WAG How far should you travel for a gymnastics meet?

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DD is now in Optionals. Her old gym did 2! Travel meets last year (1 was a fly away, 1 was a drive-able meet, but required more than 1 night hotel stay). New gym is doing a travel meet this year ( fly away) and DH and I gave decided that we will decide against going if we don't have expectations of her doing relatively well at this meet, based on how she is doing throughout the season. I know anyone can have a bad day, but last year she really had a tough time. No need to fly cross country unless this year is better!

 

[skschlag]

That's nice that you can decide later. We have to have our meet fees in early, in fact, we have already turned them in. We have 2 travel meets (Texas and Ohio).

Good luck with your decisionl

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

I would take a Level 8 across country for a big meet (and Manhattan Classic is big!)

We (L10) from east coast traveled to SCEGA last year, and this year we are going to All Olympia. We do not bring the whole family.

 

[bookworm]

We've gone from coast to coast for meets...and the flights were 6 hours non-stop...some were in season and some post season; some I would go to again (the All Olympia one) , and some I would not ( The Hard Rock one in AZ ...some people like this one but it was awful the year we went, and WOGA's a hike for us and I wouldn't go back to that one either) ...we generally didn't start any big travel until she hit level 9 though..

 

[Muddlethru]

We live in the east coast but have all our family in the west coast. We travel at least twice a year from coast to coast. Yes, flight time ranges from 5 to 6 hours. However airfare is not necessarily more expensive than if you traveled four or five states away. Lately, the average airfare (not Christmas season or Thanksgiving) will run you in the $300-$360 round trip range. We've paid that fare from New York to Chicago. You'll have to book as early as you can and check all airports for the best deal.

How far is too far to travel for a meet depends entirely on your family's financial situation and goals. In my opinion, even if I can afford it, if my child is in compulsories, I would not travel the distance. Exposure, attending a great meet is not a reason for me to go. We can get those qualities at meets nearby. In the optional levels, I have no trouble doing a couple fly away meets a season. When my daughter was a Level 6 (old Level 6 which was compulsories) our gym went to Texas for the WOGA Classic. We opted out. My daughter will be competing L10 this season. And if we had to fly to Ca and did not have family out there, I may not still go. If I could make a family trip (which is highly unlikely being mid school year) and have never been, there may be a slight chance.

 

[vagymmomma]

Manhattan Classic is a first rate meet. I know small and large gyms alike who have really enjoyed the experience. Agree with above that L8 is probably the first level where I would be very supportive of taking a gymnast across the country for a big meet. Assuming economics make sense for the family.

 

[skschlag]

I looked at it a bit differently at the lower levels. I had no idea how long he might do gymnastics, and I looked at it like an experience. I wanted him to have a chance to travel with a team, compete, see other parts of the country, and this provided the opportunity for us. We afford it because of booster club, thank goodness. We only did 1 at the lower levels, usually the least expensive meet. But for me, it was nothing to do wtih gymnastics at that level...just the experience.

 

[Tbrov]

For Optional levels, I expect to travel. The girls need the experience of large meets (different venues and competition with other regions), as well as the team bonding and independence they get doing the away meets. My daughters are Level 10 this year, and we will be going to Las Vegas and Fort Worth TX. Then, if they qualify, Phoenix AZ and hopefully Iowa! So best case, 4 far away meets, requiring flights. (We are West Coast). The travel began L8. To cope with expenses, I have set up an auto-transfer each paycheck that goes into a Travel Savings account, and this has helped with budgeting and expenses not hitting us all at once. Also, we have credit cards that earn lots of points, and have signed up with every hotel/airline rewards program possible. A bit of a pain, but it pays off in savings.

 

[myliljunebugs]

Our optional girls have one travel meet that is about a 5 hour drive, and all of us have a meet that is about a 3 hour drive. Plus State is about a 3 hour drive (depending on traffic, a lot of times it takes more like 4 hours to that ghastly city).

