Gym mums

My daughter is saying that she wants a gymnastics mat for Christmas, but having looked on Amazon & eBay there are so many to choose from ranging from 6ft - 10ft and £20 - £100+! Any suggestions as to what size & make would be best?

Thanks lyrical.

DD tried trampolining last year, gymnastics and a bit of tumbling, all in in the same council-run club (and on the same day!), after months in the waiting list. The club seemed good and has national trampolining champions but DD wasn't keen on trampolining, I think it was all the waiting around.

She used to do ballet when she was little and then street dance, but we stopped those as well because ALL she wanted to do was gynmastics. She has been talking about wanting to go back to dance classes though, I may look into ballet classes around here. But ultimately, her heart in in gymnastics. She'd rather do gym twice a week than one gym and one dance.

Our club has one olympian medal winner and several GB team members, I think it is quite welcoming, however, and they seem to have different pathways. Not so much for the older novice wanting to compete as with some other clubs.
What they do seem to have in common is very long waiting lists. Its was over two years last I heard. They now have annual trials, also, so as not to miss anybody with potential.

Whilst waiting for a place, you could try trampolining clubs (for some reason places seem to be more available, though this might only be my area), or tumbling clubs. Failing that try the dance schools for their acro (dance acro), gymnastic dance grades and limbering/stretch classes.

OP, yes agree ballet is similar with the body type thing, possibly worse actually.

You are right, Katy.

Unfortunately, there are not many clubs in our area, and those that there are have massive waiting lists. Just wondering, would a 'community' club be more welcoming than others without the word community in the name?

The thing that grates a bit with me is that our club tells the girls that "hard work" makes all the difference. It doesn't here. Or maybe hard work just means different things to different people.

some clubs are there to be inclusive and welcoming to the sport.
Other clubs are there to produce olympic / national champions and welcoming doesn't come into that too much.

DD is only 4 but at a decent gym club. I worry about how well she will do etc as the club is so cliquey and a lot of what is described above goes on.

Surely clubs should be looking to be more inclusive and more welcoming?!

There are children in our club who have gone on to become very good gymnasts who at the time of selection haven't been able to do things as well as some of the others but clearly have demonstrated potential to learn. This is what I mean by the mystique.
Is be surprised if size or body type cane into it but u wouldn't be surprised if flexibility did. Some gymnasts are limited by their flexibility. They may look brilliant to me, the untrained eye, but I know some that have to so a tonne of flexibility work.

FFS, sorry for hijacking your post!

UKG sounds great to me too. You are right, it is bloody hard not to seem pushy. If it helps though, this coach seems to be moody all the time anyway, I'm sure you'll fare better with your club secretary.

how odd, the site is greyed out on the club list (I think they've had a lot of new ones join lately) - email them. They're a nice bunch. The only region I don't think they're particularly well represented in is SW (Cornwall / Devon) but I may be wrong.

Thanks lyrical, newme and Katy.

I have been to a couple of displays where I have seen chubby gymnasts doing great work. Which I why I assumed any child with some ability would have a chance to compete/do displays - they were picked for the team.

DD is very slim, but quite tall for her age and built of hard muscle. Her height and muscle content in itself will obviously make her heavier than shorter ones. She can do well some of the stuff the petite girls can't do at all, and she is often asked to demonstrate for everybody else, but it's always these tiny girls that get picked for competitive squad.

For instance, a few weeks ago DD told me that 'Hannah' and 'Bella' were picked for the squad recently 'but they can't even do a straight cartwheel, a walkover or a split'. I have seen 'Hannah' and 'Bella' in class a few times and she is right. So I am guessing that for her particular club body type is more important than ability/effort.

I am beginning to think that this may be the wrong club for her, especially if she has begun to notice these things herself.

Are UKG clubs difficult to find? Their website does not seem to have list of clubs. Having said that, we live a bit out of the way so I doubt we'd find a localish one.

