WAG Level 8 beam questions.

[littlegirlsdream]

I have a few questions about level 8 beam. First, my dd does a needle in her routine and it’s terrible..not 180 at all. She wants to take it out but says she needs to replace it with a dif “balance or flexibility” skill, is this true? Also, the jump/leap series, do they need 2 connected jumps or leaps? Right now dd does switch leap sisone, it’s hard for me her to connect these two leap/jumps. She is getting killed on beam this year and the coach leaves the making of the routines up to the gymnasts so looking for feed back.
Thanks

 

[M2Abi]

I've never heard of needing a balance/flexibility skill for Level 8. As I understand the requirements, it's 4 A skills, 4 B skills, including full turn, 180 split jump/leap, acro series with at least one of the skills being flight, salto dismount.

 

[beachgirl]

There's no balance or flexibility skill requirement. There is a dance series requirement, but that could be met other ways. To not have a composition deduction she needs 2B and 1 A dance skills. If her A is a full turn then she still needs 2 Bs, which could be switch leap + Split jump or even split jump + split jump. If her turn is a B turn like a wolf then her jumps could be B+A like split jump +straight jump. A sissone is an A. There are a lot of options, but keep in mind she needs 4 A and 4 B skills.

 

[littlegirlsdream]

There's no balance or flexibility skill requirement. There is a dance series requirement, but that could be met other ways. To not have a composition deduction she needs 2B and 1 A dance skills. If her A is a full turn then she still needs 2 Bs, which could be switch leap + Split jump or even split jump + split jump. If her turn is a B turn like a wolf then her jumps could be B+A like split jump +straight jump. A sissone is an A. There are a lot of options, but keep in mind she needs 4 A and 4 B skills.

Ok thank you for this! So what are some common B dance skills? She does have a full turn and then the switch leap sissone but I am guessing then she is likely missing a second B dance skill. She found out the hard way today you can’t have 2 Cs ..she had a standing back tuck and a back handspring
Layout step out and got a .5 deduction for having 2 C skills

 

[beachgirl]

I just realized that I said she could do a switch leap, but didn't specify that's a C and isn't restricted. She could add a B to it for her dance series or just do the switch alone in addition to another dance series, such as split jump beat jump. Some Bs are split jump, straddle jump, tuck 1/2. I think the most common dance pass, at least near me is switch leap + split jump + beat jump. She could also get rid of the switch and do split + split.

 

[GymnastMomX2]

Why isn’t her coach figuring all of this out? Seems odd to me that they wouldn’t know the requirements and leave it to you/her to make sure her routine was composed correctly?

 

[beachgirl]

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[littlegirlsdream]

Well I agree entirely. The girls are responsible for making their own beam routine. There are certain guidelines she gives them but when your kid is 11 a little gets lost in translation. Regardless this is where we were at. This last meet coach inquired about score because it was low at an 8.65 with no falls. That’s when she found out about the .5 deduction for 2 C skills. We of course had no idea until this weekend.

Why isn’t her coach figuring all of this out? Seems odd to me that they wouldn’t know the requirements and leave it to you/her to make sure her routine was composed correctly?

 

[Greatlakesmom]

I would not be happy with the coach if I were in your shoes. It is the coach’s responsibility to know the requirements and restrictions and communicate that to the gymnasts.

 

[Carly]

I would be really mad if this happened to my dd. At both gyms that dd has been to, she got to help with the choreography/dance parts of her beam routine and she was able to make suggestions for the skills that she felt most confident doing but the coaches would make sure that it was all put together correctly to have a 10.0 start value.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

Well I agree entirely. The girls are responsible for making their own beam routine. There are certain guidelines she gives them but when your kid is 11 a little gets lost in translation. Regardless this is where we were at. This last meet coach inquired about score because it was low at an 8.65 with no falls. That’s when she found out about the .5 deduction for 2 C skills. We of course had no idea until this weekend.

