Parents Awards

[Pineapple_Lump]

So the well over 100 is a bit of an embellishment as far as individual competitions go, I saw the largest award group at QLD states was 77 another with 71 and the majority of the age groups had between 20-45 gymnasts, which to be fair is still pretty big, didn't seem like the invitational comp divisions were as big as states, so winning states is much more prestigious and meaningful which I like. We have awards over multiple session as well but only for state championship competitions, parents would get pretty annoyed if they had to hang around for awards at every competition.

 

[needcoffee]

I just looked up QLD scores too. Probably just me, but I think it's kinda sad that a kid getting all 9's and 36/37 AA's is coming in something like 37th place (for example). 77 in an award group is still huge. I imagine a lot of those kids would just feel very defeated.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

Aussie coach would need to pipe in, but it looks like they have other stuff going on, individual states is only one competition. The invitational results (that I looked at) had significantly smaller award groups - so that 37th place kid probably got awards during the year. Seems like team competitions are a bigger deal and done properly, so potentially you can get awards even if you have a bad day. It also looks like they have a regional team comp, so even if you came 37th with those scores you can still be proud because you probably made the regional team, which seems like a good experience for the kids to get a chance at a two day competition for the higher levels.

 

[needcoffee]

Ahh ok that makes more sense, I was imagining a system like ours, same kids competing against each other all year, every comp.

 

[Aussie_coach]

So the well over 100 is a bit of an embellishment as far as individual competitions go, I saw the largest award group at QLD states was 77 another with 71 and the majority of the age groups had between 20-45 gymnasts, which to be fair is still pretty big, didn't seem like the invitational comp divisions were as big as states, so winning states is much more prestigious and meaningful which I like. We have awards over multiple session as well but only for state championship competitions, parents would get pretty annoyed if they had to hang around for awards at every competition.

Only in the last few years have we had our divisions broken up further in States to seperate age groups. Up until a few years ago the big divisions like level 4 and level 5 had only two age groups. Level four had under 10 and open only and level 5 had under 11 and open. So you can imagine what we were dealing with.

Our State Clubs comp usually has multiple sessions of gymnasts too, this doubles as both a team and an individual comp. These are the main ones of that size, but we have had invitational comps with over 100 competitions in a level, especially level 4. Again this is less common now as they are breaking down the levels more with different age groups. But this is only very recent.

 

[Aussie_coach]

I just looked up QLD scores too. Probably just me, but I think it's kinda sad that a kid getting all 9's and 36/37 AA's is coming in something like 37th place (for example). 77 in an award group is still huge. I imagine a lot of those kids would just feel very defeated.

This is what happens.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Aussie coach would need to pipe in, but it looks like they have other stuff going on, individual states is only one competition. The invitational results (that I looked at) had significantly smaller award groups - so that 37th place kid probably got awards during the year. Seems like team competitions are a bigger deal and done properly, so potentially you can get awards even if you have a bad day. It also looks like they have a regional team comp, so even if you came 37th with those scores you can still be proud because you probably made the regional team, which seems like a good experience for the kids to get a chance at a two day competition for the higher levels.

Actually many gymnasts will compete all season and not win a single award or ribbons the entire season. These gymnasts are the middle of the pack ones too, decent ability, scoring quite well.

 

[Aussiemum75]

So the well over 100 is a bit of an embellishment as far as individual competitions go, I saw the largest award group at QLD states was 77 another with 71 and the majority of the age groups had between 20-45 gymnasts, which to be fair is still pretty big, didn't seem like the invitational comp divisions were as big as states, so winning states is much more prestigious and meaningful which I like. We have awards over multiple session as well but only for state championship competitions, parents would get pretty annoyed if they had to hang around for awards at every competition.

Yeah junior States is also more prestigious because you need to get a qualifying score at a sanctioned event to be able to compete lv4 and 5 is AA34 or above and lv 6 is AA33.5

 

[profmom]

So the team took second place and I thought it was interesting that each girl did not receive a ribbon or something, that would have made it easier for those two girls I'm sure. But as MeetDirector posted....it comes down to money.

For team scores, the score is calculated by taking a set number of top scores on each event from the team (for large compulsory teams at US meets, the number is usually five). It's entirely possible for a large team to place well even though some individuals do not get medals or ribbons.

 

[needcoffee]

I think she means it would have been nice for them to give out ribbons for the team places to each individual, so the two girls who didn't receive an individual award got something.

 

[profmom]

I think she means it would have been nice for them to give out ribbons for the team places to each individual, so the two girls who didn't receive an individual award got something.

Has anyone ever seen that happen in gymnastics? I've only ever seen a single trophy or banner for team placements -- with the sole exception of the boys' compulsory state team meet at regionals at which each boy on a winning team got a little plaque for the team placement.

I can see why it's not generally done in gym. You'd never know how many ribbons to order because teams are different sizes.

 

[MomIdidit!]

Thank you for the clarification Profmom and gymnastruby....the team did earn a banner which was nice and the coaches had the girls sign the banner. I was just surprised not all the team members received something. It was just eyeopening.

 

[needcoffee]

At states we got medals for 1-3 team places, and ribbons for 4-6. But there are no team places at other comps, its all individual.

 

[Ausi_poppet]

Wow that's crazy! What do you do if you don't live near the venue?! Never going to complain about my state again...

Yes, you either stay overnight or drive back again. State Clubs is in Caloundra, and level 4 and 5/6 is over 2 days, so the team has to come back for presentations at the end of the 2 days. We all just accept it as part of doing gym, and for those families in north Queensland, they have to fly down to all their major meets.

