Women Video of 1989 compulsory routines levels 5-7. How do they compare to contemporary levels?

[Dahlialover]

Any older former gymnasts remember these routines from the early 1990s? I’m just coming back to gymnastics with my kids after a 30-year hiatus and I’m trying to figure out how the current levels compare to the old levels. I think contemporary JO level 4 and 5 are like the 1989 level 5 & 6. Back then, level 5 was the first competitive level and optionals started at level 8. How has that changed? And how do The xcell levels compare to the old-school compulsory levels? Also, my kids are boys and I’m really confused about how the levels compare.

Also please feel free to reminisce about these old routines. I hope that they have chilled out with all the body waves! Just a warning, the floor music will return to haunt your dreams!

 

[GymnastPotterhead]

The old level 6 is level 5 now, the old level 5 is level 4 now. Level 4 is the first required level in usag dp now.. optionals start at level 6.

This is for wag though, if you need mag, better to ask in an mag thread. I don't really know about mens gymnastics

 

[Dahlialover]

The old level 6 is level 5 now, the old level 5 is level 4 now. Level 4 is the first required level in usag dp now.. optionals start at level 6.

This is for wag though, if you need mag, better to ask in an mag thread. I don't really know about mens gymnastics

Thanks! How do the xcel levels compare?

 

[GymnastPotterhead]

Thanks! How do the xcel levels compare?

Not sure, i think xcel is pretty new compared to dp... i wasnt really aware of it like a year or so ago...

 

[JBS]

Thanks! How do the xcel levels compare?

That's hard to say as the rules for Xcel have more leeway. In my area I would say (and this is just my opinion)...

Bronze = Level 2 or less
Silver = Levels 2 - 3
Gold = Levels 3 - 4
Platinum = Levels 4 - 6
Diamond = Levels 6 - 9

For bars in the above video I would put it in like this...

Bronze = Level 2 or less
Silver = Levels 2 - 3
Gold = Levels 3 - 4 (Level 5 bars from above video)
Platinum = Levels 4 - 6 (Level 6 bars from above video)
Diamond = Levels 6 - 9 (Level 7 video from above video)

 

[GymnastPotterhead]

That's hard to say as the rules for Xcel have more leeway. In my area I would say (and this is just my opinion)...

Bronze = Level 2 or less
Silver = Levels 2 - 3
Gold = Levels 3 - 4
Platinum = Levels 4 - 6
Diamond = Levels 6 - 9

Oh wait compared to jo? I'd say gold 4 to 5, platinum 6-7, diamond 7+ but rest same as above. Basically 1 level above from gold onwards..

 

[JBS]

Oh wait compared to jo? I'd say gold 4 to 5, platinum 6-7, diamond 7+ but rest same as above. Basically 1 level above from gold onwards..

Not in my area... you don't even need a kip for an Xcel Gold bar routine.

 

[Coach Kate]

Not in my area... you don't even need a kip for an Xcel Gold bar routine.

Same here!

 

[GymnastPotterhead]

Not in my area... you don't even need a kip for an Xcel Gold bar routine.

Oh, I've seen a lot of golds here compete a mix of L4 and L5.. almost always with a kip...sometimes with a high bar kip too... and a flyaway.

 

[Dahlialover]

I can’t get over how hard they have made the bars! Beam looks easier. Floor and vault are pretty similar (especially when you consider that we were vaulting onto a slippery pommel horse and doing floor on 1” wrestling mats that killed your momentum) but the difficulty on the bars has gotten insane! As a very “oversized” gymnast, this would have sucked for me. I hope the xcel track gives bigger girls additional options.

 

[JBS]

Oh, I've seen a lot of golds here compete a mix of L4 and L5.. almost always with a kip...sometimes with a high bar kip too... and a flyaway.

So have I... and a flyaway is a Level 4 skill at our gym. Our Level 5's are working kip cast handstands and giants. Our Level 5's translate to Platinum... not Gold.

If you look at it from the point of view that you have to have the skills the level before they are needed to move up... then you will get my numbers. If you look at it your way... your numbers.

Regionally... Xcel is very different too... my region is not considered one of the high end Xcel regions.

The fact of the matter is that while many Xcel Golds do a kip and a flyaway... a large majority of them could score higher with a pullover and a 1/2 turn dismount.

Just like Xcel Silver beam... we watch great beam routines that lose to us all the time because they put some weird dismount on the end of it. We put our Xcel Silvers up with the simplest routine possible... straight jump to stuck landing off the end... bam... 9.5+.

Then I always hear coaches in the background going... "They are doing much easier skills though".

