L7 Skills

[msl529]

I'm just curious what the skills are for L7 for each event. Minimum, like, I know they like to have them do BHS on beam, but can do 2 BWO's instead. & what are the dismounts? That kind of stuff...

Thanks!

 

[gymfreak4ever]

In level 7 on beam you have to have a flight element(the backhandspring) AND a series(the backwalkover backwalkover) You can also do a backwalkover backhandspring and that would be the flight and series. For dismounts you can do roundoff backtuck, front tuck, things like that. You need a full turn, and a jump series.
Bars- all routines are pretty much the same just with either a giant or a clear hip on the highbar. So you can go, Kip cast clearhip kip squat kip clearhip flyaway. or do a giant insteap of the second clearhip.
Floor- you must have a layout, and a front tumbling pass(fronthandspring front tuck/pike and ive seen layouts) You need a leap series, acro series(dance tumble dance, tumble dance tumble), a full turn, and im pretty sure a jump series(im pretty sure a turn into a jump(full turn tuckjump) would work)
vault- a simple fronthandspring starts out of a 10.

 

[gracefulone]

Beam:
A turn of 360 degrees.
A 180 degree split
An acro series(composed of two 'tumbling' skills, ie bwo-bwo, cartwheel-RO, BHS- BHS, etc.)
A pose held for two seconds
A flight element(choose from BHS, FHS, RO)
A minimum of an A value dismount
4 A's (ie-a leap, certain poses even!)
2 B's (ex. split jump 1/4)
Bars:
2 circling elements (giants, free hipcircles) They must start from different positions; you may not do two free hips in a row.
Minimum A level dismount
Floor:
4 A's
2 B's( a 1 and a half turn counts, so do switchleaps, and tuck jump full turns)
A turn of at least 360 degrees
A layout
A front pass consisting of one salto and one flight element (FHS-FT, Ft stepout-FHS)
A 180 degree leap connected to a jump or another leap
A gym-acro series. A tumbling element connected to a dance element( ex RO-straddle jump
Vault:
Minimum handspring vault.


Hope I got just about all of it and that it helps.

 

[gymdog]

L7 is basically optional and many skills or combinations of skills can be used so I'm going to paste in the requirements and an example. Per your example of beam the two BWOs actually cannot replace the BHS as those skills fulfill seperate requirements (an acro series and an acro element with flight). If a BWO BHS was done it would simultaneously fulfill those elements by incorporating an element with flight into a series of two connected acro elements.

Value part requirements (for BB, FX, UB) - 5 As, 2 Bs

BARS

1. 1 Cast – Minimum of “Aâ€￾ (21°-45°
from vertical)
​

​

​

2. & 3. Two 360° circling elements,
both a minimum of B
- May be same or different,
- One from Group 3, 6, or 7
Most girls will do giants. Free hip/toe shoot/stalder needed also​

4. Salto dismount, minimum A
Most will do layout flyaway but a tucked flyaway also is acceptable

BEAM

1. ​

​

Acro series with a min. of two A or
B elements with or without flight,
AND
One acro flight element (may be
included in series)
(All elements must start & finish on
beam.)
See above
2. One leap/jump requiring 180° split
(Isolated or in a series)
A regular split leap or split jump will fulfill this
3. Minimum of 360° turn on one foot
(Isolated or in a series)
full turn​

4. Aerial or salto dismount, min. A
Usually RO/CW to back tuck or front tuck

FLOOR

1. ​

​

One acro series (3 or more flight
elements) which includes a
backward salto stretched to 2 feet
(Back layout to 2 feet)
RO BHS back layout
2. A direct connection of two or more
FORWARD acro elements with
flight. One element must be a salto
or an aerial.
Usually FHS front tuck
3. Dance series with a min. of 2
elements, one a leap (one foot takeoff)
requiring 180° cross or side split
Usually leap connected to jump, example switch leap to straddle jump
4. Minimum of 360° turn on one foot​

(May be isolated or in a series)
full turn although 1.5 turn not unusual in L7 floor

VAULT
Almost always front handspring

USAG optional requirement chart can be found here (recommend adding to favorites as it's hard to locate through the site): Link Removed

My examples are indicative of what the majority tends to do and by no means are L7 routines limited to these skills, however particular gyms tend to have requirements or preferences for difficulty level of the routines their gymnasts perform. Best to email or quickly talk to the coach if you have a question about a particular element your DD is having difficulty with as far as whether they require that element to be performed in L7 (i.e. giants or BWO series on BB) or if alternate elements can be used and what the timeline is for those decisions.

 

[msl529]

Thanks! So you are saying they must have the BHS on beam?
And don't they need to cast to a handstand on bars?

B/C dd is in a bit of a conundrum:

She is supposed to compete L6 this Fall. Her best bud just decided to not compete L6 as planned, but go back and do a 2nd yr L5. According to dd, the rest of the L6's are either injured or missing skills and may not compete L6, which means dd would compete alone. Not fun, as a big part of this sport for her is being at competitions w/ friends/ teammates & all the camaraderie that goes w/ it. I mean, what 12 yr old wants to sit out there thru a whole comp. w/ just their coach? No offense to the coaches, she LOVES them, but, y' know....

So dd was thinking maybe of asking the coaches if she could 'test out' of L6 & jump up to L7, so she'd at least have a season (Winter) competing w/ a fair number of teammates.

Skills that point toward L7 which she has thus far:

Bars: cast-flyaway, but cannot cast to a handstand.
Beam: BWO. BHS only on low beam. RO to back flip dismount. Some sort of run across beam, punch & front flip off beam (sorry I don't know the terms!)
Floor: Backwards layout. Front handspring (or flyspring maybe?) to front tuck. No fancy leaps yet
Vault: 1/2 on. Tsuk.

