Parents Parents cheering at meets etiquette

[Traci]

I had a sign made - for Regionals that I use. It is half the size of a regular poster board. It is more for photos before/after. lol

Now - I didn't read all of the above comments but from the ones I did read - I am "the one" in the crowd that is cheering and yelling for all of our girls. Now, I do not yell/cheer while they are on an event - but before and after -- you better believe it! I especially cheer for the team as a whole during rotation changes! Go Team!!

 

[skschlag]

Our team in general has always been a pretty quiet bunch of parents, and most meets we go to are overall too quiet for my liking. I wish everyone would be louder...I feel like the tension is worse when it is so quiet. Maybe all the parents have been admonished by their sons to not cheer like we have! Some teams, the gymnasts cheer loudly for their teammates but part of the problem is that in MAG often the individual level teams are so small especially the higher you go. When I have been at a meet where there is a more robust atmosphere it is more exciting. This is an exciting sport. I like it when it sounds more like a basketball game than a golf tournament.

y

I know in our state, the boys from other teams all cheer for each other . DS is the only one at his gym at his level, but he will cheer for those in his rotation. That is the cool part of MAG to me!

 

[raenndrops]

This and then you have worry about being caught cursing on video.

Last meet, I got caught saying "Thank you sir" to the older gentleman who walked in front of me while I was recording YG on beam. I can't fault him ... he was following wifey ... and she was following a mom of an L8 from another team (The mom got past before I was recording... gramma and grampa took longer to get up from the bleachers).

 

[raenndrops]

I know in our state, the boys from other teams all cheer for each other . DS is the only one at his gym at his level, but he will cheer for those in his rotation. That is the cool part of MAG to me!

We do that at our meets when there are only 1-2 from another team rotating with us.

 

[Madden3]

I wonder how much regional culture matters. I grew up and spent several decades of my adult life in New York State and the surrounding area, but since I got married I have lived on the west coast. Back East I was considered kind of quiet, and here I am considered loud. I mean, just in general- just when talking to people.

As far as cheering for the other boys they are in rotation with, my boys said they do not usually do this, because (according to them) some kids do not like being cheered for and they do not know what that particular boy might want. When it is someone they know, and know he likes to be cheered, teammate or not, then they cheer, otherwise they do not. They will of course always say good job to the kid after a kid goes or whatever. They are supportive. They just do not cheer. For them, not cheering for the other kids is about being worried they might rattle the other kid, not because they do not want to cheer anyone who is not on their team.

Now that I think about it, I think they also take a cue from their coaches, who tend to be very quiet at meets. Weirdly the better things are going, the quieter their coaches get! They very rarely show emotion on the competition floor. This would not be my way, but I get it, this is their style, and my kids expect the quiet words and not the big reactions from their coaches. But now that I think about it, this may be why my boys do not feel as comfortable with cheering loudly. Again I think too much quietness at meets heightens tension, and loud cheering helps everyone relax. And I have told my kids this, and they pay as much attention to this advice as they do anything else I ever suggest about gymnastics.

But, there are some boys on the team who clearly love to cheer and cheer loud and let the chips fall where they may, and that is more my style.

 

[skschlag]

LOL! Here is a sample of what our boys are like....and this was a competition within practice (football..hit routine with no major errors 6 pts, hit routine 3 points, routine survived 3 pts, fall = safety.) (ignore the bad routine... he just threw this together lol)

 

[suebee]

I wonder whether it is also gym culture. Both the parents and the girls are fairly reserved at meets. Adults politely clap for all the girls. Very little actual cheering. Girls high five each other after a routine, and might call out a quiet word of encouragement before the routine, “Go, Susie!” or “Come on, you got this!” But it’s pretty quiet. Awards are louder but still overall quiet. The girls tend to cheer more at awards when a girl who isn’t usually on the podium gets on it.

There is another gym near us that has a total different cheering culture. Their parents scream, hoot, and holler, for all the girls, both before and after the routine, and often during the routine as well, and at awards.

 

[acam1103]

LOL! Here is a sample of what our boys are like....and this was a competition within practice (football..hit routine with no major errors 6 pts, hit routine 3 points, routine survived 3 pts, fall = safety.) (ignore the bad routine... he just threw this together lol)

That's what our boys sound like at meets. With the parents it varies. One group (team Level) of parents is very loud with cheering for our boys, the other level we are part of is MUCH quieter. I prefer the noisy ones.

Also, sometimes little siblings make signs and bring them. But they only show them off during rotation changes and only from floor level, not up in the stands.

 

[Really]

I have attended a couple of meets with our gym club that were advertised as having "NCAA-scoring" or being "college-style meets." In those, posters were common, as were loud cheers, cow bells, and pompoms. They also awarded 10's. Great fun! I'd hold off on the posters unless the meets were advertised as "college-style" though.

 

[TumbleTimes4]

I’ve seen a lot of parents make t-shirts. If you make a brightly colored shirt it could help your DD spot you in the crowd and would be a better alternative than a sign.

 

[sce]

I had a sign made - for Regionals that I use. It is half the size of a regular poster board. It is more for photos before/after. lol

Now - I didn't read all of the above comments but from the ones I did read - I am "the one" in the crowd that is cheering and yelling for all of our girls. Now, I do not yell/cheer while they are on an event - but before and after -- you better believe it! I especially cheer for the team as a whole during rotation changes! Go Team!!

The issue with yelling and cheering loudly is that other kids sre still on their events too. So you may be avoiding being loud while your kid's team is on an event but what about the other teams?

 

[sce]

Now that I think about it, I think they also take a cue from their coaches, who tend to be very quiet at meets.

Coaches really have to be quiet so they are not seen as coaching while the child is competing.

 

[Flyaway]

The issue with yelling and cheering loudly is that other kids sre still on their events too. So you may be avoiding being loud while your kid's team is on an event but what about the other teams?

To be honest I don't think it matters. How many of these kiddos practice in completely quiet gyms? None. They all learn to tune the noise out. Even small meets we've been to that are in actual gyms are still big enough that little Susie on beam isn't going to be bothered by Lucy's mom and dad cheering her on floor. The only time that hasn't been the case the gym was so small that the vault runway went in BETWEEN the chairs set up for parents. But that was a weird meet...

I think it mostly comes down to gym culture, which may be influenced by regional culture. Our coaches are very composed during meets. They might give a correction or nod or even a shrug but they never cheer. So our girls are more reserved. They cheer each other before and after events and it's common to hear them call out "Nice!" after a good skill or "You got this!" as a gymnast is gearing up for big tumbling. But they are not obnoxious or distracting.

There is another gym in our area who has a very vivacious and gregarious coach. She's constantly yelling out affirmatives DURING her gymansts' routines. Likewise her gymnasts are much more boisterous than ours. They chant and yell and generally show much more outward spirit. I have to think that this is the case of gymnasts following the coaches' lead.