Aussie coach would need to pipe in, but it looks like they have other stuff going on, individual states is only one competition. The invitational results (that I looked at) had significantly smaller award groups - so that 37th place kid probably got awards during the year. Seems like team competitions are a bigger deal and done properly, so potentially you can get awards even if you have a bad day. It also looks like they have a regional team comp, so even if you came 37th with those scores you can still be proud because you probably made the regional team, which seems like a good experience for the kids to get a chance at a two day competition for the higher levels.

The only awards at State Clubs are for the highest scoring teams. You can have the best score of the day and leave with nothing if your team doesn't place. Qualification to regional teams is dependent on where you live in the state and only applies to Level 4-6. Girls who place at states may not make their regional team because it is the top six girls across all the age groups in that level. That can mean you are competing against 30-100 girls in your region for places on these teams.

We have girls on our development squad in Level 4 who did not medal last year at any of the formal events, only at invitationals on the odd apparatus. At invitations in Brisbane you will still see a very competitive field, so that 37th place at states kid will probably still be going home empty-handed. Everyone knows that it's the big comps that count, so it's been interesting to watch them cope with the disappointment of missing out. Not being able to compete bonuses under the new system has made a big difference to results!

 

[Aussie_coach]

But the thing is, despite the fact that in a lot of our comps most kids walk away empty handed, they certainly don't seem disappointed.

Because the comps are so large and there are so few awards most kids aren't actually going into the comp expecting to get a medal or a trophy or even a ribbons. They are there to compete to the best of their ability and try to top their own personal best scores.

 

[JessSyd]

In NSW, levels 3, 4 and the early IL levels give the girls a good start at competing against their own goals rather than against their peers. Every girl gets a ribbon for each event but the colour of the ribbon represents the band they scored within. So a girl mainly getting greens (which everyone knows is the colour for 'better luck next time') could aspire to reds or blues as the season progresses.

I like it. Most girls are never going to top three in an individual event so a few years of getting colourful but non tokenistic ribbons while they are young is nice. And when they progress to a level that only rewards the top three girls, they should be old enough to deal.

Some parents and girls, usually older girls, don't like it. They want a return to the days of recognising who was best. Especially as scores are shown at competitions so everyone knows anyway.

There is a rumour that from next year for level four, AA places will be awarded to the top kids with banded ribbons going to everyone else but I don't know how much substance there is to it.

 

[Ausi_poppet]

Personally, I think the kids who are only competing for medals and trophies or their parents who push for that are probably going to burn out in this sport. It's a bit like swimming, where at the end of the day only a few kids will be recognised on the podium. At some point they have to learn to set their own goals. When my daughter was first on team, her coach had a little notebook he carried at each meet. If the girls did what was expected on the apparatus perfectly they got a five point star. It went down to a four point square and then a three point triangle. For most of her couple of years with her, it didn't matter whether she came first or didn't pick up a trophy, she just wanted to get four stars in his little notebook. The kids didn't even want to know what their scores were, it was all about the notebook.

I think it's been good, because my daughter now tends to set goals about how she goes or making a team, rather than getting a particular score or placing. It's often when she's working towards the goal of nailing her routines that she does her best anyway. Last year she had to compete with 100 other girls to make a team of 8 for nationals, and the competition was over 2 days. She was in 10th spot after a tough first day, and had a rest day in between. She came out on the second day with the 2nd highest score of the day, and was the 6th person onto the team. This sport is not a kid's sport. The mental toughness demanded of such young children is punishing.

I like that everyone can get something for trying and improving, but once you get to Level 4, I think they have to learn to compete for something other than prizes. Don't get me wrong, the days that they win prizes are pretty special, but they have to have a reason to go back to the gym on Monday other than because they got a medal on the weekend. Otherwise the off season can seem a very long time and every injury can be that much harder to come back from.

 

[ascarter1]

Personally, I think the kids who are only competing for medals and trophies or their parents who push for that are probably going to burn out in this sport. It's a bit like swimming, where at the end of the day only a few kids will be recognised on the podium. At some point they have to learn to set their own goals. When my daughter was first on team, her coach had a little notebook he carried at each meet. If the girls did what was expected on the apparatus perfectly they got a five point star. It went down to a four point square and then a three point triangle. For most of her couple of years with her, it didn't matter whether she came first or didn't pick up a trophy, she just wanted to get four stars in his little notebook. The kids didn't even want to know what their scores were, it was all about the notebook.

I think it's been good, because my daughter now tends to set goals about how she goes or making a team, rather than getting a particular score or placing. It's often when she's working towards the goal of nailing her routines that she does her best anyway. Last year she had to compete with 100 other girls to make a team of 8 for nationals, and the competition was over 2 days. She was in 10th spot after a tough first day, and had a rest day in between. She came out on the second day with the 2nd highest score of the day, and was the 6th person onto the team. This sport is not a kid's sport. The mental toughness demanded of such young children is punishing.

I like that everyone can get something for trying and improving, but once you get to Level 4, I think they have to learn to compete for something other than prizes. Don't get me wrong, the days that they win prizes are pretty special, but they have to have a reason to go back to the gym on Monday other than because they got a medal on the weekend. Otherwise the off season can seem a very long time and every injury can be that much harder to come back from.

I don't think most girls (at least at the optional level) are in it just for a medal or trophy, but I think it's nice to get recognized for their hard work and dedication from time to time.

When dd was in compulsories, she placed 1st aa at every meet one season. The next season she placed only in the top half. It was a hard pill to swallow but a great lesson to learn. Fast forward 2 years and she is lv 7, more mature, a great goal setter and can see the big picture better.
Personal opinion, every like to get an "ata boy" from time to time!

 

[Aussie_coach]

I don't think that any kids are in it for the medals and trophies. But that does not mean it doesn't get hard to sit there meet after meet and receive nothing while other teammates have 4 or 5 medals around their necks.