There are three main "team" programs for female artistic gymnasts at Seattle Gymnastics: the Junior Olympic program which leads to college competition and, for six American girls every four years, to the Olympics; the Recreational Optional program which competes locally allowing the girls to do just the events they want and leading to high school team participation; and the League Gymnastics program which is for all members of our class program who want to be on a gymnastics team, and practice and compete with their friends.
LONG before they compete, girls in the "JO" program start in our developmental program.
Our program is aimed to develop strength, flexibility and skill level for young gymnasts to compete in Junior Olympic, TOPs and Elite USA Gymnastics Programs. The kids in the developmental program are not only extremely talented, but also very hard working young ladies.
Here they are:
Hot Shots
Hot Shots is the youngest level of the development program. These
girls are 3 and 4 years old, taken from Tromper classes. Hot Shots
train just 1 hour a week. Curriculum focuses on development of
basic gymnastics skills.
Sparklers
Sparklers are a beginning level of the development program. These
girls are 5 and 6 years old, usually coming out of Hot Shots or
a level 2 class. Sparklers train 4 hours a week. Curriculum focuses
on learning basic body positions, strength and flexibility, and
basic skills done with proper form. Gymnasts who graduate from
Sparklers may advance to the Dynamos.
Dynamos
Dynamos are the advanced groups of the development program. These
two groups feed into the competitive team. For this reason, their
focus is on learning the USAG Level 4 & 5 skills and routines.
Each week they train for 4 hours of gymnastics and 1 hour of dance.
Junior Olympic - Set up in the traditional pyramid, the Junior Olympic program has been developed by USA Gymnastics (America's governing gymnastics body) to (1) bring in as many candidates as possible and (2) systematically develop gymnasts to their peak potential.
Levels 4 -- Gymnasts promoted from Development join this team in July and begin competition in January. From this level on, the gymnasts train year-round.
Level 5 -- Gymnasts promoted from Dynamos/ Level 4 in July and begin competition in January.
Level 6 -- Gymnasts promoted from Level 5 in June compete from October through May.
Level 7 -- Gymnasts begin competition in January and will have the state meet at the end of March.
Level 8 -- Gymnasts train from June to begin competing in January.
Levels 9, 10 and Elite -- These girls train 25-30 hours a week and are getting ready to compete in January.
TOP (Talent Opportunity Program) -- For gymnasts who want the best shot at Elite or optional competition (or just a good year competitively), the TOP summer conditioning program is offered. TOP testing by USA Gymnastics is once a year and is extremely rigorous. Only 70 candidates from throughout the country are selected based on the strength, flexibility and the skill level (We qualified 3 in 1997, 6 in 1998, 6 in 1999, 5 in 2000, 2 in 2001 and 2002) so chances of meeting the USAG criteria are slim. However, the summer conditioning gives the competitive gymnast a genuine leg up on the fall/winter season.
Recreational/Optional Team -- This team accepts gymnasts with optional skill levels who don't want to compete in the Junior Olympic program or don't want to compete in all four women's events. The teams practice two or three times a week and compete from October through May. Recreational/Optional is a lot less time and money intensive than JO and prepares the girls to compete for their schools in high school. The team experience is roughly the same, though less intense than JO but the skills and time commitment are less.
To be accepted on the Rec/Op Team, gymnasts must have specific skills which they pick up in our recreational program. Usually level 5 or level 6 recreational gymnast can "make" the team, but if they are not ready for competition, gymnasts will be placed in the Pre-Rec/Op classes. For more information, please call Amy Linhardt at 206 267 3108. AAA League Gymnastics gymnasts are working on the basic skills necessary for Rec/Op and usually will progress to the competition team after one year of Pre-Rec/Op.
Your instructor or coach can put you in
touch with the coach who tests incoming gymnasts or dancers. Please
inquire!
Last updated 4/19/07 TD