Parents determining age

[gymgal]

Another vote here too.
I once had 2 gymnasts in my training group. 1 born on 1st jan 1997, the other 31st December 1997. They had to compete against each other all year. On 2nd jan 2005 There was a very big difference between the gymnast who just turned 8 and the one who had just turned 7!

if they had been training the same level, there really shouldn't have been that big of a difference. I get it when you have groups of 5-8yr olds or 6-9 year olds. Then there is a huge difference in maturity, form, etc. But one yr should not matter much in the grand scheme unless the older child has had more training (repeating a level).

It is what it is. Happens all the time in the upper levels where it definitely makes a difference not only because of age (could be grouping 3+ years together) but also number of years of training.

In other sports where weight and height play a role in terms of strength for the game - baseball, football, then being younger and small certainly could make a difference. I just don't see it in gymnastics.

 

[marie83]

if they had been training the same level, there really shouldn't have been that big of a difference. I get it when you have groups of 5-8yr olds or 6-9 year olds. Then there is a huge difference in maturity, form, etc. But one yr should not matter much in the grand scheme unless the older child has had more training (repeating a level).

It is what it is. Happens all the time in the upper levels where it definitely makes a difference not only because of age (could be grouping 3+ years together) but also number of years of training.

In other sports where weight and height play a role in terms of strength for the game - baseball, football, then being younger and small certainly could make a difference. I just don't see it in gymnastics.

Maybe you don't see it yourself but I know there was a big difference as I coached them!

Maybe it was just that those two particular gymnasts were so physically different too also one was the oldest child in her family, the other was the youngest. There are lots of factors.

Anyway this is off topic ...

 

[tooootsie]

I will be interested to see when my girls start competing how they break out the ages. My oldest will be turning 8 and youngest turning 6, both on the same JO 3 team. I hope for most meets they will not compete against eachother... but we shall see.

 

[Seeker]

I will be interested to see when my girls start competing how they break out the ages. My oldest will be turning 8 and youngest turning 6, both on the same JO 3 team. I hope for most meets they will not compete against eachother... but we shall see.

They shouldn't based on my experience at most meets, but it will really depend on the size of the meets you attend.

 

[onebusymama]

My DD competed in her first lvl 3 meet JO recently. All the girls ranged in ages 6 to 10 and they all competed against one another. It didn't matter what the age was. I didn't think it was fair b/c my DD is 7. My thought was if this is how they do this then what's the point of moving up? I know a few of those girls competed lvl 3 last yr. Of course they were going to do better than the girls who have only been practicing the routines since spring/ summer. I hope it's not like this at every meet bc it was very discouraging

 

[MeetDirector]

Folks -

Planning a meet is all about the numbers. The number in a level, number in a session, number in the meet. For age divisions, it really comes down to how many awards does a meet want to give out. This gives the number of girls in an age division. This will vary from meet to meet.

As someone earlier in this thread said, go to a meet when the season starts and see how it works before you do it "for real". And lastly, if you really want to know about planning a meet, the USAG Rules and Policies are available for anyone to download and then you could always get involved in running a meet. You will see a whole other side to these things.

 

[onebusymama]

Folks -

Planning a meet is all about the numbers. The number in a level, number in a session, number in the meet. For age divisions, it really comes down to how many awards does a meet want to give out. This gives the number of girls in an age division. This will vary from meet to meet.

As someone earlier in this thread said, go to a meet when the season starts and see how it works before you do it "for real". And lastly, if you really want to know about planning a meet, the USAG Rules and Policies are available for anyone to download and then you could always get involved in running a meet. You will see a whole other side to these things.

Thanks. We never went to a meet before and I was told the awards were done by lvl & age. So there was some confusion there. But if they score the girls by lvl only not by lvl and age, what's the drive to get to the next lvl?

 

[Seeker]

Thanks. We never went to a meet before and I was told the awards were done by lvl & age. So there was some confusion there. But if they score the girls by lvl only not by lvl and age, what's the drive to get to the next lvl?

Sense of satisfaction and achievement?
Continued growth?
Avoiding boredom?
Fun?

Placement awards are given based on the scores received, but the girls are judged on the criteria for the level they are competing. All gymnasts are judged against these same criteria, regardless of age. It is a bummer being on the younger end of a wide age-group, but not all meets will be that way.

 

[MeetDirector]

Yes, they are divided by age divisions within a level. For example, if there are 20 level 5 athletes in a session and these 20 are divided into 2 age divisions (10 girls in each division), only the 10 in each division are actually competing against each other. This goes on in each level.

The drive to get to the next level? To not have to use/listen to that obnoxious compulsory music? Kidding. The motivation is to move onward and upward and do harder skills and keep challenging themselves.

