Parents Advice for families new to competition

[Avasmom]

For all of you who have children that have been competing for a while what is your best advice to the new families who just started? We just started competing Novice in January and I am new to this world.

 

[gymdoc]

Just have fun! Cheer on your gymnast and be proud of them every day! Try not to get sucked into scores and levels and what other gyms and gymnasts are doing. It is a great sport with lots of life lessons to be learnes. Enjoy the journey

 

[gymdoc]

Oh, and always bring lots of cash to the meets

 

[wgymmom]

Run while you still can?

 

[roll123]

I got a little score book before the first competition and have kept all my daughters scores in it since her first meet. It's fun to flip through the pages and see all her meets!
My daughter also has a gymnastics journal which has places for
Her to write her pre meet goals, her meet results, and also her goals for the next meet.

 

[GymRatMama]

Prepare for a lot of expenses- some related to gymnastics and others not directly related to the gym itself. For example, after the compulsory levels, you have to pay for floor music and choreography. As far as non-gym related expenses there are hotel rooms and sometimes attending attractions near meets that are far from home. The sport gets more and more expensive as your gymnast progresses through the levels. Have fun and good luck! It becomes a way of life for the whole family.

 

[KieQ]

Let your child lead post meet conversations. Pointing out things she could have done better saps the joy from the day. If she mentions it, then go with her flow, but don't bring up critical points. The coach will cover them at her next practice.

Pack snacks, remember her grips, pack a spare suit in her gym colours *just in case*.

Try to stay at the same hotel as the team at least once in the season. You can keep costs lower by splitting costs (car pooling, sharing hotel rooms)

 

[bogwoppit]

Encourage good sportsmanship. Cheering other competitors, being happy for team mates success, being a gracious winner or loser.

Be prepared for a sore bottom from bleachers and hard seats. Be prepared for boredom, waiting hours to watch your child perform for two minutes total is quite painful at times.

Be thankful for volunteers who are trying to do their best.

You are in the US, so be prepared to pay for things that make no sense, like meet parking and an entrance fee to get in and see your child compete, even though you already paid a large entry fee.

Be prepared for odd coach rules, like watching other sessions from your gym or maybe turning your back on team mates. We have seen some very strange things at meets.

Meets can be in terrible weather, in awful locations at times when your kid might normally be sleeping. Be prepared for meltdowns, hunger and fatigue. That is you and the gymnast.

Be prepared to see judging that makes you go WTF. This will either be because you do not know enough about gymnastics to know what a good routine needs to look like, or once in a while a judge might screw up. Sometimes there are cute points or wearing the right leo points.

Try to have fun, try to relax and try not to rehash the whole meet with your dd the minute you hit the car. She will have tried her best no matter what. Some kid has to come first and some kid has to come last. None of them set out to be last.

Have a post meet ritual that happens after every meet, be it good or bad. For us it was ice cream, preferably an Oreo McFlurry. The ritual always made things better.

 

[raenndrops]

Encourage good sportsmanship. Cheering other competitors, being happy for team mates success, being a gracious winner or loser.

Be prepared for a sore bottom from bleachers and hard seats. Be prepared for boredom, waiting hours to watch your child perform for two minutes total is quite painful at times.

Be thankful for volunteers who are trying to do their best.

You are in the US, so be prepared to pay for things that make no sense, like meet parking and an entrance fee to get in and see your child compete, even though you already paid a large entry fee.

Be prepared for odd coach rules, like watching other sessions from your gym or maybe turning your back on team mates. We have seen some very strange things at meets.

Meets can be in terrible weather, in awful locations at times when your kid might normally be sleeping. Be prepared for meltdowns, hunger and fatigue. That is you and the gymnast.

Be prepared to see judging that makes you go WTF. This will either be because you do not know enough about gymnastics to know what a good routine needs to look like, or once in a while a judge might screw up. Sometimes there are cute points or wearing the right leo points.

Try to have fun, try to relax and try not to rehash the whole meet with your dd the minute you hit the car. She will have tried her best no matter what. Some kid has to come first and some kid has to come last. None of them set out to be last.

Have a post meet ritual that happens after every meet, be it good or bad. For us it was ice cream, preferably an Oreo McFlurry. The ritual always made things better.

Pre-meet rituals can help too.
YG HAS to have a McDonalds hash brown before she vaults (before the meet works if she is first session and the store bought ones don't have the same effect). Without it, she might decide that a forward roll on the vault table sounds like fun, lol (Her first meet this season, first meet going over the table, she was 3rd session. Her hash brown was in her bag, but her dad forgot to tell her when she grabbed her bag to go warm up... 2nd vault was better, but still, lol). This last meet, she had her hashbrown from the McD in front of the hotel... got 3rd place Vault!
If the coach allows them, a "lucky" stuffed animal or trinket in the bag can help. She can't come to the stands to join you during her session... especially for the young ones, this can be tough. Something to hold in between can help.

Celebrate the small things - every meet... even if she sweeps awards, don't make as big a deal about that as you do that "her leap was beautiful" or "her vault was really tight" or "her legs were super straight on bars" ... that way, when she has a "bad" meet... and she WILL have a bad meet at some point, it won't have been "all about the awards" the rest of the time and now you are just "fishing" for things.

 

[GlobalNomad]

I'd say video, take pictures (no flash, no lights), don't keep score, and have fun.

