WAG Forced to scratch

[raenndrops]

I was wondering if she could have competed without the backhand spring and just took the deduction?

That is what our coaches would have done. A Lower score is better for the All Around total than a 0.00. It seems like some coaches are so worried about low scores that they won't let a child compete the routine unless it is "perfect." Our coach wold give the gymnast 3 options in a case like this: 1 - leave the skill out ... 2- leave it in... but with a spot (only works if it is not so "funny" that spotting would be unsafe) ... 3-Scratch the event and take a 0. The coach leaves it up to the girl as to what she chooses to do.
In our first meet last year, one girl hadn't been scratched in time, so she was listed in the program. Her mom was an assistant coach, so the girl was at the meet. She was back to full routines on everything except floor (old L6) ... and took a spot on Beam BWO. She didn't bring her leo... BUT the new leos had arrived the day b4 and HC had them with her. The girl competed. She chose to do floor - but didn't do any of the tumbling (4.000). She competed all events and actually placed 2nd on Bars and finished 7th in the All Around!

 

[saddlupasb]

It has nothing to do with scores for me. It is all about the girl and what will help her be a more well rounded gymnast.

 

[raenndrops]

It has nothing to do with scores for me. It is all about the girl and what will help her be a more well rounded gymnast.

We have one gym in our district that has already told girls that even if they have ALL the skills for a routine, they might scratch them if they aren't doing everything perfect.
I also know of a private club nearby that would rather have a girl scratch than have a 7.?? show up on mymeetscores. It looks bad for their gym, so they won't allow it.

 

[Natasha]

It definitely depends on the gym. Last year in old L4, DD's ROBHS was questionable durings warm ups at a meet, and her coaches had her compete without the skill. The rest of the routine was beautiful and she scored a 9.1. Perhaps it depends on the region?
As others have said, I might ask what the coach said to her about scratching, but then that would be the end of it. Even when I question a coach's decision, I never say anything in front of DD. I just say that the coaches always have her best interests in mind. It's tough being a sports mom!

In USAG the BHS is worth .6, so omitting it is automatic 1.2 deduction.

 

[Quadqueen]

It definitely depends on the gym. Last year in old L4, DD's ROBHS was questionable durings warm ups at a meet, and her coaches had her compete without the skill. The rest of the routine was beautiful and she scored a 9.1. Perhaps it depends on the region?
As others have said, I might ask what the coach said to her about scratching, but then that would be the end of it. Even when I question a coach's decision, I never say anything in front of DD. I just say that the coaches always have her best interests in mind. It's tough being a sports mom!

sounds like an awfully high score. Did the judge have to sneeze when your DD was supposed to do her ROBHS?!

 

[JBS]

I was wondering if she could have competed without the backhand spring and just took the deduction?

This is up to each individual gym to decide.

 

[profmom]

A bad BHS is very scary. Last comp season, I saw some boys competing them whom I wish had scratched floor or stopped with the RO.

Four meets from now this will all be water under the bridge, and by the time she's a L7, you won't even remember it.

 

[LizzieLac]

I know some gyms may "worry" about the score, but the greater danger is that she is developing a bad habit that can't be corrected because it is meet environment with only timed warm-up available. Then she competes is poorly and hurts herself, or develops a fear/block because she started doing it wonky and now thinks she can't do it correctly.

At the end of the day, you have to trust the coaches ESPECIALLY in the meet environment where you can't go talk to your DD or the coach. It is out of the parent's hands completely at that point. I would suggest talking to the coach to understand why they felt scratching was the right decision. The you'll know how they view these things going forward.

 

[gymmomtoo]

Agreeing with those that say trust your coaches. If you don't trust them, then maybe finding a gym that you DO trust is a better option for you. Our gym would have done the same thing--if you balk or struggle in warm-up, then you scratch. Yes, it upsets the girls and it upsets the parents. But IMHO, it's better safety-wise to scratch and live to compete another day (or at least be uninjured to compete another day).

 

[Deleted member 14190]

I'll put it in simple terms for the OP.
#1 Safety
#2 Now that she had to scratch, I can assure you that the likely hood of her repeating that type of warmup is next to zero. She will spend each day working harder on her ROBHS in the gym because of this.
The next step for the coaches should be, "okay now you have your ROBHS, but if you can't do it with your legs together and straight, you will scratch". And amazingly enough, those legs will be perfect just in time for the next meet.
As a parent its hard to accept that your child does not put 100 percent into workouts , meets or games. , but in reality NONE of the kids do. It's up to the coaching staff to get a 100 percent out of your children, and if scratching them from a meet, or putting them on the bench during a baseball game is effective then you do it. (and it is). This is done in every sport, (hockey, soccer, football, baseball, etc...).

