WAG Manhattan Classic in NYC

[flipsandgrips15]

Has anyone here had a gymnast compete in the Manhattan Classic in New York City? I would just like some thoughts & opinions on how you thought the meet was....organized, fun, worth the travel expense? I do not live in that region but am considering the meet for some optional level gymnasts. Thanks in advance! [emoji4]

 

[gymcoach1]

Registration for this years ended a while ago. Do you mean for next year?

 

[flipsandgrips15]

Yes, our gym is considering it for next year, not this coming January.

 

[GymDad9.9]

We went last year. Meet itself was ok. Things ran fairly smooth if I recall. Competition was not that considerable at the compulsory level, cannot speak to the Optional Levels. Kids get complimentary leos, at least they did last year. Takes place in a large venue space with multiple sessions taking place simultaneously. Actually getting onto the venue from the West Side Highway can be difficult especially if you are approaching it from the south as it requires a left hand turn across the West Side Highway with very little green light to do so. We got out of our cab on the West Side Highway because of the difficulty making that turn. Things like bathrooms and concessions can either be far or nearby depending on where in the venue you are. For us, the best part of the trip was being in Manhattan for a few days and doing stuff around town and last year there was a blizzard earlier in the week so there was snow on the ground, which the kids enjoyed. We stayed in Tribeca away from the madness of the Times Square area where most of the hotels are that will be made available by the meet hosts. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

 

[IreneKa]

We went last year. Same feelings as @GymDad9.9 described. It was okay. Nothing extraordinary, but not bad. Ran pretty smoothly. Leo was a nice touch.
The only negative was that we were in a 6pm session on Sunday. Left there around 9:30, got home around 1am on a school day. But what can you do, someone has to be in that last session, right?
We did enjoyed the trip to NYC very much. We stayed at Skyline hotel, walking distance from the venue, and not too far from the Times square, but not right in the middle of the craziness. We got there on Saturday, so had some time to explore the city, and even went to a Broadway show on Sunday before the meet (got discounted tickets too).
Overall it was a positive experience for us.

 

[JazzyMom]

We went the last 2 years. It was fun and well organized. I agree with the above. As a parent, I will say that I really appreciated that wine being sold at the concession stand.

 

[flipsandgrips15]

Thank you all for your input. It sounds like something to seriously consider.

 

[GymDad9.9]

We went last year. Same feelings as @GymDad9.9 described. It was okay. Nothing extraordinary, but not bad. Ran pretty smoothly. Leo was a nice touch.
The only negative was that we were in a 6pm session on Sunday. Left there around 9:30, got home around 1am on a school day. But what can you do, someone has to be in that last session, right?
We did enjoyed the trip to NYC very much. We stayed at Skyline hotel, walking distance from the venue, and not too far from the Times square, but not right in the middle of the craziness. We got there on Saturday, so had some time to explore the city, and even went to a Broadway show on Sunday before the meet (got discounted tickets too).
Overall it was a positive experience for us.

We were an early morning first session. No fun in that either.

 

[Mish]

As a parent, I will say that I really appreciated that wine being sold at the concession stand.

Hmmm, we've been there before and are going this year. Will have to check this out!!!

 

[duyetanh]

We love the early morning sessions!

 

[Deleted member 18037]

We love the early morning sessions!

Not us, especially since we drive to Manhattan. Not for that meet as of yet though.

 

[OrangeKangaroo]

We made a little family weekend out of it, Empire State Building and Times Square my kids loved- first time in NY was great. Gym meet was fine and yes we had the wine! Staff at the Sheraton were terrific to the kids where we stayed. Looking forward to going back but depending on what you do can be expensive.

 

[e'smum]

we're going. our 2nd time - last year we went to one in NJ. thank goodness we're going to NYC again. i hated the drive to NJ!
we can drive or drive to a train station and take the train in. dd's session is sunday morning at 11:45 so we will just stay overnight the one night. go in early on saturday morning and leave after her meet. the last time we had a late afternoon meet and i hated it. she was nervous and didn't want to eat and by the time we realized she needed to eat we were at the meet. it was a loooooong session with a lot of sitting in between events and she didn't do as well b/c she was hungry. i'm happy with our 11:45 time slot this year!
we stayed in Times Square. i liked our hotel but the free breakfast was crazy busy and they only had 2 elevators so there was a line to get back up to your room. so i'm going to suggest finding a hotel with more elevators.
do NOT get suckered in by the street guys selling tix to the top of the empire state building. buy your tix online from them directly or purchase them from the ticket office at the real place. we bought tix on street being told they were a straight shot to the top/no standing in line and we got herded into some hokey film/ride made in the 80's and then had to stand in line with everyone else (you can pay extra and bypass the lines if they are long and go right to the top). i ended up complaining to the BBB and got my money back. my back actually hurt coming off the ride.

there is also the space shuttle to go see at the Intrepid Museum. we went there last time and it was so fun to see.

any other level 6s going?

 

[flipsandgrips15]

Thank you all so far for the info...keep it coming! [emoji6] So, those of you that have done the meet, about how long was your session? How many gymnasts in the session? We are from region 8 so I know certain regions tend to have much larger meets.

 

[GymDad9.9]

Thank you all so far for the info...keep it coming! [emoji6] So, those of you that have done the meet, about how long was your session? How many gymnasts in the session? We are from region 8 so I know certain regions tend to have much larger meets.

Session was fairly quick. I seem to remember it taking less than 90 minutes with perhaps about the same for awards (I might be off on the awards as I was dealing with a distraught child who did not have a good meet and my memory of the time of awards is fuzzy). It was not that long by any means. If we started at 8:45 am say, we were out of the building by like 11 am because I remember having a very early lunch at a Chinese restaurant near Lincoln Center.

 

[e'smum]

we went when dd was level 3. ours was ridiculously long. 3 hours - i want to say - not including awards. after warming up for an event, the kids would sit for a good 20+ minutes before actually competing. we were all ready to get the heck out of there. lol

 

[e'smum]

Thank you all so far for the info...keep it coming! [emoji6] So, those of you that have done the meet, about how long was your session? How many gymnasts in the session? We are from region 8 so I know certain regions tend to have much larger meets.

you can go to the manhattan classic website and click on the 2017 meet schedule and find your gymmie. that will let you know how many and what teams are in your session. it says it's the final schedule. that should give you some clue.
ours says there is 81 gymnasts in our meet.

 

[e'smum]

Thank you all so far for the info...keep it coming! [emoji6] So, those of you that have done the meet, about how long was your session? How many gymnasts in the session? We are from region 8 so I know certain regions tend to have much larger meets.

http://manhattanclassic.com/docs/2017_Manhattan_Classic_New_Schedule_11_29_16_1233_NO_NUMBERS.pdf

 

[Mish]

we're going. our 2nd time - last year we went to one in NJ. thank goodness we're going to NYC again.

any other level 6s going?

Yes, same session!

 

[e'smum]

Yes, same session!

no way! we must meet!