ARTISTIC GYMNASTICs
Developing Fine Young Athletes
Artistic Competitive Gymnastics is the highest stream of competition offered at Manawatu Gymsports. This path requires a high level of dedication, as our artistic athletes are the chance to begin performing advanced skills.
Information For Competitive Parents.
HOW ARTISTIC Competitive Works
Artistic Competitive is the most common form of competitive gymnastics in New Zealand. It is the pathway that leads to the skills you see on television.
Commonly called MAG (Men's Artistic Gymnastics) and WAG (Women's Artistic Gymnastics), this pathway is one for those wanting to really commit to the sport.
Due to the nature and steep learning curve of Gymnastics, athletes selected for Artistic Competitive are usually between Five and Six years old - with older athletes typically going down the Excel path.
As such, there is some time pressure associated with athlete assessment.
Entry Into MAG and WAG
Athletes are assessed for artistic competitive in Term 3. This is usually done through a testing day, where athletes who have been identified as potential candidates by their recreation coach are invited to attend. Depending on the number of athletes put forward for assessment, this testing day is not always open to the public.
From the assessment, athletes may be invited to join Level One (for boys), STEP One (for girls), or Precomp (for the younger athletes).
Precomp is considered a bridging class, for those athletes who show potential but may not be ready for full competitive yet.
A Year in Artistic Competitive
MAG, WAG and Precomp are all year round classes. This means that athletes who choose to accept an invite into the classes are expected to stay for the entire period.
As Gymnastics is a demanding sport, both physically and mentally, the season is split into three phases - to ensure athletes are completely ready. They are: Off-Season, Pre-Season and In-Season.
The Off-Season is typically Term Three. This term is dedicated to making sure athletes are physically strong enough to perform the skills required of them.
Pre-Season takes place in Term Four and over the summer holidays. This season sees athletes learn the skill required for competitions during the In-Season. This is also where athletes learn their routines.
The Artistic In-Season or Competition season occurs between March and July with athletes attending between three and six competitions over this time.
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Commitment
As part of the competitive community at Manawatu Gymsports, there will be certain commitments that need to be upheld.
Firstly, it is expected that athletes who enroll in the competitive pathway do so with the intention of committing for at least the next twelve months; ideally longer. Competitive gymnastics uses up a huge amount of coaching and gym resources, with coaches putting a large amount of volunteering time outside of the gym, in order to prepare your child for the sport. As such if you are unsure whether you will continue with the sport after twelve months, please have a conversation with your child's coach.
Secondly, over the year competitive families will be expected to volunteer at a couple of events, these include competitions, cleaning bees and fundraising. Manawatu Gymsports is a non profit organisation. As such the majority of what we do requires volunteers, and where there are none our lovely coaches end up having to volunteer even more of their time to create a clean and productive environment for your child.
Finally, attendance at as many training sessions as possible is incredibly important. Consider competitive gymnastics similar to school. Athletes are on year long development programs that set about getting them physically and mentally ready for Gymnastics. Sporadic attendance can result in your child being unprepared for what is required of them later in the season.
We do not expect children to only do gymnastics. If your child wants to do other sports we can normally accommodate that, but please ensure you have an early conversation with your child's coach about any of this.
Competitions
Over the year, athletes will compete in between 3 to 6 competitions. These competitions occur across Term One and Two, with the bulk of comps being in the latter half of this time.
Competitions occur across the Central North Island, with athletes expected to compete in Napier, Wellington and Occasionally Taranaki. Senior Athletes may also travel to Christchurch or Auckland on occasion.
Competitions all require an entry fee, set by the Club that hosts, with this fee being disclosed when registrations open. Similarly some clubs will also charge a small door charge for spectators - for each competition, all this information will be on either the entry form or timetable.
Families will be notified of what competitions they are to attend before the start of the competition season, typically around November/December.
Each competition will be held across two days, however your child will only compete on one of these days - until they reach senior levels. We will not know what day of the weekend athletes compete on until the hosting club releases the timetable in the weeks prior to the competition.
OUR Home Competition
Throughout the competition season Manawatu Gymsports hosts two competitions. These comps are some of the biggest fundraisers for the club, however they require the whole community to pull off.
In the lead up to our competition, the club will put out multiple calls for helpers. All comp families are expected to help in some shape or form over these two competitions. From food donations, to helping record scores at the competition, and setting up the night before, there's lots of ways that you can help out. If signing up to help on the day of the competition, you can volunteer on rounds where your child is not competing - so you can still watch them.
Any jobs that don't get done, end up having to be filled by coaches or other parents who may already be volunteering for the full weekend. So if you are able to help even for just one session, it is greatly appreciated. Helping out at competitions is also a great way to get to know both other parents, as well as your child's coach, as the majority of the community is around over these weekend.
Resources
Here are some handy resources you might find helpful for your competitive athlete.
A helpful site that covers all things injury prevention and athlete well being. Useful for coaches and parents.