Parents Xcel Requirements

[alsmom]

Is there a set of requirements for each xcel level? My older dd, who is 12, went to a gymnastics bday party today and has decided that she wants to give up cheer for a bit and focus on gymnastics. She did a few years of gym about five years ago and has been cheering since. She has some decent tumbling, but has never vaulted and has not done bars for quite a while. She is saying she would like to compete gymnastics. My younger dd is on a JO path, and I know that is not possible(right now) for older dd...I just don't know anything about xcel!!

 

[gymmomtoo]

I would suggest bringing her to gym and having a coach evaluate and see what they think is possible for her.

 

[alsmom]

Yes, I am going to do that. She just wants to know what they will be looking for, and I have no idea!!

 

[2G1B]

I think that it really varies by gym. From reading on here it sounds like a lot of gyms use Xcel for the kids who don't have as much time to commit to gym; but the gym we just left is invite only for Xcel and it seemed to be as hard or harder to get on the Xcel team as it was to get on the lower level compulsory teams.

 

[gymgal]

Here is the usag website for the xcel program. They used to have it split by region but it now looks like they have the rules nationalized. This pdf should give you a good starting point.
http://usagym.org/pages/women/pages/xcel.html

Edit: Ok, I take that back. Looks like they got rid of the region websites but still haven't put up the national criteria. You can go to your region's website and see if they have info on it. If not, you can get a general idea by going to a different region. Region 8 has a good, simple spread sheet available of all the xcel levels and requirements. Google region 8 gymnastics Xcel. It should pop up.

 

[motigymnasticsmom]

Xcel will be changing next month. There are five levels in Xcel. Bronze(now lvl1/2), silver(now lvl 2/3), gold(now lvls 3/4/5/6), platinum(now lvl 6/7/8), and diamond(now lvl 7/8/9). Now, there is no mobility score until platinum(between xcel levels) and the mobility score to move to the jo program is gone. Bronze/silver will be basic levels with gold getting harder the platinum/diamond being more like jo optionals. If your dd has been doing cheer she can do gymnastics. As a matter of fact, most of the girls on my dd xcel team come from a cheer background. Find a good gym/coach with xcel, she will love it!


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[IreneKa]

We just switched from Xcel to JO. My DD competed bronze this past season. The good thing about Xcel is that the routine can vary from gymnast to gymnast based on their skills. Many of our girls couldn't do ROBHS yet, so they were replacing them with other elements. For example, my DD did two BWO, others did RO followed by backward roll into push up position.
The vault was straightforward handstand onto flat back on the mat. For bars our girls did back hip circle, then both feet on the bar (don't know what this is called), then dismount. But I've seen other gyms doing front heap circle, back heap circle, dismount, or back heap circle underswing dismount.
Just before we left, I received email with the requiremenets for the silver level. Here they are:
Floor: round-off two back handsprings, front handspring into roundoff or front tuck. Bars: squat-on, jump to the high bar. Beam: Cartwheel or back walkover and a front tuck or aerial dismount. Vault: handstand fall flat on the regular vault table.

I realize that the requirements probably vary from state to state, or from region to region (we are at region 6), but just wanted to give you an idea.

 

[alsmom]

Thanks so much for your responses. At our gym(we are region 6) xcel is used generally for kids who want to compete, but who also want time for other things. I am thinking she would be able to do bronze, but she is a hard worker, and if she had to spend some time in rec classes I am sure that would be fine, too.

 

[Pickle]

Thanks so much for your responses. At our gym(we are region 6) xcel is used generally for kids who want to compete, but who also want time for other things. I am thinking she would be able to do bronze, but she is a hard worker, and if she had to spend some time in rec classes I am sure that would be fine, too.

My DD does xcel, and we are also in region 6. Her gym has tryouts. She had to be able to do a ROBHS on floor, a front handspring on floor, handstand and cartwheel on beam, L4 vault and bars routine, a long hang pullover on the high bar, and 5 chin ups with 30 second holds for each one.