On becoming a USAG T&T Judge

About a month or so ago, Ian and I went through the certification process to become Category III T&T judges. Since then, Ian has had the chance to judge at two meets, and I was at one of those. We are both planning to judge at the upcoming MO State championships. We can't make it to Regional, and I have the feeling we won't make it out to J.O. Nationals since it is in San Jose. But you never know.

Judging has been an interesting experience and has given me much better insight into the difference between a good routine and a great routine, some things I wish I had known when Ian was still competing. I think that every parent of a competitive T&T athlete should have the opportunity to sit through the training.

At the very least, every parent should take the time to read through the Code of Points to understand exactly how the various events are scored. (Check with your team coach for their copy of the Code of Points.)

That isn't to say that every parent should actually become certified and perform as a judge, though. Each team should have a couple of people certified as judges, because judges are always needed at meets, but it isn't an easy - or cheap - thing for anyone to do. The basic requirements for becoming a judge are:

• Become a USAG Pro (or Jr. Pro if 16-17 years old) member: $83 ($55) per year
• Complete USAG Safety Certification: $65 every four years
• Complete USAG background check: $25+ every two years
  

Just to get started will cost you over $170, and this is before you even take the judges certification courses. The courses are $45 for each event, or $135 for all three. Add to that the cost of a judge's "uniform" (Navy suit for men, Navy skirt/jacket for women) if you don't already have it, and you've got a sizable initial investment.

Of course, you get paid for working as a judge, but as a Category III judge it is doubtful if you will even cover your travel, etc expenses for a given event, much less the upfront investment. Becoming a judge really only makes sense if you know you have to travel someplace anyway to watch your son/daughter compete.

Or if, like us, you simply want to be involved in the sport in a different - noncompetitive - way.

Shameless plug CANCELED - Meet Me in St. Louis 2009

Unfortunately, Meet Me in St. Louis 2009 has been canceled. Full details on the meet website.

In general, I refrain from posting anything specific to my home team, St. Louis Elite. However, in an attempt to further publicize / advertise our upcoming meet, I figured it within the realm of the reasonable to post some information here.

Meet Me in St. Louis 2009

When: 20-21 March 09 (open training on Friday night, 20 March)

Where: Lindbergh High School, St. Louis MO

Why: To bring together as many athletes from the mid-west (and anywhere else!) for an outstanding competition while we also raise a bit of cash to support our National Qualifiers' participation in Nationals.

For all the details, including the meet flier and the registration forms, visit the official Meet Me in St. Louis 09 website. You can also track some of our planning and preparation activities on Twitter using #mmistl. (Using Twitter for this is still in the experimental stage, so please bear with us.)

Hope to see you in St. Louis!!!

p.s. If you have a meet you'd like to announce, let me know and I can post it here. Or, even better, visit the Events page on the Tramp and Tumble Network and post the information there.

Updates to Mobility tracking

In my Feb 10 post about mobilization, I mentioned that the rules posted to the USAG website weren't yet in synch with the new rules beginning in the 2009 season.  That issue has been corrected with the Feb 20 update to Section VI (Junior Olympic Program) of the Rules and Policies and the posting of updated mobility tracking and request forms in Section XI.

Here are changes I saw in the Mobility Section.

• To ensure proper progression from one level to another, athletes must achieve a designated mobility score at USA Gymnastics Trampoline & Tumbling sanctioned competition.
• Coaches must track mobility from Level 5 to Level 6, Level 6 to Level 7 and Level 7 to Level 8 using forms provided by the National Office.
• Beginning at Level 8 7, the State Chair, or a person designated by the State Board, will track mobility for each athlete.
• Coaches must submit a Mobility Request Form to the State Chair in order to move an athlete from Level 8 7  to Level 9 8, Level 8 to Level 9 and Level 9 to Level 10, Level 10 to Junior Elite and Junior Elite to Senior Elite. The State Chair must approve mobility before the athlete is eligible to compete at the higher level. Mobility from Level 10 to Junior Elite and Junior Elite to Senior Elite must be approved by the Elite Program Committee Chair.
• Athletes may NOT skip levels.
• Mobility at Levels 1-4 is at the discretion of the coach; however, coaches are encouraged to use the compulsories to insure proper progression through the levels.
• The highest level at which an athlete may enter the mobility system is Level 8 7.
• Upon the recommendation of the State Chair, the J.O. Program Committee may waive mobility requirements up to Level 10 for athletes from a strong gymnastics and/or trampoline and tumbling background, who demonstrate that they are capable of beginning competition at a higher level and file a petition with the request form.

Share your thoughts on the "new" T&T

Now that we've had a month or so of competition with the new rules and routines, what do you think of them?  Join the discussion on the Tramp and Tumble Network and let us know what you think. 

Some questions that come to mind:

• What do you think of the new routines?
• How about the new rules, like no-interruption for levels 1-4 and the new DMT landing zone?
• Are the judges pretty much up to speed, or are we still working out all the kinks?
• How have the new routines - especially the Lvl 8 tramp and Lvl 10 tumbling - affected scheduling at meets? Are you noticing a big difference, or not really?

By all means, add anything else that you'd like to discuss or share with everyone.

Mobilizing to the next level and qualifying for nationals

Every year about this time I post information about two big questions that parents and athletes, especially those new to T&T have: How does an athlete qualify for Nationals? and How does an athlete mobilize to the next level? The updated scores required for mobilizing and qualifying are available on the USAG website.
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Qualifying:

You can find this information, and more, in Section VI - Junior Olympic Program of the USAG Rules and Policies.

