MAG Are the boys compulsory routines changing for the next season?

[J&A's mom]

I have heard a lot about the girls changing, but didn't hear anything about the boys changing, so I thought that they weren't. But now I hear they may be as well.

So, are the boys changing too? Where do you get info about this? I know the stock answer will be "Trust your coach" which I do, but I would love to know.

Perhaps this is why that one boy in the Age Bumping thread will be doing level 4 next year?

 

[profmom]

They are changing. The new ones will be unveiled in May, I think. But as our boys' program's coach says, for the lower levels, there are only so many tricks they can do and so many ways they can be put together. He doesn't expect anything terribly dramatic in terms of changes to the compulsory L4, L5, and L6 routines.

The girls change for the 2013-14 season. From what I have seen, the most dramatic difference at the compulsory levels is the renumbering the levels. I was really hoping they would come up with some kind of transitional vault for current L7 (to be renumbered as L6) so that the girls aren't doing three years of front handsprings and then going immediately to scary Yurchenkos, but no dice.

It would be really interesting to hear from some of the coaches about what you'd like to see change/stay the same on the boys' side! (Honestly, I don't know how anyone gets through an entire L4 meet judging vault without dying of boredom, but I am obviously missing some of the nuance in this event.)

On the age bumping thing, after watching my little L4 dude work all year to get his mushroom circles, I can't imagine the logic behind competing a kid at L5 without a decent foundation on mushroom. But again, I'm just a very interested observer.

 

[J&A's mom]

Thanks for your answer. So just wait and see....patience isn't my number one virtue. And yeah, the vault judge should get a medal just for differentiating the vaults enough to have scores that vary even a little bit! lol.

From what I understand, they are watching the run, arm motion before hitting the springboard, how it looks in the air, the distance and the landing. Its not just whether they take a step on the landing. hehe.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

They change after every olympic year.

 

[gymcoach26]

I think one of the changes is to the split requirement. I am not a boys coach and really don't know much about MAG, but I've overheard enough complaining and whining from the boys practices lately as their coach has increased their split stretching!

 

[themonkeysmom]

You can view the draft of the boys compulsory routines here...
http://www.tnmensgymnastics.com/2013_Compulsory_1st_Draft_4-15-11.pdf

They don't look dramatically different, but I have some mixed feelings about how they are easing up on the mushroom requirements in levels 4 and 5 and allowing a spot on the kip in level 5.

 

[LilHawkMom]

Thanks for sharing the link to the draft of the changes. I know the official one will be out for purchase on USAG website in June.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Overall, I like these routines. I ESPECIALLY like the proposed changes to level 7 pommel horse and vault.

EDIT: I don't like the level 5 pommel routine, though -- I much preferred this quadrennium's emphasis on stride swings.

EDIT 2: I REALLY REALLY hate the roundoff-rebound 1/2-punch dive roll in the level 7 floor routine.

 

[skschlag]

UGh. I thought we were done with that dive roll!!!

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

It's not the dive roll I mind -- it's the rebound 1/2. And the handspring stepout going into it doesn't seem to accomplish much either.

 

[skschlag]

True. I just hate the dive roll! It is frustrating! Here's hoping that the "draft" has been adjusted some!

 

[gymdog]

EDIT 2: I REALLY REALLY hate the roundoff-rebound 1/2-punch dive roll in the level 7 floor routine.

I assume they want to have a progression for roundoff arabians. But I agree with you mostly because there will be an issue with kids who roundoff one way and twist the other.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I assume they want to have a progression for roundoff arabians. But I agree with you mostly because there will be an issue with kids who roundoff one way and twist the other.

Yeah, I figured that was what the progression was for, but I just don't think it's at all effective as a progression. Doing a rebound (ie no transverse axis rotation) with a half twist means, by definition, that the gymnast must twist right off the floor. Why would we want to use a progression that forces gymnasts to twist right off the floor and NOT flip, when that's EXACTLY the opposite of what we want them to eventually learn?

 

[gymdog]

Yeah, I figured that was what the progression was for, but I just don't think it's at all effective as a progression. Doing a rebound (ie no transverse axis rotation) with a half twist means, by definition, that the gymnast must twist right off the floor. Why would we want to use a progression that forces gymnasts to twist right off the floor and NOT flip, when that's EXACTLY the opposite of what we want them to eventually learn?

Well, at first I thought it was a roundoff, half twist, dive roll (like, roundoff half an arabian). So I instantly flashed to images of half the kids killing themselves. By comparison, half twist punch dive roll seemed pretty good!

Actually they could probably do the first thing. Eventually. But I would predict a long and hilarious learning curve. Even at that level, since twisting would be mostly new, they would have trouble. I kinda guess that originally maybe people threw that out as what they wanted to do, and then other people said "mmm well on hard floor, kids might land on their head, it's a bit much" and it got changed to the extra punch. I see your point although I think rebound 1/2 can be one way to teach the arabian entry. I personally generally do not try to teach twisting this way either until they've learned a full. So I'm not sure how it would play out though, one thing is I generally teach RO BHS twist so maybe this wouldn't be so confusing since it would be roundoff entry.

And I don't think there's anything wrong with right roundoff, left twist, for example, and in that case you probably aren't going to progress in roundoff arabian though. Of course in MAG that's considered more limiting due to greater prevalence of certain tumbling combinations and kaz style vaulting. But I think it's better than doing a bad roundoff or a bad twist, which is more limiting than not being able to do like two things.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Agreed with pretty much all of that.

I wish the men's program in general wouldn't put so much emphasis on arabians -- I know it's one of the five element groups on floor, but in my opinion arabians shouldn't even be introduced until the gymnast has spent a full season competing a solid 1/1.