Parents Coaches not around for awards??

[munchkin3]

Very well said Hopper- I think sadly there are many unhealthy parents out there, but for OP, who is trying to gauge what is normal- I hope this thread made the very valuable point of acceptable coach etiquette for meet.
The healthy, new parent will take all of this information and adjust their perspective. The unhealthy ones will continue to look for medals, place unreasonable expectations on the child and coach..... until the kid quits because they cant live up to the parents expectations.....
Its kind of a natural process actually......gymnastics is so hard already that the families ill equipped to deal, wont bhandle it for the long haul.....

But CB is so helpful!!!!

 

[sewgood]

The bolded is what I'm saying is the issue. Why are coaches at the meet from 7Am to 10PM?...it's because someone other than the parents/kids of the team that is there for just one session is stretching them way too thin. Either the gym shouldn't have one coach coaching 3-4 different levels, or the meet should be spacing the sessions out better. We are essentially accepting less for our children because the businesses we are paying for this service are overworking their employees.

As others have said, I don't think you are fully comprehending the financial implications of this. It would raise tuition, meet fees, entry fees, more time off work for you, your kid missing more school, etc. Personally, I don't want to have to pay for something so silly. Gym is expensive enough!

 

[Gymmommy71]

As others have said, I don't think you are fully comprehending the financial implications of this. It would raise tuition, meet fees, entry fees, more time off work for you, your kid missing more school, etc. Personally, I don't want to have to pay for something so silly. Gym is expensive enough!

I think many on here are acting like awards are as long as a session. If they take any longer than 30-45 minutes after the conclusion of the session, that is a poorly run meet/awards ceremony (host gym should do better). If sessions are packed such that there is no breather/buffer time in between for attendance of awards, breaks, etc., that's a meet that's taken too many registrations (also a parking nightmare). One lone coach for multiple teams/sessions at a meet is also an issue - both for things like this, and for reasons like what if a gymnast gets injured mid-meet...I can see if there is only one or two gymnasts in a session one is enough, but for a larger team like compulsories it's not really ideal. You guys are really comfortable w/ only one overworked/sleep deprived coach at a meet for a team of gymnasts?

 

[skschlag]

I think many on here are acting like awards are as long as a session. If they take any longer than 30-45 minutes after the conclusion of the session, that is a poorly run meet/awards ceremony (host gym should do better). If sessions are packed such that there is no breather/buffer time in between for attendance of awards, breaks, etc., that's a meet that's taken too many registrations (also a parking nightmare). One lone coach for multiple teams/sessions at a meet is also an issue - both for things like this, and for reasons like what if a gymnast gets injured mid-meet...I can see if there is only one or two gymnasts in a session one is enough, but for a larger team like compulsories it's not really ideal. You guys are really comfortable w/ only one overworked/sleep deprived coach at a meet for a team of gymnasts?

LOL. ACtually, yes! Our coach is not overworked/sleep deprived, and he knows my son, but he does coach L5-10. I would be more worried about a coach that does not know my son being there for him on hb as he throws tkachevs or full twisting double backs. His coach knows what he looks like when he is missing!

And yes, there are meets where you have awards in a different room, and the next session is warming up. It is very frequent. In fact, at nationals, the next session was starting warm up as the final competitors were going during prelims. They had it working, but it does happen. Frequently. If a gymnast gets injured, that is why they have parents! Teh coach deals wtih it on the floor, and then I would take over.

Smaller meets will build time in, but the larger ones often are back to back to back! It is tough. But I truly understand if my coach, who already knows how my child has done, knows what place he got, knows what he did well, and what he needs to work on, takes the awards time to talk to his wife, or eat. Sometimes, keeping the wife/husband happy can be the key to keeping a coach in this demanding sport!

 

[twinmomma]

I think many on here are acting like awards are as long as a session. If they take any longer than 30-45 minutes after the conclusion of the session, that is a poorly run meet/awards ceremony (host gym should do better). If sessions are packed such that there is no breather/buffer time in between for attendance of awards, breaks, etc., that's a meet that's taken too many registrations (also a parking nightmare). One lone coach for multiple teams/sessions at a meet is also an issue - both for things like this, and for reasons like what if a gymnast gets injured mid-meet...I can see if there is only one or two gymnasts in a session one is enough, but for a larger team like compulsories it's not really ideal. You guys are really comfortable w/ only one overworked/sleep deprived coach at a meet for a team of gymnasts?

Sounds like you should volunteer to run a meet.

 

[Gymmommy71]

Sounds like you should volunteer to run a meet.

