level 6

[emm'sgymmom]

I am wondering if anyone can give me any information about level 6. My daughter will be a new level 6this year, and I have heard from many people that level 6 is very difficult. I have been told that judging is very tough for level 6. Anyone have a similar experience? Just wondering what the next season will bring. thanks.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

Level 6 is most definitely held to higher standards than L5. There are higher expectations for casts, as well as the other skills on bars. Tumbling needs to be higher and tighter, same for vault. The split jump on beam definitely needs to be approaching more of an 180 degree split, etc. Your DD has all summer to work on these skills. The things the seem to be the most difficult for L6 is the fly away on bars and clear hip circle, as well as casting higher. Good luck! She has all summer to work on these skills!

 

[MaryA]

Right there with you, Em'sgymmom... We'll have to check in with each other to see how our DD's are fairing through the season. I feel like there's a lot less discussion about level 6 on this site than there is other levels. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. This time last year I already knew enough to fear the dreaded kip. This year I don't know what to fear... except for really low scores!

 

[sogamom]

My daughter just finished her level6 season by becoming ohio level 6 vault bar and all around champion!!! Thats not to say we didnt have a rough go of it .. Lots of struggles with the bars early in the season free hip cast to 45 was tricky.....scores do tend to be low and i beleive the judging is a little harder. She had no problem with the backwalkover on beam but she is really flexable. She has a really good floor routine placing 2nd at state but never scored above 9.1 on it. All i can say is good luck and just remember all meet seasons come to an end ..thankfully!!!

 

[Muddlethru]

Level 6 is definitely the most difficult compulsory level. After all, it is the highest compulsory level. But I don't know if I would put it in the "very difficult" category. Many gyms skip out of L6 (or have their gymnasts score out--I don't know the rationale behind this). If you go with this alone, it would seem, some gyms feel it is an unnecessary level. Hence, giving me the perception that it is an uneventful (I did not want to say easy because there is nothing easy when it comes to gymnastics) level.

In our gym/team, the skills our L6 had most difficulty is the squat on and connecting on bars. Also, if you don't have your kip, you can get killed on scores. On beam, the backwalkover and the full turn make our girls very nervous. Our girls do well on floor, but in the beginning we took many deductions for not landing the tumbling passes, proper form on tucks and for wobbles. The scoring on vault is different as the judges now look at blocking, repulsion and the hallow form of the body. All in all, I don't think it is a difficult level. It is not a huge jump from L5 but actually a good progression from L5.

I think we are always afraid of new things, fear of the unknown. L6 definitely has more difficult skills than L5. And it should because it is a level higher. But by no means a huge jump from L5. I also don't think the judging is anymore difficult than any other level. Difficulty is a point of view. A new or aspiring level 6 may say L6 is difficult but for a gymnast who has passed it may say, it is a piece of cake (at least compared to the level they are currently in). Don't be afraid of this level. And don't worry too much about getting high scores. Getting high scores are great. I also wish them for my DD. But I've also learned that how our DDs do at a meet is not a true measure of their progress. I am saying this now, because my DD just finished L7 states. Her coach had high hopes for her and thought she had a shot at winning States. But she fell on beam and although normally very stable on beam, she had a huge wobbled. The fall on beam and the major wobble, got her 8.9 on beam while her competitors were getting 9.8. This was a major setback that got her 6th AA. This L7 State meet was her worst L7 meet to date. She was moved to L7 in mid February this year after competing 3 meets as a L6. She placed 1st AA on two of the 3 L7 meets s she competed and 4th AA on her first L7 meet. Though I am sad for my DD as she wanted to do so well at States, her placing at this meet is no measure of how she has done in her L7 season. Her coach said she did not perform at all at her peak, nerves, her mom not being there, her rather proactive father and being only 9. She cried but not for her but probably she felt she let her coach down. How do you console a child who wants so desperately to please?

Anyway, sorry for getting sidetracked. Your DD will learn the skills and if she ever has a bad meet, there will be other meets she can prove herself. Good luck in the L6 season. It is a great level. Although I do believe every level is a great level.

 

[momocay]

I am wondering if anyone can give me any information about level 6. My daughter will be a new level 6this year, and I have heard from many people that level 6 is very difficult. I have been told that judging is very tough for level 6. Anyone have a similar experience? Just wondering what the next season will bring. thanks.

My daughter struggled at level 5. I was really worried about level 6. Turns out she had the best compulsary year. I think it can go either way. My daughters team, that year, had some girls have less than their average season, and some better. Its gymnastics! Who can predict it? Good Luck!

 

[pinkgiraffe1594]

Level 6 does require quite a bit more strength, especially for bars. That was the biggest difference I remember noticing. The judges can kill you on bars!!

