Parents First Competition

[Ex member]

My dd competed in her first competition recently (in house) and she really enjoyed herself even though she felt she didn't do very well, she said she came 4th out of 12 for her age and level.

We recently have been away and got back late the night before the competition and in hind sight she was really tired the day of the competition and looked lost and unsure what she was doing, she still gave it a go even though she ended up in tears afterwards because she felt like she didn't do what she calls pretty arms and forgot the "salute "and the beginning and end of her floor routine. I am proud of her for doing it especially as we just got from holiday and had missed gym that week.

Everyone who took part in the competition got given a letter inviting them to another competition next month competing against other gymnasts in the region in the same levels. My dd wants to do this competition - it is a floor and vault one, levels 1-3 for recreational and advanced recreational gymnasts. The gym my dd goes to seems to have changed the program - they now do recreational gymnastics, advanced recreational gymnastics (replaced development that feeds to team afaik).

If you can recall my dd was also in the cheerleading squad, after mentioning that she no longer wants to do cheerleading she has finally quit that to concentrate on gymnastics - I don't know how far she will go with that but it will be interesting year.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

first comp my daughter did she ran at the vault, skidded to a stop and crashed into it ( she was supposed to be doing a through vault), had a massive melt down and then refused to vault again. She went on to do a reasonable floor routine and her team got gold. The more competitions she has done the more sure of herself she has got and the more she has enjoyed them. Knowing what to do, where to be etc takes a few comps to learn but generally the girls get a real buzz out of competing so I would say Yeah to her for stepping away from the dark side ( lol) and good job on the one she has done and good luck in the next one

 

[Committed]

DD also forgot to salute the judges on her first meet. For some reason, she was the first to compete on every apparatus at her very first meet. Not only was she the youngest on her team, she was the youngest at the whole meet! She was just a ball of confusion. But the look of pure joy on her face for getting a 10th AA medal, was awesome!

I hope she has a great year! Gym is definitely a different animal than cheer!

 

[Ex member]

Found out my dd's score today , she came 7th not 4th like she told me. I am still pleased for her as she didn't do as well as she was capable with. Her score was 17.6 (average 8.8 on floor and vault) out of 20 (10 on each), she is very excited for the next one and wants to get a medal.

I don't know if her score is good or not but it looks impressive to me especially as she was so tired and didn't do it properly.

 

[sportsmommy]

My dd first meet half way through her bar routine she got off the bar and went over and asked her coach what she was suppose to next. She was 5. We laugh about it all the time.
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[gwenmom]

DD tripped over her own feet on the way off the floor in her first meet.

 

[Ex member]

Got Dd's results (out of 10.00)
Vault 8.70
Floor 8.90

Very proud of her as she was very tired and didn't do things as well as she could, she didn't squat on properly on her vault and went up one foot at the time and she landed funny, and floor was better than her vault but she struggled as the coached was along side all the other gymnasts when they had their turn but when it was my dd's turn the coach was called away and my dd got through it alone ( it was a rec comp and the coaches were along side the gymnasts on the floor helping them through it), this didn't bother dd to much as she wants to do the next comp in a few weeks (same routines again against other rec gymnasts in the region).

 

[SignHere]

You are at the beginning of a long journey with your DD. Some "littles" (as I call them ) have great first meets, some don't. I don't see that the first meet, or even the first year, are an indication of what kind of gymnast your DD is going to be.

It's important for your DD to realize that the competition AND the score are simply the judges' evaluation of how she is doing her routine that ONE time on that ONE day (although we all know there is possibly some bias present from the judges watching warm up, etc). It seems to me that it may be an easier lesson to learn sooner, rather than later. (I.e. the Level 3 super star who won 1st AA all year has a harder time accepting 3rd or 4th place in Level 4). It also depends on WHO shows up to the competition! Sad to say, but my DD knows if a certain gym is at the same meet, there are a couple of kids from this other gym in her age group who are very, very good. I rarely see these kids make a mistake - so DD is aiming for 3rd place If they are there.

Good luck at her 2nd meet!

 

[Ex member]

Dd's comp was split in age groups, under 6's level 1, under 7's level 1. Under 7's level 1 advance rec (these girls train 6 hours a week). There were 14 entrants in my dd's age group (under 7's level 1 rec) and for some reason 1 of the advanced rec girls who trains 6 hours a week was placed in the level 1 rec girls who train 1 hour a week - she won 1st place with a score far higher than everyone else - I was wondering if she was entered in the wrong group as the rest of her advanced rec group who do the same hours as she does were in a different group to her. I think that was a bit naughty if she was but it wouldn't have made any difference to my dd but it would to the girl who came fourth.

 

[Jenny]

Yes that is sad for the girl who came 4th. Sounds like your dd made a great start to competing and is looking forwards to the next one!

 

[Gymmom495]

I think that at this stage in the game scores and places shouldn't matter, focus on the fact that she is learning what a competition is all about, how to transition from event to event, etc. these beginning levels are for getting the basic foundation of gymnastics. I was once told by a very good coach, who was trying to calm down a CGM that was in the group of parents that was with me that compulsory gymnastics or the equivalent is for learning the basics, getting a great foundation, learning discipline, poise. It's not about what your score is or how high you place. She would say real gymnastics starts at level 7. Now I'm not saying it doesn't feel good to win or that those that do win are not learning because they do, but just do not focus on it.
I love reading all the posts about the little mistakes everyone has had, we have all been there. My daughter once saluted on vault, then lined up to run on the walkway.. When she realized there was no vault at the end of the line she stepped over and went for it but it cost her greatly... She would have scored a 9.525, but instead lost a full point getting a 8.525 (it happens) she was 6.


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