 

[GYM0M]

My DD competed in her first lvl 3 meet JO recently. All the girls ranged in ages 6 to 10 and they all competed against one another. It didn't matter what the age was. I didn't think it was fair b/c my DD is 7. My thought was if this is how they do this then what's the point of moving up? I know a few of those girls competed lvl 3 last yr. Of course they were going to do better than the girls who have only been practicing the routines since spring/ summer. I hope it's not like this at every meet bc it was very discouraging

Earlier meets have a tendency to be much smaller as most teams are not competition ready. That's most likely the reason that all the girls competed against one another. Also keep in mind that as the season progresses & meets get larger, so will the depth of hot shots in each age division.

 

[Natasha]

My DD competed in her first lvl 3 meet JO recently. All the girls ranged in ages 6 to 10 and they all competed against one another. It didn't matter what the age was. I didn't think it was fair b/c my DD is 7. My thought was if this is how they do this then what's the point of moving up? I know a few of those girls competed lvl 3 last yr. Of course they were going to do better than the girls who have only been practicing the routines since spring/ summer. I hope it's not like this at every meet bc it was very discouraging

The larger the meet, the smaller the age span. Also, each state may have its own rules re size of age groups. Our state requires the age groups to be no more than 15 for awards, and no more than a 3 year age span. When you get to states, it is common to see compulsory levels with a less than 6 month span in the age group.

 

[wallflower]

Most importantly, it doesn't matter! Each girl goes and tries to do their best with where they are. Sometimes they place, sometimes they don't. It's really about their performance. I know DD has always been one the youngest at her meets, if not the youngest. Try being 8 and your teammate is 13. I think that is the biggest range she has dealt with. It is what it is. Don't drive yourself nuts trying to figure it out because it changes from meet to meet. Just tell your gymnast to train hard and have fun. That's all you can control.

 

[BachFlyer]

I think the OP was asking, how would you refer to your dd's age /level in regular conversation, or possibly on a gym "resume" so to speak. I have the same question because my dd has a mid season birthday. For example, if someone asked "how old was your dd when she competed level 8", the full answer is that she was 10 at the beginning of the season and 11 at the end, but I usually say what SurpriseGymMom said: "the year she turned 11".

 

[gymbeam]

I think the OP was asking, how would you refer to your dd's age /level in regular conversation, or possibly on a gym "resume" so to speak. I have the same question because my dd has a mid season birthday. For example, if someone asked "how old was your dd when she competed level 8", the full answer is that she was 10 at the beginning of the season and 11 at the end, but I usually say what SurpriseGymMom said: "the year she turned 11".

yes, this is actually what i did mean in my OP. (although, all of the other information has been interesting, too!)

since my daughter's birthday falls just days before the state meet, i do refer to the age she was all year long leading up to the state meet versus her technical competition age and i was just curious if others did that as well. probably a silly question to have asked, but thanks for the replies!

 

[GymCMLA]

IME invitationals often use the age at the end of that meet weekend b/c there are girls there from many states and each state can have a different date that states are over. (So Chicago Style, CGA coaches spectacular etc use the age at the close of that meet weekend as there are dozens of states and even other countries represented)

But I agree OP was asking how do you "represent" you kids age and level in conversation. I usually use her current age. But i am sure people spin it for how they want it to sound. July 1 I had a level 6/7 10 year old, July 18th, she was an 11 yo Level 6/7. Or I can add, she's a 6/7 who just turned 11. Or before a 6/7 who is almost 11. All depends on how people need it to sound/what point they are making, I guess.

 

[tooootsie]

I say my 5 and 7 year olds are level 3, and when they turn 6 and 8 I will say otherwise

 

[cbifoja]

~shakes head in confusion~

this thread makes me glad that my daughter is one age all season long.

 

[gymbeam]

I say my 5 and 7 year olds are level 3, and when they turn 6 and 8 I will say otherwise

lol. yes, in the present tense its easy!

but last year was my daughter's first year of gymnastics…she was 8 when she first walked into a gym and allllll season but turned 9 right before states.

so, when i reflect, will i say she was 8 her first year or 9? i guess i really am curious if people refer to actual ages in casual conversation or if they kinda go by the official competition ages in conversation (this being with others who are into gymnastics primarily…others wouldn't know a difference- or care! kwim?).

 

[Committed]

lol. yes, in the present tense its easy!

but last year was my daughter's first year of gymnastics…she was 8 when she first walked into a gym and allllll season but turned 9 right before states.

so, when i reflect, will i say she was 8 her first year or 9? i guess i really am curious if people refer to actual ages in casual conversation or if they kinda go by the official competition ages in conversation (this being with others who are into gymnastics primarily…others wouldn't know a difference- or care! kwim?).

Since she was 8 for 99% of the time, I would just say that she was an 8 year old. If they ask for the "official" age, then go by that, but I don't know how often it would come to that.

My DD has an April bday, so I don't have to worry about compulsories. However, if she has the wherewithal to compete optionals I would call her the age that she was in-season.