based on age on December of 2022 or December of 2023? If December 2023, that would mean you'd potentially have 5-year-olds doing skills testing in the fall.
 
The piece that's confusing to me is that a gymnast's age for TOPS testing has always been based on the age on December 31 of the year she tested.

They said it would now be August 31st of 2023 for this TOPs season.
 
Why August?
That is technically the last day of the TOPs season. Sept. 1st - Aug. 31st. This is only what was said in a meeting… could easily change.
 
The age dates need to include the TOPs camps.
 
This part confused me a little. “ a minimum all-around score of 36 in the Development Program at Level 3 and above must be obtained to participate in the TOPs program.”

Level 3 isn’t a required level, and plenty of girls at our gym never competed level 3 and just started with 4. Would a level 7, 9 year old have to go back and do level 3? This doesn’t affect me at all, just curious.
 
Level 3 or above, they would not have to go back and do level 3. A 36 at a higher level would also satisfy the requirements.
 
They said it would now be August 31st of 2023 for this TOPs season.
Do you know if this will be posted soon. So far on the usag tops page it just has years and age so 2013/10yr old so I was assuming they were keeping it Dec for age cut off but I’m really hoping your right.
 
Just as an FYI, they have changed some of the TOPs information. It now says:
  • The age cutoff and breakdown for TOPs for the 2022-2023 season is listed below:
    • Athletes born in 2015= 8 year olds
    • Athletes born in 2014= 9 year olds
    • Athletes born in 2013= 10 year olds

And the physical abilities testing is a little easier than I had heard it would be originally--now for 9/10 year olds, it's 5 cast handstands and 5 press handstands (rather than 10): https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=27509
 
Just as an FYI, they have changed some of the TOPs information. It now says:
  • The age cutoff and breakdown for TOPs for the 2022-2023 season is listed below:
    • Athletes born in 2015= 8 year olds
    • Athletes born in 2014= 9 year olds
    • Athletes born in 2013= 10 year olds

And the physical abilities testing is a little easier than I had heard it would be originally--now for 9/10 year olds, it's 5 cast handstands and 5 press handstands (rather than 10): https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=27509
I dunno that I would use the term easier….lol…..I suspect they’re really gonna get them on form. They rather see 5 clean, perfect presses as opposed to 10 ‘made ‘‘em’ presses, but convincing the ‘judge’ that was a ‘perfect’ press is going to markedly harder. Just my opinion though.
 
I dunno that I would use the term easier….lol…..I suspect they’re really gonna get them on form. They rather see 5 clean, perfect presses as opposed to 10 ‘made ‘‘em’ presses, but convincing the ‘judge’ that was a ‘perfect’ press is going to markedly harder. Just my opinion though.
All I mean is that the numbers are lower--while of course they would rather see 10 perfect press handstands and cast handstands than 5 messy ones, it is necessarily true that 5 cast handstands with excellent form is easier than 10 cast handstands with excellent form. And decreasing numbers (but focusing more on form) is surely better on tiny wrists that can be susceptible to tendinitis.
 
All I mean is that the numbers are lower--while of course they would rather see 10 perfect press handstands and cast handstands than 5 messy ones, it is necessarily true that 5 cast handstands with excellent form is easier than 10 cast handstands with excellent form. And decreasing numbers (but focusing more on form) is surely better on tiny wrists that can be susceptible to tendinitis.
Touché’….I wasn’t trying to be argumentative, more funny than anything. I remember my kids first TOPS test when she got a 0 for her, in my biased opinion, 5 perfect 7 year old casts. To this day, she still hates it when Dan does the casts at camp!!
 
Touché’….I wasn’t trying to be argumentative, more funny than anything. I remember my kids first TOPS test when she got a 0 for her, in my biased opinion, 5 perfect 7 year old casts. To this day, she still hates it when Dan does the casts at camp!!
Fair enough! (Except for your daughter--that's brutal!) Given how the age limits work with TOPs this time around, I think it's especially good to keep the numbers lower. Since the TOPs testing straddles two different calendar years (physical abilities in the fall, skills in the spring) and TOPs age is based on the gymnasts' age at the end of the second calendar year, there are going to be a bunch of eight-year-olds in the 10-year-old category doing physical abilities testing. I'm sure they'll be practicing more than 5 cast handstands and presses (because that way competing 5 feels easy), but good to not amp up numbers too high given how much strain the physical abilities puts on wrists.
 

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