WAG who determines scheduling for meets?

[Deleted member 18037]

I used to be the meet director for a big meet in our original gym and there are many things, like Meet Director says, that go into the actual schedules.....I generally didn't schedule the younger compulsory kids during the day on Friday because the parents, as a rule, wouldn't let them miss school for a meet sooooo, they ended up with the 6 pm Friday session as it was "after school". I always looked at the SAT and ACT schedules when they came out and tried not to put any of the teenagers in the Saturday am first sessions if that was a test date. I did take into account the distance a gym was travelling and tried not to have those furthest away in the last session on Sunday. The only session time really written in stone were the Levels 9 and 10 .....they were Saturday night.

Other than the above, it was a numbers and a juggling game...not trying to make anyone's life miserable but scheduling a meet isn't as easy as people think, and it is usually a hard working volunteer doing it.

You are a wise woman.

 

[3rd_time_around]

I believe the meet director for the event determines the schedule. There are usually a LOT of things that go into it. Number of sessions, number of gymnasts, grouping different ages/levels to have sessions that aren't too big or small, are there event finals for higher levels (where you need to have the regular competition one day and then finals the next day), are they honoring graduating seniors at the event (likely to be higher levels and usually scheduled for last session on Saturday), booking judges that are qualified to judge the different levels, and probably a billion other things I'm not even thinking of.

While I agree with you that it probably isn't best to have younger ones competing until 8PM or later nor is it good to have teenagers competing at 8 AM, I don't think that is usually factored into the schedule.

Actually, they can't really go by age. Level 3 can be ages 7-whatever, and so can level 10 be ages 9-18. You can assume a lower level is all very young kids. Meet directors have a tough job, I'm glad I'm not doing it! [emoji1303]

 

[3rd_time_around]

Since this crazy app won't let me edit, I wanted to add to the post I wrote;

Change the sentence to "you can't assume"

And then, meet directors have to pass a test to be a meet director, so volunteers aren't scheduling the sessions.

I can't believe meets aren't required at some gyms. I would never scratch because of the schedule, I can't waste that money. My 6 year old has to be at a meet Saturday by 7:30 am, almost 2 hours away. We're just getting a hotel instead of getting up at 4am. In the past I would have just gotten up super early, but we're getting old.[emoji23]

 

[raenndrops]

So glad we mostly do small, one day meets. Of course, with YG in Xcel Gold and OG in L6 (and LSS) in L3, we are bound to have the early session and the late session.
For our Championship meet, there are 2 days. L3 is in 3 sessions on Sunday. They don't have age breakdowns yet. Saturday, L7-9 and XLP are 1st session, L5 and L6 are session 2, most of L4 are session 3, and the rest of L4 and XLG are session 4.
The meet is about 1.5 - 2 hours away. I can handle this.
Of course, I have to be there for all sessions anyways, so I have a hotel for Saturday night (my first hotel of the season).
Can't wait to find out report times and age breakdowns for L3 and L4.

 

[OzZee]

Lol raendrops I had a year with two competing same comp season where they kept pulling first and last session. Killed us all. Only so many creative ways to waste several hours in the middle of the day.
I remember thinking of going to the beach but then thought what would the coaches reaction be as she spins around the bar and sand comes flying out of her leo, don't think that would have been classed as appropriately rested!

 

[raenndrops]

Lol raendrops I had a year with two competing same comp season where they kept pulling first and last session. Killed us all. Only so many creative ways to waste several hours in the middle of the day.
I remember thinking of going to the beach but then thought what would the coaches reaction be as she spins around the bar and sand comes flying out of her leo, don't think that would have been classed as appropriately rested!

One year, we had a big break between OG and YG sessions at Y Nationals, so they went to the beach and went swimming. YG gashed her knee when she slammed into the rocks. We had to stop by a drugstore for huge Band-Aids (the nice, thick, waterproof ones). She competed with 5 butterfly closures and the big bandaid over them. She probably should have had stitches, but then she wouldn't have been able to compete, lol. Never again!!!!

 

[OzZee]

One year, we had a big break between OG and YG sessions at Y Nationals, so they went to the beach and went swimming. YG gashed her knee when she slammed into the rocks. We had to stop by a drugstore for huge Band-Aids (the nice, thick, waterproof ones). She competed with 5 butterfly closures and the big bandaid over them. She probably should have had stitches, but then she wouldn't have been able to compete, lol. Never again!!!!

Lol well now I'm feeling super good cautious mum (not a usual feeling) as we didn't go - though actually the fact that it was unseasonably cold may have been the final decider.

