Parents Feeling defeated

[OrangeArt]

That can't possibly be true of every gym, unless there are very few gyms. Have you tried going to mymeetscores to get an idea of the ages/levels the others gyms compete?

 

[OrangeArt]

^^sorry, I kept reading, and realized you are already past this point...

 

[MILgymFAM]

That can't possibly be true of every gym, unless there are very few gyms. Have you tried going to mymeetscores to get an idea of the ages/levels the others gyms compete?

Honestly, I tried, but I must not be savvy. All I could find are age groups by letters, or young and older, and I have zero point of reference for what that means. I mean for L4 older could mean anything- maybe 10 is older and at 13 she is far above. What am I doing wrong on the search. There are tons of gyms in the Bay Area, but they are definitely not all commutable for us. There are so many tolls and so much traffic up here, just ridiculous, that it is some what limiting. I am still waiting to here back from the gym recommended to me- if I hear nothing by next week I am going to stop by.

 

[OrangeArt]

It might take some digging and connecting the dots, because the groupings vary from meet to meet, but basically you are looking for a meet with a groupings at the compulsory level that are higher age ranges, i . e . Level 3 ages 11 and up. Then see which gyms have gymnasts competing in that group. Even though the age grouping doesn't match your dd's age, it still would give an idea of who is more accepting of older kids.

Hope that makes sense, it's hard to explain... But I have done this in the past, as my daughter also at one point got the "she's too old" rejection from a gym...

 

[MILgymFAM]

Ok, the results all look like one of these pics. No ages listed. How do I know even approximate ages associated with these different groups?

 

[gymbeam]

connecting the dots like n's mom suggested may mean that you have to look for those individual gymnasts scores at other meets which did list actual ages. mymeetscores.com gives you another option to search as well. good luck!

 

[OrangeArt]

Yes, I was going to say, I usually look at mymeetscores.com

I attached an example I found, from a recent meet in California, though not Bay area, I think. There are a couple of teams that competed lvl3 in the age 11+grouping, a gym like that would be a good start. You just would need to look through a few meets that are near you until you find one that has the actual ages listed...

 

[OrangeArt]

Sorry, it seems the quality of that pic isn't the greatest

 

[MILgymFAM]

No, thanks- I will keep looking around. I have looked at something like 15 Bay Area meets and none had ages. Maybe it's a regional thing, but maybe I need to just keep searching. Younger, middle, older seems to be the most used age distinctions, though. Wonder why they don't just simplify things and use ages though.

 

[raenndrops]

No, thanks- I will keep looking around. I have looked at something like 15 Bay Area meets and none had ages. Maybe it's a regional thing, but maybe I need to just keep searching. Younger, middle, older seems to be the most used age distinctions, though. Wonder why they don't just simplify things and use ages though.

Part of the reason has to do with the way they are breaking them up. If they are not doing say 9-10... but instead doing 8y 7.5m to 10y4.5m it would be harder. By only saying younger, middle, and older, they are simplified AND parents don't freak that their child is in the wrong age group.
At YMCA Nationals, they do Child, Junior, and Senior. One of our girls missed the cut-off for competing as a junior by 3 days... and the child age group at Xcel Gold needed higher scores to medal than the junior age group.

 

[thefellowsmom]

Hi, don't know if this will help but I found this on the NorCal website.

http://www.norcalgym.org/results/State_Results_2013/Level_4/Level_4_State.htm

It has the age group breakdowns from last years level 4 state meet. Looks like there was a whole session of 13 and olders.

Maybe that will help.

I also personally find mymeetscores.com easier to dig through than meetscoresonline.com but that's just my opinion.

I'm sorry you are having this issue and I really hope you find a supportive gym home that will take your daughter's passion seriously. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Ginger]

2014 NorCal Level 6,7 State Championship (which you can find at MyMeetscores - click on "Completed Meets" then choose California and then just roll down) had age groups like JrA, JrB.... SrC, SrD. Makes sense that SrD is the oldest age group and if you click on a name from this group to see her individual results from the past years, so if the girl in question competed in 2012 in '13 years old', you know she is now 14 or 15 years old, thus SrD from 2014 NorCal L6,7 States are girls around this age or older.
To make the search easier - just click on 'SrD' (which is in 5th column) and you get only results from this age group (both L6 and L7 had 17 gymnasts competing in these divisions). Then you can look and see if there is a gym that would be close enough to you.
Or why I don't just copy the links
http://www.mymeetscores.com/meet.pl?meetid=47417&pb=N&session=4&level=7&division=SrD&gymnastid=-99
http://www.mymeetscores.com/meet.pl?meetid=47417&pb=N&session=6&level=6&division=SrD&gymnastid=-99
Hope it helps.

 

[Quadqueen]

Yes, even if you're having trouble finding specific ages, I would look for gyms with kids competing as "Senior" or "Older."

 

[MILgymFAM]

I wanted to give a little update to everyone. After all the responses and some private messages, I decided I didn't want to sit around waiting for DD to get what she wanted. I emailed a couple of gyms and one allowed her in for a trial with their JO team. She had her trial workout with team tonight and it went well-ish (not a great skill day, thank you pressure and nerves, but DD impressed the HC anyway). So, DD will be training with their team when she isn't in her gym. She will not be competing with them, of course (she will still be competing gold for her team), but she now has the opportunity to double her hours and learn the compulsory routines so she can score out when we do leave her current gym (and xcel). She could still petition into optionals, but I am glad she can score out if needed. I don't know if I have heard of anyone else ever training simultaneously at two gyms before, but sometimes you gotta throw convention to the wind. Thanks for all the support on here!

 

[kandkfunk]

Is your current gym OK with her training with another team at the same time she is training at her current gym? That would have been a big no-no at my DD's gym. I'm impressed if current gym is being this accommodating.

 

[MILgymFAM]

The coach had previously told me that xcel is considered rec and that DD could take classes at another gym, or rec classes at their gym. Since DD will not be competing, just training, to me this is no different.

 

[kandkfunk]

So glad you found a solution. Good luck to your daughter!

 

[Ali'sMom]

Awesome news!! So glad you bit the bullet to give it a try!
(not sure if you saw the other post about crying at meets, but truly, I just got goosebumpy for your DD, and I don't even know her - LOL)
Do you know what JO level she will be starting with over there to learn the routines?

 

[MILgymFAM]

At the new gym the 4s and 5s actually train together, so she will be getting exposed to both at once.

 

[gymgal]

The coach had previously told me that xcel is considered rec and that DD could take classes at another gym, or rec classes at their gym. Since DD will not be competing, just training, to me this is no different.

Glad you found a solution. I would caution that the hc at the current gym may not interpret his/her comments the same way you have. Your dd is not taking rec classes at the other gym. She is training with their team, with the expectation that she will move gyms to compete JO. That's a big difference than just taking a rec class at another gym. Your current hc may in fact be ok with this but that would be a rarity in the gymnastics world. Now, if you are planning on waiting until your relocation before moving her to JO, that may be different in HC eyes. But in general, training in 2 different gyms is a big no-no. Then again, most gyms wouldn't allow a non-team member regularly train with their team, so maybe you just have two really understanding gyms.