I guess I just worry about her getting discouraged & quitting if she has to compete all alone, & wonder if the L7 thing would be worth it---or too hard & frustrating & thus lead to quitting?

She did do 2 years of L5, state titles on beam & bars, so has good basics there. So staying back to do L5 w/ friends would not be right, nor does she want to do that again!
Things may change & all this will probably be 'moot' by this evening, but just wanted your feedback.

Maybe we can pray for a few nice L6's to suddenly join the gym????

 

[msl529]

Oh yeah, and she has her free hip (since that is L6 skill), & giant only on strap bar.

 

[gymdog]

Thanks! So you are saying they must have the BHS on beam?
And don't they need to cast to a handstand on bars?

No, they need an element with flight on BB (second sentence after AND on #1 BB requirement above). This could be a BHS, but it could also be another element where the hands and feet are simultaneously off the BB (shows flight) such as a RO or FHS. BHS is simply the most common flight element since it will generally translate more easily to upper level connections. The element with flight may be part of the acro series (i.e. BWO BHS) or it could be performed in isolation, with the acro series having two non flight elements (i.e. BWO BWO).

As for cast to HS, the cast needs to count (mimimum A cast). A cast to horizontal would be nothing (0), a cast 45 degrees above horizontal/45 degrees from vertical (HS on top of bar) to 21 degrees from vertical would an A cast, a cast above 21 degrees from vertical would be a B cast. This is one cast in the routine. For example the gymnast could do a cast to horizontal into a free hip on the low bar, and then a higher cast (min. A) into a giant or free hip on high bar...some gymnasts find the higher cast or cast HS to be easier out of the long hang kip. This is where it gets a little complicated but two free hips can be done in the L7 bar routine but the routine has to be worked out so they enter or exit differently in order for the second to count (i.e. kip cast horizontal, free hip horizontal, kip cast horizontal, free hip horizontal all on low bar - second one won't count because of entering and exiting the same). The gym I did L7 with required giants or a free hip HS on high bar as a gym requirement.

Seems like she could get all the floor and BB skills together in time but bars is usually the most difficult. I think it would depend on the gym requirements and her expectations (she would have to keep in mind long term she is a year or two many girls who will be competing and winning the L7 events and that she might not move to L8 right after a year of L7 after skipping 6). I think you should definitely meet with her coaches face to face about a possibility of a plan like this. Definitely does not sound like she should be doing L5 again based on those skills (presumably with good basics due to L5 competitive success) and I would doubt many coaches would keep her there. On the other hand, right up until states, there are lots of meets where level 5s and 6s can compete together so if she is the only 6 the coaches may plan on a competitive season like that. I trained in a L9/10 group at one point while competing 8 (even though my gym had another group of 8s) and for most of the smaller meets I was just in the other rotation with the 9/10 group and had to compete first or last. Optional sessions are a little easier to get everyone in like that but I've definitely worked a lot of 5/6 sessions.

 

[msl529]

Thanks so much! What fonts of information you all are!

As I suspected, the jump in bar & beam skills would be tough, not to mention all the other skills. I think she will not mention this to her coaches for now, and wait & see if her L6 group 'fattens' up a bit. I really hope it does!

If she does end up on her own, I think I'll just encourage her to get thru this season and look forward to doing Prep-Opt in Winter, when she can probably re-join her L5 buds.

If there's anything she & I learned last Fall season at her past gym in CA (which was very competitive, and the reason why she did a 2nd season of L5), it IS nice to be comfortable and confident w/ your skills, rather than always struggling and feeling behind all the others.

Any nice girls interested in moving to South FL & competing L6 w/ my dd?

 

[gym monkeys mom]

Looks like you have lots of L7 requirements here. I will not repeat that but, tell you of my DD last season as a lone Level 7 in our gym. My DD had the same teammates since Level 4 and they all (4) left to go to a gym a judge started near us. A couple others who wandered in for a year or so left also to do High School. My DD was worried about being all by herself at meets and was struggling a bit with skills. She did not want to go elsewhere loves her coaches and gym. She also didn't want to repeat Level 6 so she did a season alone. However, what happened is this we did 7 meets only at 2 was she alone. Since most meets are Capital Cup now when she was registerd as a lone Level 7 they usually put her in a mixed level session with Level 8's in and once with our Level 5'. She had a great year her new optional teammates took great care to include her. The few meets she did alone she thought were fun to have all the coaching attention and also brought her ipod. LOL I think she grew as a person and a gymnast this last seasona lot. She is also 12 years old. This year she is blessed with great other Level 7's and they will be a fabulous group with my DD as the experienced one. I wish you luck and can only tell DD's story and hope it helps.

 

[msl529]

Thank you, gym monkey's mom! It's good to hear of your dd's experience, and be reminded that we have a choice to try and grow through these tougher times.

I think dd will be fine sticking w/ L6. Somehow, it will all work out!

Thanks!

 

[flippymonkeysmom]

Keep in mind another thing too - even though last year our gym had quite a few level 6's - my dd was the youngest, so quite often was in a different session because of the age group. Smaller meets they were altogether though. It does sound like your dd has most of her 7 skills though. My dd is a 7 now and is doing a round off on the beam since it looks better than her bhs on beam.

 

[gymdog]

Also if she is in a meet alone, you can try to encourage her to see it as an opportunity that she will probably be rotating with another singleton and some small groups and will get to know some new friends she might see at states and other meets. I have so many friends from gymnastics around the state, girls who competed high school and club at different schools and gyms that are around my age.