Anon Putting age caps for DP levels

[Anonymous (2fd6)]

Xcel bronze and silver is pretty comparable to levels 1-3, a girl may score better on xcel but will still need the skills. Kip is a gate keeping skill on both tracks. Showing strength or not, they still need to progress and meet the skill requirements.

Okay that's fine but they don't need to compete levels 1-3. That's kind of a waste of a talented kid's time, especially a late starter.

 

[Anonymous (4210)]

Okay that's fine but they don't need to compete levels 1-3. That's kind of a waste of a talented kid's time, especially a late starter.

Lol, yes I agree, competing 1-2 is silly, taking them to outside meets is silly, complaining about them not winning is silly, but I don’t think many kids have a choice. If they want gymnastics, they gotta start somewhere, and if the only gym they can get to that only has the level 2 that matches their skill level and welcomes them, I think there is nothing wrong to start like that and skip levels down the line. We started in bronze not because we chose bronze over DP, there are simply no DP programs nearby, and we live in a pretty urbanized suburban area.

 

[Anonymous (2fd6)]

What is "young" and what is "old" ?

The original instagram poster makes the point that levels 1-3 were created for kids that do not meet the minimum age for level 4. So basically these levels were created for the under 7 crowd according to the original poster.

BTW the original poster did not suggest locking older girls out of DP. They noted that kids that compete level 4 at age 11+ will not be likely candidates for D1, and acknowledged that there will always be exceptions to the rule.

 

[Anonymous (2fd6)]

Lol, yes I agree, competing 1-2 is silly, taking them to outside meets is silly, complaining about them not winning is silly, but I don’t think many kids have a choice. If they want gymnastics, they gotta start somewhere, and if the only gym they can get to that only has the level 2 that matches their skill level and welcomes them, I think there is nothing wrong to start like that and skip levels down the line. We started in bronze not because we chose bronze over DP, there are simply no DP programs nearby, and we live in a pretty urbanized suburban area.

Perhaps there weren't DP levels because the gyms nearby are misusing the xcel program.

 

[Anonymous (4210)]

Perhaps there weren't DP levels because the gyms nearby are misusing the xcel program.

Not really, there are many pockets in the US that just are not that rich in gymnastics resources with limited space, coaches, kids to recruit or high overhead. Recreational is actually more profitable in my area than having teams. So there is one thing to blame for the lack of separate DP/xcel, to us, is rec and birthday parties.

 

[Anonymous (2fd6)]

An older gymnast starting "late" may not have the skills for level 4. They might not even have a back handspring for level 3. They shouldn't be locked out of DP because of that.
A lot of gyms have longer DP practices compared to "equivalent" Xcel Levels, so it would make more sense to give them a chance to get the skills quicker (if that is what they want) by having them in DP.
We have had 2 gymnasts go from DP L2 at 10-11 years old to Xcel Gold the next season (gymnast's choice), to Platinum the next season, and petition into L6 the season after that. One of them earned her Varsity Letter in gymnastics this season, competing L8 worthy routines on Bars and Floor and an "upgraded" L7 routine on beam (or L8 with 0.2 in compositional deductions) and a Handspring On-1/1 Off vault. She went from Level 2 to "almost" Level 8 in 5 years.

I don't think the older girl should be locked out of DP, but maybe she can wait until she gets the level 4 skills to compete. If she wants to showcase the skills she can do, then maybe xcel would be a better fit. I have a hard time imagjning many girls over the age of 10 would enjoy competing levels 1-3, especially 1-2.

 

[Anonymous (2fd6)]

Not really, there are many pockets in the US that just are not that rich in gymnastics resources with limited space, coaches, kids to recruit or high overhead. Recreational is actually more profitable in my area than having teams. So there is one thing to blame for the lack of separate DP/xcel, to us, is rec and birthday parties.

Rec and birthday parties are more profitable everywhere, if I understand correctly.

 

[Anonymous (4210)]

I don't think the older girl should be locked out of DP, but maybe she can wait until she gets the level 4 skills to compete. If she wants to showcase the skills she can do, then maybe xcel would be a better fit. I have a hard time imagjning many girls over the age of 10 would enjoy competing levels 1-3, especially 1-2.

yeah, but if the gym doesn’t have xcel, and if the team has levels 1-3, that means the girl will either have to join team so she can practice to get to level 4, or stay in rec, and she will never get to level 4. Even with xcel, she will still have to start from the bottom. Kids don’t do higher skills in rec, they gotta start somewhere.

