Women Calling Old Timers -- Class System

[reluctant]

How would the old class system 4,3,2,1 compare to JO levels today?

 

[amiandjim]

I was a class 3. Here is what I remember:

Vault: front handspring over old horse
Bars: inverted kip, basket swing in pike position, sole circle on low bar, kip on high bar, front hip circle, straddle on/half turn dismount off from high bar
Beam: back walkover, some kind of weird cartwheel to split handstand, full turn, barani dismount
Floor: round off 2 bhs, backwalkover, back extension roll, handspring step out to one arm cartwheel

So I would say a hybrid of levels 4-5. Bars was REALLY different and hard

 

[Jard.the.gymnast]

Bars was REALLY different and hard

I think the hard part hasn't disappeared, looking at a recent thread of level 5 bars scores...

So I'm not from the US, can someone explain the class system in a short and powerful (or long and less powerful) way? I love learning more about different systems, even if they are old systems.

 

[amiandjim]

Classes were V, IV, III, II, and I..then elite. I think V and IV were strictly compulsory and then III and above you could do both but not 100% sure. I was never good enough at the compulsory routines to do optionals anyway...lol. I’m not sure if I ever scored over a 7 on that damn Class III bar routine!

The other thing I remember is at least in our area, girls very, very rarely scored a 9 or above. I remember placing 4th on beam with a 7.75 once and at state one year, a girl on our team (which won state that year btw) scored a 9 on beam and the entire gym erupted!

 

[mom2557]

There were only 3 classes when I did gymnastics (I am really dating myself). Class III, II, I and Elite. I recall that III was like Levels 3/4/5, II like Levels 7/8 and Class I was like Levels 9/10. I have an old ribbon from Class II 9-11 age group First Place AA with a 28.70 from 1979. I remember getting a 9.0 was very rare and don't remember ever even getting one myself. I never went higher than Class II and quit around 12. I do know that even though I won the Class II State Championships for my age group I was not qualified to move to Class I. I remember on beam I did a headspring mount from a spring board, side ariel, connected 2 gainer back handsprings and don't remember dismount or leap pass. Floor my hardest tumbling pass was a full. I recall doing a lot of whips as well. Vault was on the horse and we did half-on half-off. I don't remember bars well at all. Lots of beating the body against the bars. I also don't think we conditioned like the girls do today. I was weak on bars and vault and that was just the way it was. Maybe other gyms did more conditioning.

 

[amiandjim]

Yes, we did condition, but not at all like girls do today...I didn’t have good core strength and that’s why I wasn’t good at bars. I also remember the belly beat on the low bar, but then they changed our routine.

 

[Ms.Pak-Man]

I competed Class IV and III. Then was a Level 6 under the JO program when it changed over, maybe did a couple meets of 5, can’t remember. I think beam and bars were quite difficult; beam still would be, bars has changed quite a bit. I remember flyaways were not nearly as hard for girls to get, probably b/c we had bars on the playground and were doing penny drops by the millions.

 

[Ms.Pak-Man]

For nostalgia’s sake, Class III Compulsory.

 

[amiandjim]

1988 they took out the belly beat and put in that sole circle...I never did learn that!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

How would the old class system 4,3,2,1 compare to JO levels today?

it was originally ONLY 3 c/o, 2 c/o and 1 c/0 and of course Elite. there were several iterations put in and taken out up until the new system in 1988. overall? the old system was better simply because the kids could spend more time learning how to be a gymnast before they actually competed.
what you see now are babies competing at L 1&2. ask away if there is anything you'd like to know...before i'm dead..."old timers".

 

[amiandjim]

it was 3 c/o, 2 c/o and 1 c/0 and of course Elite. there were several iterations put in and taken out up until the new system in 1988. overall? the old system was better simply because the kids could spend more time learning how to be a gymnast before they actually competed.
what you see now are babies competing at L 1&2.

Yes, if I recall, we weren’t allowed to compete until age 9?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Yes, if I recall, we weren’t allowed to compete until age 9?

correct. the age groups were 9-11 (childrens div), 12-14 (junior div) and 15-18 (senior div) and you could not compete after you turned 19.

 

[wandrewsjr]

For nostalgia’s sake, Class III Compulsory.

Your bars were excellent! Thanks for sharing.

 

[GymFan96]

Wow the routines flowed so much better and skills were actually connected. I often wonder if having the babies devote so much time to memorizing and competing such easy boring routines actually holds them back in the long run, but gyms have to make money…

 

[Deleted member 14190]

I was a class one (men's) so that would make me a level 9 now. Because gymnastics is ever advancing.

 

[Mish]

Love seeing those old routines, thank you. That is the gymnastics I love and remember. More focus on the artistry and lovely to watch, even at that lower level.

 

[2gymmies]

I remember those routines! Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

 

[rbearclaw]

In class III compulsories, I remember tumbling round off BH BH, but my optional floor had punch front to full, round off whip to layout, and ended with a full. Quite a difference between compulsory skills and optionals!

 

[rbearclaw]

For nostalgia’s sake, Class III Compulsory.

I have googled your videos in the past and watched them several times....there aren't many on the internet, and it brought back so many memories to see them! Thanks for sharing here, too.

 

[duyetanh]

Well I got dropped from the first gym class I ever took after a mere one time because the instructor said it just wasn't my thing and that she literally feared for my safety because I was such a klutz out there (my mom and I both agreed btw), so I was a class negative 5 million....she probably also feared for her own, as I do vaguely remember taking out a different coach when I attempted to huck a cartwheel and ended up ricocheting out of control....but my sis made it to class 3. She says it's crazy what they are doing thesedays in terms of the levels.