MAG age requirement question

[J&A's mom]

Last night I noticed that two of the boys from other gyms in the area also competed level four last year. Of course, kids can repeat levels, but last year these boys competed as six year olds, and this year they are also competing as six year olds.

So, here is my question. Do you have to be six on the day of the meet to compete? Or do you have to be six by Sept 1 to compete?

 

[Azgymmiemom]

Out here, the boys compete the age they are on Sept 1st (or maybe its Nov 1st? I'm not sure-I'm not our boys' registrar) when everything is being registered, before the season starts. So- this season (Jan -April) my son is competing as a 10 yr old, because his 11th birthday was in Dec. Last year he competed as a 9 year old. Hmmm...a year is a year, though, so why would they be 6 two years in a row...?

 

[J&A's mom]

Out here, the boys compete the age they are on Sept 1st (or maybe its Nov 1st? I'm not sure-I'm not our boys' registrar) when everything is being registered, before the season starts. So- this season (Jan -April) my son is competing as a 10 yr old, because his 11th birthday was in Dec. Last year he competed as a 9 year old. Hmmm...a year is a year, though, so why would they be 6 two years in a row...?

That is exactly my thought! lol.

Here is what I think may have happened.... perhaps, they turned seven between Sept 1 and the day of the first meet. They are competing as six year olds, because they were six on Sept 1. Last year, they were able to compete in the meets because they were really six on the days of the meets, but they weren't six by Sept 1.

I just didn't think that was possible. I thought if you weren't six by Sept 1, you couldn't compete that year at all.

 

[emorymom]

I think I read that the rules were that you had to be 6 on the meet day. Also you can compete the age you are on Sept 1 or ONE YEAR UP.

 

[Aussie_coach]

It's possible that they were not actually 6 for the first comp. They are supposed to be 6 to compete so the gym may have lied about their age so they could start competing early.

 

[Coachandmom]

Some of the meets we have participated in divide the kids by the age they will be at State. So in January, a 7 year old was in 8-10, as they would turn 8 in March, State Meet was in April. Make sense?

 

[skschlag]

Ours does it like school cut-offs. Whatever age you are on September 1st is the age you compete for that JO season. (It is different for future stars). D is always at the younger end with a June B-day.

 

[themonkeysmom]

We had the same thing happen here last year. I was looking up a teammate's score at states the previous year and recognized a few names. We had at least 3 boys in our state that were competing as 6 year old level 4's for a second year. I thought it seemed a bit shady.

 

[BlairBob]

A couple of years ago, one of my L4s had actually competed the year before as a 6yo since he turned 6 in January (and we competed in winter/spring). The next year he still competed as a 6yo though he turned 7 in January because he was only 6 in the prior September.

Boys can manage this as they compete in Norcal in Winter/Spring. Compulsory girls can't really get past it because they take the age in September.