• The National Championships is the final event of the J.O. season. In order to be able to compete at Nationals, you must first qualify.
• There are two opportunities for athletes to qualify for Nationals: the State and Regional championships.
• To qualify, an athlete must achieve the minimum qualifying scores
• The athlete must compete in the State Championships or Regional Championships for the state/region in which the athlete's club is a member. It is not permissible to qualify in any state or regional competition, other than the athlete's own.
• Entries to the National Championships must be at the same level at which the athlete qualified at the last competition he/she attended. For example, if an athlete qualified at Level 8 in the first competition, but competed at Level 9 in the next competition and did not reach the qualifying score, then the athlete cannot enter the National Championships.
  
• This is important: if you qualify at State, don't compete at the next higher level at Regionals unless you are VERY confident that you can meet the qualifying scores.
• In order to compete at the State or Regional Championships, the athlete must obtain eligibility.
• An eligibility competition is any USA Gymnastics Trampoline & Tumbling sanctioned competition an athlete attends prior to the State or Regional Championships.
• Athletes must compete in at least two (2) USA Gymnastics Trampoline & Tumbling sanctioned competitions during the current competition season, prior to qualifying for the National Championships.
• The State and/or Regional Championships may not be used as an eligibility competition.
• Athletes may participate in State and Regional Championships without meeting eligibility requirements, but cannot qualify to National Championships.
• A State Chair may waive eligibility requirements for athletes who are unable to compete in the two required competitions prior to State and Regional Championships. Proof of injury, illness or family emergency is required. The State Chair is under no obligation to waive eligibility requirements if he/she feels it is not in the best interest of the athlete.
• The competitive season begins August 1 of each year.
• The athlete must compete in at least one (1) event at eligibility competitions. He/She does not have to compete in every event that may eventually be entered at the National Championships.
  

Mobilizing:

Here's the relevant info concerning mobility from the USAG Rules and Policies, Section VI. (Word of caution, the rules posted on the USAG website are from 2007 and don't reflect all of the changes made for the 2009 season.)

• To ensure proper progression from one level to another, athletes must achieve a designated mobility score at USA Gymnastics Trampoline & Tumbling sanctioned competition.
• Coaches must track mobility from Level 5 to Level 6, Level 6 to Level 7 and Level 7 to Level 8 using forms provided by the National Office.
• Beginning at Level 8, the State Chair, or a person designated by the State Board, will track mobility for each athlete.
• Coaches must submit a Mobility Request Form to the State Chair in order to move an athlete from Level 8 to Level 9, Level 9 to Level 10, Level 10 to Junior Elite and Junior Elite to Senior Elite. The State Chair must approve mobility before the athlete is eligible to compete at the higher level.
• Athletes may NOT skip levels.
• Mobility at Levels 1-4 is at the discretion of the coach; however, coaches are encouraged to use the compulsories to insure proper progressions.
• The highest level at which an athlete may enter the mobility system is Level 8 7 (in accordance with 2009 rules).
• The J.O. Program Committee may waive mobility requirements up to Level 10 for athletes from a strong gymnastics and/or trampoline and tumbling background, who demonstrate that they are capable of beginning competition at a higher level and file a petition with the request.
• [NEW]In addition to achieving the mobility score in trampoline, athletes must be able to successfully perform the 10 mobility skills listed for the current level prior to applying to the state director for mobility to the next level.
  

It's important to remember that there is much more to mobilizing than just having the right scores, and you shouldn't think about mobilizing until you and your coach think you are ready. Only your coach can help you make a plan for how you will progress, but it is important for each athlete (and their parents!) to understand the process so they can participate in that process. For more info, talk to your coach.
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If you have any questions about mobilizing or qualifying, or have updated info to provide, stop by the discussion forum on the Tramp and Tumble Network and let us all know.

Winter Classic '09 - Don't forget to register

Just a reminder that this Wednesday, February 11, is the registration deadline for the Winter Classic, to be held March 6-8 in Birmingham, AL. The purpose of this annual meet is three-fold:

1. The Winter Classic gives elite and Level 10 athletes an opportunity to compete in a national event.
2. The Winter Classic is the first of two required qualifying competitions to National Championships for Jr. & Sr. Elites. [The second is the Elite Challenge, to be held May 8-10 in Fort Smith, AR]
   
3. Jr./Sr. Elite athletes may earn points toward the Jr. or Sr. National Team.

Since this is a World Age Group* year, the Winter Classic may also serve as one of the qualifying meets for athletes interested in that. Held every other year in conjunction with the World Championships, this year the competition will be in St. Petersburg, Russia in mid-November.

* For more about World Age Group competition check out the related discussion on the Tramp and Tumble Network, where I've asked for the community to share what they know. I would have posted more here, but I don't really know anything about it.

J.O. Nationals tentative schedule released

A (very) tentative schedule (.pdf) for the USAG Junior Olympic National Championships was recently announced by USAG. Training and competition in San Jose will begin on Wednesday June 24 and go through Monday June 29. As usual, the higher levels will go on the early dates, with the lower levels finishing out the schedule. The Grand March and Regional All-Stars Competition will be Saturday night, June 27.

Also, remember that the Elite National Championships will be held as part of the Visa Championships in Dallas, TX in mid-August.