 

[gymdog]

I know some gyms may "worry" about the score, but the greater danger is that she is developing a bad habit that can't be corrected because it is meet environment with only timed warm-up available. Then she competes is poorly and hurts herself, or develops a fear/block because she started doing it wonky and now thinks she can't do it correctly.

At the end of the day, you have to trust the coaches ESPECIALLY in the meet environment where you can't go talk to your DD or the coach. It is out of the parent's hands completely at that point. I would suggest talking to the coach to understand why they felt scratching was the right decision. The you'll know how they view these things going forward.

Yes. It is not worth it to get 6 or 7. They should not be competing that level on that event if they cannot perform the skills competently (I'm not saying perfectly...but competently).

But, other coaches have different viewpoints, so I guess you have to find what works best for your family. But many gyms nowadays are not letting kids omit compulsory elements in competition. It is pretty standard.

It is not possible to get a score like a 9.1 while omitting a major compulsory element in the JO levels, so that was in error. Perhaps she did something like roundoff stop, standing BHS which would be a different story. But still unlikely to score a 9.1.

 

[saddlupasb]

I agree about the 9.10 score with an omitted back handspring. Like someone said, omitting an element is twice the value of the element. In this case .60, so a deduction of 1.20. A 9.10 is technically impossible.

 

[wallinbl]

How many times has she done that routine with a BHS at the end? What are the odds she gets caught up in the routine, forgets, and does the BHS? Why risk it? Odds are decent that she does the routine, does the BHS because it's habit, and does it well (because it's habit), but no point in risking a broken ankle, or whatever it was that concerned the coach. It's undoubtedly crushing for parent and gymnast (and likely very disappointing for coach), but seems risky to tell her last minute to skip the very last thing in the routine.

 

[Bajanswife]

Our coaches would not scratch an event for that - our team only gets to compete maybe 3 or 4 times a year and not all of the kids can go to all of those meets. We also pay an awful lot of money and travel far to compete. We would more than likely just skip the skill or have it spotted before we would scratch. It would be very hard on a gymnast to travel so far and be at one of her only opportunities to compete during the year and she has to take a zero score due to only one skill deficiency. For us it is more about the experience than getting the whole thing perfect.

Also, it is possible to place high AA if you are very strong otherwise. I remember one of our (old) level 4s at a U.S. meet a few years ago scoring a reasonably high 8 on floor but she was spotted on the BHS. She was an absolutely gorgeous dancer and her floor routine was practically perfect - but she wasn't a strong tumbler and was still having issues with the BHS. She did very well on the other events, especially beam, and ended up doing well AA too. If she had scratched floor she would have been totally out of AA running. Remember, this was one of very few medal/trophy winning opportunities for her and it was worth it to her to try for it.

 

[gasrgoose]

Yes. Put that skill at the end of the routine in an already tense situation and the child can get injured. If there's any question about it, they should scratch. It happens. I wouldn't say or do anything about it. DON'T ask your daughter about it, and don't ask about her RO BHS in practice either, since that will put more pressure on her. Just let it be. If you observe that she has a problem, it's possible that you could approach the coach about a private.

I agree with the others, scratching sounds reasonable and normal.

More importantly, what gymdog said is critical and so HARD to do as a parent. Trust the coaches and let them work it out.

 

[2littlegymnasts]

My girls are competing lvl 3 this year and I have seen some very scary BHS. I have also seen some being spotted, using a mat, and omitting it. Have not seen anyone scratch yet.

 

[Mama2JLN]

I agree about the 9.10 score with an omitted back handspring. Like someone said, omitting an element is twice the value of the element. In this case .60, so a deduction of 1.20. A 9.10 is technically impossible.

It is not impossible. It happened. Obviously, the judge was in error. I was just sharing my experience.

 

[Ekat]

No matter what all the different opinions are here, the bottom line it’s the gym philosophy that matters. Whatever they do as a rule for their gymnasts you are not going to change that. Sorry.

 

[saddlupasb]

It is not impossible. It happened. Obviously, the judge was in error. I was just sharing my experience.

Impossible if the judges are judging correctly. I wasn't suggesting that you were not relaying your experience, but that the judge obviously was very much in error.