WAG How many hrs for different levels?

[JessSyd]

My daughter’s gym (Australia) maxes out at 14 hours a week.

Our level sevens (currently the gym’s highest level, as none of the 8+ girls returned after the second long shutdown) more than hold their own at competitions, and we have sent level 8+ girls to nationals (nationals are for levels 8+ here). It was interesting at the recent state trials - the sevens from this gym outscored most of the higher hours, higher D-score gyms by keeping things simple, but very, very neat.

We moved from a higher hours gym and I see no difference in her rate of progress even though she trains fewer hours as a seven than she did as a five. In fact her progress might even have accelerated due to small group size.

I saw a difference in preparation (they foam-rolled and stretched more in the previous gym) and in cardio. We just switched those things to outside-gym hours. She can roll and stretch while doing homework, and do cardio stuff with non-gym friends, so this works well for her. Better than the long hours were working for her.

It’s good that there are low hours options out there for kids who want to compete the National Levels. It keeps girls in the sport where they would otherwise drop out because of competing demands (like schools that want their year eights to do 20 hours a week of homework. Eyeroll).

 

[JPC13]

(like schools that want their year eights to do 20 hours a week of homework. Eyeroll).

I don't think that I did 20 hours a week of homework at any point in my education -- inclusive of my PhD in a top top top department. This insane for a kid.

 

[Caesarea]

Gymnastics Canada has an amazing resource known as Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD). According to said resource, a 9-11 year old, National-level gymnast should be doing no more than 16 hours, and an 11-13 year old Elite gymnast should be doing no more than 24 hours. A level 3-5, lower-level gymnast should be doing much less than 16 hours -- about 12 seems more reasonable. 25-30 hours when they're not yet Elite (High Performance, as it is called in Canada) seems excessive. Train smart, not hard. Personally, I find that the following seems reasonable:

Level 3: 9-12 hours
Level 4-5: 12-14 hours
Level 6-7: 16 hours
Level 8-10: 16-20 hours
High Performance: 20-30 hours, depending on age

 

[JessSyd]

I don't think that I did 20 hours a week of homework at any point in my education -- inclusive of my PhD in a top top top department. This insane for a kid.

Yes, yes it is. To be fair, the school’s policy is 10 hours. But no teacher is aware of what any other teacher is setting and it has just spiralled out of control since shutdown. I want her to keep a homework journal for two weeks so I can approach the school with it, because I think it is a student welfare issue. But she says she’s too busy.

 

[Aussie_coach]

What you do in the hours plays a much bigger role than the number of hours, when it comes to progress.

The size of the group, the ability of the coach, the amount of equipment available and the planning of the lesson.

 

[QuayLight]

That is really average for Level 4 in Australia. Usually 12-14 hoursish.

But the Australian system is not great, we have a lot of level 4’s and Very few level 7-10’s in this country. Progress is often late and slow. Level 5-6 are the peak at many gyms.

Our level 4, is similar to the US Leven 3, but the average age for this in Australia is 10-11.

Yes i have noticed that there are a lot of level 3's and 4's. Why do you think that is the case? There are very few level 5-7s at our gym...

 

[Aussie_coach]

Yes i have noticed that there are a lot of level 3's and 4's. Why do you think that is the case? There are very few level 5-7s at our gym...

Gymnastics in Australia is very different to the US. There is no College gymnastics, so there isn’t the pull to compete right through high school in the hopes of getting a scholarship or competing in College.

Our gymnasts rarely to well in the Olympics or world championships, most kids aren’t even aware elite is a thing.

There are not the same long term goals keeping the kids in the sport after Primary School.

Our kids also hit higher levels at older ages. With little to no push fir anything much after level 10, they progress slower. Which I think is a mistake. The best window of opportunity for teaching big tumbles is early. Waiting until puberty to do anything more than basics, is limiting their potential to progress.

Our levels system is also a little out of whack. Expecting perfect split leaps before round off flics etc

 

[Tammie]

Our gym seems on the high side now that I am looking at these numbers.

Our minimums are...
L3/4- 12hrs
L5/6- 16-22hrs
L7/8- 22-27.5hrs
L9/10/elite-27.5-32hrs.

However those are minimums for safety per the HC.