I do run meets - and particularly awards... A big goal of our awards is time - make them short and sweet so people are out of there quickly. If we don't have most of the people out (i.e. Awards are over) in time for when they next set of people are scheduled to arrive our parking lot is full. We do 3 sessions in a day like that. Anything runs long and we are in trouble. If awards are too long someone isn't doing things right. If sessions are too packed, someone is trying to do too much so they can make more $ at the expense of the experience.

 

[BachFlyer]

Sounds like you should volunteer to run a meet.

Exactly. If you've ever run a meet, you know that it is no simple task. It's a careful balancing act Of a whole Lotta factors to make sure that the meet is enticing enough to get enough gyms to come in the first place, well run enough to get them to come back, and lucrative enough to make it worthwhile. At our current gym the coaches are solely in charge of deciding what meets they will attend. At our old gym it was a joint effort between coaches and booster club (i.e. parents). And a ton of factors go into that decision.

One of the biggest things that we always keep in mind while planning our home meet is how many sessions we needed and how to configure them for the most number of athletes. You have to remember that a lot of teams especially at the upper levels are traveling a fair distance to get there, if it's a bigger meet. We can't always afford to pay coaches for a whole other day away. It's not realistic. Nobody is rolling in the big bucks when it comes to gymnastics, not the coaches, not the meet host, not the parents. So is it really worth prioritizing an additional hour per session for the coaches to attend awards? In my experience, no. My kids are in high school, and there's no way our coach would be selecting meets that stretch into a Thursday or a Monday, just so that they can attend awards. It just doesn't logistically make sense. I don't think that this means that the awards are not important to anyone. It's just reality.

 

[duyetanh]

I think many on here are acting like awards are as long as a session. If they take any longer than 30-45 minutes after the conclusion of the session, that is a poorly run meet/awards ceremony (host gym should do better).

Please don't think i am being snarky, but i have NEVER been to an awards ceremony that was under 45 min. Never. And many of these meets were very well run. Dont forget, you are corralled into a room to wait while they put the stickers or writing on the medals (if you are lucky they do not do this, and you must remember a sharpie to write on it for your kid if they place want to know what it was for later on). And even if they do not put info on these medals, you must wait for them to organize them all and dont forget ties, because they happen! So there is a LOT of wait time...its inevitable. Then they do the raffle prizes for session...this happens at 75% of the meets we go to. Then the awards. So many levels. Then the team award. I am sorry but OMG.....
Its really not fun. I would kill for a 30 to 45 min awards session.

 

[z2akids]

I think many on here are acting like awards are as long as a session. If they take any longer than 30-45 minutes after the conclusion of the session, that is a poorly run meet/awards ceremony (host gym should do better). If sessions are packed such that there is no breather/buffer time in between for attendance of awards, breaks, etc., that's a meet that's taken too many registrations (also a parking nightmare). One lone coach for multiple teams/sessions at a meet is also an issue - both for things like this, and for reasons like what if a gymnast gets injured mid-meet...I can see if there is only one or two gymnasts in a session one is enough, but for a larger team like compulsories it's not really ideal. You guys are really comfortable w/ only one overworked/sleep deprived coach at a meet for a team of gymnasts?

Awards don't indicate how your gymnast did. Awards and placements indicate how their competition did.

Awards do not tell the coach how their gymnasts did. They already know. They are there with them day in and day out. She knows that little Suzie had her best meet ever with a 32. She knows that on Monday they will be working endless beam dismoubts because 1/2 the girls fell on the dismount. The coach has already hugged, high-fived and talked to the girls about their perfornance - and will likely do so again in the gym on Monday.

Awards may not last as long as the meet, but can go on forever, especially at compulsory competitions that place 100%. 2 flights, 12 girls per group works out to 96 little Level 3s. 4 events plus all around means 480 medals. 480 little girls getting up and down, saluting, picturs, etc. If you have a better way, then I guarantee that your HC would love to out you in charge of awards at a home meet.

As for having extra coaches so that one can stay for awards, that is something you have to weigh the importance of. costs will increase and coaches will be worked harder, possibly leading to burn out and coach turn over.

Meets (at least where we compete) have to provide a designated medical provider. If a gymnast gets a rip, pulls a muscle or, God forbid, is seriously injured, that specialist is in control, not the coach.

In my experience, volunteering at 9 meets, most gyms send 1 coach for each flight of girls, particularly in the lower levels, certainly it is very rare to have 2 coaches at a regular meet for 3+ girls. I definitely would not want to pay the kids of fees that would go with that.

It is great when coaches can stay for awards, but it is a nice surprise, not an expectation.

