When do we get new routines???

[GYMNASTICSroxx]

When do the compulsory routines change???
I asked one of the asst. coaches on Tuesday, and they were'nt sure. I told her that I'd find out and tell her on Thursday. Im kinda worried......I REALLY WANT TO COMPETE THE LEVEL 6 ROUTINE NEXT YEAR!!!!!!!!! AHHH! Any answers will be GREATLY appreciated!!!!!

 

[gymkat]

Fall of 2013. I think they might be coming out with new music this summer, though, but you'd have a choice of using the new or the old.

 

[GYMNASTICSroxx]

Oh, thats cool! Thank you SO much!!!

 

[gym4life915]

I don't get why we have to keep compulsary routines for 8 years, the sport is changing rapidly and I personally think these routines are too easy. My sister and I were comparing the routines and they don't have as many hard skills. Well just have to wait until 2013.

 

[gymnut1]

I don't get why we have to keep compulsary routines for 8 years, the sport is changing rapidly and I personally think these routines are too easy. My sister and I were comparing the routines and they don't have as many hard skills. Well just have to wait until 2013.

I actually think the level 4 routines are quite difficult for a 6 year old (the minimum age) and level 5 is definitely difficult for a 7 year old (the minimum age) Children who excell at them at those ages are the exception rather than the norm. After all if you want something more difficult you can score out of 5 and 6 and get going on 7 and up quite quickly.

 

[MdGymMom01]

I don't get why we have to keep compulsary routines for 8 years, the sport is changing rapidly...

This is the reason why I am glad that dd is on the MDL team. They start their optionals at Level A, which is comparable to the USAG Level 5. So there is only one year at compulsory Level 4. This league is good for those athletes that don't "plan on going elite" and don't want to invest all their time in the gym. It is a great league for middle and high school kids that still want to do school activities and even school sports, but still get good quality gymnastics training and competition. It is a nice compromise.

DD is very excited about next year and being able to pick her own floor music! It should be a fun year!

 

[dancing9118000]

I thought there are new music every 4 years. My teammates said the compulsaries get music at the end of this year. And I think the routines stress the wrong abilities. For example, there should be a press to handstand in either beam or floor and the level 4 bar routine has some stuff I wouldn't put in like the mill circle (i think that is what its called). They should also really change up vault some.

 

[gymkat]

Yes and no to the new music. The routines change every 8 years, and obviously new music is introduced then. Halfway through the cycle, they release a new set of music, but you have an option to use the old or the new.

Regarding the press handstand on beam or floor, that won't happen. Compulsories is not meant to cater to future level 10s or elites; it's to give kids the ability to compete without weeding them out at a young age. I don't like certain skills in the routines (I hate FHCs and mill circles, but what are you going to replace them with that would still make the sport accessible to kids of "average" talent?), but in the end, a good L5 should be able to do good L6, and L6 should be prepared to do good L7. If you're on an elite track, then I'd expect coaches to focus less on compulsories and more on HOPES. I could never do a good press handstand, and I was a decent L9. Presses are one of those skills that really depends on your body proportions. I know an elite who was on the national team and who made Olympic Trials who never had a press handstand. What else do you expect little kids to do on vault? The quality of L5 vaults has really improved since L4s started doing the flatback, but most kids still don't have an especially great FHS. L6 is the place where you start to see more 9.2+ FHS (obviously you have a few great L5 vaulters, but they're few and far between), and then you have a choice in L7. I personally would never let one of my gymnasts do a 1/2 on for her L7 vault because it teaches the wrong technique. You shouldn't be able to land a 1/2 on on your feet if you want to flip it in the future; if you're doing a proper block, you'd end up on your back or neck on a competition mat. Ditto with Yurchenko timers. In the grand scheme of things, twisting vaults don't have a lot of value unless you can do a FHS 2/1, so why bother to make L6s do those?

The routines aren't perfect, and there are definitely aspects to them that I don't especially like, but there's no need to increase the difficulty of the routines to the point that it would weed out kids who aren't going to make L8-10... that happens on its own already.

 

[gym4life915]

I actually think the level 4 routines are quite difficult for a 6 year old (the minimum age) and level 5 is definitely difficult for a 7 year old (the minimum age) Children who excell at them at those ages are the exception rather than the norm. After all if you want something more difficult you can score out of 5 and 6 and get going on 7 and up quite quickly.

But when you compare them to the old routines the old routines were much more difficult. I was at my youngest sisters compulsary state meet and just going around watching the different levels I saw how much easier things were. Ex. the level 4 bars routine had a kip in the old routines.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

I wish we had the MDL league here in No.VA!!! I guess it's similar to Prep optional... I know the owners of our gym were originally from Maryland and they TALKED about joining the MDL 2 summers ago, but nothing came of it. With my DD going into high school next year, I'm just not sure how optional USAG gymnastics is going to fit into her schedule.... ESPECIALLY since we're not going for a college scholarship!

 

[gymkat]

Well, the L4 routines that I competed were harder than they are/were, (FHS vault; kip on bars; cartwheel and 1/2 turn immediate pivot turn on beam; back extension roll, RO BHS step-out, FHS step-out, handstand pirouette, dive cartwheel on floor) but I haven't seen the "easier" routines make a difference in the long run. If anything, the optionals coming up at my gym have better basics than I did. In some states, girls used to do pull-overs and not kips in L4 (both had 10 SVs)-- until this cycle, states could make their own decisions about the SVs for L4 bars. Most gyms train up anyway, so it's not like L4s aren't working kips (at least I would hope).

For balancing high school and gymnastics, I would have to say that gymnastics looks really good on college applications. If she really wants to stay in gymn, she'll find a way to make time. I managed to balance orchestra, violin lessons, gymnastics, and a few clubs at school... might have been sleep-deprived for my junior and senior years, but it was worth it!

 

[BlairBob]

the old compulsories were harder for girls and it's the same for the boys. personally, i think it's too make it easier to compete and build a bigger base pyramid for gyms and teams. more meat for the grinder as I say.