Gymnastics competition tips

[daffodil2023]

Hi all, DD8's first gymnastics competition is coming up (floor and vault squad) and I wondered if anyone had any tips to help her get the best out of it and make sure it's a positive experience she can come out of feeling encouraged and proud of herself? I didn't play sports outside of school teams as a kid so no experience of competitive sports myself.

Also any tips for parents?

Finally, is there somewhere that explains how scoring works at the lower levels? It would be nice to know what's actually going on on the day 😂 but every time I google it it seems to only explain it from the view of scoring an Olympian, which is not quite what I'm looking for!

Thanks all :)

Different country but DD1 (6) has just been through her first two competitions and I'm not going to lie, I was a bit nervous as she's very competitive and I was worried she would not behave gracefully if she didn't do well! Tried to do some groundwork beforehand on the usual clichés about having fun being the most important part, not worrying about scores, trying her best etc etc. In the end she had a blast and behaved impeccably 😄 hugging friends who did well, and just being a legend. After the first one she was far more confident at the second one. We asked her about the parts she really enjoyed and didn't discuss scores at all, just focused on what she had done well.

Scoring...not a clue! They follow USA gymnastics here where we live so it starts at 10 then they deduct for all the errors. Honestly, me and DH spent most of the time laughing as it was so evident we didn't have a clue what we were looking for. We'd be like 'wowwww that was unreal, definitely a high score'. And it would score really low! I know there are guides online for how the deductions are calculated but god knows how they see everything so quickly. Amazing skills!

Hope your DD enjoys herself! The gymnastics world is a completely new one for us too but enjoying the ride so far!

I think they will use the same scoring system - parts of a point off for each thing not 'perfect' eg leg bent etc. I wouldn't overthink it though, just enjoy it.

We went to quite a few gymnastics competitions over the years and I never got the hang of scoring!

I did find a lot of the competitions over ran/ started late etc and in general seemed a bit chaotic/ disorganised from my view as a parent.

DD however had a great time as the kids would go off together with their coach to warm up etc and they time to chat and enjoy themselves in-between.

I would advise taking plenty of drinks and snacks!

I'm sure she'll have great fun and it's brilliant for their confidence.

Thank you! Yeah it's good fun isn't it, it's really nice to see her focus on something outside of school and very confidence building I find. I also like how it brings determination out about something. When she wanted to learn to cartwheel she practiced so much and was so thrilled when she achieved it. Nice to have that outside of school!

Thanks for the tips too, sounds like there was some real camaraderie which is really nice. Hilarious about the scores, I'll be exactly the same, so easily impressed by a flamboyant skill only to hear the judge spotted their baby toe wasn't pointed or something 😂

Ahh interesting! Yeah I'm really not bothered to be honest, and she's not a sore loser either so she'll be fine just to go and try it and have fun, but I just wanted to have a clue what was going on as we will be there for quite a while watching all sorts. This is why I don't watch strictly - because I can never tell what's good and what isn't, all too complicated for me 😅

Thanks so much, great shout on the snacks too, will get a food shop done tomorrow :)

@daffodil2023 how did your daughter get on? Hope she enjoyed herself 😊

Thanks so much for checking in. She was super nervous getting there and even struggled to eat any lunch because of it (as were we to be honest, had no clue what to expect!) but she was so brave and actually placed as well, so she's so, so proud of herself!

We've learnt a lot now so I think the next one will be way easier for all of us and much easier to focus on just having fun. Honestly watching even the other kids was so hard, you could tell they'd worked loads and then some forgot bits or got upset. To be a parent eh!!!

Also I watched a couple of YouTube videos on scoring so felt like I vaguely understood it a bit more, at least in terms of different levels. And then she told me the score she got and it made zero sense again. Hilarious!

Thanks again for all your helpful advice :)

Ah that's great! Well done to your DD. Definitely easier the second time when you all know what to expect a bit more. Best wishes for her future competitions! ❤️

Thank you! And to you too 🥰