What's your best guess at what next season will look like?

[NutterButter]

My daughter is heading off to college in the fall (D3 gymnastics, out of state). I have doubts that her school will be opening dorms mid-August. I have even more doubts that collegiate sports will continue as normal next season. It’s a bizarre new normal we are in. On one hand my DD is actively planning to go to college - communicating with her new coach and teammates more frequently and making plans to room with another gymnast. She is in a couple of chat group with other students in her major. On the other hand, we are talking about all the ‘what if’s’ with her training/education if she has to start her college experience online. If she’s home this fall I want her to change gyms and that opens up a whole bunch of different scenarios that honestly makes my head spin.

 

[MzPolarbear]

Our girls are doing zoom workouts together to stay connected as a team and to stay in the groove of conditioning. They are all really anxious to get back to the gym but know that it may look very different. We are in CO...our gyms can't open up yet but they can do one on one training. My daughter opted not to do this until we see how this next phase plays out. Our coach said that spotting is a challenge as they need to maintain the 6 feet social distancing, so its not to work new skills, but more to just get back into the gym. That said, even if we reopen this month, coaches are going to have to be creative to get girls ready...and work on skills for the next level. I truly expect at least our fall season will either be cancelled or moved to spring. I am doubtful moving to spring as that would make those meets HUGE with Compulsory, Xcel, and Optionals all competing at the same time and I don't see group size limits being high enough to accommodate. At this point we are just hoping a mobility meet can be done at gym for just our girls... But better to miss a season or repeat a year then lose out much more due to being sick.

 

[skschlag]

Our girls are doing zoom workouts together to stay connected as a team and to stay in the groove of conditioning. They are all really anxious to get back to the gym but know that it may look very different. We are in CO...our gyms can't open up yet but they can do one on one training. My daughter opted not to do this until we see how this next phase plays out. Our coach said that spotting is a challenge as they need to maintain the 6 feet social distancing, so its not to work new skills, but more to just get back into the gym. That said, even if we reopen this month, coaches are going to have to be creative to get girls ready...and work on skills for the next level. I truly expect at least our fall season will either be cancelled or moved to spring. I am doubtful moving to spring as that would make those meets HUGE with Compulsory, Xcel, and Optionals all competing at the same time and I don't see group size limits being high enough to accommodate. At this point we are just hoping a mobility meet can be done at gym for just our girls... But better to miss a season or repeat a year then lose out much more due to being sick.

That is interesting . I was wondering if 1:1 would be included under personal training. Our gym in CO cannot open yet, but hoping that they can start that (I think it is even groups up to 4) mid May or so. We will see. Lots of zoom workouts. Most kids don't need spotting yet anyway....they need mostly basics and conditioning!

 

[Cheryl]

I'd love to see what could happen if gymnasts could just focus on training skills for a whole season.

my kid would be in heaven. He really enjoys practicing new skills and gets bored once it’s time for routine creation and practice. It would also get rid of the whole most kids having to repeat a level. He would much rather take a year of all skills and be ready for Level 10 than have to redo Level 9

 

[skschlag]

my kid would be in heaven. He really enjoys practicing new skills and gets bored once it’s time for routine creation and practice. It would also get rid of the whole most kids having to repeat a level. He would much rather take a year of all skills and be ready for Level 10 than have to redo Level 9

Yeah. that would devastate my kid. He is a junior, and only has one season left. With no post season, and potentially no camps, his recruiting has become even more interesting. I cannot imagine adding to it with him not getting to compete next year!

 

[Cheryl]

Maybe only have competitions with 16 and up? Coaches could still do their video routines for submission, but reduce meets to states, regionals or nationals to kids who need to compete to further their year? I’m also concerned a second wave could come up in competition season. Certainly a tough problem.

 

[Bella7]

I’m in Manhattan which is Low risk in comparison to the rest of New York State. I cannot speculate on what’s going to happen, but my feeling is that if Team can get back to the gym for training, there maybe a way to social distance and be over zealous about cleanliness and this could happen beginning of June? I can’t see how large meets will be able to proceed though, maybe our girls will all train up a level and compete that the following year? Those looking for scholarship opportunities, I sincerely hope this unprecedented situation will be taken into consideration.

 

[okgymmom]

I'm the mom of a junior in high school as well. Our gym (in Oklahoma) is currently on track to open late next week with what I feel is a good plan to mitigate some of the risks. No idea what this competition season will look like, but I know at least 2 college club teams held a "virtual meet" towards the end of the season this year (pre-COVID-19) where each team competed in their own gym and were scored by the same panel of judges. For these schools, I believe it was about cutting down on costs associated with travel meets, but I can see something like this being implemented on the USAG level to try and preserve health and safety for this next season. Recruiting is another animal entirely. My son has continued to stay in touch with coaches and schools through email and has posted a few of his quarantine training videos from the home gym he's set up. He may be talking to a few coaches online via Zoom since visits aren't really an option right now. More than anything, I'm just ready for him to get back into the gym and regular training.

 

[profmom]

Well, based on what some are saying now about the second wave, I am becoming concerned about winter/spring 2021. I also have a junior and I hate the thought that he might have competed USAG for the last time ever.

 

[Ilovebagels]

I hope that our fall compulsory season is cancelled not delayed til spring. My daughter was already set to repeat before all this and if her repeating season is 6 months later that would be terrible. Plus then what happens to up training for the following season? I’m hoping for small in house meets or none at all.

