What would you do if your gym was cheating?

[10.0]

I have a question for a friend of mine whom is a bit computer illiterate her DD competes in tumbling and trampoline USAG and according to her the rules to move up are that you have to achieve a certain score at a meet, but unlike gymnastics you can do it more than once a year or something. I know a bit about it and from what I was able to find this seems correct.

Anyways she is a bit upset as her daughter did level 6 trampoline and double mini trampoline and level 5 tumbling last year and got her move up scores and she has the next level skills and beyond and is doing the next level up at an upcoming meet, which is all well and good but she is rather upset because the gym owner is also the person who approves all move up's for the state for all the gyms and he is allowing a few of his favorite athletes to skip over levels, most of them it is just skipping one but one of the kids really shot up and was doing level 6 last season all season and he is having her compete level 9, she never did 7 or 8. Her DD asked if she could also skip as she has the skills and was told no that she needed to achieve the proper scores to move up.

she doesn't understand why he would do that as you can do a meet and move right up, but it is causing upset with her and a few other parents. She wanted me to post and ask what she should do. She wants to ask the gym owner but doesn't want to create a problem as her dd really enjoys this sport and it is the only gym around that offers it. What would you do if this was your dd/ds gym? Can you write someone anonymously or something? Should it even be treated as a big deal? I know it would be a huge deal in artistic but I am not sure in tumbling. Is this one of those shut up and mind your own business deals?

 

[Panda-girl's Mom]

I honestly would not get involved there may be facts that she does not know about. I would think if he does all the moveups for the state that it would be noticed by others if he is doing something wrong. I think if she plans on staying there she should just worry about her own daughter. There maybe loopholes or ways to move up gymnasts other ways and maybe they are ready. She may not know the whole situtation.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

I agree with Panda-girls mom. There are always details that we, as parents, are not privvy to. I'm wondering if T&T is the same as JO in that while there are mobility scores, there are not MANDATE scores. Anyone know about that?

 

[gymdog]

A quick glance at the USAG tumbling and tramp R&P gives me this:

H. Upon the recommendation of the State Chair, the J.O. Program Committee may waive mobility requirements up to Level 10 for athletes from a strong gymnastics and/or trampoline and tumbling background, who demonstrate that they are capable of beginning competition at a higher level. A letter giving details of the athlete’s abilities must accompany the mobility request form and must be submitted to the J.O. Program Committee for approval.

Which makes some sense given kids could switch over from gymnastics and already be at quite a high ability level. Athletes like Kiara Nowlin come to mind...when she started doing power tumbling there was no way she belonged in the beginning levels. Some kids can also pick up acro skills really fast and could get through the beginning levels easily. In gymnastics girls tend to be held back by the bar skills.

So basically kids can mobilize through the levels at the coach's discretion, provided they get the proper authorization. It also appears you can enter at L7. Presumably the State Chair would go through these steps and I would assume the State Chair has the interest of the athlete's progression in mind and is trusted by the Program Committee to be able to evaluate these things. Either way it seems a bit less straightforward than what we have on the girl's JO side, which it's a smaller program so I'm not necessarily surprised.

I would doubt he's "cheating." Personally I wouldn't even be too worked up about it in artistic, either. It's a dumb form of cheating...moving a kid to a higher level? That said I've never seen anyone intentionally do it and presumably you could get caught pretty easily since it's a small community and someone would notice. I doubt this person has much motivation to game the system in any way that isn't allowed, particularly since a lot would be at stake for someone who owns a gym and is high ranking in the program.

 

[coachmolly]

It's very possible that he petitioned those athletes into the higher levels. I work at a primarily T&T gym and I think the HC does that somewhat frequently. It's not cheating, more political than anything I think. The HC at my gym will move kids up to higher levels to get them used to competing bigger skills, to have more kids at the upper levels, and obviously because they have the skills. In the situation you mention, the HC probably isn't going to broadcast it if he chooses to petition some athletes and not others. It could be a case of favoritism, the parents pushing him to make that choice, because he sees potential in those specific kids, who knows.
Like others have said, I wouldn't make a big deal of it. If what he's doing is wrong, people will catch on, especially if you're in a smaller state. There's also a chance things wouldn't check out with USAG memberships, state meet registration, those kinds of things if this coach did not follow the proper procedure to move these kids up.
I can see why your friend is upset, sometimes it is incredibly confusing why a coach moves one girl up and not another when their skills are very similar. Sometimes those reasons are genuine and in each child's best interest, and sometimes they are less sincere. If the skills are there and she is being allowed to move up when the scores are achieved, her daughter will probably catch up to these girls anyway, she'll just reach that level in a different way.

