WAG Level 7 beam question

[Ali'sMom]

Looking for a definite answer from someone who knows for sure:

Can a gymmie compete L7 beam without a BHS?

I have a L6 with a paralyzing BWO fear. She just got 2nd place on beam without it (yay DD!). I think by next year she could manage the rest of the skills for L7, but I'm wondering if there is any way possible to compete L7 without the BHS. I do have hope she will get past this fear (because truth be told, she does a beautiful BWO on low beam - she can do up until about halfway up on crank beam before she full-out panics), but I'm just pondering what next year might hold for her, especially if this block lasts. I'm hoping she could at least get the BWO by next year, but the idea of the BHS makes me wonder...

Thank you!

 

[profmom]

She can do BWO BWO for her acro series and do a RO separately for L7. She does need an acro series though. If connecting the BWOs doesn't work, she could do something with a cartwheel or try connecting a BWO to a FWO. It's hard, though, to get credit for the connection with the BWO-BWO and even harder with other combinations.

Many coaches will not move a girl to L7 without a BHS, because it's foundational for so much of what comes afterward. It's very hard if not impossible to progress on JO beam without a BHS. But with enough time and patience, hopefully she will figure it out -- from a BTDT mom!

 

[munchkin3]

Yes....We have a couple doing CW to RO......but definitely NOT ideal. The coaches would have made them stay L6 but they already competed a L7 meet somewhere else......These routine do not score well. She must do a BWO....how about scratching beam for a few meets?

 

[chalkbowl]

Yes....We have a couple doing CW to RO......but definitely NOT ideal. The coaches would have made them stay L6 but they already competed a L7 meet somewhere else......These routine do not score well. She must do a BWO....how about scratching beam for a few meets?

You can score well with a CW + RO, however, it's a lot harder to connect that then a backward series for most kids. I have an athlete doing Xcel Platinum this year that has a backwards beam fear. However, she is rocking her CW + CW series, so it is possible.

 

[Gymmommy71]

Yeah, technically the requirements for a 10.0 SV can be met w/o a beam BHS. But it depends on the gym and the gymnast if it will be permitted - hasn't been allowed in our gym in recent years, but there just may not have been a good test case for it.

My instincts would say that a kid w/ really strong L7 bars (like casts and free hips to handstands and really good Giants) would be allowed to get away w/ a non-BHS L7 beam - where if bars were just average or sub par, no way. Coaches around me usually want to see a strong profeciency in beam or bars (ideally both, but if one is REALLY strong they may let the other slide some) before letting a gymnast compete that level. Your area could be different though.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Like others have said...yes, it's possible but not ideal and most gyms will really want it for the future progress value. At our gym, no, one would not be allowed to do L7 w/o a BHS on beam, nor without a giant in bars, but that's gym "rules". We strongly prefer our L5's to do the BHS upgrade in their routine instead of the BWO.
If a kid has already been moved to L7 and has everything else (loses or develops fear on a skill) they scratch that event until the issue is resolved.
I hope your DDs backward tumbling fears on beam are long gone by the time decisions are made for next year!

 

[GymGirl's Mom]

Yep! I know of a few Level 10s from a well known Elite gym who don't go backwards on beam. The requirement for L7 is flight. A round off can satisfy the requirement, so can an aerial. I think that's the beauty of Optional gymnastics. It doesn't have to be one skill fits all.

 

[Ali'sMom]

Thank you all!!!

I do know it's not ideal. I also expect a lot of gyms wouldn't allow it.
In our situation, I do believe that if DD is proficient in all other events, but still has the fear, that they might allow it.
Honestly, I see next year most likely being her last year, and I'm hoping she wouldn't have to repeat Level 6. She's a good gymmie, when she's confidant. But school stress weighs on her (she's also the proverbial perfectionist who wants all As in her honors classes - so with next year being 8th grade, I do see her being done for high school.)
It would indeed be a fine line as to whether they would let her move up - but only based on a few girls who are now 6 instead of 7 because of lack of giant. Not many, and they all know about DD's fear (she is the first of this group to have such a paralyzing fear. they have all seen her have her panic attacks (truly) on the BWO).

She just got 2nd place in beam with her cartwheel it was so nice to see her sure about what she was doing on beam. First time in a LONG time.

It's a long way away, but I wanted to see what possibilities actually exist.

 

[CoachMeg]

BHS or Round-Off is pretty much her only option. We have a girl on our team competing L7 with a RO as her flight on beam but that is because of a back issue that she was born with. She knows that she will not be able to get much higher because of it, so it was kind of an exception to our rule. All our other L7s compete BHS.

