Parents Age groups at meets

[Teammom]

My daughter is about to have her first meet in September. The level 3 girls range from ages 7-12. They all compete at the same time. Will they give awards based on age group or all the girls that compete at the meet?

 

[mls529]

Based on age groups. However, age groups will change from meet to meet. So a child who is a Junior C in one meet could be a Senior A in another, depending on the ages of the girls in the particular meet. In our area, groups are typically about 20-25 girls in each age group.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Based on age groups. However, age groups will change from meet to meet. So a child who is a Junior C in one meet could be a Senior A in another, depending on the ages of the girls in the particular meet. In our area, groups are typically about 20-25 girls in each age group.

Yep. They do the age groups (typically) , to keep the groups roughly the same size.

 

[Teammom]

So is it normal for the age groups to compete at the same time? So, during awards they have it separated into age groups?

 

[gymmomtotwo]

In our state Level 3 is considered developmental and they give out different colored ribbons based on score range. I don't think most states do it that way, but it is possible things may be done that way, especially the 1st meet of the season. Some early meets even treat level 4 that way.

 

[gymmomtotwo]

Yes, all level 3s go at the same time and are only divided at awards except probably your state meet

 

[cp13]

All of the age groups compete at the same time. They are only divided up for awards. However, in the lower compulsory levels there can be too many girls for one session and so at some meets the younger level 3s are in one session and the older level 3s are at another, for example. Also, it's not unusual for there to be combined levels in a session such as L4 and L5 because L5 doesn't have as many athletes. It seems like they try to have 50-80 girls per session and so it just depends on the number of girls registered. You are in for a long meet if you have a session with 70+ girls.

 

[Aussie_coach]

That must make for a very long awards ceremony!

 

[Tmacs]

That must make for a very long awards ceremony!

They can be! Usually though, if there are 80 girls divided into divisions of 15-20 girls, you might have just 4 to 6 age groups in one session. In WA, awards are given per 3-4 hour session not for the whole meet (except regional and state). So, awards go pretty quickly unless they do event awards as well; then awards get painful.

 

[mls529]

Our meets always do apparatus awards plus all-arounds, even at level 3. Award ceremonies are almost always 45 minutes long to get through ~4 age groups per level. The worst ones are when they put two levels in one session, like combining level 7 and Platinums (we had several of those this year), because it is 3-4 age groups of level 7 and then another 3-4 age groups of Platinums so it is LONG!

 

[Deleted member 18037]

That must make for a very long awards ceremony!

There are times I would of preferred to stick pins in my eyes. Oy

 

[mommyof1]

Where we are, the number of age groups doesn't matter a whole lot to the length of the awards ceremony. 1/3 or 1/2 of the kids are always going to get medals on each event, no matter how many groups there are or how many kids are in each group. The transition time is the only thing that varies with the number of groups (more groups = more transitions between groups).

The primary determinants of the length of an awards ceremony are (1) whether they line the kids up in place order behind a curtain and then just march them out, (2) whether they have the medalists return to their seats after each event or have them stand behind the podium so they can jump right back up (this only works if they are announcing by age group then event, not if they are announcing by event and then age group), (3) how quickly the announcer moves, and (4) how slow and confused the kids handing out the medals are.

As an announcer, I like to think I am very good at #3 and pretty good at managing the kids with regard to #4. #1 and #2 are out of the announcer's control.

 

[M2Abi]

I was at a boys' meet session that was combined for Levels 5 and 6. Boys also have Division 1 and 2 for both Levels and then 3-4 age groups. I was lucky in that my son's awards were first, since he was youngest age group, Level 5, Division 1. As soon as his awards were announced, I left because my daughter had a meet across town starting. I arrived at my daughter's meet (about a 30-45 minute drive) and my friend texted and said that they boys' awards were still going.

 

[mommyof1]

That must make for a very long awards ceremony!

There are times I would of preferred to stick pins in my eyes. Oy

Even the kids hate awards ceremonies. Long awards ceremonies do encourage candy sales at the concession, though.