 

[munchkin3]

Seems like gymmom71 is fighting another battle.
In a perfect world, there would be plenty of coaches, and meet sessions would have enough time etc...and gym owners would be considerate of the coaches time........all those things you are wishing for.....and that the coaches would be there while you are doing the awards etc.....(your poor voice!)

But in the 11 years I have been going to these, they are long, and the coaches are BUSY....the OP wanted to know if it's customary for coaches to attend.....no it's not. Would it be nice? For ME, yes, so I could chat with him about deductions etc......but IM DREAMING.....and when I do happen to have some chat time with a coach at a meet, I'm asking polite questions....how the hotel is, who is with the kids, etc...(I couldn't fathom being so self centered to ask him questions about my DD after working with her for hours!).. For my DD, NO! She wants to sit with her friends, and eat candy, and misbehave a little.....

 

[Gymmommy71]

Please don't think i am being snarky, but i have NEVER been to an awards ceremony that was under 45 min. Never. And many of these meets were very well run. Dont forget, you are corralled into a room to wait while they put the stickers or writing on the medals (if you are lucky they do not do this, and you must remember a sharpie to write on it for your kid if they place want to know what it was for later on). And even if they do not put info on these medals, you must wait for them to organize them all and dont forget ties, because they happen! So there is a LOT of wait time...its inevitable. Then they do the raffle prizes for session...this happens at 75% of the meets we go to. Then the awards. So many levels. Then the team award. I am sorry but OMG.....
Its really not fun. I would kill for a 30 to 45 min awards session.

Maybe this why we get so many compliments about how well run our awards are. We don't do sharpies or stickers - we have medals already marked w/ placements organized and counted out ahead of time by session... All we wait for is that final list of who placed on what and start it rolling.

However, most meets we attend don't have painfully long awards either, so maybe it's regional.

 

[Randomactsofcheer]

This thread has me wondering if DD's coaches watch awards... I never thought to look for them and never expected them to be there. I recall seeing one of them at awards at the first meet to make sure the team all gathered in one place, but I don't remember seeing them at any of the awards at any other meet last year, except for when one came up to DD and I to say, "Congratulations, DD made it to State" before the beginning of the ceremony at Sectionals. That isn't to say they aren't there watching, I have just never looked for them.

I honestly hate the awards ceremonies. I have only been to one competition where the awards ceremony lasted less than 30 minutes. I have been to competitions where they have lasted over an hour. DD has only received an award twice. As much as I think it is important for DD to support her teammates, I just want to get out of there!!!

DD's coaches record all of the girls scores during meets and then, after the meet or at next practice, recognize the girls that improved their scores. DD prefers that "awards ceremony" much better.

 

[Gymmommy71]

Seems like gymmom71 is fighting another battle.
In a perfect world, there would be plenty of coaches, and meet sessions would have enough time etc...and gym owners would be considerate of the coaches time........all those things you are wishing for.....and that the coaches would be there while you are doing the awards etc.....(your poor voice!)

But in the 11 years I have been going to these, they are long, and the coaches are BUSY....the OP wanted to know if it's customary for coaches to attend.....no it's not. Would it be nice? For ME, yes, so I could chat with him about deductions etc......but IM DREAMING.....and when I do happen to have some chat time with a coach at a meet, I'm asking polite questions....how the hotel is, who is with the kids, etc...(I couldn't fathom being so self centered to ask him questions about my DD after working with her for hours!).. For my DD, NO! She wants to sit with her friends, and eat candy, and misbehave a little.....

It's really not a perfect world - in general this has been our experience in competing gymnastics. I've been at multiple gyms of varying size and COST...only had an issue w/ a gym not having enough coaches once (and weren't there very long cause of that and other issues) - my daughter has competed for going on 7 seasons now - the majority of the time she has at least one coach at her awards and at least two, sometimes more, coaches on the floor w/ her team at meets. This is not only at her current gym and not just her gym doing this...awards audiences seem to always be filled w/ coaches from other gyms in addition to parents. Oh, and she's 14 and I just asked her if kids like awards - and she said yes they do (unless you do really bad then they aren't much fun), but that only makes sense...

 

[NutterButter]

Maybe this why we get so many compliments about how well run our awards are. We don't do sharpies or stickers - we have medals already marked w/ placements organized and counted out ahead of time by session... All we wait for is that final list of who placed on what and start it rolling.

However, most meets we attend don't have painfully long awards either, so maybe it's regional.

I'm impressed you can get all this done in such a short amount of time. May I ask how many kids you average in each session? We've been to small meets with under 10 kids in a session and we've been to big meets with 70 kids in a session. Average though is around 40-50 kids/session (and usually two sessions are running concurrently with an A/B side). You say that a meet with long awards is poorly planned - either with no buffer on time or too many participants. I would imagine the break-even point for meets depends on a specific number of registrations taken and a specific number of sessions in a day. I think it's great your gym can do this. I just don't think it's the reality for most.

