Parents Meet Pet Peeve

[cbifoja]

Okay, I could just be getting crochety in my old age but with meet season coming upon us, I am reminded of a meet annoyance I have. And because it's 4:30 a.m....... oops, 3:30 a.m. (dang daylight savings) and I'm wide awake when I should be asleep, I'm grumpier than usual!

So, I just want to go on record as saying that I don't like it when gymnasts stand next to the floor competition area and "perform" the routines as the girl actually competing on the mat at the time. I especially don't like it when they all yell some pre-planned word or sound at a particular point in the routine. I get that it is fun for them and it is probably a bonding thing that they've developed through working out together for hundreds of hours but as a spectator, it just doesn't seem very professional.

Is this something you all see too or is it just something I'm seeing because my state isn't one of the "gymnastics states"?

 

[thnkGd4kds]

I actually love it. So much about youth gymnastics is focused on the individual instead of the team. (Even though team is important, let's face it: team is often overshadowed by individual). Plus, meets are intense. Cheering on a teammate from the sides by doing some motions from her routine or making some noise related to the song infuses fun into the meets, lessening the tension while building up the gymmie on the floor and building team camaraderie. Also, it reminds me of the awesome rah-rah, close team atmosphere at college meets, and all that I hear about college gym is that it's more fun than JO or elite, even though it's obviously still intense.

 

[wallinbl]

The only cheering I hear is calling out "come on Susie" before the tumbling passes, which I'm glad to hear. There's definitely less team spirit/ camaraderie / etc than in a "team sport", so I do like hearing the parts where it seems like they're cheering each other on and not competing against each other.

What has irked me on floor lately is what ends up happening in meets where there are two flights in each session. Since girls are eager to warm up and can only do it in between routines, you often find them lined up at the corners of the floor waiting to start their tumbling passes. Some of them stand 1 inch off the white line, not backing up and not sitting down. Video I have from two meets ago has DD doing her routine and coming about 18 inches from being nose to nose with a girl from another gym when she gets to one of the corners as part of her routine. At that same meet, the girls didn't clear the floor when the judges told them to, and DD walked out to her starting position dodging tumbling girls.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

College girls do this, and we're seeing this more at the USAG optional levels. DD's team does it, the girls absolutely love it! It makes the meets more "fun" when the girls are stressed. When we watch the videos, DD enjoys seeing her teammates "doing" her routine as much as seeing herself.

 

[profmom]

Haha, this is nothing in comparison to 1) flashing wrong scores, 2) giving out L5 medals to L6 girls for half of the first age-group awards, noticing, and then hauling them all back up for 15 minutes to switch them, 3) having age groups split so there's one group with about 40 gymnasts (7-11), and another with six or seven (12 and up), 4) providing NO FOOD or really crappy, unhealthy food for the coaches and running the sessions back-to-back so they have no time to run out and get something, or 5) starting to pack up the beams and bars to move them back to your gym while a whole flight is still COMPETING ON FLOOR!

 

[gymgal]

I'm with the others in that I love seeing the girls do parts of the routines. Some of adds teammates don't like this and the girls are respectful of that but others say it helps calm their nerves. We go to a lot of college meets and it is great to see the teammates support each othr this way.

 

[Natasha]

The only cheering I hear is calling out "come on Susie" before the tumbling passes, which I'm glad to hear. There's definitely less team spirit/ camaraderie / etc than in a "team sport", so I do like hearing the parts where it seems like they're cheering each other on and not competing against each other.

What has irked me on floor lately is what ends up happening in meets where there are two flights in each session. Since girls are eager to warm up and can only do it in between routines, you often find them lined up at the corners of the floor waiting to start their tumbling passes. Some of them stand 1 inch off the white line, not backing up and not sitting down. Video I have from two meets ago has DD doing her routine and coming about 18 inches from being nose to nose with a girl from another gym when she gets to one of the corners as part of her routine. At that same meet, the girls didn't clear the floor when the judges told them to, and DD walked out to her starting position dodging tumbling girls.

I love it when the girls cheer for each other and stand in the opposite corner (from the spectators) and do the routine, I think our girls too have picked this up from going to the college meets together.

We were at a meet last year though where an entire team was standing along the side of the floor (in front of the spectators) waiting to warm up tumbling passes in between the routines. I could not even see my daughter's tumbling passes much less video tape them because they completely blocked our view as the seating was in regular chairs, not on risers. We actually asked the coach if he could have his gymnasts move or sit down in between the routines because we couldn't see, and he said no. He said that they had to stand there because they were trying to warm up their tumbling passes.

 

[cbifoja]

LOL....so yeah, I guess I'm just being grumpy because it doesn't seem to bother anyone else.

but the warmup between routines, I have never seen. That sounds chaotic! And rather dangerous....

 

[sglemon]

I don't think I have ever seen that on floor. They usually have the girls sit right by the mat, then inbetween competitors, they warm up quickly. But as the gymnast is doing her routine, everyone is sitting down.

It is not really chaotic, but relatively organized. When next competitior stands next to the floor, the girls warming up, clear the floor.

 

[sglemon]

Can I add my biggest pet peeve? When the spectator area is full, and a old person or PG lady come in, I get very annoyed when people don't get up and offer then their seat. I feel like I am the only one that does that, along with the few moms, I usually sit with. Now, I no longer look for a seat, just stand during meets and walk around. I find it helps with my stress, to be able to move freely, besides, I am healthy enough, I don't need to sit on my butt the whole time.

 

[cbifoja]

Absolutely sglemon! I was raised that you give your seat to the elderly, the disabled, the pregnant, and any mom with hands full of kids, bags, and buggies. My dad was military and respect was a HUGE part of my upbringing.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

it's what they do. it's their "thang" so to speak and it's getting them ready for college. like the "Gator chop"!

 

[gymmomtoo]

Doesn't bother me when they do that--I think it's kind of fun, but HATE it when they stand in front of the floor by the spectators!

And most optional meets run that way--with warm-ups between routines on the floor. You get used to the chaos .

 

[gymgal]

The first meet we went to where the girls warmed up between the actual competition routines, I was SO confused, thinking I was missing routines. But you get used to it pretty quickly. Thankfully, I have never noticed problems with the girls encroaching in on the floor during a routine or taking extra time. Most of the time, the girls are sitting down until the competing girl's music is done.

 

[skschlag]

I hate when they cram too many kiddos in one session. This has happened with level 5 boys' state and regional. They will do 90 boys in a session. That takes 6+ hours. Way too long for a 7-8 year old boy!!!