WAG Platinum v. L6

[z2akids]

So, DD's gym is changing up their program. They have decided to forego compulsories for Xcel as their route to Optionals. The current plan for my DD is XP to L7. She competed L4 with fair success last season. (Placed at every meet, podiumed at most). The gym will continue (at least for now) to have an L6 team (all are repeaters). My DD and the other XPs will be training with the repeating L6 girls, same coaches, same hours, etc.

In terms of skills, she has her BHS on beam with the bandaid, flyaway, a sad looking clear hip, kip/cast just above horizontal, working 1/2 on 1/2 off and floor is coming along. Competition season doesnt start until December, so a lot of time to get and refine skills.

I don't know much about Xcel. Anyone have experience with this route? Can anyone tell me pros, cons, etc. I know that cast requirements aren't as stiff, but that some areas are more difficult.

 

[3rd_time_around]

They will still have to score out of level 5 before moving to JO optionals, and level 4 if they haven't already competed it. The Xcel powers-that-be make no bones about it not being a road to optionals. Make sure if they haven't already discussed scoring out of 5 that you ask about it, because otherwise they would be in sanction violation if they went to a meet as 6s or 7s without having a level 5 AA score.

 

[z2akids]

Sorry I didnt include that in my post. Plan includes an in house L5 meet this fall to get a mobility score so that she can move to L7 when ready. I assume that they will score the XG girls out of L4 at some point. I didn't get that info since DD has already successfully competed L4.

This route seems to be becoming more common in my area. But, I feel like I read a lot of XG to L6. Curious about XP to L7.

 

[Jard.the.gymnast]

By looking at this, i think she still needs to score out of gold before entering platinum.

https://usagym.org/PDFs/Women/xcel/cop_rev_101314.pdf
That document Has all of the information about Xcel i think you Will need. Good luck to your DD!

 

[z2akids]

Interesting. I am certain HC isnt trying to do anything underhanded. I will have to enquire. But, since they have judges there for an L5 score out, I cant imagine it would be difficult to take care of XG at the same time. I would think that the L5 routines would work to get a mobility score for XG (maybe with modifications as needed), so once she learns them for the L5 score out, she could use them for an XG score out.

I am hoping some folks have insight into the pros and cons of XP to L7 as opposed go L6 to L7 and pros/cons on XP v. L6 in general.

 

[gymbeam]

if your last competitive experience was xcel, you follow the xcel pre-requisite score for mobility. if the last competitive experience was JO (including a mobility meet) you enter using the previous JO experience requirements.

so you can enter platinum after level 5.

 

[gymbeam]

this is the most updated mobility chart https://usagym.org/PDFs/Women/Rules/Rules and Policies/2016_2017_w_rulespolicies_0328.pdf

 

[duyetanh]

If the gymnast is older, you can petition them in without scoring out of 5....i know its been done.

 

[gymbeam]

true, at age 14 or freshman in high school you can petition into 7 or below- or platinum or diamond.

 

[GymDad9.9]

We had a girl from our gym this past year compete at Level 4 in the fall and then change gyms and compete Platinum in the winter, presumably as a preparation to Level 7/8. She's done well in Platinum but can't tell you much more than that.

 

[dbean]

Interesting. I am certain HC isnt trying to do anything underhanded. I will have to enquire. But, since they have judges there for an L5 score out, I cant imagine it would be difficult to take care of XG at the same time. I would think that the L5 routines would work to get a mobility score for XG (maybe with modifications as needed), so once she learns them for the L5 score out, she could use them for an XG score out.

I am hoping some folks have insight into the pros and cons of XP to L7 as opposed go L6 to L7 and pros/cons on XP v. L6 in general.

I thought they changed to rules this year that if you score out of 5 you CANNOT compete gold, so would be odd to have to score out of gold.

 

[gymbeam]

I thought they changed to rules this year that if you score out of 5 you CANNOT compete gold, so would be odd to have to score out of gold.

well kinda- i posted the newer mobility chart as an attachment a few posts back.

you can enter platinum from 5. (but in the case of a mobility meet you don't HAVE to. mobility meets or meets before the declaration date don't force you to move up so you could technically do gold, but you don't HAVE to if you're wanting to move to platinum.)