 

[Gymmommy71]

I'm impressed you can get all this done in such a short amount of time. May I ask how many kids you average in each session? We've been to small meets with under 10 kids in a session and we've been to big meets with 70 kids in a session. Average though is around 40-50 kids/session (and usually two sessions are running concurrently with an A/B side). You say that a meet with long awards is poorly planned - either with no buffer on time or too many participants. I would imagine the break-even point for meets depends on a specific number of registrations taken and a specific number of sessions in a day. I think it's great your gym can do this. I just don't think it's the reality for most.

Anything beyond 50-60 kids per session seems to get out of control. We usually never go out beyond 8 places...so ~16 in an age group w/ 3 age groups... Sometimes you just need to add a 3rd day or admit the meet is full - oh, and nothing wrong w/ having multiple sessions of level 3's and 4's...

 

[NutterButter]

Anything beyond 50-60 kids per session seems to get out of control. We usually never go out beyond 8 places...so ~16 in an age group w/ 3 age groups... Sometimes you just need to add a 3rd day or admit the meet is full - oh, and nothing wrong w/ having multiple sessions of level 3's and 4's...

Yes to all that you wrote! And very similar to my area. 2/3rd's of the meets in my area are already 3 days. And there are multiple sessions of all levels. Many of the meets here are in large facilities - college gyms, convention centers, big community centers. I'm sure they are expensive and the only way to make a profit is to maximize the number of sessions and registrations. Awards for these meets don't seem to take more than 30-45 minutes ever but if your kid is in the rotation that finishes first the wait can be over an hour. Compulsory meets tend to be smaller and are most frequently hosted in a high school gymnasium. With multiple sessions per level but they are only a 2 day meet.

 

[VanessaJV]

Anything beyond 50-60 kids per session seems to get out of control. We usually never go out beyond 8 places...so ~16 in an age group w/ 3 age groups... Sometimes you just need to add a 3rd day or admit the meet is full - oh, and nothing wrong w/ having multiple sessions of level 3's and 4's...

However, if you have multiple sessions of level 3, you run into the exact problem people seem to have an issue with. There could be one coach for level 3. This level could only have 8 girls... so a small gym. The ages of these girls could be all over the map. There is absolutely no reason to have two coaches for an 8 person team tho. So now this coach is needing to be at every session since there are multiple level 3 sessions and her team has kids of differing ages. Now all the parents are angry because coach is missing Suzy get her medal. Even at the at the last session after coach has been standing on concrete for 12 hours, may have possibly peed once, and hopefully ate a handful of some sort of substance, they should go watch Sally at awards? Seems a bit ridiculous. Even with a perfectly organized meet with a proper number of coaches for the team... often times the award thing just doesnt make sense.

 

[M2Abi]

Most of our meets have about 60 gymnasts per session and awards are 30 minutes or less. Maybe I'm lucky and in our area all the meets are run well.

 

[z2akids]

The meet our gym runs has 2 gyms running over 2 days with 4 sessions per gym per day. It is actually a fairly small meet compared to many we attend with 3 days and as many as 5 gyms running simultaneously Multiple sessions of L3 and L4 with somewhere between 80 and 96 kids per session. Usually 6-8 age groups. Level 3 generally placed 100% o all events and AA. At 4 and up they usually place 50%+1 and either the same of 100% AA. Higher levels have fewer gymnasts and the awards usually run more quickly because the girls have generally been doing this for several years. But, to make money on meets, you have to have enough kids to make all of the fixed costs (facility rental, judges, equipment, etc) worthwhile.

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

I have been running the awards for the last 2 years for all of the meets that our gym hosts and our awards generally run 30-45 minutes, however the awards for Xcel take MUCH longer (since there are so many ties for Xcel and seem to be many more age groups). Luckily we only have Xcel participating in one of the 3 meets that we host. We don't do stickers or write placement or anything on the medals and all of the medals are the same, so we don't have to worry about sorting them out or anything (except for state where the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers get gold, silver, and bronze medals). The first awards ceremony that I did I attempted to pronounce both the first and last name of each gymnast and the full gym name and their score, boy did I learn my lesson after that one! Now I only pronounce first name and last initial, shortened name of the gym and I only announce the scores of the top 3 finishers. It has made the awards go much faster. And I always have tons of gymnasts from our gym that are always begging to help out at awards so having lots of girls to help hand out medals makes it go quicker also.