Parents Question about excel competitions

[Amusibus]

Ok, I'm new at this and after another mom was voicing concerns to me about elite track girls attending the same competitions as JO and excel, I was wondering, is this true? Do they all attend the same meets and compete against each other even though one level 5 might be doing 8 hours a week and another level 5 might be doing 25 hours a week?

 

[motigymnasticsmom]

Yes, jo girls can compete xcel in their off season. Those girls who are hitting 9.8s are most likely those girls.

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[Amusibus]

Ok. It is what it is. I will tell that mom that this is universal, not just our gym.

 

[Quadqueen]

I don't know where you are, but at DD's gym last year, some of the girls who had finished L5 competed XCel Gold (then called Prep-Op Intermediate), just because states was so early, and it gave them the opportunity to try new skills. However, they never had those girls compete against the regular prep/ops/xcel girls in the all-around. It's kind of like comparing apples to oranges.

 

[gymgal]

I don't know where you are, but at DD's gym last year, some of the girls who had finished L5 competed XCel Gold (then called Prep-Op Intermediate), just because states was so early, and it gave them the opportunity to try new skills. However, they never had those girls compete against the regular prep/ops/xcel girls in the all-around. It's kind of like comparing apples to oranges.

Do you mean the meets they went to separated JO girls from Xcel girls? Or that your particular gym choose not to have both of your teams compete at the same meets? In our region, both JO based and Xcel girls compete against each other in Xcel meets. No separation based on how they train. but in our region (8) JO and Xcel competing together is more like comparing apples to apples

 

[UnoMas]

In our area, this is what I have observed:

"Elite track" girls do compete in JO competitions...it just depends what level skills they are working at the time. These girls will generally be training way more hours. Girls can be competing any JO level while on the "elite track". They have to start somewhere! Girls can be 6-7 years old and on the "elite track" but limited by age as to what level they can compete.

Xcel and JO compete at the same meets, but not against each other. JO girls sometimes compete Xcel during their "off season" if they compete a spring and a fall season. They might compete L6 in fall and then Xcel Gold in spring or something like that. The JO girls are likely training more hours than the girls who strictly train Xcel, although some gyms in our area train Xcel for just as many hours as compulsory JO's and lower level optional JO's.

 

[Quadqueen]

In our case, they separated the girls at the meets. These were small local meets. In our area, JO and Xcel are very much separated - not really much doing Xcel until you're ready for L7 or anything like that. Our season.s are all fall-spring too. I think DD's coaches were hoping other gyms would do what we did, but none did, and the girls didn't really like it since they were competing against themselves. So, they didn't do it this year. I know it's different in other regions though.