I honestly don't know why anyone would WANT to be and elite gymnast. The insane hours at a young age, the constant pounding and abuse on your body and to be frank, the lack of reward. If you are a level 10, you can potentially compete 5 -7 regular season meets, followed by state, regionals, nationals. Those are often viewed as (and are!) a lot of fun and a reward for doing a lot of hard work all year long, year after year. If you go elite, you essentially train for just maybe 3-4 "meets" a year. If you are lucky you get to be put on NT and do maybe 2? international assignments a year. You go to monthly training camps in Indiana, sacrifice school, family time, friends etc for what really? Add in a history of abuse, cut throat competitors and a barrage of criticism online that spans from your body, your hair, your skills, your family etc. Even the girls when they succeed it is not good enough. A silver and bronze medal at worlds is "failure" and a sign that the program is a mess and falling apart. Wow. Bet that feels GREAT to hear if you won that silver or bronze. Again, why would anyone WANT this?