Parents Summer Camps 2015

[dbean]

Hello fellow gymnastics moms & dads,

Our daughter went to flip fest last year and had a blast, the problem, IMHO, is that 1 week is just short of them really getting what the need out of such a camp. But two weeks is a lot of $$. Shoot one week at flip fest was a lot of $$$$..

With that said, we want to send our daughter for two to three weeks some where (saving now). We live in North Carolina, so flip fest, though a drive, is not completely terrible. Right now we are leaning towards Flip Fest, but that is really because we don't know much about the others.

I have read others post about ICG and Woodward but think both are much further than flip fest.

• Are there other contenders?
• Has anyone been to http://www.usgymnasticscamps.com/
• Does anyone have a preference?
• Would you split two week at one location and another week some place else (maybe local like NC State)?
• Is three weeks too much?

 

[skschlag]

for our gym, 2-3 weeks away is too much. Our gym is ok with the one week, but the coaches want them in the gym, and want to be the ones coaching them. That being said, with you being in the south, I Would totally check out some of the college camps!!

 

[bogwoppit]

The biggest issue with committing to 3 weeks of camps in not so much the cost, but what if she gets injured the first week and you have already paid for 3. Check refund policies very carefully before stepping in to the payment stage.

Most gyms would not want their gymnasts to go to camp for three weeks, so check with your coaches.

But what exactly is it that you feel that your dd did not get in one week that three weeks would change?

 

[2G1B]

My ds's coach at his new gym said that flip fest is good if it is for fun; but he doesn't want ds going with the goal of getting skills, he wants the skills taught his way. I know he wouldn't like the idea of 3 weeks of camp.

Our plans are flip fest for a week and for my girls , the Svetlana Boginskya day camp for a week.

 

[kayjaybe]

My dd has gone to Woodward with her team the past 2 years. I don't look at it as a chance to make huge progress in skills. I see it as a chance for her to bond with her teammates, gain some independence, and get a different perspective on her skills/development. If she happens to gain or improve a skill while she is there, then great.

Even with all the hours they put in there, 1 week just isn't going to do a ton. Our team only wants you to attend camp with the team. They highly discourage you going to any camp on your own. Not sure they actually forbid it, but pretty close.

 

[Natasha]

What age and level is your daughter?
Many coaches do not like camps (other than going for a week of fun and a chance to get to do skills you don't usually get to do in the gym.)
The goal of camps is for the kids to want to come back, so they of course make it fun with opportunities to try out and throw new skills. They are not necessarily concerned about proper progressions, the routine of conditioning, details of form, etc. I think camp can be a great place to rediscover the love of gymnastics, rejuvenate, and just have a lot of fun breaking up the normal routine, however, most coaches prefer no more than one week, so I'd talk to the coach if i were you.

 

[dbean]

First thanks to everyone who responded. My DD is 9 and is in Silver. She does it cause she loves it. Flip fest has some advantages over her current gym due primarily to the pits. It gives her a feeling of a safety net when learning a new skill. Because of flipfest she is close to her kip, is able to do cart wheels on beam, and front handsprings on floor. But the big parts I liked was: different coach may say something in a way that may click with the gymnast, chance to meet an Olympian, have fun with her teammates and coaches, and experience gymnastics at a different level. Whether she learns a new skill or not, I do hope she has an ah ha moment that will help her down the road.

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

DD has gone to IGC each of the last three years and loved it. But we won't be sending her back.

For the cost of it, she can go to a regular camp and have that experience AND a week of privates to work in the specifics she needs.

I think it's great if your kid gets a new skill but not everyone does. DD was confused on techniques for her twisting that honestly set her back a full month in the gym. When you've just landed your first double twisting layout before going then can't get it back when you return after told to change your technique its a problem.

Don't get me wrong, she loves it there. But just no longer where my $$$ or her time are best spent.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

My 2 girls have gone to IGC for several years at the compulsory levels. Only once did one go for 2 weeks. She found it to be too much time out of gym, and coaches really frown upon it for the upper optionals.

That said, DD's went totally for the camp experience (being away from home, doing fun 'camp' activities will still doing gymnastics, meeting Olympians, making new friends). Getting a new skill was never on their priority list.

 

[MaryA]

When my DD was at a less intensive gym with lower hours and crappy equipment, I think having a couple of weeks at gym camp might have been beneficial to her. Now I suspect she gets as much "gymnastically" from a week at regular practice as she does from a week at gymnastics camp. And of course I'm still paying her regular gym fees, even while she's at gymnastics camp. I used to send her to camp hoping for new skills. Now I'm happy if she has fun and doesn't hurt herself. She has been to Woodward multiple times and loves it there.

 

[aerialriver]

I coached at Woodward West last summer and loved it there! They often "tap" campers and they get another week discounted by a couple hundred dollars. Most kids were there at least 2 weeks.

 

[kayjaybe]

I coached at Woodward West last summer and loved it there! They often "tap" campers and they get another week discounted by a couple hundred dollars. Most kids were there at least 2 weeks.

How do they choose the girls that get tapped? I figured it is mostly just an invitation to spend more money on a week they have trouble filling. Just curious as to how they make the selection, as dd was tapped 2 years in a row, and we attended neither tap session.