 

[dbean]

well kinda- i posted the newer mobility chart as an attachment a few posts back.

you can enter platinum from 5. (but in the case of a mobility meet you don't HAVE to, mobility meets or meets before the declaration date don't force you to move up so you could technically do gold, but you don't HAVE to.)

Sorry meant score out of both 5 & Gold

 

[gymbeam]

its confusing. lol.

 

[cadybearsmommy]

We have some experience with this. Dd was supposed to compete gold this past season but she did a score out meet for 5 and with the new rules had to compete L6 or platinum. We found out later she could have petitioned to gold but it was too late she had optional routines and leotard ordered by that time.
We chose for her to compete L6. Even though bars was harder for L6, on platinum the beam and vault are harder. For platinum beam you need a series or a flight skill, whereas for L6 you only need one acro skill, with or without flight. Also in platinum the FHS vault is only valued at 9.8.

Dd struggled on bars (didn't always get credit for her cast) but did reasonably well on the other events.

Our gym at that time did gold to L6 which is a big jump but dd had to do silver to L6 which was astronomical. She will probably be repeating L6 this year with her new gym to catch up a bit.

I know of one gym that does platinum to L7 and their girls usually do pretty well in optionals.

 

[gymbeam]

i know you can't go back now so it doesn't really matter, but mobility meets before the declaration date (often the state meet) don't actually require you to move up. she technically would not have had to petition "down" to gold. it would have been totally ok just to do it. scoring out of 5 would have given her options to still repeat 4, compete 5, 6 or 7, or gold or platinum.

region 8 released an explanation document about this and explained:

"-A mobility meet (before a declaration date) allows the gymnast to try a Level/Division to see if she can
attain the mobility score. It does NOT lock her into either competing the Level she did at the mobility meet
or force her to move up if she attains the mobility score.
-She may enter Xcel at the Division based on her earlier JO Level OR
-She may CHOOSE to use this meet to allow her to enter at a higher Xcel Division based on the JO
Level she competed in this meet."
​

Sorry, OP, getting sidetracked with all this! I'm sure your gym will know and follow the requirements and sorry I don't know specifics about skills between the levels.

 

[lindsaygymnast7]

I did this. I competed Platinum at my old gym, then competed lvl 7 at my new gym after scoring out of lvl 4 and 5. I found that the hardest events were bars and a little bit of floor. Good luck to your DD!

 

[LizzieLac]

Mobility questions aside, I think it really comes down to training and what skills they work on and compete while at platinum as an indicator of whether they would have success at level 7 and be able to make the switch.

 

[2littlegymmiesmom]

My oldest DD computer Gold with high end of difficulty (most routines could have qualified as platinum), scored out of 5 at an in house meet and then did Level 7 the next season. I would think that the transition from Platinum to 7 wouldn't be that bad. Bars was the toughest event for my DD and the others in her gym who took the same path she did. On floor Most were competing a front handspring front tuck in gold and just changed it to front pike or front layout for 7 and added the back layout instead of the back tuck. Beam was relative easy for most. My DD had a tougher time with the Level 7 connection because her backwalkover is terrible so she worked on her BH BH connection for 7 instead. It's still a work in progress. LOL. Good luck to your DD.

 

[cadybearsmommy]

i know you can't go back now so it doesn't really matter, but mobility meets before the declaration date (often the state meet) don't actually require you to move up. she technically would not have had to petition "down" to gold. it would have been totally ok just to do it. scoring out of 5 would have given her options to still repeat 4, compete 5, 6 or 7, or gold or platinum.

region 8 released an explanation document about this and explained:

"-A mobility meet (before a declaration date) allows the gymnast to try a Level/Division to see if she can
attain the mobility score. It does NOT lock her into either competing the Level she did at the mobility meet
or force her to move up if she attains the mobility score.
-She may enter Xcel at the Division based on her earlier JO Level OR
-She may CHOOSE to use this meet to allow her to enter at a higher Xcel Division based on the JO
Level she competed in this meet."
​

Sorry, OP, getting sidetracked with all this! I'm sure your gym will know and follow the requirements and sorry I don't know specifics about skills between the levels.

Gotcha I do believe that they released the explanation later and by that time we had paid for optional choreography, ordered optionals leotard, etc. I wish that they had been clearer from the beginning but either way it was too late for us at that point. Level 5 wasn't an option bc our gym didn't do compulsories. It ended up working out ok but she definitely would have had a better year at gold lol.