To think gymnastics is a ridiculous sport

[jenniferalisonphillipasue]

I don't mean in terms of the actual doing of the sport. It requires huge amounts of skill and strength and I have the upmost respect for gymnasts. However...
My ds (9) and dd (6) have been doing recreational gymnastics for the last 2 years. It is a small local club (we live in a rural area) but there appeared to be a progressional route I.e. They got invited to do more hours and be part of development squads. When we went to other venues and saw other gym clubs training I realised however that they were both behind in terms of their skills compared to other kids their age.
In order for them to actually be able to compete (which they would like to do) we have looked at alternative clubs. Having talked to them on the phone none of them are willing to take my ds on. At his age and level he will apparently be too far behind. He is strong and athletic and although not the best in terms of his ability he will work really hard for anyone who gives him the time. But no, that's it. If he wanted to be a competitive gymnast he needed to start properly at 4. He can stay doing rec gym but there isn't anything for him in terms of competition (we have no Teamgym nearby).
I am heart broken for him. He was entranced by the gymnastics at the Commonwealth Games and this is what he'll say he wants to be when he grows up.

I think it is ridiculous that a sport can write children off by the age of 9 for being too old.

So AIBU???

Yeah, if you look at the Olympics, all those kids started training as babies.

It's harsh to write him off though, they could at least give him a chance and let him try.

I think you should look at other clubs. My ds started basic Baga classes at 4. He moved to a club at 6. He is now 11 and is British champion at his level and age.

However, plenty of children at his club start later and compete regularly. Lots just do it for fun.

My dc is a tumbler. It's worth looking at different types of gymnastics.

Surely its possible to enjoy gymnastics without being national standard. Most sports you have to start unbelievably young to get to international standard. There are gym compeitions at all kinds of levels. My daughter just does rec gym once a week and thats enough for her.

Congratulations to uggmum's son. Wow! Being british champion is a massive achievement.

We all have dreams and managing expectations is a difficult area of parents. Even uggmum's son might not manage to represent England at the commonweath games. A serious injury can easily put pay to a career as top gymnast.

I am thinking of putting my dd into either dance classes or gymnastics. What age do gymnastics classes generally take from?

You're right but so are they ime. Starting at 4 gives the best opportunity to identify real talent and bring it on.

I think your DC have dodged a bullet personally. I knew a child champion gymnast. The training was daily and gruelling, it took over everything, the whole family lived their lives around it, the parents were as bitchy as hell and the child ended up with serious back problems which are now irreversible. Very few make it to the top and some disciplines are viewed as worthless because they're not Olympic sports - and it's the child's ability in the particular style which dictates where they go, not their personal preferences.

Recreational gym is the way to go, healthy, less demanding, fun and less stressful on the body and mind.

I completely agree with you, I come from the other side, I have a four year old, and the gymnastic group he attends have said he is talented and want to develop him. Which involves 2x1 hours session every week.

I really just want him to have fun and get used to being told what to do by other adults at the age of four and have decided to keep him in the recreational class, and maybe in a few years time he can go to the higher levels, but I've been told I am mad, missing an opportunity and it will be too late by then. He's 4 ffs

Have you considered looking into cheerleading? It's not as girly as it sounds and a great competitive sport. Male tumblers are in high demand and there is a lot if satisfaction throwing people and catching them!!

Thanks for your comments.
Ds works really hard but it could end in an instant if he had an injury.

I second trying trampoline. My dd did this for a while and ds did too along side tumbling. They are linked sports and are grouped together for competitions.

(3 pigs). Gym clubs vary. My ds started Baga classes at our local council sports centre at 4 and moved to a club at 6. Some clubs run their own classes from 3.
You can look at British Gymnastics website for details of local classes.

There are routes in for later starters, they can compete levels 'out of age'.

Yanbu. The way the elite stream works is daft, IMO. Kids are written off by 8 so many clubs won't look at them past 6. And if you're not on that elite path by 8 you can't get on it.

Personally I think we are missing an awful lot of talent.

However, 9 for a boy and 6 for a girl isn't too old, that club is taking rubbish. Was it a big, well known one? That type are often only interested in potential elite kids, or rec, no in between. There are many clubs with a competitive track that will take talented kids for regional competition.

Ring round and see. Look at the bg website at last years "grades" results (not levels, that's elite), and see if there are any clubs that do grades, these are the ones that will likely be happy to have your dc.

Even there I'd urge caution, jay. The DC I spoke of above competed at out of age level. It just added to the physical and emotional pressure.

I've remembered another down side - the pressure to maintain a very low weight. I mean scarily low. For some the pressure is less (if they're the "bottom" of a performing pair) but for a "top", the smaller, slighter gymnast who is the one being thrown around by their partner, the constant emphasis on dieting is all wrong for a child.

