flipsandgrips15
Coach
- Aug 11, 2016
- 31
- 18
What is the difference in competing compulsories through AAU vs USAG? I've noticed more & more gyms competing AAU when we go to meets.
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I think that they are doing AAU because for level 3 the AAU bar routine is better (no mill circle, you jump to high bar). It is still is way less used in my area than USAG; but I totally understand why some gyms choose it.
How do you know what the routines are? Is there some sort of COP for AAU? I have zero experience with this.
Many of the routines are the same, but AAU is better for the transition to higher levels.I just remember when the new routines came out and for a brief moment my YDD was going to compete AAU L3 when my ODD had competed USAG3 the season before. I'm not sure where they have it written down; but I bet that you can find examples on youtube. The main difference that I remember is that for AAU there is no mill circle (or shootthrough) and i think that there may not have been a front hip circle. Instead the girls jump to the high bar and do a long hang pullover. I think that the other routines are all the same, I think that they might even use the USAG music.
there is AAU Xcel, but I don't know of any optionals. There used to be levels 4 and 5, and there may still be, but it has dwindled out because AAU gymnasts still have to score out of USAG 4 & 5 to move up to optionals. Our gym used to compete them, but the added cost of a 2nd registration and finding a score out meet after State meet added to them just competing USAG 4 after Level 3.Is there a difference between AAU and USAG in optionals or doesnt that exist in AAU?
Here are the Levels / Divisions offered in AAU:Is there a difference between AAU and USAG in optionals or doesnt that exist in AAU?
Nope, nope, nope! It's not easier and no way like Xcel. The routines are almost exactly like USAG, with just a little deviation. Bars for Level 2 has no mill circle--because who needs it? and Level 3 bars go to the high bar and use tap swings instead of focusing on the mill circle for a second year. Also, vault has angle of repulsion starting in Level 2, and USAG and Xcel do not. USAG doesn't have angle of repulsion until level 4. And it is definitely not easier or less serious. There are just some things that don't get deducted, like the run in vault. And not less hours either.I think AAU is less "serious" than USAG, so kind of like Xcel from that standpoint. Less hours maybe?
I think it depends on the State/area. AAU is very popular in my State. It even has its own special name here. However, the gyms in this area have primarily used AAU as a less intense team program, more like Xcel. Many still use AAU this way, although some have transitioned to Xcel. At DD's old gym, the non-JO girls often compete a combination of Xcel and AAU. Hours were less (6-12/week). Last year, my DD competed a full Xcel Bronze season + a few AAU L3 meets later in the spring (the AAU season starts later here). We found judging to be a bit easier at the local AAU meets we attended (e.g., DD got a 9.7 on floor in AAU, while usually scoring around 9.2-9.4 on floor in Xcel), however I didn't find the scoring quite as generous at the regional level. It was also my experience that the meets were smaller and level of competition wasn't as fierce as we've seen this year in USAG JO. There are regional/area and national AAU meets but no minimum scores are required to advance (there are just attendance requirements). But again, all of this is just based on my own experience in one State.