Women Options for continuing gymnastics in College

[Jmrhgymnast]

I am starting the process of looking for colleges and I would like to be able to continue to do gymnastics in college. I am a USAIGC Gold gymnast. I know I will not be able to make it onto any NCAA teams. I know many colleges have club teams but I don't know much after that. My questions are:
What are the options to stay with gymnastics in college?
What are these Club teams like?
Are they structured like many gyms are?
Do they have coaches or is it open gym style coaching?
Which programs are successful and well developed?

I appreciate any information anyone has and I really want to hear all the options I have.

 

[mariposa]

Check out colleges with an NAIGC club. My daughter has a teammate that does club gym. She practices at a local club, not on campus. They do have a coach. I don't know much else except that it seems she has a ton of fun!

https://www.naigc.net/index.php

 

[emilykatherine]

There are also some schools that have acrobatics and tumbling teams. It's not gymnastics, but it's a close second.

 

[Aussie_coach]

In my country young adults usually just keep training at the same gym and moving through the levels after high school. Most kids go to local universities so there is no going away to uni. You don't graduate from gymanstics just because you graduate from school, you can continue on until you have had enough.

I don't see any reason why you can't just continue where you are. Or find a local gymanstics club near your college if you are moving away and train there.

 

[gymisforeveryone]

In my country young adults usually just keep training at the same gym and moving through the levels after high school. Most kids go to local universities so there is no going away to uni. You don't graduate from gymanstics just because you graduate from school, you can continue on until you have had enough.

I don't see any reason why you can't just continue where you are. Or find a local gymanstics club near your college if you are moving away and train there.

This is how it works here too. If the gymnast has to move he or she just finds a local club near his or her college or university and joins that team.

 

[coachmolly]

I think there is a lot of variety in how NAIGC teams operate based on facilities, number of athletes, and other available resources. Some programs are massive and incredibly competitive- former level 9/10s or even kids who spent a year or 2 in an NCAA program before transferring. Others are just a few people with an interest training at a local facility. Though I think most programs are open to just about anyone with an interest in continuing gymnastics in college. And the number of programs has grown significantly in the last few years.
There are also some gym clubs out there with adult gymnastics programs, some of which even offer a competitive option. I know of one club that has a pretty sizable adult team that competes in Xcel levels at meets and I'm sure there are others.
I'm not sure where you are coming from geographically as that would probably play some part in your decision making process. But check out the NAIGC website posted above, you can look through results from Nationals and go to team websites to get an idea of how successful different clubs are as well as the structure and size of the teams.

 

[Gymmommy71]

This is how it works here too. If the gymnast has to move he or she just finds a local club near his or her college or university and joins that team.

So it's possible to be a 20 year old Level 9 or 10 in the US? Do people do that? If so, are these girls ever competitive? Are they just mixed in w/ the 17 and 18 year olds at major meets?

 

[gymisforeveryone]

So it's possible to be a 20 year old Level 9 or 10 in the US? Do people do that? If so, are these girls ever competitive? Are they just mixed in w/ the 17 and 18 year olds at major meets?

I'm not from the US so I don't know. Things are very different here in the Europe. I don't see the point of having to give up a great gymnastics career just because of graduating from school. You don't have to give up other activities after graduation so why couldn't you just keep doing what you love when you start your studies elsewhere? 19-26 year olds (the most common ages to enter university in here) are still young and if they are healthy and have time to practice on top of their studies then why not? I don't really see why competing for your club after graduation would be that uncommon and considered a little odd when belonging in a college team would be just cool?

 

[vagymmomma]

So it's possible to be a 20 year old Level 9 or 10 in the US? Do people do that? If so, are these girls ever competitive? Are they just mixed in w/ the 17 and 18 year olds at major meets?

Absolutely. We had a college student join the club team and competed in same meets as other girls. The big discussion a few years ago was the nearly 40 year old competing L8 or L9. The parents were stunned (in a positive way) that we saw her in a couple meets.

 

[MabelSt]

I kinda think that's cool to keep going no reason to stop something you love just because you're older

 

[ayyyrial]

I did NAIGC for two years. I'll respond to your questions with my experience specifically but of course it depends on the team...

1. Options to stay with gymnastics
You could compete NAIGC, possibly join a club team but not compete if you want, ask around at local gyms to see if you could join a competitive team there, or you could go to local open gym time and play around but not compete.
You could also take your gymnastics skills and apply them to something similar like circus arts, dance, rock climbing, Crossfit type things, yoga, etc.
If you are interested, coaching gymnastics can also be a way to keep up with the sport and stay involved.

