And gymdog, I assure you I would never print a reply/comment and bring into gym to our coach.
I realize that example goes a little far and I don't expect you would - although I have seen that stated here and cringed. By this level I would not expect that. However, I think I would highlight what dunno noted about a "process" - that sometimes a program might make a decision to do something a certain way for a long term gain, at this level, even if it isn't the best thing in the short run. Because of this, to some of us who may have grown up in gymnastics, some of these questions can seem a little...I'm not sure if irrelevant is the word I'm really looking for, but it's the best I can come up with. I think sometimes people are asking specific questions, when the information that might be really important to them is not really that one specific question. Along these lines, perhaps for some, a thread about optional gymnastics and how to support a gymnast when the rules and standards get more confusing and difficult to follow could be constructive for many posters.
A lot of these rules change, even within cycles as we can see, and sometimes the issue with a routine or a series of a low scores might have nothing to do with the requirements or routine construction, or conversely it might have to do with those things rather than one deduction for a specific execution fault. I think it is really difficult, and maybe even somewhat impossible to learn the judging, difficulty, and execution standards for L9 and 10 question by question like this, although I support the intent, because gymnastics needs a lot of interested people.
My advice for people really interested in the intricacies of the code is that to be honest, if you really want to know - you're probably better served by getting involved in the judging community. Now this question I happened to know, but to be honest things come up when I'm coaching or talking to people and I have to look them up. Continuously throughout this entire cycle, I've been either competing or coaching (or both). But I don't know. Things are always changing, there's a lot to keep of track of from level to level, to be honest as a coach sometimes I see a routine and I can't necessarily judge it like a judge. I'm not a judge. I try as hard as I can to be aware of what their standards are obviously, but that's not really my job. It's my job to teach technically correct gymnastics following the USAG format...and hope the scores fall into line according to the gymnast readiness. I would make a terrible judge, since I can barely continually focus for the amount of time it would take to watch one floor routine, much less 8 hours of them. those would be some interesting scores. Not a pretty sight.
I hope that might better explain my viewpoint. Again, I think there is information that perhaps may better serve optional parents...such as resources, how to maintain good communication with coaches at this more involved level, how to support and communicate with the gymnast about her gymnastics, has your daughter ever experienced this, rather than just a lot of "how do I know if my daughter has enough Bs? does she if her routine is this?" Perhaps as an aside that might be a curiosity - and that's fine - but what I'm getting at is that as a main point, does that really help you guide your daughter? or is it just a way to get further bogged down in the details...scores, falls, pressure to have routines that are "competitive"...that can really negatively affect some adolescent girls? It's just a thought. I've been in the same position your daughters are in. I've also not had the easiest time navigating some of the psychological pressure. And perhaps I have a history of being unkind on this board, but I take this stuff seriously.