Sorry... this is just something with Xcel that I don't understand. So many teams want to put in harder skills that their gymnasts just aren't very good at. We do harder skills that we aren't very good at too... we just do them at workout... not meets.

Check out this picture below... look at that yellow routine... 10.0 start at Gold...

 

[GymDadWA]

The old vault table looks so dangerous.

 

[JBS]

The old vault table looks so dangerous.

Don't you love the padding on the front side legs / feet too... nothing.

 

[Dahlialover]

The old vault table looks so dangerous.

View attachment 8491

It was ABSURDLY dangerous! A lot of gyms used old pommel horses with the handles removed and they had a kind of shiny slippery leather covering that your hands could slide off. We also had balance beams that were varnished wood. It was so exciting when they got a beam with a cover so jumps didn’t make you feel like you might slip and crack your head open. Also gyms with pits were a fantastic rumor to us! We had to disassemble all our equipment and put it in the supply closet after each practice because our gym was half of a basketball court at The YMCA! Also, levels 5-7 practiced 7.5 hours per week! I got really good at beam because I practiced on a curb outside my house! We were all very good at skills that could be practiced at home!

 

[GymnastPotterhead]

So have I... and a flyaway is a Level 4 skill at our gym. Our Level 5's are working kip cast handstands and giants. Our Level 5's translate to Platinum... not Gold.

If you look at it from the point of view that you have to have the skills the level before they are needed to move up... then you will get my numbers. If you look at it your way... your numbers.

Regionally... Xcel is very different too... my region is not considered one of the high end Xcel regions.

The fact of the matter is that while many Xcel Golds do a kip and a flyaway... a large majority of them could score higher with a pullover and a 1/2 turn dismount.

Just like Xcel Silver beam... we watch great beam routines that lose to us all the time because they put some weird dismount on the end of it. We put our Xcel Silvers up with the simplest routine possible... straight jump to stuck landing off the end... bam... 9.5+.

Then I always hear coaches in the background going... "They are doing much easier skills though".

Sorry... this is just something with Xcel that I don't understand. So many teams want to put in harder skills that their gymnasts just aren't very good at. We do harder skills that we aren't very good at too... we just do them at workout... not meets.

Check out this picture below... look at that yellow routine... 10.0 start at Gold...

View attachment 8490

That makes a lot of sense!

 

[TheXcelMom]

So many teams want to put in harder skills that their gymnasts just aren't very good at. We do harder skills that we aren't very good at too... we just do them at workout... not meets.

XS last year. XG this year.
Except for the straight-arm kip, which is more helpful to keep the rhythm of connecting skills, my daughter insists on doing the most basic, simple skill set with a 10 SV, so she can focus on making it perfect.
Worked last year (38+AA).
(was that braggy?)

One XS teammate opened her bars with a gorgeous kip she'd been working on for two years and her scores were 9.8+. That's the only place I saw an extra skill benefit the athlete.

It may be different in JO/DP and/or higher Xcel levels.

 

[3cats]

These were the routines I competed! I still can hear the floor music in my sleep bc I was always afraid I'd forget my routine so I'd actually sleep with the tape going. The lady would describe the skill with the music on in the background. I listened to that on repeat. So fun seeing it on here.

Note that kip to seated on the bar killed me so many times. I had such a hard time getting my legs through my arms and up onto the bar high enough to end up sitting and then to immediately boing off to the high bar, which always felt too far bc I was a little thing and the often coaches didn't move the bar for me.

We had pits. And I practiced from 4 to 8 Monday to Friday, with Sat open gym. But we had most our summers off. Nearly 2 months where we'd just go for voluntary open gyms. So I thought gym was a great way to spend my school nights! And my mom would get me Hardee's on Friday nights after gym.

Ahhh memories

 

[Dahlialover]

Note that kip to seated on the bar killed me so many times. I had such a hard time getting my legs through my arms and up onto the bar high enough to end up sitting and then to immediately boing off to the high bar, which always felt too far bc I was a little thing and the often coaches didn't move the bar for me.

I had the opposite problem, I was 5’7 and we were supposed to jump from the low bar to the high bar but, with the settings they used, I was able to just stand up and grab it. They would always tell me to “Stop muscling it. You need to swing”. Well how was I supposed to swing when I couldn’t get any momentum? I hope bars are more adjustable these days!

 

[GymnastPotterhead]

I hope bars are more adjustable these days!

Oh definitely! We can use our own settings now, though I'm not sure if there are any requirements. Most gymnasts in the same team go on the same setting though

 

[GymAir]

The old vault table looks so dangerous.

View attachment 8491

It felt dangerous! I was not a vault fan, lol.