WAG Which level to skip

[roll123]

I've noticed a lot of threads about gyms that score out of level 5 or 6. Why do some gyms
Skip 5 and some skip 6? Is there am advantage to one over the other?

 

[Bajanswife]

At our gym we skip 5 and do 6. Our girls can't wait to be optional gymnasts, and our coaches also prefer it - by level 5 we are all bored of compulsories. Level 6 has very similar skills to level 5, so it's an easy choice. And it allows the gymnasts to start showing off their strengths and minimizing their weaknesses. We are not training future elites - we know we don't have the resources right now - so we are trying to keep our gymnasts interested and competitive. We probably are a great fit for Xcel rather than USAG, but no-one in our region competes it so we've never done it.

 

[GymMom67]

Our gym scores out of 5 and competes 6. I don't know the exact reason the coaches decided to do it that way, but as a mom, I'm glad they did. As Bajanswife said, we are ALL tired of compulsories by that time, and it's very exciting for the girls to be in optionals.

 

[JBS]

We pass through L5 and compete L6 or L7. Compulsories are not fun and too intense. One less level of them is good for us.

 

[Quadqueen]

I'm not sure what our gym will do next year, but this year, we have no 5s. The girls who were ready moved on to 6, and the ones who weren't are repeating L4.

 

[wallinbl]

Compete 5, and then see if they're ready for 6 or for 7 (or repeat 5). Compulsories are fall here, so 5 can be done in fall in conjunction with 6 or 7 in spring.

 

[Quadqueen]

Compete 5, and then see if they're ready for 6 or for 7 (or repeat 5). Compulsories are fall here, so 5 can be done in fall in conjunction with 6 or 7 in spring.

And things are different here. Compulsories and optionals run at the same time, fall-spring, so gymnasts here can't do one level in fall and one in spring. Well, I suppose they could, but there are not two "seasons," which would make it easier.

 

[profmom]

DD's gym is skipping 6. From what I have seen, new L5 is primarily used to help them improve on bars so that they can go right to 7 with high casts, good free hips, and giants.

 

[Bajanswife]

We don't have "seasons" either, and we don't do any kind of state meet, so we just compete according to ability and interest. Everyone prefers to do 6 over 5, so we spend as little time on 5 as possible. Instead, we put that time into level 6 and stay there as long as necessary until we are ready for 7.

 

[raenndrops]

And things are different here. Compulsories and optionals run at the same time, fall-spring, so gymnasts here can't do one level in fall and one in spring. Well, I suppose they could, but there are not two "seasons," which would make it easier.

Actually, USAG said that girls can compete 5 and 6 at the same time... so TECHNICALLY, if they get the mobility score for L5, they could compete the rest of the season as both L5 and L6... even in the same meet, if they are in different sessions

 

[Quadqueen]

Sure, @raenndrops...my point was just that we don't have a fall compulsory season and a spring optional season. Our gym is choosing not to compete L5.

 

[raenndrops]

At our gym, we had 7 girls that could have competed new L5 (one would be repeating from L6 and the others would have been coming from Old L5). One of those was going to be doing high school gymnastics so she switched to Xcel Platinum. One of them is not so good at Compulsories, so she scored out of Old 6 (barely). The one that would have been repeating also went to the score out meet and made it (barely). They are both doing so much better this year than they would have if they competed L5 (both have scored in the 9s on 2 events). The other 4 girls chose to repeat and do L4 this season. 2 of them COULD have succeeded in L5, but the other 2 definitely needed to repeat... of course, right now, both of those girls are injured (non-gymnastics related).
At the end of the season, we will have a last chance qualifier meet for YMCA Nationals. We will probably also use it as a score out meet for those girls who are ready for L5 so they can go right into L6 next season For those who aren't ready by that meet, if they get ready by next season, they may score out of L5 in the first meet, or just compete L5 all season if they can't.

 

[raenndrops]

Sure, @raenndrops...my point was just that we don't have a fall compulsory season and a spring optional season. Our gym is choosing not to compete L5.

Ours is also just one season (October - March). I have a friend at another gym and they have some girls who REALLY like to compete - and will compete BOTH levels at each meet. I personally think it is crazy - especially with USAG meet fees as high as they are.

 

[sfts]

The plan as it stands now is to have our girls do a year of L5 and to use L6 as a "repeat year" only for those who aren't ready to move up to L7.

 

[UnoMas]

My daughter did old 6 last year and it was not a great year for her. The judging was extremely harsh and we never did quite figure out what she was doing that was so terribly wrong. This year she is doing new 6 and is doing quite well. The flexibility with the optional routines has been just what she has needed, and is able to throw harder skills in on some events where she is stronger.

So she skipped neither level but I can see the benefits of both, in a perfect world the decision to do 5 or 6 would be an individual decision based on the gymnast's needs.

 

[curlygirls]

Our gym competes 5 and will skip 6 as long as the gymnast has enough B skills and can meet the special requirements.

 

[LizzieLac]

Since this was the first year of the new 6, so we may do things differently next year and on. But this year we did 5, 6, and 7. Doing 7 meant needing two giants before dismount, and BWO-BHS on beam. That seemed to be the differentiator, but a couple of girls ended up doing no giant at all in 6. And, I think that the coaches just needed to see how the competition was handling the skills. So now it seems, they really want the girls to go from 5 to 7. We will still probably have 6s but it is more like a "back-up plan."

 

[cbifoja]

Our gym is competing all levels this year with plans to continue doing so. We rarely skip levels. Because of some weird logistics, we will not be competing L5 next year but that's because of numbers and weird situation. In the future, we will compete L4, L5, L6, and L7.

 

[gracyomalley]

L5 and L7 this year - will see what happens next year. no EXCEL option in our area (within 150 miles) so new 6 may become the level for those who really can't do 7 but don't want to quit. Lots of L7 kids without giants here too - but must have the rest of the Bs and be able to "make state" easily even if bars are tough....otherwise repeat L5. Other team in town is doing L6 for kids out of L5 but without strong L7 skills...I can see both options working, DD HC just thought 2 year of 7 made more sense than doing old 6 then watering things down for new 6....as a repeat 7 year can include more c skills and uptraining

 

[gymmutti]

We skipped L5 this year but may compete next year. Our girls in L6 have a variety of skills with some competing BHS on beam and others not and others competing FHS FPike and others doing a FTuck on floor. The goal this year is to have all L6 finish the year with solid casts to handstands and ready for giants.