As an ex-professional gymnast I'm sorry to say that at 9 he really has missed the boat in terms of getting to a professional level. Children are essentially 'talent spotted' very early on and progressed and it sounds like perhaps his club don't really do that.

I started at 3, but my entire career was over at 16 due to numerous wrist injuries. I went through a very bitter period in my late teens and struggled to choose A Levels/ apply to uni because my entire life had been focused on the competition and I hadn't needed to map out another career path as I was earning money and competing at a very high level. Having said that I loved every second of it and I can now look back at it as an amazing time in my life.

I think if your children are interested send them early on, but you do need to be a very dedicated kind of child to make it to the top. I'll take my son when he's 3 but I'm certainly not going to push him to compete unless he really wants to. For now I'm content with yelling at the TV!

An olympic athlete has to start at the age of four. My daughter's club has different levels of rec and its an elite club.

Several years ago I met the mother of top gymnast whose son went on to win a medal in the olympics and she was a lovely lady. The really obnoxious mothers I have met are those whose children failed to make the grade for the squad and have sour grapes.

Since gymnastics as a career is a very short lived, I would think that even if he wanted to be a gymnast when he grows up he would also be working on plan B, no? It just isn't realistic for the vast majority to aim for top sporting achievement. I'm not advocating crushing the dreams of small children, just perhaps encouraging a wider set of options and interests?

I do think the world of professional gymnastics is a bit bonkers in terms of how young kids start though, it puts such pressure on growing bodies. Many former gymnasts have lifelong problems with joints etc.

I've met the obnoxious mothers in both camps, ReallyTired!

lisa, congratulations (albeit belated!) on your fantastic achievement and talent. :)

The child I knew hit similar problems to you. She was all geared up for sporting success, became champion at 14 or 15, and then there were injury problems so she transferred to a different discipline away from gymnastics. That all came about when she was of GCSE age and because she'd been concentrating on elite gymnastics so much she floundered when faced with her changing circumstances.

Hmmm well Beth Tweddle didn't start. Gymnastics until she was 7 and she hadn't done badly......!

My dd did rec gym for 30mins a week from 3 and last year she went to another gym where she was very quickly asked to train 3 times a week for 3 hrs a time. She's 7 and will take part in her first competition in a few weeks. There are loads of girls that started after 4 and compete to a very high level. I think if a gym isn't even willing to look at your child you need to try somewhere else.

Has your son thought about ballet as an alternative? guys tend to start later and there is a strong physical aspect to it?

True, Whatever, but what of the kids who don't make the grade? The ones who end up with injuries, eating disorders and lost chances in other areas of sporting, academic and family life, who never make the news?

For every one BT or lisalou there has got to be tens, scores, hundreds of kids who are disadvantaged by following the elite path.

I'm not saying don't encourage your kids (though I do feel that sometimes the parents are trying to live their lives vicariously through their DC). I'm just saying that parents would benefit from knowing not just what it's like for the child at 4 but what it's going to be like for the child and the whole family when the child hits 9, 12 or 15. I don't honestly think from my experience that most do look that far ahead and see the sacrifices or more importantly the potential problems.

I keep thinking back to the way that child was under pressure to diet at 8 years old, as a tiny little thing, underweight for her height and age anyway- and she wasn't alone.

To be honest I am totally disillusioned by it all. If it wasn't for the fact that the dc love it I would walk away from the sport.
I have competed and coached at a very high level in a different sport and I have been pretty incredulous at the attitudes I have come across recently.
As a coach I was there to nurture talent in children, guiding them through, to help overcome obstacles to participation and helping them to progress as individuals. The clubs that I gave spoken to are not interested in my dc at all, so dismissive. It seems a completely different mentality. We do live in a very rural area though so we are somewhat limited in our options of clubs so it might just be my experience.
I don't want them to be Olympians but I want them to enjoy their experience of a sport. We are naturally a very sporty family so I will try and channel them into something which might prove to be a more positive experience.

I think that some gym clubs are just over run with the sheer number of children who want to do gym.

hoobypickypicky I expect you have met more mothers of sucessful gymnasts than I have. I don't know many elite gymnasts or their parents as I don't mix in those circles. Not all elite children have obnoxious parents, but it doesn't surprise that they exist.

Yep, you don't have to start at 4, it's just some of the top clubs don't like to take them older, they like to have them well on their way by 7..

Many top gymnasts haven't even started by 7, even 8...so clearly that's rubbish. The british gymnastics elite path clearly marks out some very tough goals which kids need to have by a certain age to continue, so elite clubs tend to be driven by that. Very few veer off that plan as it's hard to qualify later on..