Unless her other 3 events are rock-star good and she is being held back by not competing L7, I would have her repeat 6. Of course you probably don't have much say in what level she competes. But level 6, at least in my area, is more of a level for kids who have skills beyond level 5 but are missing like 1 or 2 for L7. I hate when teams put kids in L6 who are not even doing L5 skills. I don't think it's fair. Why should a kid doing a cartwheel on beam beat a kid doing a BHS? Now if a kid is ready for L7, by all means put them at 7. I'm not saying teams should be sandbagging and stealing the podium at a L6 meet with their obvious L7/8 gymnasts. That's not right either. But I think L6s should AT LEAST be doing L5 skills. Our gym tries to skip L6 if at all possible for this very reason. L6 meets are all over the place with kids doing as little as R0-bhs-bhs (level 4) all the way to Ro-bhs-layout (level 7). But giants take time, and that's usually the reason most of our kids go 6 instead of 7. I think the purpose of L6 should be for kids who are ready for optionals, but are missing a skill due to either fear or they just need more time. But 95% our 6s compete a BHS or RO on beam - the other 5% do BWO-BWO or front-walkover.

Regardless of where they compete, a gymnast is only as high of a level as her weakest event - unless she's a specialist. So a L8 with a front-handspring vault is still a L7. A L7 with no flight is still a L5.

Please do not take offense in my post. I just see so many coaches rush to get kids to optionals when clearly the gymnast should still be a compulsory. It's going to be more damaging to your daughter if she competes a level too high with a skill she has a "paralyzing fear" on. Let her repeat L6 with a BWO on beam, gain confidence, and up train for L7. Unless she's rockstar good on the other 3 events and she'll throw a decent RO as her flight. But even then, it's very hard to build off of a RO. She'll either be stuck in L6 or L7 until she overcomes her fear.

 

[Ali'sMom]

Thank you @CoachMeg
She actually did have all of her level 5 skills, and all of her level 6 skills beautifully before being moved into Level 6 this year. The beam fear started with a fall in August, and was exasperated by a coach who thought yelling at her would fix her. Then she fell during a different skill and did hurt herself, and same coach again tried to fix it. Two practices later, full-fledged panic attack, and HC had to talk her down off the beam.
That's when they took the BWO totally out. So it was either cartwheel, or have her do XG (she already competed Level 5, so couldn't go back to 4), but she has everything else just fine.

If I thought she'd compete past next year, and on, I would definitely be okay with repeating Level 6 next year, working on the backwards skills. I do get that everything builds onto future levels and skills.
I'm just wondering if she can go out with Level 7, rather than repeating Level 6.

 

[pt coach]

We have two level 7s competing the cartwheel round off series. Is it ideal for future progress? Not really. But these kids are 14 years old, both did 6 twice, have physical limitations which make a bhs very unikely....and they both have scored from a 9.3 - 9.6 with this series. They do it well, along with everything else in their routines. They are strong on the other events.

 

[Ali'sMom]

We have two level 7s competing the cartwheel round off series. Is it ideal for future progress? Not really. But these kids are 14 years old, both did 6 twice, have physical limitations which make a bhs very unikely....and they both have scored from a 9.3 - 9.6 with this series. They do it well, along with everything else in their routines. They are strong on the other events.

Thank you!

 

[cadybearsmommy]

Our level 7's do the CW-RO connection and it actually scores quite well (9's and up). However I personally think the BWO-BWO, or BWO-BHS looks better, but it's a good pass to use until the fear issues are resolved.

 

[UnoMas]

My daughter competes a CW RO right now for 7 and if she would stay on (beam nerves get her pretty much all the time) she would be scoring right at a 9. She competed BHS and BWO/BWO earlier in the year and scored about the same. You absolutely do not need the back acro for 7, but you do need a well executed connected series or you will get killed on the score in 7.

 

[GymRatMama]

My DD L6 currently competes a fwo on the beam even though she can do a bhs. The bhs is not great but she doesn't practice it much. She doesn't like backward skills on the beam. She told me that she is currently practicing a fwo RO for her L7 routine. That seems like a difficult combination to get the connection points, but I guess we will see where it goes. Moving forward she plans to learn to do a ft and an aerial on the beam. Her coaches are allowing this, but I think if they forced her to do the backward skills she would overcome this dislike. Her bwo in L5 was beautiful, but once she had choices on the beam in L6 she took out all backward skills. Even her dismount is a cartwheel ft. One last note... On the floor she likes back tumbling better.

 

[raenndrops]

Thank you!

We have a L7 that does CW-Dive CW and scores well. She also uses it in her High School Meets (L8 rules) and has come in 2nd on beam (against some girls that actually are L8+).

 

[GlobalNomad]

DD competed a FWO+CW+BWO series one year. If it's just the backwards skills on beam that are giving her trouble, I'm wondering if your DD could compete a FWO+CW as her acro series, then a RO+BT dismount.

 

[my4buffaloes]

CW/RO fulfills the requirements. We have a level 9 that won't go backwards on beam. She does an aerial into a RO. She has also done FWOs and also a backwards roll in the lower levels. There are ways to meet the requirements - if the gym will let them.

 

[ascarter1]

Our gym requires a bwo bhs at 7 but not all gyms do. We were at a meet out of state this weekend and saw many of the options listed above. It's interesting bc in our state, almost all do a bwo bhs but I guess it varies greatly state by state. Luckily, it sounds like your dd's gym is willing to work around her block so that's terrific! Best of luck!

 

[Ali'sMom]

Sounds like we definitely have some options if she chooses to stay in gym next year!
Thank you all!!!!
(of course I am totally hoping she gets past this block!)