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CanAmGymMum

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Is there anywhere I can find percentage breakdowns for participation at each level (4-10)? Also wondering what percentage go on to compete at a division one college.
 
Here is an article from USA Gymnastics Magazine. It is a year and a half old or so.

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Since that article is over 2 years old, just out of curiosity, I'd like to know what the numbers are for Prep Op. today. The program does seem to have a higher profile today than it did over 2 years ago.
 
Since that article is over 2 years old, just out of curiosity, I'd like to know what the numbers are for Prep Op. today. The program does seem to have a higher profile today than it did over 2 years ago.

prep op is way up and will continue to grow.
 
Is there anywhere I can find percentage breakdowns for participation at each level (4-10)? Also wondering what percentage go on to compete at a division one college.

i'm not looking it up at the moment. you can find it at NCAA. give or take, there are 84 D1 women's gymnastics teams. if they all have 12 full athletic scholarships, and they all don't, that's over 900 kids on teams. and then you have walk ons. and those numbers vary from team to team with their budgets. a lot of people don't know that walk ons cost money. i can tell you that 165 senior level 10's graduate this year.
 
So few elites........ We lose almost 50% between L5 and L6. Why?

I wonder...is there a master list of the elite gymnasts in the US?
 
So few elites........ We lose almost 50% between L5 and L6. Why?

I wonder...is there a master list of the elite gymnasts in the US?

What my own observations are for that is more parent driven

Finances - many leave because the hours and money out of pocket increase to a point some can't pay

Time - more time is added to practice that parents just can't do and they now see the commitment and sacrafice their kids will have to make out of that thing called a "NORMAL" childhood. Or that the kids want to do more after school activities - thats when soccer, karate, track, band are now all available to them but they don't fit into the schedules if they stay with gymnastics not to mention that it means more b-day parties and time with school and neighborhood friends is cut into.

Too Hard- I see that jump as the first really hard jump - the skills seem like a bigger jump than from 4 - 5 and it usually is that first year that that gym queens for whom everything seemed to come easy isn't getting it so easy anymore. What I actually see is that the kids who had to work hard to get moves are the ones that stay with it and will continue to work hard. the ones that it came easy for and now they don't know why its not will quit if they aren't the place finishers.

Stress- I see alot of kids under alot of stress when they do this too Unfortunatly alot from stage(or should I say bleacher) parents who put all that "You have to win" pressure on their kids. I put the "you have to have fun first" on my kid. I always say to her if you aren't having fun then its time to quit and find something you will have fun at.
 
I know in our gym and in Virginia Prep Op or All Stars in growing like crazy.. this year we had 40 prep opts... next year we will have over 80 with 30 of them being Advanced. It provides a great alternative for a lot of kids.
 
To summarize with percentages:
Level 2/3- 5%
Level 4- 32%
Level 5- 25%
Level 6- 12%
Level 7- 11%
Level 8- 8%
Level 9- 5%
Level 10- 2%
Elite <1%
It would appear that about half of level 10/elites receive scholarships to a division 1 school.
 
PREP-Opt. is growing like crazy in our gym.
 
I just LOVE the Prep Opt program. I think it's a fantastic opportunity for the girls who don't have the time or desire to devote a lot of time/money to training for the JO levels. My own DD spent a year doing this program and it was absolutely the best! I am also so happy that some hard core gyms who previously looked down on the program are now actively supporting this option for girls. It's a win-win for everyone involved.
 
Our gym competed prep op for the first time this past year too. We only had 5 girls but we expect to have even more for next year. My understanding is that our coach used it for some girls who had been L5 but weren't ready for L6 yet. But the girls were still talented and wanted to compete so thus began our prep op experience. Another girl was getting bored with JO and the coach thought that her personality would really shine in prep op. I think it's really neat. It's exciting to watch the girl develop their routines and perfect them. I love the variety it adds to our gym.
 
I see the prep op program growing everywhere and I think that has to do with less hours, less money and they still get to compete as some level but don't have to have that stress of that JO perfection.
 
I think the huge drop from level 5 to level 6 is somewhat deceptive considering there are many teams who don't compete an entire season at level 6, or even have a level 6 team at all. I think the big drop you see isn't necessarily between level 5 and level 6, but more generally between compulsaries and optionals. And yes, I agree... it's because of time and money and competition from other interests (academic, social, etc.). And that's probably how it should be. Practicing gymnastics many hours a week is not the right choice for every kid who tries gymnastics. And these numbers don't account for kids who move to prep op, rec teams, or high school teams either. Or kids who go on to really kick butt in some other sport because of the strength, coordination, and confidence they found through gymnastics!
 

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