I was at the schools national champs this weekend and there were some excellent gymnasts who were big, tall girls doing sensational tumbling. UK Gym competitions also has some girls who are carrying a few pounds but they're participating, competing and they are having fun - it's meant to be inclusive so if they can do the moves, they can join in, and some of them do very well indeed.

You'd be hard pressed to find a heavy gymnast, they burn off so much energy with all that training. That said there are a couple of chubby ones in the competitive squad at our gym. The elite squad are a mixture of heights, they ate all Rock solid muscle even the younger ones. I wouldn't say petite I would say athletic build.

*What they do have in common though is that they are very, very petite.

Lots of them are very petite. Children with the right body type, and with any potential seem to be snapped up. Sports acro has more of a mix as they need the bases and middles to be taller. I've also seen a mix of heights in tumbling competitions, though nobody very much taller than average.

Dd 😆

My dad was selected at 6 for squad

Katy, the UKGymnastics track as you describe it sounds great. That's what I assumed - that most children could get a taste of competition, each at their level. DD herself loves her gymnastics, but as her parents, the main reason to take her to lessons is to improve her confidence, which the very act of taking part in competitions (even basic, even if you don't win) should really help with.

That is very interesting, 2014newme. 'Mystique' is a great way to describe it, and I for one would love to know exactly what it is that they are looking for. In our club some of the girls recently picked up from DD'd class don't seem the best to the untrained eye. What they do have in common though is that they are very, very petite.

Would I be right to assume that if you are tall or heavyish you are not going to be picked for competitions, even if you are doing really well right now?

I think talented children will be snapped up for competitive squads tbh they will make space for an exceptional child. But there is some mystique about what they are looking for and often it's surprising the ones that turn out to be the best. Our club is Olympic standard and there are some amazing gymnasts but the coach says some of the best she's coached, who've competed in the Olympics, have not been the ones you would have predicted to get that far.

I'm interested to hear of others' experiences. My dd started at the age of 6 and in the second session the coaches told me how impressed they were. She is very natural. After about three terms she was in the highest level class. She's 8 1/2 now and is in a non- competitive team. She's happy but I wonder if she's not being challenged enough. I've been told by other parents that the competitive squads are selected very early on and they only take people if someone is kicked out. It seems ridiculous to select and exclude children so young.

Are you aware of the UK Gymnastics track (as opposed to GB)? it was set up precisely to address this situation - girls compete at all ages at their levels, so there are some 14 year old relative novices and some 7 year old high fliers. At the top end of the UK system it can merge back in with the GB elite track, but it gives grassroots participants the chance to compete. At 7, mine was doing about 3 hours / week in UKG, and by 9 it was 8 hours / week UK and more at school (where she's in a team with girls doing the BG elite training - 20 hours / week or so at 9).It was a mixture of coaches suggesting and us asking and nobody ever made anyone feel like an idiot. There are no ice baths involved, no being shouted at but no Team GB at the end of it. They compete regularly around the year and the whole organisation is really supportive and fun. Highly recommend it.

Not necessarily. One of our friends was 8 before she moved from competitive squad(4 hours) to elite (20-30 hours) so it can be done when a bit older.

And a PS - if the options are not encouraging, are there gymnastics related classes she could do that would complement her gym class and give her a bit more?

Tumbling or trampolining club?

OK, that makes sense. Ridiculously they probably have picked them for the elite or very competitive track by 6 or 7, but it sounds like that's not what you want anyway. It really isn't for everyone.

Would someone in the club be able to explain/ show you what the different pathways are? I know they can have their share of pushy parents but you don't sound like one. If you are new to the club could you say that you want to understand what the different options are for DD IF she is able and interested in doing more? It really shouldn't be pushy to ask what the options are and how you would access them!

No harm in asking, and about an extra session. Though in our club they've usually, with some exceptions, picked them out quite early on. My child was doing 10.5 hours a week, over four days, in development squad by 7 years.