WAG JO National age groups

[BachFlyer]

2gymmies I think was referring to the L10s, but the same applies to the L9's too. There is a very big age spread among the juniors at both levels.My daughter is 16 and she will be a junior F, And there are some Junior is who are 11 and 12. When you are dealing with girls this age, there is a vast difference in bodies at those two ages

 

[2gymmies]

There are no Jr.'s that are 16 my daughter is 14 and is a SR.2 and she will not be 15 until late summer. 13 is the max age at Jr.'s for Level 9.

Sorry! I was looking at level 10... I'm not familiar with the level 9 age groups but I can imagine the younger ones are 10 or 11 and we have a 14 year old in our gym that is junior 7 or 8 (December 2002). I'm sorry for the gymnasts that get an unlucky draw, I am sure there is a way to make it better but I just don't think the top 56 regardless of age is the way to do it. Maybe in smaller regions they could do it but in our region it would never logistically work out. You would have 3 sessions of juniors and then people would be complaining that if they got a different session of juniors then they would have made it. Maybe some coaches could chime in... how do you feel about how the age groups are created?

 

[Seeker]

The oldest age group in L9 is Jr 8. The date range for that age group is from Oct 1, 2002 thru Jan 1, 2003, so at the time of competition, those athletes will be 15.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

There are no Jr.'s that are 16 my daughter is 14 and is a SR.2 and she will not be 15 until late summer. 13 is the max age at Jr.'s for Level 9.

For Level 10, Junior F is up to Feb 17, 2001 birthdate so there are girls who just turned 16.

 

[IK'sMom]

I really would love to see them move to graduation year. That would make it easier for the colleges coaches and I think the girls would have a great opportunity to make friends with girls they may be on teams with if they go the college route. They could split the graduation years in to 2 (a & b) or combine some years (6th & 7th grade) depending on how many qualifiers. It just seems like a logical way to do it once they get to 9/10.

 

[Muddlethru]

I think if you do grad year, there are still some that will feel slighted. My son, for example, was 17 when he graduated and there were 19 year olds in his grad class. My daughter is about a year younger than many girls in her grad year. It is tough to make it "fair" for everyone. I agree with 2gymmies. It is just the luck of the draw and hopefully it evens out eventually. There are almost 3X the number of gymnasts in my daughter's Level 10 age group this year compared to the age group before her. Last year, there were only 11 in her age group. Unfortunately, she was injured and could not take advantage of it. This year will be very tough to make nationals.

 

[Natasha]

I am glad at least that they have changed how they give the extra spots to make it more fair. And I agree, I don't think there is ever a way to make it completely fair. Even with trying to equal out the number of competitors it won't be fair. Last year #16 in her age group had a score higher than #7 in the age group next to hers at Regionals even though the total number of competitors were similar. This is all girls within 8 months of each other. I just remind myself (especially this time of year) that the tough 'life's not fair' lessons is one of the many wonderful things she is learning through this sport.

 

[sportsmom]

@Seeker my daughter is June of 2002 and is a level 9 Sr. 2. The JR. 8 group will be 14 at the time Westerns is completed.

 

[Seeker]

@Seeker my daughter is June of 2002 and is a level 9 Sr. 2. The JR. 8 group will be 14 at the time Westerns is completed.

Sorry -- I was looking at the L9 Eastern age groups (that is what is linked to above).

 

[thefellowsmom]

Yeah, I was noticing that western age groups are a bit younger than eastern. My dd would be one age group down if at easterns. Not that it matters at all. Just interesting how it breaks down. I also noticed that every year there are more and more younger kids with the age groups getting younger and younger. It's no joke that gymnastics in America is getting better and better and even more competitive. Crazy!

 

[RussianGymnasticforlifeyo]

Thanks for posting I'm new to this forum and I'm finding everything so helpful

 

[l.c.o]

So my DD isn't near westerns/nationals yet, but I've been following along because the debate is interesting.

The argument for school year age brackets... I wonder why isn't done that way? And of course the boys just moved away from that (a Sept 1 cutoff). Wonder why?

I do agree that, no matter when the cutoff is set, some will benefit and others won't. My DD has one of those odd birthdays where around here she's often right near the age cutoff. Sometimes she falls on the 'easier' side, sometimes she doesn't.

 

[skschlag]

So my DD isn't near westerns/nationals yet, but I've been following along because the debate is interesting.

The argument for school year age brackets... I wonder why isn't done that way? And of course the boys just moved away from that (a Sept 1 cutoff). Wonder why?

I do agree that, no matter when the cutoff is set, some will benefit and others won't. My DD has one of those odd birthdays where around here she's often right near the age cutoff. Sometimes she falls on the 'easier' side, sometimes she doesn't.

The boys moved away from it for a couple of reasons. One being that they were finding that the kids that were competing nationals were actually older than the age they were competing (so 15 yos were winning 14 yo age group). I would not be surprised to see it moved again in the next quad to more look like Europe.

 

[thefellowsmom]

sorry, what more like Europe look like?

 

[gymgal]

The boys moved away from it for a couple of reasons. One being that they were finding that the kids that were competing nationals were actually older than the age they were competing (so 15 yos were winning 14 yo age group). I would not be surprised to see it moved again in the next quad to more look like Europe.

I would think this pertains more to males than females though as you are talking about more strength in mens gymnastics. You really don't come across that with womens gymnastics in terms of growth/maturation

 

[skschlag]

sorry, what more like Europe look like?

They compete birth years. So everyone in 2002 is in an age group, etc

 

[skschlag]

I would think this pertains more to males than females though as you are talking about more strength in mens gymnastics. You really don't come across that with womens gymnastics in terms of growth/maturation

Yes.. I was addressing someone's comment about the boys changing the age groups this year.

 

[skschlag]

They compete birth years. So everyone in 2002 is in an age group, etc

That might be simpler than they do it, but that is the gist of it.

 

[thefellowsmom]

Ahh, thanks!