MAG Age groups for states/ regionals

[skschlag]

So, does your state use the USAG age ranges for states and regionals, or do they break it down further? I know we talked about age groups earlier this season but in context of regular meets. I was talking wiht another member about the age ranges in her state/ region and ours and how different they are. What does your state/region do and do you like it??

 

[sjm2b3]

We will find out tomorrow! I think last year it was age 7-9. That was the only meet it was that--it was typically 7-8 or even sometimes just 7 year olds (for level 5).

 

[skschlag]

At all levels, our state and region follows the USAG age ranges. So for levels 5-6 it is 7-8, 9-10, 11+. Most of the time, I never thought of this as an issue, but this year we noticed HUGE differences in numbers in those age groups. LEvel 6 age 7-8 would have 7, 9-10 would have 35, and 11+ would have 22.

I do give some thought to the fact that competing in and doing well in a competitive age group is good for the gymnast in the long run, but I wonder if more boys would stay in if they had a more fair chance at doing well on the podium. On the flip side, I realize that being on the podium isn't what it is about and that skill development is more important so we should encourage that more. I have even talked to some judges at higher levels who have said that success at the lower levels does not predict success at the higher levels, or even if the boys will stay in the sport.

Thoughts?

 

[Rwhitt]

Our state meet( Missouri) was broken down like 7a 7b 7c 7d, 8a 8b 8c 8d for most, age 11 may have only had 2 or 3 sections. But this was level 4.

 

[skschlag]

Was that for boys or girls? I know girls breaks theirs down a lot further than the boys usually do.

 

[Rwhitt]

Oh yeah your right, I was speaking about girls.

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[skschlag]

You know, girls really do a nice job of breaking down teh age ranges all season long.

 

[Peasmama]

Same here. More populous states probably have to have more age divisions. Also, California has Northern and Southern Ca state champs.

 

[skschlag]

Peasmama- Is that for girls or boys?

 

[MyBoysFlip]

I can only speak for L5 but we had 7, 8, 9, & 10 yo awards at our state meet yesterday. They went out 10 places except for 9 yo where they went out 15. The 11+ competed the day before. That was only the first meet this year where 7/8 were not combined.

 

[profmom]

In my state for L5 and up, they did USAG. Made for some pretty uneven groupings! There were something like 26 young L5s (ages 7-8) but more than 50 in the 9-10 year old age group. I think the older age group was about the same as the young group. It was even more uneven at L6, where the youngest age group (7-8) only had a handful of gymnasts. They did placements as a percentage, though I think they gave out more places for AA than for individual events.

Skschlag, I think your question is quite interesting. With strength and size being such an important factor for the boys, particularly as they are getting into ages where puberty's a factor, the age groupings probably do make a difference. I suspect that a lot of boys in our area tend to drop out when the hours start to climb precipitously, which happens right as they are transitioning to optionals. Actually I am a little concerned about the new system -- I understand the reasons for slowing things down and making boys wait to get to optionals, but at least on the girls' side, getting to optionals is a real goal because it's much more fun to do your own routines.

We aren't anywhere near there yet, but my understanding is that at our gym, the optional boys do a lot more strength and conditioning work. While there are ways to make that more fun, I would guess it's just not as inherently fun as doing crazy flippy things on high bar, floor, or parallel bars. But I would agree with you that the best compulsory gymnast isn't necessarily the best optional gymnast.

 

[gymboymom]

We moved states (and regions) mid season, so I find this really interesting. For L4 last year definitely followed usag age groups unless there were a lo of boys in a group, then split it down into 1 year grouping. But always by the years, and the sept 1 bday cutoffs. All meets, including state.
New state. Totally different. L4 again. Some meets split evenly, some not. Most did not announce bday ranges, they were all over the place too. Called them jr a, jr b, etc. Even at states they did this. Much smaller age groups at states this way than at our last state. Ds could have been the oldest in his group, or youngest, I have no idea. I do not think it was much different for L5, but I am not sure how they figured out who made it to regionals this way.

 

[skschlag]

I guess I didn't see the new system as slowing boys down. They can go to nationals now as an 11 yo. That wasn't the norm before at least here. Most kids were 12-13 before they were a level 9. I think the addition of a real level 8 actually gets them to optionals a little sooner for most here. Not sure I would want any one too much younger competing optionals, with the skills and strength of the older boys.

It is interesting to see how the other states/regions do the age breakdowns for the compulsary levels.

 

[2G1B]

I think that we had 6, 7-8 jr A, 7-8 jr B, 7-8 sr A, 7-8 sr B, 9, 10 and 11+ for our level 4s.

It seemed to come out to about 15 - 20 boys per age group.

It was a little bigger than a few meets and much smaller than a few meets (I think that at one meet DS was in an age group with about 40 boys).

 

[skschlag]

It was a little bigger than a few meets and much smaller than a few meets (I think that at one meet DS was in an age group with about 40 boys).

I think 35-40 is more the norm for D's age group.