 

[ThreeGirlsForMe]

I would love to have some level 6 "buddies." My daughter (9) also will be doing level 6 this year. She did two years of level 4 and one of level 5. Even though she did well on bars last year, bars definately seems harder for her. Her baby giant is very "jerky" and her free hip currently is not "free" at all LOL. I think that it will be a real challenge this year. She also continues to struggle on vault with her heel drive - always pikes onto the vault but has a nice hollow after-flight. BWO on beam is ok. She still needs to "warm up" on the lower beams before she is confident on the high beam, but I bet with more practice the needed warm-up period will decrease. They still have not worked on back tucks on the floor. She has done one or two tumbling passes during open gym, but not in a while. I am glad that we have many, many more months before competition as she is not at all ready right now ;-)

 

[MaryA]

Oh, I'd love to be "Level 6 Buddies" with you, ThreeGirlsForMe and Emmsgymmom! Kathy just turned 10 in February but will competing level 6 next season as an 11-year-old because her birthday is before States.

 

[gymcoach34]

The deductions for Level 5 and 6 vaulting are the same.

 

[MaryA]

The deductions for Level 5 and 6 vaulting are the same.

Really? So theoretically a vault that earns a 9 at level 5 should earn a 9 at level 6? Have you found that's the case in practice as well as in theory? Kathy started the season with a 4.8 on vault (!!!!) but ended the season getting pretty close to a 9.

 

[pinkgiraffe1594]

I thought they were able to take more deductions for the block, or lack thereof....?

 

[eme777]

This is a question that I had specifically asked our state's head judge & she said that the deductions for level 5 and 6 vault are the same. So, if a gymnast is scoring 9's on vaults in level 5, they should be able to still do that in level 6. Just keep in mind, that each individual judge still has their own approach to judging & taking deductions, so there will still be some variation. Judges are only human, & the vault happens so fast.

 

[Panda-girl's Mom]

Like I said before every kid is different my daughter had a rough year as level 6 her vault scores got lower but she had the heal pain but her friend had a great year her vault scores improved from 5to 6 along with her other scores espcecailly floor and beam. Bars I think is really difficult. Mary A your daughter showed such an improvment over the season that I am sure she will do good. I think 6 is a difficult level as far as them taking off a lot of form deductions and the scores do not seem to be as high. I think my daughter had a rough year because of her heel pain growth spurts and now that she decided she is done with the sport maybe her motivation was just not as high as it was in the past. I also think she may have had some fears of the floor tumbling but was too proud to admit it so she would just go for the robhsbt and not really think about what she was doing.

 

[MaryA]

I think my daughter had a rough year because of her heel pain growth spurts and now that she decided she is done with the sport maybe her motivation was just not as high as it was in the past. I also think she may have had some fears of the floor tumbling but was too proud to admit it so she would just go for the robhsbt and not really think about what she was doing.

It must be so hard to want to do something you love when your body is telling you to stop. Your daughter has shown so much strength of character this past year. I'm sure it will serve her well in years to come!

 

[MaryA]

Checking in with those whose daughters are training level 6. How is it going? Just watched the floor routine on youtube (Hubby has the girls out of town this weekend so I'm playing around on line) and it's so LONG. Some parts of it are a lot like level 5 but there's just so much more packed into it. At Kathy's gym, they're still working on individual skills... I wonder when the coaches are going to have them start working on the actual routine? I like the level 6 music a lot better than I liked the level 5 music.

Bar skills are certainly still the biggest challenge for Kathy (as they always are). She has her flyaway (she LOVES doing flyaways... when I visited her at Woodward and watched her at open gym, all she wanted to do was practice flyaways into the pit over and over and over again), but still hasn't mastered the castaway kip (is that what it's called?) or the free hip. I haven't seen her work on her baby giant in a while so I don't know how that's going. I've noticed that all of a sudden her kips are looking like completely different things... like after a year of doing them, they finally look strong and natural and "easy" now, and her squat-ons are finally getting pretty consistant. That's cool to see! If she ends up having to repeat 5, she'll be able to rock it!

I think she mostly "has" her other skills, except for maybe her beam dismount, but combining them in the proper combinations, especially on that floor routine, may be a different thing altogether.

 

[vagymmomma]

I haven't seen DDs L6 routines in a while, but she's they're coming along. I guess her bar coach told her tonight that she's got the low bar section down with minimal deductions, so I'm pretty amazed with that. She's had her flyaway/baby giant for awhile so the 2nd section should go pretty well. Amazingly, they haven't practiced the full floor routines much either.

 

[gym law mom]

Patience MaryA and vagymmomma! My guess is the coaches are working all the individual skills and dance for the L6 floor routine before having the girls try putting it together. Its very frustrating for the kids to try a routine when the tumbling isn't consistent yet. Much easier to learn it when they can do all the passes.
I know you're anxious to see what it all looks like when its put together Sounds like both girls are having a good summer of practice.

 

[2gymmies]

I know for some that back tuck at the end of the floor routine is harder than just having the back tuck and connecting the bar routine can be quite difficult especially the kip and squat-on connection. Best of luck!

 

[MaryA]

Oh, I don't think Kathy's ready to start putting the skills together into routines... I was just wondering when they would be. That always seems like an exciting time... when the skills you've been working on all summer start fitting into an actual routine. I guess it's always an exciting time in gymnastics... meet season, learning-new-skills season, putting together the new routine season...