Which level?

[gymdd]

Kaddie is my daughter that is in level 3. The time where it is determined whether they are going to move up (and to which level) or not is coming up soon. We know that she is moving up, but we don't know to what level. She has the age requirement for both levels 4 and 5. She has the following:

Bars: Pullover, Front hip circle, squat on, back hip circle, mill circle, shoot through, back leg cut, and is very close to her kip.

Beam: Cartwheel, vertical handstand, side handstand 1/4 turn dismount, split leap, coupe turn, and a split jump (150* ish)

Floor: Roundoff backhandspring (can do a second one, but it is inconsistent), dive roll, fronthandspring, handstand foward roll, back/front limber, back walkover, coupe turn, split leap, 180* split jump

Vault: Handstand flatback and can make it over the table doing a front handspring (but not with the best frorm)

She also has 1 split down, and the other is about an inch from the ground.

So what do you guys think, level 4 or level 5? Thanks.

 

[bogwoppit]

Welcome to the Chalkbucket.

Without a very solid kip I would say L4. The L5 bar routine is very hard, just having a solid kip is one part of the equation, putting that routine together is not easy and the deductions can be brutal. Better to ace L4 and work towards L5 than to struggle for the season.

WHen is the season where you live, if this is not until fall 2012 things might be different.

 

[gymdd]

Well the season is next fall, but they select in about a month.

 

[bogwoppit]

Well all you can do is see what the coaches suggest. Every gym has different standards, some insist on every skill before move ups, some only start training skills after move ups.

What I do know for sure, is that move ups are one of the most stressful things that are talked about here!

Almost ten months to get skills means anything is possible. But I know my dd took forever to get her kip, she had the one finger spot kind for over a year!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

that^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

So I'm confused. They're choosing who's going to compete which level a year in advance of competing? Will they do a lot of uptraining (esp. for the girls who get their "level" skills pretty quickly) during that time?

 

[gymgal]

So I'm confused. They're choosing who's going to compete which level a year in advance of competing? Will they do a lot of uptraining (esp. for the girls who get their "level" skills pretty quickly) during that time?

Our gym does this. The girls move up at the beginning of summer, about a month after our season ends. There are usually just a couple of girls who are in limbo and the coaches use the summer to determine where they will be placed. But typically these are girls who may be skipping a level. Our gym uptrains but they do not expect the girls to have all the needed skills before moving up. They expect that in the 8 mths of training before the season starts, all the girls will gain the skills and be ready for competition. Very rarely is this not true for our girls.

 

[coachmolly]

If meet season were to start in a few months, I would say level 4 would be the best bet, just because she already seems to have those skills and could concentrate on routines and little details. But she is close to level 5, especially if the skills she has are already done well, and you never know what can happen in 10 months time. So it's an interesting time to be choosing who moves up and who doesn't, so much can happen between now and meet season.

 

[All Chalked Up]

I'd go level 4 for now, and probably bump up when her level 5 skills are cleaner. Another option is to hold off competiting for awhile and work solely on getting the level 5 skills ready.

 

[Kiwi]

Our gym does this. The girls move up at the beginning of summer, about a month after our season ends. There are usually just a couple of girls who are in limbo and the coaches use the summer to determine where they will be placed. But typically these are girls who may be skipping a level. Our gym uptrains but they do not expect the girls to have all the needed skills before moving up. They expect that in the 8 mths of training before the season starts, all the girls will gain the skills and be ready for competition. Very rarely is this not true for our girls.

This is how our gym works as well. DD has finished competing step 3 and scored high enough to move up to step 4. Those girls have already been doing a little uptraining of step 4 and step 5 skills but don't really have most of them yet. They will now begin training step 4 in earnest from now until competition season starts again about next April/May.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

O.K.... so you have the competition seasons beginning in the spring. I get it. Here, states are in spring, and the competition begins in the fall!

 

[gymmomtoo]

I'm with everyone else--with those skills currently she'd be a solid level 4. But if they're moving kids to a level to keep next fall, perhaps they'd take kids on level 5 that aren't quite there yet. Just can't guess at what your gym will do! You definitely have to be sure and update us on what happens. We can see who correctly predicted the future

 

[Aussie_coach]

It is going to vary so much depending on the aims of the coaches. Some coaches up train a lot and others just do the skills for the childs current level, some want to skill level 4 and get them to 5 as quickly as possible, others prefer 2 years or more at level 4 until they have very high scores. Some expect all the skills and others don't.

In my gym she would go level 4, in Australia coaches don't generally compete kids until ALL skills for that level are close to perfection (this is why our level 4's are mostly 11 and 12 years old.)

A few gym shere won't allow a child to compete level 4 until they have their kip evn though its not required until level 5. So that by level 5 they have a good continuous routine with straight arm kips. So as you can see the answers are so varied and you will get your best answer by looking at current trends at your own gym.

 

[gymdd]

Ok Guys

First off, thank you guys soooo much. Here are the details, she got an inconsistant kip about a week before they picked the levels. She was put into level 4. She could do 2 in every 3 kips and 1 in 3 for long hangs (she now has them 90% regular, 50% long hang). Since their first competiton isn't until next August, should i approach the coaches?

 

[gymmomtoo]

Our gym does move ups for compulsories at this time too--at our gym your daughter would probably be going to level 5 as she's close to her 5 skills and has months to get them. BUT, I don't know what your gym does. If they want them to practice and perfect skills they have for months, then chances are she'll go to level 4. Whatever they suggest, I hope she has fun!

 

[sportzmomov3]

I always find this topic interesting because as my DD went thru the levels (she's now a level 10) I never questioned the coaches on why she was training certain skills (or not) or what level she was moving to for the next competition season. This is not to say that I didn't keep one eye on what was happening to my DD, but I am not a coach, and I trust my coaches when it comes to knowing what my DD needs to do to compete or I wouldn't be at the gym I'm at. And, I believe that my lack of needing to know (it might be defined as "purposeful ignorance") over the years has served my DD (and my sanity) well. She has had to repeat levels, yet she made it to level 10 before high school. I always want to "shout" at parents to just sit back and relax about the whole "move up" and "what level is my DD competing" concern. There is truly no rush and no reason to worry about what level they are competing when they are merely 7 or 8yo (or younger!). There weren't even level 4s competing when my DD first started gymnastics - and the fact that anything before 5 is not mandatory tells you something.

Just enjoy the happiness that the sport brings to your DD and be her biggest supporter - in the grand scheme of things, what level she competes is not important. It is only important that she is happy in her sport, healthy, and ready to compete with confidence, routines that are solid.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

spoken like an experienced parent.

 

[GymGirl's Mom]

Not a coach, but at DD's gym she would be a Level 4- no kip, and a few other missing Level 5 skills, she sounds like a solid Level 4 to me

I would NOT approach the coaches!!!!!! Let them do their jobs, trust their opinions, if she needs to be moved up they will move her up.

 

[gymmomtoo]

I wouldn't approach the coaches either. If you trust them and she's happy, then why push it? She'll have a much better year as a level 4, than a struggling level 5.

 

[gymdd]

Normally i wouldnt approach but, my dd keeps telling me that she wants to do level 5.