My daughter is almost 11(Dec) trains with the optional girls 2/3 of her day, but is competing L4/6 this year(she spends 1/3 of her day with the L4 girls), she also has privates and is in the gym a total of 28-32hrs, has even done a few 34/35hr weeks. All of the L4s are doing 16hrs this year(&last). My kiddo is a bit different than most and was put on her own path, our gym is small & they are able to do that with her. She is expected to do her first elite qualifier within 3yrs, so we will see(but that is why her hours are so much different, she isn't simply training L4 for that number of hours).

We do not even have a split day(thank God, with LA traffic we are 60-90min from gym), we dont do mornings at all! It works for us!

 

[Tammie]

Yes, yes it is. To be fair, the school’s policy is 10 hours. But no teacher is aware of what any other teacher is setting and it has just spiralled out of control since shutdown. I want her to keep a homework journal for two weeks so I can approach the school with it, because I think it is a student welfare issue. But she says she’s too busy.

I remember my now 21yr old having 3-5hrs of homework every weeknight and often more on the weekend-in THIRD GRADE, that's when we had enough with the public school system!! I mean, what are they doing all day if they expect this much done at home???

 

[Aussie_coach]

I remember my now 21yr old having 3-5hrs of homework every weeknight and often more on the weekend-in THIRD GRADE, that's when we had enough with the public school system!! I mean, what are they doing all day if they expect this much done at home???

That is crazy!

I know things are different in the US and and homework counts towards grades etc, here it doesn’t.

But I would just not allow my 3rd grade kid to do that much homework. I would be putting a limit on it and what they get Dave in that time is it.

It was about 20 minutes a week at that age for us.

 

[sw2017]

I’m located in USA. Estimated hours for Xcel are:
Bronze - 6
Silver-Gold - 8

JO hours
L3 - 9
L4 - 12
L5 - 15
L6 - 17
L7-10 - 22

 

[Tammie]

That is crazy!

I know things are different in the US and and homework counts towards grades etc, here it doesn’t.

But I would just not allow my 3rd grade kid to do that much homework. I would be putting a limit on it and what they get Dave in that time is it.

It was about 20 minutes a week at that age for us.

Hehe, I cannot tell you how much homework I, myself, completed. No way did I think that it was constructive for an 8yr to do hours of homework!! After 30min or so, I did the rest(as long as she could demonstrate knowledge).

It took me 90min-2hrs to complete her homework(I timed myself when the teacher/principal insisted my daughter was just slow to complete work-never a problem for her and it was actually minimal homework, less than an hour-which i knew to be false...ok, let's see, shall we?? Did I mention they didn't like me much by the end of the year??? Hehe)

We started our homeschooling journey at that point. We later moved, loved our year round environmental magnet school-lots of little breaks, same number of school days, just spread out(&little to no homework)-but alas the knee problems started & we were back to homeschooling again-and then stayed that way. My littles have never seen the inside of a classroom.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Hehe, I cannot tell you how much homework I, myself, completed. No way did I think that it was constructive for an 8yr to do hours of homework!! After 30min or so, I did the rest(as long as she could demonstrate knowledge).

It took me 90min-2hrs to complete her homework(I timed myself when the teacher/principal insisted my daughter was just slow to complete work-never a problem for her and it was actually minimal homework, less than an hour-which i knew to be false...ok, let's see, shall we?? Did I mention they didn't like me much by the end of the year??? Hehe)

We started our homeschooling journey at that point. We later moved, loved our year round environmental magnet school-lots of little breaks, same number of school days, just spread out(&little to no homework)-but alas the knee problems started & we were back to homeschooling again-and then stayed that way. My littles have never seen the inside of a classroom.

Wow! It even took you two hours! That’s nuts!

Especially as research is very clear that homework for young children actually has a negative effect on learning. It turns learning into a chore, and doesn’t help their learning outcomes.

For upper elementary aged kids they found it has no effect. Children who do homework and those who don’t end up with the same academic skills.

 

[QuayLight]

Gymnastics in Australia is very different to the US. There is no College gymnastics, so there isn’t the pull to compete right through high school in the hopes of getting a scholarship or competing in College.

Our gymnasts rarely to well in the Olympics or world championships, most kids aren’t even aware elite is a thing.

There are not the same long term goals keeping the kids in the sport after Primary School.

