EDWARDSVILLE YMCA GYMNASTICS TEAM 2014-2015 PARENT HANDBOOK
Welcome Welcome to the Edwardsville YMCA Gymnastics Team. We are happy to have you on our team. Here at Edwardsville we focus on building gymnastics skills, improving competitive routines, building self-confidence, team spirit, and self-discipline. We are all a team ---- parents, coaches, and gymnasts. All of us need to work together and keep lines of communication open. If you have any questions or concerns about our program or coaches please contact the gymnastics director. Summer Practices Level 2 and 3 Monday and Thursday 5:30pm-8:00pm Level 4 Wednesday 6:30pm 9:00pm and Saturday 8:00am-10:30am Level 4 and Level 5 attending 3 days per week Same as level 4 with the addition of Monday, 7:00pm 9:30pm You can only attend on Mondays if you come 3 days a week. All Optional Levels Same as level 4 & 5 with the addition of Thursday, 6:30pm - 9:00pm **Times and days are subject to change for the fall and winter sessions.** We expect everyone on team to be committed to the sport. We expect all level 2-5 gymnasts to be at practice at least 2 times per week. We expect all optional level gymnasts to be at practice 3-4 times per week. There may be open gym times available each week for anyone interested in more time in the gym. Team Fees In order to pay coaching expenses for meets, the YMCA athlete registration fees, and the Amerikids athlete registration fees, there is a team fee of $190.00 due by October 1, 2014. Payment will be required before your child will be eligible to compete. Extra Conditioning for Level 4-9 The fitness center/liberty Middle school (weather permitting) is available to all team gymnasts following Saturday s practice who wish to get a half hour of conditioning at the end of their practice time for no additional charge. We also offer an extra half hour of
conditioning in the gymnastics room following practices on Mondays and Wednesdays. If possible, the gymnasts should bring in their own set of hand weights for this conditioning period. Check with Sandee if you are unsure of the amount of weight your gymnast should bring. Team Leotard The cost for a team leotard is approximately $125.00. All leotards will be ordered the last week of July. Parents must be present to help size your child. Payment in full is required before your child s leotard will be ordered. Since these are custom made leotards all sales are final. The approximate ship date will be mid-september. Team Warm-Ups It is required that everyone purchase a team warm-up jacket as part of their uniform. The warm-ups will be purchased from GTM Sportswear and are black and silver. The cost, including embroidery, (excluding their name) will be approximately $90.00 for the jacket. Competition We compete USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic routines in levels 2 9. This year we are going to compete in approximately 3 USAG meets for levels 2-5 and additional meets for the optionals. There will be an additional fee of $50 to compete USAG and the meet costs are $50-$75 and up to $125 for optionals. We will also compete in the Amerikids program again this year in St. Peters, MO. All gymnasts are required to compete in a minimum of 6 meets during a competition year. Every gymnast is required to compete in our annual Macie Crow meet. We highly encourage all gymnasts to participate at the YMCA National Gymnastics meet in Wichita, KS, June 24-27, 2015. Meet Registration and Fees The gymnastics team will compete in 11 14 meets each year. Each meet host will send registration forms to the director several weeks prior to that meet. We will pass the meet information to you when we receive it. Most gymnasts will sign up for all around (AA). This means the gymnast will compete in all four events. Some gymnasts, especially early in the season, prefer to sign up for 2 or 3 events. This should be communicated with the director if there is any uncertainty. You must sign up and pay for the meet at the front desk before the deadline. Amerikids meets cost between $40.00-60.00. USAG
meet costs $50-$75. Once the meet host receives all entries to their meet, they compose a meet schedule. The meet host then sends the schedule about two weeks before the meet date. You probably won t know if you will compete on a Saturday afternoon, Sunday a.m. or p.m. until the schedule comes out. Unfortunately, this is a weakness in gymnastics meet scheduling and most meets are organized in this manner. Amerikids, however, usually do a good job of getting the schedule to us in advance. We are sorry for the inconvenience this may cause in planning out your activities on weekends. Another unfortunate aspect of gymnastics competition is that someone will always have to compete on a Sunday morning. We know that interferes with families attending church. Again, we apologize. Hopefully, that won t be a conflict for anyone more than 2 or 3 times for the year. Most meet hosts will not give refunds unless you have a doctor s note. Requirements of a Gymnast to be on the YMCA Gymnastics Team - Must be a YMCA member - must have director or head coach approval - must purchase team leotard - must purchase team warm-up - must pay team fees - must be committed enough to come to at least 2 practices each week (level 6-8 gymnasts should come to a minimum of 3 practices each week) - gymnasts must participate in at least 6 meets, but are encouraged to compete in all the meets. Mobility to Next Team Level A gymnast must be able to perform the major elements at the next level by the end of August in order to advance to the next level. There will be rare occasions when a gymnast may possibly move up without all the necessary elements. The head coach or gymnastics director will determine this and communicate with the gymnast and parent. About Competition When you receive your meet competition schedule before each meet you will notice an open stretch time. This is when the gymnast should arrive at the meet site. Most meet sessions will last approximately 3 hours. Gymnasts should arrive at the meet site15 minutes prior to the open Stretch time. Each gymnast must wear her team leotard and warm-up to the meet. She will report to her coach for instructions to stretch.
Each gymnast must show a positive attitude and support her teammates during competition. She must stay with her teammates and coach throughout the competition. She may only be excused by a coach to get a drink or use the restroom. She will be excused after the competition is completed to see her parents and then reconvene to sit with her teammates during the awards. The gymnasts should cheer on their teammates and have a good attitude during the awards ceremony. There will always be disappointments at meets just like there are disappointments in real life. Hopefully, the tears will be few and the rewards will be plentiful. The gymnast must also be gracious to the presenters at the awards ceremonies. A Thank you from the gymnast goes a long way. Scoring Guide The scoring in gymnastics is a negative system, based upon a perfect routine of 10.0 points. Judges make specific deductions for errors throughout the routine, total the deductions and subtract that amount from 10.0 points to arrive at the score. Most deductions are made for falls, bent arms and legs, feet apart, poor rhythm, spotting by a coach, flexed feet, disconnected parts, uncompleted elements, wobbles, lack of amplitude and not following the text. Most meets have 1 judge per event. Since judging is subjective, there will be scores that parents and coaches will not agree with. It s part of the sport. The scoring is so much better than it was twenty years ago. The training for the judges is much better but many deductions have a range. For instance, there are many degrees of angles for bent knees. Therefore, the deduction for bent knees is up to.2. That means a judge can have anything on her paper for bent knees from.05 to.2. Different judges will see things differently. There are strict judges and forgiving judges. Scores tend to rise throughout the meet. A gymnast may perform a routine on an event on the first rotation, and a different gymnast may perform an identical routine on the same event during the last rotation and score higher. Scoring at meets will not always appear to be consistent. Most of the judges in this area have a lot of experience and are highly respected. Don t get hung up on the scores. If the gymnast is trying her best that s what matters. Most gymnasts put enough pressure on themselves, the parents and coaches do not need to add any more pressure. Be happy for and supportive of your gymnast. It s a difficult thing to perform on a 4 beam, concentrate on tumbling passes while looking graceful and athletic at the same time, running full speed and propelling her body over a stationary vault table, connecting bar skills with amplitude and no stops or extra swings, much less to do these things in front of a judge and a lot of people. They are learning amazing things for life by doing this sport. It is a terrific experience for them.
Acknowledgment Page I have read and discussed this handbook with my/our daughter. Gymnasts Name Parent Signature Date