Level 4,5,6 routines - designed for small girls?

[GymVamp]

Thats not true cuz there is 13+ year old girls on our L4 team who get 9.6 and higher so it
just depends on body form and how you teach them!!!!

 

[gymalex]

Generally, the most competitive gyms have young compulsory gymnasts. In North Texas, we have a ton of amazing gyms, and usually the kids scoring the 39.00+ AA scores are in the Jr A bracket. Top-tier gyms are going to compete mainly 7 & 8 yr olds in level 5...by the time you're 12, you're a level 9. I think that's why the smaller kids score better- because they come from the most competitive, experienced gyms.
As a judge, I try hard not to factor in the "cute points." I can tell you from experience on 2+ judge panels that it DOES happen, but really not very often. I also don't judge the older girls more harshly-- that's just not fair.

 

[T.Gymnastics]

I honestly dont care as long as im being judged the same as the rest of my age group...

 

[lannamavity]

I think the young girls for some reason score higher not only in the compulsaries but also the optionals. If you look at level 8 or 9 the younger girls also have higher scores. I think it is plain stupid how they break up the age levels. I have seen my daughter have a lower score than her friend and because she was in a different age group my daughter got a medal and her friend didn't. I have also seen girls qualify at our gym to regionals who had lower scores than girls who did not qualify. In both this cases it was the younger girls who suffered because they were in the more competitive groups and the younger groups scores were much higher. I think they should forget about age groups and go strictly by level.

I'm not arguing your point here, but I'm curious: how do you propose running awards? We have over 800 Level 4s in our State. Do you really think it's right to tell a girl who scores a 36.0 All Around at State Meet that she just got 100th place? How would you determine who competed in which session? There is a maximum number of athletes allowed per session for the gymnast's safety. Do you think it's fair for athletes in one session to compete against athletes in another, on another day/time? Would awards be given at the end of the weekend?

Just some things to consider.

 

[momofchalksters]

I haven't read all of the replies but I just wanted to add that my step DD won first AA and 1st on bars and vault at state and she is 11. My own DD is almost 11 and she came in a VERY close second in bars at state (she scored 9.425 and her step-sister scored 9.5)