Proposed compulsory elements 2013-2020

[GymGirl's Mom]

I guess my feeling on the vault is if your 7 year old competes Level 5 (which will in this cycle be Level 4) the age limit is STILL 7! And part of the Level 5 vault is to get over the vault table. If your child can't get over the vault table due to height or weight or strength, etc. restrictions then she can't complete the vault- will she just scratch vault at all meets? This has been the Level 5 vault for this entire past cycle- correct me if I am wrong. I don't see how it's any different in any way vaulting wise Level 5 in the "old" (current) cycle vs. Level 4 vault in the "new" (proposed) cycle. The age limit remains 7.

I think sometimes we are in such a rush, and gyms are too, to have our kids compete at the highest level they are capeable of on one event wether the kid is capeable of it safely on all events or not. To me if a kid can't get over the vault table safely then she is not ready to compete Level 5 (or 4 in the proposed new cycle). JMO- what does it matter if she waits a year to grow and get stronger and get that vault instead of competing at Level 5 with a scary vault. And this was not pointed at anyone in particular-- just a feeling I have about kids needing to be ready to compete all events safely and with some level of competency before competing.

I have seen many an itty bitty kid get over the vault table at Level 5 meets- it's possible- not possible or even reasonable for all itty bitty 7 and even some 8 year olds- but it is possible for the select few who are strong, fast and powerful.

 

[NGL780309]

No the vault isn't any different for the new code than the current one. I was just speaking to Linsul who posted about how difficult it is and I was just agreeing with her, not really commenting on the levels and routines.

I know there are some little ones who can do it, I just think mine won't be able to do it. I could be completely wrong. January is a long time away. I don't expect her to gain 10 lbs or grow several inches by then, but maybe she'll get it by then and I'm wrong. As far as competing, my DD will compete Level 4 in the fall and the plan was to compete Level 5 in January. If she's not ready by then I'll be perfectly fine with her waiting until the next fall when she'll be closer to 8 years old. Hopefully her coaches will feel the same way. They don't send kids to meets that can't compete all 4 events so I believe we'll be on the same page. I don't really care what level she competes as long as in the gym she's learning and getting better and enjoying herself.

I can't say that DD has really worked that much on vaulting over the table yet, so perhaps she will surprise me. They do lots of drills and conditioning for vault right now and rarely actually vault. They work a lot on running and a lot on the springboard. They did timed sprints the other day and DD won! So maybe she's not a total lost cause.

I didn't mean to get so off topic, it just really hit home when I read Linsul's post.