Parents Xcel Bronze Juding & Tips

[gymparent1]

My daughter is in xcel bronze. She just started her second year competing and didn’t score as high as she would have liked in the first competition. Her scores were all high 8’s. I’m wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of scoring? Is there a way to learn more about how deductions work? Unfortunately, our gym hasn’t been great at providing feedback which really appears to be impacting her ability to improve. Any suggestions or tips on how to help level up her game? Our gym doesn’t train as many hours as others (which we don’t like) but we haven’t been able to find another gym within an hour to our house. I’m looking for specific advice on the scoring system and also from seasoned gymnasts/parents on words of advice and tips to help them level up.

Thank you!

 

[raenndrops]

The judges judge what they see. Even if an entire team does the same routine, because the Xcel program is all optional levels, they have to look at each routine as different (no comparing). They take notes on what is done and any deductions they see. They compare what is done to the special requirements to come up with the start value. Then, they take the deductions away from that start value to come up with the score.
Are her start values at 10.0?
Is every skill in each of her routines solid?
Is she a "bouncy" child? (My YG was a bouncy child and would land a jump and do a little extra bouncing or take a couple little steps ... and those are deductions.)

Straight legs. Pointed toes. Every step on a landing is a deduction. A fall is a big deduction.

 

[Coach Kate]

I'll add that scores in bronze can be very high because the skills are very basic. For example, at a meet my old gym was at yesterday, second and third place AA were both over a 38 - over a 9.5 average on each event. If you go to YouTube, and search Xcel bronze 9.8 bars, beam, etc, you'll find examples of the type of form and landings judges are looking for. Sometimes seeing those really good routines can help show the distinction between good and great.