What do you mean that skill didn't count? "Interruption" explained

For an artistic gymnast, nothing is more painful - physically or emotionally - than falling off an apparatus. Imagine how you feel when you watch that happen to an athlete; that doesn't even come close to how they feel. And then, for them to have to get back up, on the beam or the parallel bars, and continue the routine. Wow. Of course, if you ask a T&T athlete what they think about that, you might get a response along the lines of, "At least they get to get back up and keep going."

If you are new to T&T, especially if you are coming over from an artistic program, you may be wondering what in the world I'm talking about. This is a good time to introduce the concept of the "interruption".

INTERRUPTION: If, during a pass in any T&T event, an athlete fails to perform a skill, fails to properly perform the skill, or performs a skill that is not part of the required routine, that pass will be "interrupted" at that point and judging will cease for that pass.

In other words, if you "fall" during a T&T event you don't get to get back on and keep going. This is very important to know and keep in mind, especially for new parents, because there will come a time when you see a very low score for your athlete - after what you thought was a great routine - and you will wonder, "What ???"

We'll talk more about what constitutes an interruption when we discuss judging and scoring in a couple of weeks.

Key Concepts: Eligibility, Qualifying, and Mobilizing

Three key terms that J.O. athletes and their parents learn about early on are Eligibility, Qualifying, and Mobilizing. You don't really have to worry about them this early in the competitive season, but they are all good things to be aware of as you prepare for the upcoming competitive season.

ELIGIBILITY: Commonly used to refer to the "regular" season meets that lead up to the State and Regional Championships. An athlete must compete in at least two "eligibility meets" in order to be eligible to compete at State or Regional Championships to attempt to qualify (see below) to compete at the National Championships. An athlete can compete at State/Regional if he hasn't met the eligibility requirement, but would not be able to qualify for Nationals no matter what score he receives.

QUALIFYING: In order to qualify to compete at the Junior Olympic National Championships, an athlete must achieve a qualifying score appropriate to event and level in at least one of the two qualification meets - State or Regional Championships. Without a qualifying score at one of these meets an athlete can't compete at Nationals, no matter how good they may have done at meets earlier in the year. For some athletes this is even more important than the competition for the State or Regional titles (though those are nice, too!). We'll talk more about qualifying and qualifying scores in a couple of weeks when we discuss the competition levels in more detail.

MOBILIZING: Once an athlete has gone as far as she can at her current level, she will want to move on - or mobilize - to the next level. In order to mobilize, the athlete must achieve the mobilization score appropriate to the level and event. She must also be able to perform the appropriate "mobilization skills" for their level. We'll talk more about mobilizing and mobilizing scores in a couple of weeks when we discuss the competition levels in more detail.

Show your support for the US WAGC team with this t-shirt

T&T mom Heather has created this t-shirt to help us all show our pride in and support for all of the athletes representing the US at the upcoming World Championships and World Age Group Competition.




Visit Heather's blog on the T&T Network for information on how you can get a shirt or two.

Who is this "Rudi" guy, and what in the world is a "fliffis"?

Just like any sport - or any other new activity, for that matter - trampoline and tumbling has its own unique vocabulary and concepts. This week at the Tramp and Tumble Blog we will be talking about some of the basic concepts and terms that you will come across in a trampoline and tumbling program (such as the "rudi" and "fliffis" in the title of this post).

We have a pretty good sized list of terms and concepts that we're looking at discussing, but we want to make sure we answer the questions that you have. So, if there is a term or concept that you've come across that you don't understand and that you'd like us to discuss here, please drop us a quick note in the comments and ask away.

Things to know about the move from Artistic to Tramp and Tumble

"New" athletes to a Trampoline and Tumbling program often come to the sport after several years in a men's or women's Artistic program. Inevitably, these athletes and their parents are surprised at how different - radically different - a J.O. trampoline and tumbling program is from an Artistic program. If you remember when I mentioned a couple of days ago that T&T only came to USAG 10 years ago, it may not be so surprising; but it is no less of a "shock".

I considered trying to put together a summary of all of the big differences to post here, but realized that a simple list probably wouldn't be overly useful. Instead, as the Parent's Guide series of articles continues I will try to highlight some of the key differences where you are most likely to notice them. If you read an article and have some insight into where there is a difference, please post a comment and share with us.

If you are anxious to find out more right now, head on over to the Tramp and Tumble Network and jump into the discuss "New here, trying to learn more", started by a parent making the jump. There are quite a few responses there that should answer some of your questions. It is also a great place to ask any specific questions that you may have.