USAG Level 3

[coachmolly]

I don't have personal experience with competitive level 3, but the concept isn't something I find myself agreeing with. Maybe that will change if I ever come in contact with the program on a more personal level. I understand that gymnastics needs to keep up with the more popular youth sports like baseball and soccer where competition begins almost immediately, but competitive level gymnastics is typically so much more expensive. I just don't see a reason to pressure parents to pay for meet fees, leos, travel expenses, all of that kind of stuff for a child just starting out in the sport. Parents are forced to make a huge financial and time commitment to a sport that their child is just getting started in. While burn out and lack of interest can happen at any level, I think it is especially common in the beginning stages of involvement. Give the parents and children a chance to see if this is something they really are interested in committing themselves to. If a gym is going to get involved with competitive level 3, I really think it should be done as reasonably as possible for the parents and kept on a strictly local level.
I also think that at the lower levels/younger ages, children need to learn that gymnastics success comes from much more than just scores and placements at meets. I think the emphasis at the lower levels, and continuing into the higher levels, should be on obtaining skills and personal improvement. The addition of level 3 competition can easily change that focus to scores and medals. I think just spending the year training the level 4 skills and experiencing personal success in the gym can be just as, if not more, productive for talented young gymnasts.
I also think it has the potential to cause a ton of confusion. Just reading some of the posts here on CB I am completely baffled. I have read stories of kids going from a pre-school class to level 2 team, another to "Mini-Mights", and another to a developmental class. What the heck is the difference and how is an average joe parent supposed to know? They might think their 5 year old is a super star for being put on the "team", but in reality that could be the path for the kids who aren't being looked at for more advanced gymnastics. It gives those parents a false sense of hope for their child and gets them shelling out big bucks thinking their child is the next Olympian when that could quite possibly not be the case. I'm not sure any of the above got the point across, but basically, gymnastics is confusing enough for newcomers, no need to add more levels of confusion. It can just provide another opportunity for gym owners and coaches to avoid being upfront with parents.
But those issues are mainly with how a gym chooses to implement the level 3 program rather than the program in general. The routines provide a good list of developmental skills to help girls get ready for level 4 and can be a good option for those too young to compete in USAG level 4.

 

[momofthreegirls]

I have taken my DD to 2 different gyms in the same city. The first gym has a level 3 competitive team. The girls on it are 6-10 years old, and have about 4 meets, all within a 2-hour radius. It is pretty expensive (meet fees, coach fees, equipment fees, leo/warm-up fees, booster club fees, etc.) The developmental classes used to prepare the girls for level 4, but now they concentrate on preparing them for level 3. (The level 3 team is relatively new.)

At the other gym (where my DD attends classes) team starts at level 4. Level 3 is considered pre-team, and they mostly concentrate on level 4 skills. They do not learn the dive roll vault, for example. The level 3s get to have one in-house competition, and they do either level 3 or 4 routines on floor, beam, and bars. Everyone does the level 4 vault. I think that's good because I've seen a lot of kids have trouble transitioning from dive roll to handstand flatback.

As a former gymnast and rec. coach, I like the second option (beginning at level 4) better. The kids seem to progress faster this way. They get to uptrain and begin working on learning bits and pieces of the level 4 routines, instead of spending lots of time drilling the level 3 routines.

I guess a lot of it depends on a child's age, too. If they are a bit older (9+) and not quite ready for level 4, competing level 3 might be a nice way to keep them interested in the sport. But shelling out $$$ for a preschooler to compete seems a bit silly, at least to me. It seems like a nice money-maker for the gyms, though.

 

[bribri514]

My gym didn't have Level 3. We had pre-team, then compulsory then optionals, so team really just started at level 5. The cool thing my gym did was have two different leagues. We had USAG obviously, but then something called Colorado Eagles.

Home - Colorado E.A.G.L.E.S.

It's a gymnastics league that aims for low cost, low competition fun. A lot of girls who weren't as into gym or couldn't dedicate the time or money for whatever reason did EAGLES and loved it.

I don't know if that's just our state? I've heard of AAU. There's also CARA (Colorado Association of. Recreational Athletics) that some gyms had. Boys at our gym were able to compete CARA if they didn't want to go USAG.

Home

But yeah, I never really heard of Level 3 USAG competitions in our area, maybe because of these alternative more rec based gym programs.

 

[Shelovesthebars]

As far as the gym making money off of our level 3 program, it just doesn't happen. We get 2 free (yes no charge) extra hours of practice for a year and we aren't required to purchase warm ups, bags, etc. The competitions are local and are optional as well. I think the gym wants to see who can listen, attend practice, deal with meets, etc. We have a shortage of coaches so when it comes around to tryouts for USAG, they want to be sure about who to place on the team. I think they also want to see if the parents are going to be behind the kids as far as support and time commitment. It is difficult to make our USAG team but we also have recreational and prep optional.

