WAG Does age make a difference in scores?

[cbone]

Not necessarily, our 10's train different and harder skills each season.

Point taken, but at that level, you clearly have girls with great skills to where it's no longer about a lack of talent. There are very few (if any) questionable talents in Level 10. If I gave the impression that I thought that Level 10s didn't progress, I apologize.

 

[Krystan]

Please don't anyone take offense to this question. Could it be that, as you move up in levels, younger girls are scoring higher because they're the superior talents? If you have a 7-year-old Level 5, maybe she's getting great scores because she has so much natural talent that she's moving up by virtue of her talent and is receiving high scores for the same reason.

You may have an 11-year-old Level 5 who repeated Level 4 and is in their second year of Level 5 because they just plain aren't as good.

I think that talking about errors being highlighted by body type has some value, but maybe the easiest answer is the rightest answer.

...said by someone with a young, superstar L4 gymnast, I assume. I definitely see your point though. Certainly in L5 and up the "superstars" (those that will clearly be in optionals quickly because they are tiny and have lots of natural talent) are often in the younger group. They're better, so they get better scores. The competition can also be steeper in the youngest group just because there are more of them.

However, to assume an 11 year old L5 is there because she isn't as good *is* a little offensive and pretty presumptuous. Not everyone starts gymnastics at the age of 3. Maybe she started at the age of 9 or 10 and moved up to L5 after only one year of gymnastics. And then she is certainly treated differently, assumed to be stagnant, and judged more harshly than the young ones. She has to work her butt off because she is entering puberty and (though short for her age) is growing fast but still wants to succeed (despite not being cute, tiny, or the coach's pet or being a possible L10/elite contender).

So yes, I think you're right about the "superstars" tending to be in the younger age group, but your assumptions about older gymnasts (and don't worry, you're not the only one who makes them), are a bit generalized. I know I'm taking it a little personally because of my own 11-year-old L5 (who did, in fact, start gymnastics at age 9). She is very strong and talented but started late (major anxiety issues when she was younger), and has luckily found a wonderful gym that supports all gymnasts with talent and the willingness to work hard, regardless of "old age".

And, regarding the L10 comment someone made - I think L10 is totally different because the more years you are in L10, the harder skills you are doing, etc. A lot of kids repeat L10 for several years, and obviously they are older each year and obviously they will have harder skills and higher scoring potential each year. But I'm no expert!

 

[cbone]

I feel like I have to qualify everything I say sometimes, but here goes. I was not saying that every "old" gymnast is a chronic repeater with a talent deficiency. My daughter has an 11-year-old on her team who started gymnastics just a few months ago. She was on the Level 3 team and developed so quickly that she was competing with the Level 4 team when meet season rolled around. This girl scored a 36 AA in her very first meet. I know that there are exceptions to the rule. In my limited experience and observation, though, for every late and great starter there are three "older" gymnasts who have repeated levels due to lack of talent or fear. Again, the phrase "lack of talent" doesn't mean "not good" in this context. It means not blessed with incredible physical gifts that make gymnastics look easy compared to an average gymnast.

To me, the observations I mentioned above seem to support my assertion as a general rule. Rules are made to be broken and it sounds like your daughter is an exception. I think that's awesome. There are plenty of younger gymnasts that stink it up in competition, too. Exceptions go both ways.

If you had asked if I was the parent of a young superstar after last season, I would have answered in the affirmative without hesitation. Now I wouldn't say that. I'm the parent of a really good young gymnast who finishes consistently in the top 25% of the field and is steadily improving her skills. She is lucky that she catches on fairly quickly and has great musculature. She has a teammate who I would call "prodigious". My daughter is not at that level.

 

[Firelance]

In my personal experiences, in the first few years we get stronger than the start up. No matter with the age, it defers with the fitness. If you maintain it properly you can play longer.

 

[SignHere]

Cbone, kudos to you ! Though I did feel a bit sorry for you for having to defend yourself!

So, I have 2 Dd who are both level 5 s. One is 8 years old (and small) and one is
12 years old ( and 5'5"). They have their first meet this weekend.

Let's see how they score !

(although I will say my 8 year old is very talented, in TOPs, and my 12 year old is repeating level
5. I wouldn't call her a chronic repeater. She did 1 year of level 4 but made the decision to repeat
level 5 because her ROBHSBHS needed work and she was having fear issues with the
for level 6 )