 

[mumoftwogymnasts]

Allow plenty of time for preparation on the day, meet hair can take a lot longer than you think especially if your gymnast (or you) are nervous.
Take a cushion to sit on.
If you are taking siblings take plenty of snacks, drinks, books, ipad etc - meets can go for a really long time.
DD has a small stuffed animal that she always has in her grip bag - she used to take it out and hold between events (coach was ok with this) She is in high school now, but the lucky puppy still has to be in the grip bag.
A pocket pack of tissues, spare hair clips and a few bandaids are useful in the gymnasts bag.

Encourage good sportsmanship and celebrating team mates achievements.
Remember that success in the beginning levels is no indication of success in the future, don't focus on placement or scores or you will drive yourself crazy.
DD's coach gets them to set several goals for each meet that are not scoring or placement related eg. stick my cartwheel on beam, tight legs in my leaps, connecting the bar routine. Encourage your gymnast to focus on and celebrate these sort of goals.

Our post meet ritual is depending on the time of day a snack/lunch/dinner before the drive home. The gymnast picks the venue. We do this after every single meet regardless of if it was the best meet ever or the worst meet ever.
Let your gymnast decide if they want to discuss the meet - one of mine likes to rehash stuff and chat, the other doesn't.

Have fun yourself. Try to relax and enjoy seeing your daughter and the other girls competing. Accept that if there is compulsory music you will have it stuck in your head for days afterwards. It is also possible to watch an entire beam routine without taking a single breathe

 

[Mrs. Puma]

The best advice I got was to have a small specific skill goal for each event, not a score goal. It's all about small victories! Good luck!

 

[B.Gold]

During the meet, keep your purse zippered so that when it inevitably topples over, all the contents won't dump through the slats of the bleachers and onto the floor below.

At your first meet, don't pull your DDs coach off the floor to announce your DD has been put in the wrong division. Divisions can be created based on a birthday that your DD will have in the future.

Concessions will always sell an adequate mixer for your favorite adult bevarage. Just sayin'.

If you sit in the first three rows of the bleachers at a crowded meet, be prepared to move often to allow the spectators behind you access to the bathroom.

Remember you're not in a vacuum. People around you can hear what you're saying.. So when your DD has a bad meet don't stand up and say loudly, "I don't understand!! last year she was the best one!! ". this may be a bit off putting to other parents from your gym.

Be prepared to sit on your hands and do nothing when you see behavior from your DD you find unacceptable but you can't correct because she's on the competition floor.

.....but finally, remember to have fun and enjoy the journey!!!

 

[Iwannabemargo]

I am seriously considering buying one of these

I get chronic back and bum ache at competitions

 

[bogwoppit]

I am seriously considering buying one of these

I get chronic back and bum ache at competitions

I have one.

 

[lovemygymnast]

Definitely allow plenty of time for hair and getting ready. Our gym says he there 15 minutes prior to warm up. For my dd, she relaxes once we're there and she can take in where she'll compete. So, I strive for getting there at the very least 30-45 minutes early. Plus, if we're leaving that early, neither of us get up tight about being late, there's no fussing and we can remain calm all the way to the meet. And if we forgot something, it generally gives us time to go back.


We always take lots of cash to meets. Entry fees here can be $15 pp. Paying for big family can be pricey. Inevitably, our other kids will want a bajillion snacks while there too. Oh and money for a program too.
We encourage her to cheer for teammates and shake hands with others on the podium, congratulate teammates AND other team girls who win medals. This is particularly hard because she's a super shy child but we're working on it.

We always tell her "great job" and ask if she had fun. We never re-hash a bad moment. We let her guide the conversation and if she wants to talk about it, fine, otherwise, we don't discuss it. It's not the Olympics, one bad meet or three aren't going to make a hill of beans in her future.

Our post meet ritual is that we let her pick where we eat. She expects it now and it's not always where we want to go but we bite our tongues & go. Lol.

Good luck and just enjoy it!!!

 

[Mrs. Puma]

I have one.

I am seriously considering buying one of these

I get chronic back and bum ache at competitions

A lot of people rock these at the Carrier Dome for S.U. Games (but they are orange of course! )

 

[Clover]

REALLY and ABSOLUTELY do not worry about scores and placements at the lower levels. I cannot tell you how many girls who some would have considered dreadful gymnasts at the lower levels are now awesome! The key is strong basics and getting them to love it enough to stick with it!

 

[B.Gold]

I am seriously considering buying one of these

I get chronic back and bum ache at competitions

These are great, but don't get stuck sitting behind one, they are killer on your knees for three hours.

 

[raenndrops]

Oh... don't bring rude teenage boys to a meet! Don't stand up while someone behind you is recording (or at least don't stand there doing nothing, blocking others from seeing.
Last meet we were at, there was a guy that stood up and just stood there talking to his "wife"-type person while my friend's daughter was on vault. She missed BOTH vaults (trying to look around him AND around coaches and teams that were moving between events - but HE was blocking the actual vault view - other parents from different teams had already asked the guy to stay low or go to the hall to talk to people because he was getting in the way). He was doing the SAME thing when she was on Beam, so we said "Get down, you're in the way!" And this TEENAGER sitting right in front of us, who hadn't looked up from his iPad ONCE to watch ANYONE on ANY EVENT turned around and told us that we needed to chill. I was polite, but said "No, she needs to be able to see her daughter compete so she can record it for family."
End of mini-rant in my answer