Parents No Teammates at Meet?

[Quadqueen]

My DD has states this coming weekend. When she did states last year at L4, the girls all competed in the same session, no matter what their age, and they did team awards at each session. But at L5, they are divided up by age. DD is alone in her session with no teammates Three of her teammates are also alone in separate sessions, and then there are 2 teammates in one session and 3 of her teammates in another session.

Have your kids ever had to compete at a meet without any teammates? DD is a bit bummed by this situation, and I think it kind of stinks too. No support from teammates?? If you've experienced this, how did your gymmie handle it all?

 

[wallinbl]

Yep. Happens with some regularity based on the age distribution. DD gets the full focus of the coaches when there are no teammates. It's a trade off, I guess, but it seems to go well due to the additional attention from the coaches.

 

[gymmomtoo]

Yup, Beth's been alone at her State meet before. She's not fond of it, but it happens. Nothing horrible happened or anything--she got through it, but didn't have her teammates there to joke around with or take away some of the stress.

 

[Esoteric]

This will actually be a great opportunity for your dd to get to know some of the other gymmies in her flight, and I would be willing to bet that the other teams coaches will encourage their girls to be super welcoming and supportive of your dd. Your dd will have more familiar faces at future meets to share a hug and a smile with!
My little ones team was broken up last fall for their states but they did have half of their girls together, and they had a lone competitor in their flight that they cheered and hooted and hollered for just as if she were one of their own. Good luck to your little one. Accentuate the positive and she will be fine!

 

[Quadqueen]

Thanks, guys! I know she will be fine but I know she loves the fun of hanging out with her teammates too. Looking at the groupings (we got the whole list) it looks like many gyms will have just 1 or 2 kids in some of the sessions, so I know she will not be alone in that respect! She likes the team awards aspect too, and that will be a big letdown because she won't even know how the team did.

oh well. I'm just glad the meet is only 45 minutes away because she has to be there at 7:45 on Sunday morning.

 

[wallinbl]

she has to be there at 7:45 on Sunday morning.

Ugh! Those are the worst!

 

[Esoteric]

KateR, Is it possible to return for team awards? Our state meet was hosted about 35 min from our home gym and HC told all the competitors that it was mandatory they be at the team awards in their team warm ups. DD competed Saturday afternoon and we returned Sunday morning to not only watch the rest of her teammates compete, but to be present for the team awards. I know this would not be feasible for far flung away meets- but if it is an option, I recommend it!

 

[Quadqueen]

KateR, Is it possible to return for team awards? Our state meet was hosted about 35 min from our home gym and HC told all the competitors that it was mandatory they be at the team awards in their team warm ups. DD competed Saturday afternoon and we returned Sunday morning to not only watch the rest of her teammates compete, but to be present for the team awards. I know this would not be feasible for far flung away meets- but if it is an option, I recommend it!

hmmm...I don't know....assuming it's done at the very end of the meet, the last session starts at 7 p.m., which would likely mean we would not be home till close to 11 p.m., on a school night it would be nice though!!

 

[Esoteric]

Ugh! Those are the worst!

They sure are... We have two meets coming up the next 2 weekends in a row with an 8 am start time. One will require a hotel the night before to make it work and allow dd to have adequate sleep- although I just found out at least 5 of her teammates are staying in the same hotel- so not sure sleep will occur at all... fun times.

 

[Quadqueen]

They sure are... We have two meets coming up the next 2 weekends in a row with an 8 am start time. One will require a hotel the night before to make it work and allow dd to have adequate sleep- although I just found out at least 5 of her teammates are staying in the same hotel- so not sure sleep will occur at all... fun times.

LOL!! I find it interesting that we were just notified what session the girls were in yesterday...the meet is next Saturday and Sunday! I would hate to be someone who lives 2-3 hours away and be put in an 8 a.m. session, and be scrambling to get a hotel room.

 

[wallinbl]

LOL!! I find it interesting that we were just notified what session the girls were in yesterday...the meet is next Saturday and Sunday! I would hate to be someone who lives 2-3 hours away and be put in an 8 a.m. session, and be scrambling to get a hotel room.

The state meet here gives somewhat late notice and has been in some areas with few hotels. We just book the hotel for Fri & Sat and then cancel one of the nights when they finally give out the session information.

 

[Quadqueen]

I guess that's the way to do it!

 

[3rd_time_around]

Yeah, I was going to saythat this is completely normal for a state meet. And they can't let you know the schedule until the qualifying date is past and all entries turned in. My dd has often been the only one in her season. Team awards are always at the end and can't be tabulated until all sessions are finished.

 

[flipper's fan]

Our team usually tries to go to all the sessions where one of them competes and cheer each other on. Sometimes the competitor's parents bring the teammates so the parents don't have to spend all weekend in the gym. The girls seem to like it.

My dd competed an entire season alone on a level. The next season she refused to move up because she didn't want it to happen again. But she did make a lot of friends from other gyms and other teams would cheer for her.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Ugh! Those are the worst!

are you representing us coaches also?

 

[Optionals United]

3 of my meets have had that start time this year, it stinks. uhhg and my meet last night didnt start until 6 and we didnt get home until 1.

 

[Panda-girl's Mom]

This happens a lot in this sport which was also a surprise to me when my daughter competed ecspecailly when you come from a small gym. My daughter did become friendly with other gymnasts from othe gyms and it was nice when she would see them at other meets. It is just one of those things that comes with this sport for kids who really enjoy the sport they will just deal with this for others like my daughter she moved onto cheer leading with she always has the whole team with her all the time which she is really liking since her last year at gymnastics she competed by herself a lot. Good luck to her at her state meet.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

My DD competed for 4 years alone, because of her age, and then having several teammates quit or opt out of meets. She enjoyed the one on one with her coach and also made friends with girls on other teams. Awards sucked though, because it was crappy to sit alone, sometimes she'd be invited to sit with other teams and that was nice. This year we switched gyms and DD finally not only had a teammate but one her age!! As luck would have it dd broke her foot and in the meantime her teammate got a skill she was missing for the next level and now she's back to being alone again I asked how she felt about that and she said "it's not the worse thing", lol.

Good luck to your gymmie, I hope her teammates can come cheer her on!

 

[marie83]

2 of my gymnasts have this situation tomorrow - they are competing at the same time, but on different apparatus. That means I have to split myself in two too, so they don't even get my full attention!

 

[bribri514]

Alllll the time. I was with a very small club then was always the youngest in my level pretty much. At first I was afraid because I thought no one would talk to me, but over time wes all found ways to communicate and I was able to make friends with gymnasts all over the state and later, country!! It was a blessing in disguise