Spectator behavior- almost a fight!

[Natasha]

My dd competed at Ozone this weekend (former FlipFest). As I was walking in I was scoping out seats. It is a bit overwhelming walking in as there are 4 competition floors and a lot going on all at once. A man was videotaping while standing in the main walkway by a large column. When I walked in I was checking out the front seating area and checking to make sure no one in that row was videotaping so I could go sit over there. I did not see they guy videoing at all, yes my mistake. So as I walk by, he grabs my arm and pulls me back hard enough for me to almost loose my balance and SCREAMS at me "watch where you are going!" Some other spectators saw and heard what happened and asked if I was okay. One person tells him to move up against the barrier so he's not standing in the way of people trying to walk by, he refuses. Another spectator goes up to him afterwards and told him that it was not necessary for him to put his hands on me. He starts yelling at her to mind her own business and they get into a big argument. She realized it wasn't going anywhere and dropped it before he decided to get physical with her too. I was completely flabbergasted by the whole thing... It is a good thing my husband wasn't with me, because there definitely would have been a fight... I understand wanting to get a good video, but this meet has plenty of seating on risers and you can get great video from pretty much any seat.

 

[bogwoppit]

Whoa, that is crazy. He is lucky you didn't call the police for assaulting you. Some parents should not be let out of the house.

 

[gym monkeys mom]

Wow....

If that ever happens again go to whoever is running the meet and report him. He should be asked to leave for that kind of behavior.

No one deserves to be treated that way.....people walk in front of video taping all the time for pete sake his is not the only child at the meet. While it is nice to not walk in front it is not always possible...

Glad you are ok.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Whoa, that is crazy. He is lucky you didn't call the police for assaulting you. Some parents should not be let out of the house.

yes, and it is happening more and more. the police should have been called. no questions asked! this is the only way a message gets sent to the masses. big mistake to not have called. when a grown man puts his hands on a female in an unwanted or unprovoked matter, the police need to be called. period.


and you NEVER ask someone that bent to leave. parents have been punched and slapped in the face for that. call the police!

and it should have been reported to the meet director and referee and put in to the meet notes. you get the pondscum's name, it gets reported to USAG and they contact HIM and ban him from competitions. this would not have been the 1st time and it won't be the last AND you should have called the police.

finally, did i say that you should call the police.

 

[sportzmomov3]

Wow, what's happening - this is the second post with a crazy gym parent situation!
Yikes..hope this wasn't in our region; we have crazy parents, but I've never experienced anything like this or on the other post....

 

[SamIam]

Sheesh.....some parents!
Sounds like you handled yourself very well considering. Sometimes when something like that happens it's not until after that you can go through all the should of, could of, would of stuff.

Hopefully his video will have to be dubbed over with some music to get the rude azz comment out of it.

Other than that what did you think of the meet this year?

 

[gymgal]

We were at the meet too and ran across quite a bit of rudeness. But I chalked it up to just being part of such a huge competition in terms of the number of people attending. Grabbing or pushing goes over the line and I probably would have gotten security. That guy needed a warning.

in general, I thought the meet was great! Very well organized. I was worried for dd because big venues get her nerves going even more than her typical high anxiety level for meets. But she was on the equipment at the far end of the gym so I think that helped a little. I wish we would have known about the dance party. We found out about it on Sunday. But great weekend all around.... Except the drive through the mountains at night.....


Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[lhmom]

I hate that you experienced that at our home town meet! It's frustrating to have people move in front of you, but this guy had no excuse for grabbing you. Hope the rest of your experience here was more positive. There were a few instances where people started to walk in front of me when I was filming my daughter and I asked them to wait a moment. Except for beam, they did. What he did was just horrible!

 

[UnoMas]

We were at the meet too. It was HUGE and overwhelming for sure. I have to say we did not experience any crazy gym parent stuff like you did. That is AWFUL about what that man did, there is no excuse for that and someone should have reported him to his team's coaches. If one of our parents behaved like that at a meet it would not be tolerated. I'm so sorry!!!

 

[Natasha]

Other than the one guy, we did enjoy the meet. And, yes, in retrospect I should have found security. By the time I went and found our other parents their session was done and he was gone. The meet was very well organized & The girls love their leos. The seating is great at that meet too. You really can video well from pretty much any seat. My dd's team went to the dance party but only for an hour as it was 11pm by the time we finished awards.

 

[gymdad2011]

That is awful, but becoming a bigger problem. At NJ Level 4 State Championships, two fathers got into a fist fight. One was videoing his dd, and the other was screaming profanities at a judge for a perceived low score. When asked to stop using profanity, as one dad did not want it on tape, the other got physical with punches being thrown. Complaints have gone to USAGNJ, but they should be banned for life. Codes of conduct should be strictly enforced.

 

[xstitchcarina]

Wow, that was outrageous. I haven't heard of something like that here in Holland. But it could happen, but he has no right to put his hands on you. Hope it won't happen to you again.

 

[Blackie6]

That is awful, but becoming a bigger problem. At NJ Level 4 State Championships, two fathers got into a fist fight. One was videoing his dd, and the other was screaming profanities at a judge for a perceived low score. When asked to stop using profanity, as one dad did not want it on tape, the other got physical with punches being thrown. Complaints have gone to USAGNJ, but they should be banned for life. Codes of conduct should be strictly enforced.

I heard about this since we are in NJ too & it saddens me. Things seem different then when my DD did L4. Yes, there were always a couple groups of parents from *the* gyms who expected the big scores from their team and were very vocal about their kid getting only a 9.50, but I can see by the scores just how insane some of these scores have evolved over the years. A 38AA was rare! Now, some of these kids are attending hard core expensive gyms with extensive hours who expect this level of achievement all the time. Really? Talk about pressure huh? My DD medaled on vault and floor the 2 years she did 4. By this years scores, she would not have even come close to a medal. Parents pay alot more for L4 now then they ever did too so I imagine getting lil Susie's routine on video is important since lil Susie will probably be burned out soon at the rate she is going! Plus, lets not forget that yelling out at the judge will help Susie's score, NOT! Let's be realistic, how many Olympic gymnasts have come from NJ? Parents, just enjoy the meets, it's not a horse race, it's your daughter! I agree w/Gymdad, codes of conduct should be enforced. Their gyms should also think about this as an embarassment to their team & gym and forbid them at future meets. They should be forced to apologise to judges, coaches, other parents, children and gyms involved! I hope the video makes it to Youtube or TV as a lesson on how NOT to behave at a meet.

 

[gymmomof1]

That is awful, but becoming a bigger problem. At NJ Level 4 State Championships, two fathers got into a fist fight. One was videoing his dd, and the other was screaming profanities at a judge for a perceived low score. When asked to stop using profanity, as one dad did not want it on tape, the other got physical with punches being thrown. Complaints have gone to USAGNJ, but they should be banned for life. Codes of conduct should be strictly enforced.

I was just going to talk about that incident. It was right at the end of awards and what a shame too because the gymmies didn't really get a chance to present! My Dd was helping and she got frightened and came right over to me. I thought it was handled well and the police were called. I believe there was an officer in the stands. I too hope he is not allowed back in to a meet.