 

[Jennemmy]

I didn't think my gym was cheating but I felt like some of the kids were moved up ahead of my dd this season. I did ask why my dd didn't get moved up with some of her teammates despite doing better at states. 3 meets into this season, it doesn't seem like a big deal. I know she is moving up in January and she is having a great season. I would tell your friend that if her dd has the skills, she will move up. Sometimes it's not about just having the skills but the whole package. My dd can get sloppy even if she has big skills. Those little deductions make a difference. I don't know how T&T works but I'm sure mobility will happen soon if she is close to ready.

 

[CoachGoofy]

Have the kids who are moving up quickly tested JumpStart? For some reason I'm thinking if a kid does really well at testing they get some more lenience with how they mobilize (and I KNOW national team qualifiers automatically make nationals).

Also, holding a sanctioned mobility event in T&T isn't that hard. If a little in house thing with a sanction was available, proving the scores wouldn't even be hard (and you are allowed to do more than one level at a mobility meet).

 

[10.0]

I told her it would be great to post on here about it as you can get some varied and honest answers. Though I can see it both ways, if it was my kid I would be a bit upset especially since this moving up is reserved for only certain kids. And I have no idea as I have never seen her but I guess the girl moving more than one level has terrible form so maybe the gym just wants higher level kids as someone said as this gym does not have many.

Personally I think if rules are made that one kid has to have a score and compete at a meet to move then all of them should need to, especially since it seems like it is not really a big deal to do this in this sport.

I read what someone posted about the rules so I went and read on the USAG site (finally found it) and right above what the poster mentioned about someone getting special permission for experienced kids to skip levels it states no one may enter at higher than level 7 and just like this " you MAY NOT skip levels" so I am a bit confused. It looks to me almost like if you were a level 10 artistic gymnast your state director may petition you by writing a letter to be a higher level but that if you begin the program you have to start no higher than level 7 and you have to then mobilize through the levels not skip. It seems there is a difference between a really talented high level gymnast entering the program and a person already in it that just happens to sprout up. Maybe I am wrong, the wording is so confusing!

But to each there own, and I suppose in the long run gymnastics in it's self has never been a fair sport. I suggest to her like a few others had mentioned to keep quiet and just go with the flow.

 

[gymdog]

I read what someone posted about the rules so I went and read on the USAG site (finally found it) and right above what the poster mentioned about someone getting special permission for experienced kids to skip levels it states no one may enter at higher than level 7 and just like this " you MAY NOT skip levels" so I am a bit confused. It looks to me almost like if you were a level 10 artistic gymnast your state director may petition you by writing a letter to be a higher level but that if you begin the program you have to start no higher than level 7 and you have to then mobilize through the levels not skip. It seems there is a difference between a really talented high level gymnast entering the program and a person already in it that just happens to sprout up. Maybe I am wrong, the wording is so confusing!

Well, the bottom line is you can't just register for any level you want at a meet with no prior arrangements, but there is a channel through which you can get approval to register a kid at whatever level you want them in. And it is worded pretty vaguely so I doubt you have to prove you were x level of artistic or something.

I understand the mother is upset her daughter isn't moving up, but I doubt any rules are being broken. I have no idea why the situation is the way it is, because it would be impossible to speculate with the very limited knowledge we have. However it seems extremely unlikely that someone who is in the position of being a State Coordinator is "cheating" throught this means, nor would it make any difference in her child being moved up either way...

 

[cher062]

Honestly I would just worry about my own kid. If you want to meet with the owner to see what your DD need to move up or skip levels that would be appropriate but really you don't have all the facts of any other child and their mobility just what you see. There could be many factors in place you don't know about and it wouldn't be appropriate for the owner to discuss the mobility of other kids not your own.