 

[hearts_and_stars]

The furthest our compulsories will travel is Dallas or San Antonio (we're in Houston)...Optionals is a different story. Travel meets are not expected of compulsory kids (with the exception of Alamo Classic in San Antonio); optionals girls MUST attend every meet in their schedule. I guess HC believes if you are going to be an optional gymnast, you (and your parents) must be more dedicated than the younger girls in the compulsory levels (I'm just guessing that is her reasoning; she has never said and I don't think any of the parents have ever asked!)

Having said that, Level 7 regionals (region 3) is in CO this year....if DD does compete 7 and does indeed qualify for regionals, would I be able to tell her no?

 

[&bs]

We (plus a lot of other clubs in Australia) have taken Level 4 - 10's to Hawaii for a competition (so half way around the world). But let's be honest it was just a good excuse for a holiday, it falls in the middle of our summer break and although the gymnasts all travelled and stayed with the team (about 2 weeks) almost all the families came to watch.

 

[still hanging]

When my child was a compulsory we would not travel that far however, as an Optional we travel everywhere. Also level 6 and possibly level 7 would not be worth it to me as well.

 

[poodlemomma]

Our old gym will do one far away meet a year. The HC tried to pick a meet that was close to something fun so that families could take a "winter" break or mini vacation to go to the meet. No one was ever required to go. Last year, it was up in Wisconsin and there was an indoor water park hotel close. I think only a few families signed up though. In the end, only the HC with her children ended up going as the weather was horrific to drive that far and up around the lakes to get there.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

Wow! My dd is new to team this year and is only a level 2 so all of our meets are within a 1 1/2-3 hour drive. But after reading this thread, I decided to check on the optionals meet schedule out of curiosity. We live in NC and our team travels to the Bahamas, Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida and then one semi-local meet in the state. I can see how expensive things are going to get. Ouch!

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

For L7, our gym normally does 1 fly away meet. For L8-10, it's usually 2 or 3 fly away meets. For compulsories, none, BUT all our meets are between 2-4hrs drive. Nothing locally.

 

[gwenmom]

Last year we went 9 hours by car. My DD is horrible in the car. She talks the entire time. Won't sit still. Let's just say the drive home took 8 hours .

Anything longer than 3-4 hours I figure my sanity is worth the cost of a plane ticket.

 

[kandkfunk]

Wow! My dd is new to team this year and is only a level 2 so all of our meets are within a 1 1/2-3 hour drive. But after reading this thread, I decided to check on the optionals meet schedule out of curiosity. We live in NC and our team travels to the Bahamas, Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida and then one semi-local meet in the state. I can see how expensive things are going to get. Ouch!

That is quite a heavy travel load. Good thing you know now so you can start saving your pennies!

 

[Ali'sMom]

I looked at it a bit differently at the lower levels. I had no idea how long he might do gymnastics, and I looked at it like an experience. I wanted him to have a chance to travel with a team, compete, see other parts of the country, and this provided the opportunity for us. We afford it because of booster club, thank goodness. We only did 1 at the lower levels, usually the least expensive meet. But for me, it was nothing to do wtih gymnastics at that level...just the experience.

We are the same way.
We have one "real travel" meet a year that is totally voluntary for all levels.
We were scheduled to go to Phoenix last January (L3) from Florida, but the meet filled up and we couldn't register. It really was just for fun.
Now this year, L4, we are going to the Bahamas

We live in NC and our team travels to the Bahamas, Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida and then one semi-local meet in the state. I can see how expensive things are going to get. Ouch!

Bahamas - the Atlantis Crown by any chance?

 

[mom2newgymnast]

We are the same way.
We have one "real travel" meet a year that is totally voluntary for all levels.
We were scheduled to go to Phoenix last January (L3) from Florida, but the meet filled up and we couldn't register. It really was just for fun.
Now this year, L4, we are going to the Bahamas



Bahamas - the Atlantis Crown by any chance?

Yes, the Atlantis Crown. Only our optionals are going though. Luckily, our farthest away meet is only about 2 1/2 hours driving. It does sound like fun to go to the Bahamas though!

 

[alsmom]

We are going to the Manhattan Classic! We are in New England, though, so it is doable. We opted not to travel to San Diego last year.