 

[B Gymnast]

my gym holds a meet every year, and we have levels 2-9 competing..the meet is sanctioned, but i'm not sure if the level 2-4 sessions are..?

 

[Midget's Dad]

Well I might as well throw my thoughts in here. But I have to warn you I have mixed feelings.

Midget competed Level 2 two years ago, and then Level 3 last year. L2 was unsanctioned and more about the girls getting comfortable being in front of people, but there were medals and all, and since it was a league type format it had a championship. L3 we started out in the same league as above but also did sanctioned meets and went to States.

Pros:

• Midget has found a love for performing and competing
• She learned about hard work equaling rewards (BLING!)
• She developed an excellent team based mentality
• She had FUN!!

Cons:

• Cost

Other

• Had we been in a different gym that didnt do L3 she likely would have competed L4 last year. But at the same time the other girls on her team now have never competed and are really very nervous about it while Midget is totally calm and prepared.

Ultimately I don't think there is a right or wrong answer. Midget loved it, and all her friends did too. We did move to a new gym, but it had nothing to do with competing L3.

 

[Bajanswife]

Girls here tend to join gymnastics and get on the team when they are a bit older than what I've seen in the U.S. Also, our girls aren't going anywhere - let's be honest, we are a tiny island in the Caribbean, there won't be any elite gymnasts among us! We just don't have the opportunities needed to go somewhere.

So, with all that in mind, competing Level 3 is important. Our youngest Level 3 girl is 6, and we have some 11 year olds that competed Level 3 last year. We are doing this as our sport NOW, not for where we can be in the future. And since we are the only gym in our whole country, we are the National team. It's a huge deal to these girls to represent their country in overseas meets, even if it's only 3 times a year. Yes, it's expensive, but we fund-raise, we get sponsorship money, and the Barbados Olympic Assoc. helps us too. Who knows, maybe one of the girls will make it to the Olympics one day - we have had a few athletes represent the country in other sports.

Level 3 only trains 5 or so hours a week. We compete 3 or 4 times a year, and have one in-house competition for practice. No-one's going to get burnt out.

I think competing Level 3 has many pros and cons, and it's really an individual gym's decision. In our case, it works for us, but that doesn't mean it's best for everyone.

 

[gymnut1]

I love that you are the national team. That is so cool. Sounds like you have it working the best it can for your little island. And we are all so jealous because Barbados is a holiday island. And beautiful! You should have lots of invitationals and make everyone come to you for meets.

 

[BlairBob]

Basically L3 garners USAG more money in the form of fees such as gymnast membership (which is cheap) and etc.

Most gyms just start doing it because other gyms start doing it and they can't afford to lose out to them. At least keep them local so you don't have to worry about travel pay for coaches though you still get dinged by expensive meet fees.

The point about losing talent to competition cheer is big as there are many competition cheer gyms out there. At least in gymnastics, your 5yo doesn't have to wear clown makeup and a skirt. At least TeamGym doesn't require that. Sure you gotta pretty their hair up and maybe even use glitter but it's not as bad as cheer. Yeah I know, I'm a guy against the establishment of cheerleaders but at least competition cheer is a step up from sports cheer (though there are some benefits to it as many girls benefit from the group atmosphere and confidence building).

One coach I know said many sports psychologist often don't believe most children are ready to compete until the age of 7. Some don't react well to the pressure. I don't know the circumstances of the research.

Unfortunately, L4 was created as a recreational level and is now considered just another competition level by most gyms. Many gyms require L4's be able to score 35 or higher in L4 before entry into L5.

 

[Galadriel]

General points as I am not from the US.
I agree about it being better getting into the formal competition structure when they are older - may be in house and interclub, lower key competions to keep up the interest and focus on the reward of better execution bringing the reward of medals, versus the sloppy gymnast who can badly perform harder skills being seen as the best.
In our area gyms that ultimately produce higher level gymnasts seem not to enter these lower level meets, whereas other gyms often have regular 'floor and vault' competions etc for young kids.
Definite benefits from appropriate competition as already discussed, but keep it fun, and nearby, and keep the cost down!!

 

[ProudMomofGymnast]

My dd's first gym did not have Level 3, but we had to switch to another gym due to scheduling issues. She had been on a training team at her first gym and when we switched she competed Level 3 that year. I believe we did 3 or 4 meets. It was a great experience for her as it prepped her for competition.

 

[Bajanswife]

I love that you are the national team. That is so cool. Sounds like you have it working the best it can for your little island. And we are all so jealous because Barbados is a holiday island. And beautiful! You should have lots of invitationals and make everyone come to you for meets.

The gym owner would love to get to that point someday! Our current gym just isn't equipped for international competition, but she's hoping to eventually get to a location where she can have the gym of her dreams. If we wanted to have a competition now, we'd have to do it at the national gymnasium, which is a high rental fee, and she'd have to transport and set up all of her equipment there, because the national gymnasium doesn't have any gymnastics equipment or spring flooring. So for now we travel, which isn't a bad thing if you can get past the cost!