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Stretchsportguy
I love the decision that was made...I believe that the 10 tiered system is abused by gym owners and many use it to hold back athletes who have aspirations much higher than the gyms are willing to let them go. We hold back our gymnasts who are ready for higher levels using a boring and tedious system that helps feed greedy gym owners who make money off of barn yarding as many birds as they can fit into one coop. If a child holds promise then we need to get busy with them if we are going to get them where they need to be in order to win Olympic medals. The notion that a child needs to experience the formality of winning easy routines to boost their esteem so they will like the sport is just plain romanticism. The elite program has more than enough fun to be had for those who are up to it. And a child will have plenty of self esteem knowing they are working at that level. I say do it and never look back. If there is failure at any point in the process then the athlete can redirect their energy to alternate endeavors. In the mean time they will be learning what they need to learn and doing what they need to do in order to be the best in the world. Instead of working in a system that doesn't count toward and does not have Olympic medals as its incentive, the elite driven child will be working toward those ends much sooner and much better.