Ouch! Glad she was able to compete.

 

[GymDad9.9]

So crazy; 60 degrees today, 12 inches tomorrow!

Shouldn't this be in the Dick is Awesome thread?!

 

[CuriousCate]

.I generally didn't schedule the younger compulsory kids during the day on Friday because the parents, as a rule, wouldn't let them miss school for a meet sooooo, they ended up with the 6 pm Friday session as it was "after school".

Ah. that makes a ton of sense to me. This is the first time where some will have to leave school early to get there and parents definitely felt weird about that, so I imagine that missing the whole day would have been even tougher to stomach! Thanks!! We've only had sat/sun morning or afternoon sessions last seasons and this season so far, so I think we were all a bit thrown off!

 

[notthatmom]

Shouldn't this be in the Dick is Awesome thread?!

This sounds like a fun new quote to add to many a comment outside that thread. Kind of like the chalkbucket version of "that's what she said" LOL!

 

[NY Dad]

Shouldn't this be in the Dick is Awesome thread?!

Ah, our inner child comes out again.

 

[Mish]

Shouldn't this be in the Dick is Awesome thread?!

Lol! Don't think that I wasn't thinking the same thing as I wrote it!!

 

[gymdoc]

meet directors have to pass a test to be a meet director, so volunteers aren't scheduling the sessions

So this is a little off topic, but our gym is new and small and considering hosting a meet in 2018. I know our head coach has run meets before so probably has taken this class/test.
I am the parent coordinator so it will fall to me to keep everything else running smoothly. Can I take this course since I am not a coach, gymnast, or gym owner just I can be well informed of the processes and rules?

 

[notthatmom]

So this is a little off topic, but our gym is new and small and considering hosting a meet in 2018. I know our head coach has run meets before so probably has taken this class/test.
I am the parent coordinator so it will fall to me to keep everything else running smoothly. Can I take this course since I am not a coach, gymnast, or gym owner just I can be well informed of the processes and rules?

If the test is required I'd think you would have to take the test if you're truly given the task as meet director. Sounds like it would benefit you!

 

[CMA25]

So this is a little off topic, but our gym is new and small and considering hosting a meet in 2018. I know our head coach has run meets before so probably has taken this class/test.
I am the parent coordinator so it will fall to me to keep everything else running smoothly. Can I take this course since I am not a coach, gymnast, or gym owner just I can be well informed of the processes and rules?

You would have to register for a USAG Professional membership and pass the background check to take the course. I know that there is a toolkit that can be printed. You can ask the Head Coach to print it for you to review.

 

[MeetDirector]

So this is a little off topic, but our gym is new and small and considering hosting a meet in 2018. I know our head coach has run meets before so probably has taken this class/test.
I am the parent coordinator so it will fall to me to keep everything else running smoothly. Can I take this course since I am not a coach, gymnast, or gym owner just I can be well informed of the processes and rules?

You would have to register for a USAG Professional membership and pass the background check to take the course. I know that there is a toolkit that can be printed. You can ask the Head Coach to print it for you to review.

To be a USAG meet director and be able to pull a sanction for the meet, the meet director does have to be a Pro member which means paying that fee, the background check fee, and the safety course fee. You then have to take the meet director's exam which is a thorough test on the USAG Rules and Policies.

Anybody willing to do the work of a meet director might as well become an official meet director and get all of the rewards (?) that come with that, to include that very high meet director's pay .

I started as the parent coordinator and ended up doing all of the work; I bit the bullet and here I am today. Oh, the "toolkit" mentioned above really does not help a meet director do the real planning for a meet; it is just mainly graphics and such to use at a meet.

Good Luck.

 

[coachmolly]

Our Xcel state meet always has sessions all day Friday and is consistently scheduled for the week of statewide standardized testing. We've had a kid miss and compete out of session because her parents refused to let her miss testing (even though there are make-up days) and other parents who are stressing to get their kids an alternative testing schedule. One of my very type A little ones was a total mess in the week leading up to States from the stress of state testing and the state meet.

I do not envy the job of meet director one bit. The mere thought of putting all of those pieces together makes my head spin. I'll just stick with taking the schedule I'm given and going with it.

 

[txgymfan]

That would be horrible. The school makes such a big deal about state tests I can't imagine a state gym meet the same week. My girl is a total mess that entire week.

 

[ayyyrial]

My teammate in her senior year of high school once competed at States in the morning and went to prom that night. Just glad she didn't get the night session! I'm sure they can't schedule around prom since every school has it a different week, but a lot of gymnasts must run into that classic high school movie dilemma.