 

[Freddy's Fred]

There are times I would of preferred to stick pins in my eyes. Oy

I don't think there's any parent here who wants to go to an awards ceremony. It's so irritating and a waste of time and money. I have cardboard box with about 20 pounds of medals (8 years of competitions) in my laundry room waiting to be sent to the recyclers.

 

[raenndrops]

The primary determinants of the length of an awards ceremony are (1) whether they line the kids up in place order behind a curtain and then just march them out, (2) whether they have the medalists return to their seats after each event or have them stand behind the podium so they can jump right back up (this only works if they are announcing by age group then event, not if they are announcing by event and then age group), (3) how quickly the announcer moves, and (4) how slow and confused the kids handing out the medals are.

Our goal is to start awards within 20 minutes of the last score being flashed... and we have to get the age groups printed out, highlight ties, mark out scratched events, and adjust awards accordingly. I have the awards preliminarily ready before the session even starts (1st-12th place if there are 12 or more ... and fewer if there aren't 12 in an age group. Each age group is labeled and the awards are separated into the events and AA). I get the meet scratches from the score table before / during each session so I can adjust the age groups as soon as I get to my hovel (make sure the awards do not exceed the number of girls in the age group). Then, when I receive the results, I have a helper give me awards for the tied places and remove any unneeded places at the end. Once 1/2 the age groups are finished, we start awards. We can be finished in 30 minutes or less depending on the numbers.
#3 If the announcer is going too slow, we have a signal to speed him up
We bypass #4 by requiring the ones passing out the awards to be at least 16 years old.
#2 in our district, the only time they make them sit back down is if they are not placing all the girls in the age groups (so only if there are more than 12 in the age group). At our gym, when we aren't placing all, we have the girls in that age group only sit right up front until their age group is over. We always do by age group.
#1 we do not have a curtain, so the marching them out wouldn't work.

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

I don't think there's any parent here who wants to go to an awards ceremony. It's so irritating and a waste of time and money. I have cardboard box with about 20 pounds of medals (8 years of competitions) in my laundry room waiting to be sent to the recyclers.

You don't keep the medals?? I must be too sentimental, I could never get rid of them.

 

[gymmom10]

I don't think there's any parent here who wants to go to an awards ceremony. It's so irritating and a waste of time and money. I have cardboard box with about 20 pounds of medals (8 years of competitions) in my laundry room waiting to be sent to the recyclers.

I don’t agree... I’m not talking about the endless awards ceremonies, but, I think there are lots of parents that enjoy seeing the look of joy and satisfaction on their children’s faces when they’re on top of the podium. Especially if they have struggled after injuries to work back or had a tough competition or simply given up lots of social activities to train as they’ve gone up the levels. As a parent it always gave me a really good feeling to see that joy on my daughter’s face that I didn’t always get to see. But I of course ALWAYS felt they could be shorter!

 

[FlippinPrincess]

I don’t agree... I’m not talking about the endless awards ceremonies, but, I think there are lots of parents that enjoy seeing the look of joy and satisfaction on their children’s faces when they’re on top of the podium. Especially if they have struggled after injuries to work back or had a tough competition or simply given up lots of social activities to train as they’ve gone up the levels. As a parent it always gave me a really good feeling to see that joy on my daughter’s face that I didn’t always get to see. But I of course ALWAYS felt they could be shorter!

I would also add that I love to see one of my daughter's teammates get up on the podium after a long struggle or even for the first time that season. Not that some awards ceremonies aren't painfully long at times, but I find I am always so proud of all the girls and love watching them get their medals (even when my kiddo doesn't make it up there.)

 

[M2Abi]

I don’t agree... I’m not talking about the endless awards ceremonies, but, I think there are lots of parents that enjoy seeing the look of joy and satisfaction on their children’s faces when they’re on top of the podium. Especially if they have struggled after injuries to work back or had a tough competition or simply given up lots of social activities to train as they’ve gone up the levels. As a parent it always gave me a really good feeling to see that joy on my daughter’s face that I didn’t always get to see. But I of course ALWAYS felt they could be shorter!

Yes. My dd has competed for 4 years and in that time has gotten 1st place on beam twice and 1st all-around once. Because it's not a frequent thing, it is very special when it happens.