 

[Anonymous (2fd6)]

yeah, but if the gym doesn’t have xcel, and if the team has levels 1-3, that means the girl will either have to join team so she can practice to get to level 4, or stay in rec, and she will never get to level 4. Even with xcel, she will still have to start from the bottom. Kids don’t do higher skills in rec, they

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yeah, but if the gym doesn’t have xcel, and if the team has levels 1-3, that means the girl will either have to join team so she can practice to get to level 4, or stay in rec, and she will never get to level 4. Even with xcel, she will still have to start from the bottom. Kids don’t do higher skills in rec, they gotta start somewhere.

This may be an unpopular thought, but if there is no xcel program, a kid who "will never get to level 4" can stay in rec, join cheer, try T&T, diving, etc. I don't think DP is for the kid you described.

 

[Milomom]

When you read USAG's descriptions of the programs, it talks about the development program being a way for athlete to build the foundation skills and progress quickly if desired, allowing for more than 1 level to be competed in a season. To me, that seems more suited to an older athlete than a younger one. Building the base with learning levels 3/4/5 in 1 or 2 seasons, would give a strong foundation to be able to compete optionals - rather than xcel where you can pick and chose skills and since you don't need all the skills for a competition, you may skip some. I know several athletes who did 1 season at level 3 then just 1 meet at 4 and 5 and then finished the season at 6.

 

[Anonymous (01aa)]

When you read USAG's descriptions of the programs, it talks about the development program being a way for athlete to build the foundation skills and progress quickly if desired, allowing for more than 1 level to be competed in a season. To me, that seems more suited to an older athlete than a younger one. Building the base with learning levels 3/4/5 in 1 or 2 seasons, would give a strong foundation to be able to compete optionals - rather than xcel where you can pick and chose skills and since you don't need all the skills for a competition, you may skip some. I know several athletes who did 1 season at level 3 then just 1 meet at 4 and 5 and then finished the season at 6.

That sounds great, but I think gyms that do this are in the minority. From what I have seen in our area, girls do one level per year and often repeat compulsory levels. And if you are older than 7, they won't even consider you for DP. And then also don't let gymnasts move from Xcel to DP. So I can see the point of the original poster that gyms aren't always looking at each gymnast individually. A lot is rigid and shuts out girls who don't start pre-team at 4 or 5.

 

[Anonymous (55ff)]

Integrity? This same gyms owners/coaches constantly hype themselves up by posting scores of much older kids competing in bronze and silver. I’m assuming the integrity they bring up is sandbagging - keeping older kids in lower levels- which is crazy bc they have older kids competing in Low level Xcel to score high. It’s the same lack of integrity they are saying others are showing but bc it’s Xcel it’s acceptable? They also like to post how wonderful they are- and they are constantly posting a grown man with a very young girl training 1 on 1 while he just lifts her through high level skills. It’s pretty gross to me.

I can't agree more. The grown man doing lots of 1-on-1 training with the young girl and constantly posting about her really gives me the ick. Add in their comp leotards (which resemble corsets...another ick). I'm not saying the girl isn't decently talented, but all she does is stay tight while he throws her around and then boasts about the new skill she's doing.

 

[Anonymous (55ff)]

I can't agree more. The grown man doing lots of 1-on-1 training with the young girl and constantly posting about her really gives me the ick. Add in their comp leotards (which resemble corsets...another ick). I'm not saying the girl isn't decently talented, but all she does is stay tight while he throws her around and then boasts about the new skill she's doing.

I meant to add. If you haven't seen it, check out the video he posted on March 8 of her "release and catch on high bar". So ridiculous.

 

[Anonymous (9355)]

That sounds great, but I think gyms that do this are in the minority. From what I have seen in our area, girls do one level per year and often repeat compulsory levels. And if you are older than 7, they won't even consider you for DP. And then also don't let gymnasts move from Xcel to DP. So I can see the point of the original poster that gyms aren't always looking at each gymnast individually. A lot is rigid and shuts out girls who don't start pre-team at 4 or 5.

This is awful - I have heard of this but thought that more and more, gymnastics was evolving? My daughter started at 7 but it was 2020 so really didn't start until she was 9...and she's an optional now. Makes me wonder how many girls missed out on this sport because of gyms that rule out a 9-year old? She also started in xcel and moved in between programs, season to season, depending on what skills she needed.

 

[Anonymous (2fd6)]

I can't agree more. The grown man doing lots of 1-on-1 training with the young girl and constantly posting about her really gives me the ick. Add in their comp leotards (which resemble corsets...another ick). I'm not saying the girl isn't decently talented, but all she does is stay tight while he throws her around and then boasts about the new skill she's doing.

Although I agree with much of what he is saying, said gym has a poor track record with their DP gymnasts, in my opinion.

 

[Anonymous (7131)]

I meant to add. If you haven't seen it, check out the video he posted on March 8 of her "release and catch on high bar". So ridiculous.

Thank you!! I’ve been trying to guess the gym and this finally tipped me off!