I agree with those who said this is not good enough for the coach to leave it up to kids. I have given information to young teens about how to construct routines for an xcel type program. I still watch and check routine construction well before any competitions. I will let them know what they are missing or what skills will be a better choice for them personally. I would not allow them to compete a routine I hadn't watched in the gym. For a level 8 I would be more specific you are doing A,B, C and D. You can choose to do E or F.

 

[littlegirlsdream]

I agree with those who said this is not good enough for the coach to leave it up to kids. I have given information to young teens about how to construct routines for an xcel type program. I still watch and check routine construction well before any competitions. I will let them know what they are missing or what skills will be a better choice for them personally. I would not allow them to compete a routine I hadn't watched in the gym. For a level 8 I would be more specific you are doing A,B, C and D. You can choose to do E or F.

I completely agree. It’s not reassuring when not only this happened but then to also be made aware that her routine is missing a B dance skill and now that I look closer at it I assume she will take a .05 for missing an A Acro skill as well. That means she takes a .15 deduction off the top. Now obviously that’s minor compared to the .5 she took for having 2 C skills the last 3 meets BUT, she is a competitive kid that wants to score high and place well and when the difference between first and place and no place can be as small as a .2 difference this doesn’t sit well with her. Also concerning is this is level 8, 9 and 10 requirements get harder to understand and figure out which leads me to feel this will only continue to be a problem. I am not happy but more importantly DD is very upset. It’s very hard for her to know she is working her rear off and through no fault of her own she is taking extra hits. She is 11 and her age category seems to be very tough on top of it all. Thanks for all the help. Out of sheer curiosity when they take the .5 for the extra C skill does that skill still take reg deductions for form and wobble or whatever or does the .5 come off and no additional deductions.

 

[wolf_turn_on_uneven_bars]

At two different gyms we have paid hundreds of dollars additionally for beam and floor routines. The beam Coach does one and the floor Coach does the other. Usually this happens over the course of a couple of private get-togethers. All gymnasts did that once they hit optionals, and their routines are good for two years and then they get a new one.

If you need to figure it out all by yourself maybe the code of points book will help. I think this is the right one, but please double check. http://usagym.sportgraphics.biz/c-3...rogram-wdp-optional-levels-6-through-10.aspx#

 

[littlegirlsdream]

At two different gyms we have paid hundreds of dollars additionally for beam and floor routines. The beam Coach does one and the floor Coach does the other. Usually this happens over the course of a couple of private get-togethers. All gymnasts did that once they hit optionals, and their routines are good for two years and then they get a new one.

If you need to figure it out all by yourself maybe the code of points book will help. I think this is the right one, but please double check.


Thanks. I will check it out. Floor routines work that way for us as well but for whatever reason beam does not. It is frustrating and will only become more so in lvls 9/10 so it is definitely something we are questioning at this point.

 

[Carly]

We have not paid for beam routines at either of our 2 gyms. The beam coach would work with individual girls during normal practice times. We did pay for floor routines and that was done outside of practice hours.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

We do pay extra for floor. Music selection, dance, personality plus skills for each gymnast..... Too much to put together at regular practice. I can actually see why.

Regarding beam, there is absolutely no reason that can not be worked out at regular practice. And the coach should know what is required and what each of their gymnasts are capable of. Its not rocket science or top secret.

And sometimes its is they gymnast who is part of the problem. I speak from the perspective of my kid. She has/had a series stuck in her head as to what she should be doing. Yet she has a block, getting it done. Her coaches have suggested other options, she wasn't having it. Its not always the coach.

 

[tooL62as]

You should go over with your daughter, what is hard for her, what she can easily do on ground, and take it from there. You can also talk to the coach

 

[littlegirlsdream]

Appreciate the feedback! I am happy to report by bringing these ideas to coach and coach and daughter implementing taking out the restricted C skill and adding the B dance element DD got a 9.4 this last meet!! Hopefully this is change will help her finish the season strong . Before this she was getting 8.2-8.6