 

[skschlag]

I'm the mom of a junior in high school as well. Our gym (in Oklahoma) is currently on track to open late next week with what I feel is a good plan to mitigate some of the risks. No idea what this competition season will look like, but I know at least 2 college club teams held a "virtual meet" towards the end of the season this year (pre-COVID-19) where each team competed in their own gym and were scored by the same panel of judges. For these schools, I believe it was about cutting down on costs associated with travel meets, but I can see something like this being implemented on the USAG level to try and preserve health and safety for this next season. Recruiting is another animal entirely. My son has continued to stay in touch with coaches and schools through email and has posted a few of his quarantine training videos from the home gym he's set up. He may be talking to a few coaches online via Zoom since visits aren't really an option right now. More than anything, I'm just ready for him to get back into the gym and regular training.

What kind of videos is he showing? My son was able to do a couple at the beginning but now feels like it would just be the same thing over and over. He is so ready to train, but nothing until after May 8th. Seeing his friends start up today was torture for him!

 

[GymMom4]

I expect the fall season won’t happen, and states that usually do compulsories in the fall will move to winter/spring. Although I’m not convinced yet that it will be safe soon enough to have a season then.

I’d also expect many gymnasts to repeat a level, especially optional level girls, where it’s impossible to train harder skills right now.

I agree with this. Our gym owner suggested something similar- that compulsory season may get moved to winter with the optionals/xcel/boys.

 

[okgymmom]

What kind of videos is he showing? My son was able to do a couple at the beginning but now feels like it would just be the same thing over and over. He is so ready to train, but nothing until after May 8th. Seeing his friends start up today was torture for him!

I believe May 8th is when we're supposed to go back as well. My son has set up some rings (crossfit type) in my parents' basement and also has a pommel with handles he built with my dad. I believe he's shared his gym set up, the pommel building process and a few videos of skills he's working on those few pieces of equipment. It's not crazy impressive, but it's something, I guess.

 

[skschlag]

I believe May 8th is when we're supposed to go back as well. My son has set up some rings (crossfit type) in my parents' basement and also has a pommel with handles he built with my dad. I believe he's shared his gym set up, the pommel building process and a few videos of skills he's working on those few pieces of equipment. It's not crazy impressive, but it's something, I guess.

Thanks. I appreciate that! my son has an old vault that a coach turned into a horse. He can do pommels on it only. I meant to work on the leather, but got busy. He has crossfit rings too, so can do some strength. I guess recruiting will look very very different this year!

 

[bklyngymom]

What will next season look like is hard to say. Our gym is in Brooklyn NY and the rate of infection has been high here in NYC. Our governor is looking at regional approach to reopening. Being that we are in the tri-state area NJ & CT reopening affect us. With that said our gym participates and competes at meets in NJ, CT & MD. They are usually large competitions and held in either convention center or on a college campus. I believe that our season will be short, no travelling and may only be our optional gymnasts as some are looking at recruiting to college teams. Will this be the new normal? At least for now. Now meaning the next 6-10 months

 

[Flounder]

I find this very hard to think about. My gymnast loves the gym more than anything else . She's wanted to compete in college ever since seeing her first college meet in person. We aren't talking scholarship here, but still being part of a team. She had a very good season and was looking to move up at the end of the season. She's in MS now, so she doesn't have a ton of wiggle room. With this closure, it's hard to imagine moving up and that's a complete change from the expectation in March. Our gym is doing very little in terms of zoom workouts, especially compared to some other gyms. My gymnast is very internally motivated, but I don't know how long she can hold out if there is no end in sight.

 

[okgymmom]

Thanks. I appreciate that! my son has an old vault that a coach turned into a horse. He can do pommels on it only. I meant to work on the leather, but got busy. He has crossfit rings too, so can do some strength. I guess recruiting will look very very different this year!

The pommel he built is pretty unique! It's definitely a product of the quarantine. He and my dad used raw 4x4s, planed and sanded them into shape, repurposed a thick mattress pad doubled over for a bit of cushion, then covered with a bright yellow vinyl picnic tablecloth before attaching the handles. It sits on the ground which has the secondary benefit of making him keep his legs up! It's not the prettiest thing but it definitely gets the job done and allows him to do a little handle work.

 

[ProvB]

I am in BC, Canada as well. Our gym is doing zoom training for now, but we’re not sure we will be able to actually reopen until September. My daughter is 100% willing to train for the year and not compete, but she is more of a skills driven gymnast than a competition driven gymnast as it is. I don’t see how reopening the gym can happen under the current and proposed ongoing restrictions.

 

[JessSyd]

In Australia they have just cancelled a national competition in September (and we had 12 new cases in the entire country today - one for every two thousand tests we ran).

In a normal year, it would have been the final competition in my daughter’s season (which generally starts in June). It does not mean she will miss a whole season, but realistically, it is looking unlikely.

This will mess up her lovely cohesive team, as some girls next year will choose to press on to the next level while others will compete this year’s level instead. It’ll be sad.

 

[Pirouette]

DD16 will be a senior in the fall, as well. She has not let herself consider that she has already competed her final meet, especially since it wasn't states. (Season was cancelled before their state meet, scheduled for end of March.)

Her team starts the season in early December and does about 7 meets. She continues to condition at home as best she can, but it isn't the same.

If the competition season does happen, I wonder how the Xcel program will be impacted. I can picture a lot of girls moving to Xcel.