2. What are these Club teams like
Mine had two options to join, noncompetitive or competitive. Practice was every weeknight from 8:30pm to basically whenever the people in charge left (usually after midnight) but noncompetitive team members would have to leave after only 1 hr. We used the facilities of a local gym that had basically everything you would need, although some of the equipment needed to be replaced.
In order to stay on the competitive team you would have to do a certain amount of fundraising every year. You had the option to go to about 6-8 meets total throughout the year, most of them close by. Nationals is every April and the club would reimburse members for plane tickets partially depending on the budget each year.
Practices were just open gyms and there was no coach.

My experience was that it was frustrating to stagnate in my progress due to un-structured practices and no coaching, plus not having enough time to put in due to college. I had competed old L7 and had some L8 skills, but the routines I competed in NAIGC were more appropriate for L6 and I lost a lot of skills (especially on bars). I did have fun getting to choose what I wanted to put in, and not worrying about scores. Some teammates had competed L9 or NCAA, or had crazy tumbling skills from cheerleading, so I was never going to be competitive with them.

Additionally, the club was run by students and former students, and it was pretty mismanaged. Eventually I got frustrated with that, especially in terms of seeing my money go to things I didn't agree with and seeing how some of the officers treated members badly, so I quit. In the end I would say it mostly a frustrating experience, though I do miss practicing my basics. But some people get a lot out of open gym set-ups and have a lot of fun.

 

[Aussie_coach]

There is no maximum age limit for JO levels, you could be 40 and continue to compete in the levels.

 

[2G1B]

There is what seems to be a pretty active NAIGC team at a college near me. A number of the teammates are coaches at area gyms too. Many of them are optionals coaches. They seem to work out at different gyms, probably rotating some to gyms where members coach. I have mostly seen the guys practicing; but was just talking to one of the girls 2 days ago. Everyone who I have talked to seems to love it and while practices are laid back, they seem to get a lot done from what I have observed. The girl I was talking to said one girl on the team actually has some sort of scholarship for being on the club team. I had previously been told that it was possible for out of state students to get in state tuition rates for being on the team, so maybe that is what she has... overall, what I gave seen with this particular college's tram has made me think that it is something that my kids might enjoy down the road. And honestly, after reading here about the nightmares that happen in NCAA for the girls, this seems preferable in many ways...

 

[LucyTRA]

This is a really interesting thread for me, as I basically came back to gymnastics and only started competing while I was AT university. I'd be amazed if it wasn't possible for you to continue in the sport while you study, particularly in the U.S., where gymnastics seems to be so available.

When I started at my university there was no club. There were very few sports happening at all, actually. I joined a local session for adults (non club and non competitive, just recreational in a sports centre) and from there decided to set up a club at my university. Is this out of the question? I don't know exactly how clubs and societies work at US universities. But here in the UK all it takes is a few students who want the same thing and are willing to put in the work. There is generally plenty of funding up for grabs if you apply for it.

If setting up your own club is out of the question, can't you just join the team at a local gym? It's pretty common here for higher level gymnasts to have foster clubs who look after them during term time, sometimes with contact from their coach back home, and sometimes not.

 

[e'smum]

Absolutely. We had a college student join the club team and competed in same meets as other girls. The big discussion a few years ago was the nearly 40 year old competing L8 or L9. The parents were stunned (in a positive way) that we saw her in a couple meets.

Ha! I'm 47 and dealing with back issues so hats off to this woman for competing! That's so awesome!

 

[stxrdusty]

I am currently an officer in the club gymnastics team at my university. I’ll tell you what I can from my experience and if you have any questions feel free to reply or DM me.

What’s our team like?
To be honest we’re not very competitive. We have tryouts with basic skill requirements, but the requirements are such that even most cheerleaders can become members of our team. We do compete NAIGC, but the number of members in the club that compete is rather low and most do not do so at an extremely high level. The skill level within the club varies from people that competed USAG level 9 or 10 down to people that never did gymnastics, only cheerleadering (about level 3/4 USAG). The team is coed. A couple members of the club are university faculty or alumni, not current students, as well.

Team Structure?
We have scheduled practices, but attendance is optional and it’s completely up to the participant what they want to work on.

The university also has open gym nights in the campus gym (we have an NCAA team) that many members attend. We share the gym with cheerleaders, parkour stunters, martial arts people, and dancers from our university and the surrounding area at this time.

Coaches?
During some practices we have one visiting coach that is also the coach of a nearby NCAA-ish (it’s a long story) mens team. He gives us pointers if we ask for them, but if we want lots of help or spotting we have to look to our teammates.

If I’m not mistaken this is our 4th full year as a club team.

 

[Jenny]

I can't imagine training without a coach. That would be completely bizarre here. The rest of it sounds fun!

 

[dmbgymnast]

UCONN has a club team, and they practice at a local gym. Most of their gymnasts were former L7/8/9. I have a friend on the team, and it's quite structured, similar to what you'd probably find at a more relaxed gym. They compete at USAIGC nationals, but use L9 rules. They do have a couple coaches, and tend to do quite well at meets. Good luck!
https://uconntact.uconn.edu/organization/clubsportgymnastics