Questions about the Uk Gymnastics System

[Ex member]

When my dd was in rec the classes were grouped together by age and not ability, my dd had passed all her GB proficiency badges and was still grouped with beginners, my dd did get to work with older girls during one session as she was experiencing issues with a couple of girls picking on her in age group and one of the coaches wanted to keep dd with her to keep an eye on her ( this coach worked with older girls in rec), dd must have done well as the coach invited dd to join her development group after that session.

I think that rec gym needs to be progressional and not one size fits all.

 

[Faith]

I think that rec gym needs to be progressional and not one size fits all.

I think you've hit the nail on the head here. Grouping by ability so kids could actually learn skills rather than it being a general 1 hour keep fit/fun exercise.

The bg badges are meaningless, IMO. They're no real indicator of ability, as they're designed so anyone can pass them. Dd2 is only on 5, more because her old club only did testing twice a year. She can do everything on 1. In fact several parents used to say they held off testing for badge 1, as for many teenagers that was their end goal, get badge 1 and stop gymnastics.

Anyone else remember when badge 1 was a bhs, splits, and a handspring vault? )

For me, I do think there has to be "a point". They need to progress and learn stuff, which I don't see in rec. I don't see it much in "b" squad kids either, as they don't have a compulsory system to guide them through the skills.

 

[Ex member]

I agree on some points that the badges are quite easy as dd passed hers quickly, they only do badges 2-3 times a year and have a badge session as can extra in the summer holidays, but I also disagree that they are too easy as not all children pass first time as the progress through them, I think that you need some natural ability to pass them all first time. My dd's goal was to get the medal that came with badge 1.

Going back to the rec sessions, I think more children would stick with it if it was progressional. I think that some gyms look at rec children as dispensable as there would always be more children to fill the spaces of children who quit.

 

[xrachx]

I remember when DD passed her bronze and her silver V&R awards on the same day, and even the coaches said they are stupidly easy and aren't sure why BG don't make them harder.
New gym don't do BG awards past level 1 for that reason, and have created their own scheme instead.

 

[Faith]

Have you seen the skills list for the badges? There isn't even a cartwheel on there, or a held handstand. It's mainly basic shapes and drills for skill progression. As Rach says, many clubs have designed their own badge system out of preference.

I've never come across a child "fail" a badge. Many clubs don't even test as such, they just work certain skills each week, tick them off for the children that have them, then give out the badges twice a year.

DD1 was awarded her badge 1 at age 8. Kid could do BHS, kips, press handstands, flyways, BWO on beam. So I very much doubt clubs use them to test ability. Splits are maybe the hardest thing on there, if you're not the naturally flexible sort.

They are a good goal system for kids though.

If they are aimed to judge ability, I think they need to be an ongoing thing, and awarded as soon as the child gets the skills, not just to a timetable. Then clubs could use that to judge when a child may be ready for pre-team- have badge 1, move up. Once you're on team, badges are irrelevant as you move to working toward competitions instead.

 

[Ex member]

Just had a look at the badges, badges 8-4 are as you described, badge 3 has a cartwheel, heasdstand with bent legs. Badge 2 has headstand, cartwheel 1/4 turn off bench, backwards roll and a bridge done correctly. Badge 1 has splits, change leg handstand, handstand forward roll.

The gym club my dad goes to does not really work any of the above skills very often in rec and only covers the stuff on badges a week before badge testing. The gym did not work on backwards rolls on the floor, headstands very often, handstand forward rolls were not worked on,splits were not worked on and bridges were only done in warm ups. Dd passed all her badges before she was 7, you say it doesn't matter too much but in dd' s gym club if you passed the last 2 badges at a young age you had some sort of natural ability in gym.

 

[Jenny]

In the club we were at rec didn't really go anywhere, which I found sad. Hundreds of kids pitching up week after week, working hard, but not really getting anywhere. From what I saw only the really little ones did bars and beam, once they got to 8 it was pretty much F&V. If they stuck at it long enough, they maybe got to BHS and handspring vaults by 12/13. No competitions, no reward system, nothing.

I think rec is about volume, and at an hour a week you can't really reach them much. What I also felt sad about is some of these kids were talented, and/or really wanted to be good, but were never offered the chance to progress. Same with some of the B team- they wanted a go at elite, but weren't allowed.

As somebody said earlier, it's often down to communication. Find out what the kid wants, what the parents think/ can support, then factor in your coaches opinion. Too many coaches think they can talent identify in 5/6/7 year olds, when it's not all about the physical abilities.

If a kid really wanted to try a level, and had the basic ability, I'd let them give it a go. Gymnastics is a sport where it's 99% mental, the desire to try is an underrated quality :lol: If they haven't got the talent to match, they'll soon find out.

Unfortunately I think it is often a numbers thing. Most gyms have a finite number of coaches, equipment, space and hours so there is a limit on the numbers they can take into their competition squads. They try and give those places to those who seem most likely to go the furthest. They have to make some hard decisions and sadly some mistakes are made. Most clubs just don't have the capacity to accommodate every child who wants to go to a higher level. That is a shame I know. Round us though Rec is thriving. There are a growing number of rec competitions, Display type events like gymfusion and badge schemes to take part in. I think that is a good thing.