Leagues other than USAG

[GymnastJoy]

My dd has only been in USAG and is still in compulsary levels. Our gym has just started a new team which will compete in another league (not sure which but is definitely not prep-op). It seems to be a local or state league. Anyway, dd is happy and doing well so not looking to change now but a good option to keep in mind for the future since it is less days and more relaxed. Also, all routines are individual so seems to be structured more like optionals. The girls who are on the team so far are a mix of girls who joined the sport later or could not seem to get their skills to compete level 4.

My question is are these routines scored more on skills than on form/technique? Whereas my dd is focusing on perfecting form (straight legs, etc) these girls seem to be focusing more on higher-level skills. Many of them who have just started are doing cartwheel, BWO on beam and whatever other skill they can stick rather than working to make a skill look pretty. Maybe I've just been at too many USAG meets. Are other leagues judged more on difficulty of skill than on how the skill is performed? Obviously, I could ask the HC of the other team but I don't want her to think that dd is interested (she's not) or sound like I think the girls don't have good skills (they do, and many who just joined have higher-level skills than dd).

Anyone have experience at meets other than USAG (not prep-op or YMCA but more of a state/local league)?

 

[Bella's Mom]

Our gym has two L4 teams...one competes USAG and the other competes AAU. What the parents were told was that the USAG girls were the "advanced" team. We were also told that the AAU meets were more appropriate for some because the judges weren't as picky about not having precise routines and you could be a "sloppier" without as much penalty.

Needless to say, this explanation didn't go over so well with many parents (including me).

 

[AmandaLynn]

Are you comfortable giving the name of the league? If so, someone could probably give you a better answer.

I grew up in NJ and competed JOGA. JOGA is Jersey Optional Gymnastics Association and all gymnasts (even beginners) compete by High School gymnastics rules. So... the requirements are somewhere close to about a level 9, and you see a lot of coaches pushing kids through skills more quickly than you'd see in USAG programs to meet the requirements of the league. If the league that you are talking about is similar, then the short answer is yes. That may be exactly what's happening.

 

[GymSurvivor]

I compete AAU and it is much more relaxed. It is called the Recreational Team at my gym as we compete USAG as well. Alot of times you have judges judging from the gyms you compete at and there was a low score of 7.00 so as long as you got up the event and tried, it doesn't matter how bad you did you wouldn't get lower than a 7.00 unless you completely scratched the event.
Although we work on form and 'tidbits' just as much as the USAG team does. They just tend to put the older girls that are just starting to compete on the AAU team. So the USAG team has all the itty bitty talents. While our team is made up of an older age range.

Although my team has been told by my coach that the AAU league is taking up quite a few of the rules of USAG, the judges will no longer be 'gym judges' as I call them. This year they will be using USAG judges and the 7.00 low score has been gotten rid off. So we'll see how this year goes.

 

[GymnastJoy]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I do not know the name of the league yet. And it is definitely not something like JOGA (skills are not that advanced) or AAU (all routines are individualized so aren't comparable to USAG).

 

[AmandaLynn]

For the record, not all of the kids that compete in JOGA are that advanced. they just score lower. There are different levels, but the levels just differ by the scores, rather than the requirements. For instance, it was not unusual for frst year JOGA kids to get scores below a 5 on bars back when I competed. I believe that the score to qualify for states was like a 24 or a 25 or something for the lowest level, a 28 or 29 for the middle level, and a 31 or a 32 for the upper level.