Our kids also hit higher levels at older ages. With little to no push fir anything much after level 10, they progress slower. Which I think is a mistake. The best window of opportunity for teaching big tumbles is early. Waiting until puberty to do anything more than basics, is limiting their potential to progress.

Our levels system is also a little out of whack. Expecting perfect split leaps before round off flics etc

Thank you for your insights. I can definitely see that at our gym - it's funny though, they complain about not having many level 7+ however they don't really spend time with the level 3's engaging and maintaining them in the sport.

 

[Gator_gymnast]

At my gym all level from 4 and up do 14 hrs a week, I would an additional 30!-45 minutes sometimes, I am now a level 7 and go 14-15 hrs a week

 

[gymnastkiley]

Hi everyone I am new here I have been reading over all your awesome threads and have noticed a big difference in hours as to what some of your girls do vs what our gym seems to do. I am in Canada my daughter is 9years old in level 3 doing 16 hrs a week. She will be doing at least level 4 in the fall with 16 hrs again. I know 12 year old girls at our gym doing level 8-10 doing 25-30hrs a week. This seems like alot to me and I was wondering if this is common with Canadian and American gymnastics? Please let me know your kids age, level, hours a week and what country your from. Trying to learn all about this world and realiatic expectations Thanx so much!

I live in Connecticut and this is my gyms practice times:
Level 2: 4 hours a week
Level 3: 7 hours a week
Level 4: 10.5 hours a week
Level 5/6: 14 hours a week
Level 7/8/9/10: 18 hours a week
Xcel Bronze: 4 hours a week
Xcel Silver: 5.5 hours a week
Xcel Gold: 7 hours a week
Xcel Platinum: 7 hours a week
Xcel Diamond: 8 hours a week
Xcel Sapphire: 8 hours a week

 

[DevCal]

Hi everyone I am new here I have been reading over all your awesome threads and have noticed a big difference in hours as to what some of your girls do vs what our gym seems to do. I am in Canada my daughter is 9years old in level 3 doing 16 hrs a week. She will be doing at least level 4 in the fall with 16 hrs again. I know 12 year old girls at our gym doing level 8-10 doing 25-30hrs a week. This seems like alot to me and I was wondering if this is common with Canadian and American gymnastics? Please let me know your kids age, level, hours a week and what country your from. Trying to learn all about this world and realiatic expectations Thanx so much!

I’m curious to know which gym you’re at, I say this because I know of a few in Ontario where it’s a bit of a money grab. I say this because my daughter did 6hrs level 3, 10.5hrs level 4 and 12hrs level 5 this year and she always medals, but she has friends that are still with our old gym (rip off) that did 12 hrs, 16 and again 16 yet their kids are doing the same if not less than my daughter skills wise and it’s not just my daughter, she has girls on her team doing the same skills with these small hours. What I noticed is at our old gym they would fool around a lot, long breaks, even cell phone watching, and just not productive, large groups and a lot of waiting which is why we left. At less hours she is doing the same if not more in less hours, smaller groups, more spotting and no fooling around, she still has fun and lots of friends, but they work and it’s less money and less time. Shawn Johnson Olympic medalist apparently never trained more than 20hrs a week as she believed it led to more injury risk and unnecessary if you’re focused in the gym.

 

[Issagymnast]

Hi everyone I am new here I have been reading over all your awesome threads and have noticed a big difference in hours as to what some of your girls do vs what our gym seems to do. I am in Canada my daughter is 9years old in level 3 doing 16 hrs a week. She will be doing at least level 4 in the fall with 16 hrs again. I know 12 year old girls at our gym doing level 8-10 doing 25-30hrs a week. This seems like alot to me and I was wondering if this is common with Canadian and American gymnastics? Please let me know your kids age, level, hours a week and what country your from. Trying to learn all about this world and realiatic expectations Thanx so much!

Level 3 (most are 7-9 years) Los Angeles California 4 days a week. 3.5 hours so total of 14 hours per week. Summer we are doing 16 hours/week. Honestly 10-12 week would work in my opinion but so much time at my daughters training is spent waiting on others to learn skills (team), redoing the skills if they cant get it, getting them to refocus, waiting around for coaches who chat to one another, injuries, drinking water, break times..... etc etc....the interruption's are endless so in fact it is not that much given these factors. Hope that helps.