Women More TOPS questions...

[GymBeeMom]

So national testing is coming up and I am curious...do the girls have to have near perfect scores to make it to A or B camp? Just wondering if the girls that make it have near perfect scores or if the ones who have made it to a camp in the past have had a bobble or missed skill during testing? I have no idea how perfect they have to be to make it...Coaches or past testers, chime in please...if it helps, my dd is testing as an 8 year old.

 

[iluvgym]

The girls who make the A Camp are generally the ones with the least weaknesses and can usually do all the skills really well. The B camp, from what I have seen, is the talented kids who are just not there yet with all their skills. My tops kid who ended up going the farthest after tops (so far) didn't even make a team her first time, made the B camp,then the A camp. Made it later on as a junior pre elite and then chose to go the JO route and ended up with a full ride to college. All that tops training had a great influence on her gymnastics later on, even if she had never made the A team. Good luck to your daughter, it's her first time there and I hope she has a good experience!

 

[gymyahoo]

From my experience, your DD has to be as solid as possible. My DD 2 years ago had a slight fall but still made A Camp. Her other scores were solid and made up for the error. Her teammate also fell and missed by a point because her other scores were good but just not enough. Last year the scoring was tough and the talent was really good according to my DD. She made it again with no errors. Button up everything because they score harder at the ranch.

 

[Mom2twingymnasts]

To make the B team, you don't need to be perfect. My daughter made the B team last year as a 9 year old - missing the A team by less than a point. She had two uncharacteristic errors during the testing: 1) she only held her handstand for 45 seconds. 2) on the beam skills testing, she didn't get all the way up in her handstand with the split legs. I also think that during the bars skills testing her cast or something wasn't as big as she would have liked.

She didn't get to test this year because she is now at a gym that doesn't do TOPs.

Good luck to your daughter!!

 

[Muddlethru]

Based on my experience with TOPS, a great majority of those that make the teams are in higher levels. Most 10 year olds that make it are in at least L8 or training L8. Also those that made the team got at least high 8s on most skills and had near perfect scores on the physical tests. But most importantly, making the team is based largely on the pool of gymnasts competing. So a gymnast who may score well one year but is competing against a pool of many real talented gymnasts may not make it. And yet another year where a gymnast may score not as well may make it.

In the past few years, they picked the top 50 (if I recall correctly) and those made it to the A Team and the next 50-70 made it to the B team. Most kids who make it to the A team attend the camp because it is fully paid by USAG. But not all those that make it to B attend the camp because they are fully responsible for the cost of camp. So, when USAG gets a decline, they just go,down the list until they have fulfilled the number of gymnasts they need to cover the cost of,the camp. Last year, we were told during the parent's meeting that they need 70 gymnasts for the B team to offset all the costs of that camp.

 

[GymBeeMom]

Thanks for the input. I was trying to gauge if my dd really has a shot at a camp or if this will turn out to be a great chance to experience something new in gymnastics. Im excited she has the chance to give it a shot and I hope she has a blast. I am not expecting a camp for her this year but I certainly wish everyone testing a wonderful experience. I do think we have two girls who definitely have a chance to make a camp so my fingers are crossed for my dd and her teammates. I have learned that TOPS is not the end-all but I am glad she gets to participate.

 

[Muddlethru]

Thanks for the input. I was trying to gauge if my dd really has a shot at a camp or if this will turn out to be a great chance to experience something new in gymnastics. Im excited she has the chance to give it a shot and I hope she has a blast. I am not expecting a camp for her this year but I certainly wish everyone testing a wonderful experience. I do think we have two girls who definitely have a chance to make a camp so my fingers are crossed for my dd and her teammates. I have learned that TOPS is not the end-all but I am glad she gets to participate.

I personally think TOPS is a great experience. Going to the ranch and practicing or testing where all the gymnastics greats of our country go to practice is wonderful. Further for someone who is in love with the sport and all that comes with it, makes this an exciting experience. Keep in mind, only a very very (did I say very?) small fraction of all gymnasts get the opportunity to go to the ranch. So, you should feel very proud of your daughter. It is hard to gauge her chances though without knowing the pool of gymnasts testing. But if your daughter maxes out on all physical abilities test and gets mid 9's on her skills test, she will more than likely make it to the A Team. But like you said, TOPS is by no means an indication of a gymnasts future success. A gymnasts success relies on a million factors, some you may have control over and some not. Good luck.