Another meet at the Jackson Sports Academy--Z competed there three or four times last year and is doing this meet and States here again. I think we are getting used to it.
Even though our Level 7 girls got moved to later in the morning, we decided to spend the night near the venue. The hosting team had asked everyone to wear teal ribbons in support of all the Larry Nassar victims, so I made hair ribbons for all the girls and ribbon pins for all of the parents and coaches. Although I made a point of giving the coach all the ribbons for him and the Level 6 girls, he forgot them at the gym. Luckily I had extra ribbon, so he stopped at our hotel and picked them up and got a lesson on how to tie them in the girls' hair.
I ended up having two friends come to this meet. My old next-door neighbor who I have known for about 40+ years and a client. The client has a friend whose granddaughter is doing gymnastics and wanted to see a meet. It was fun to have other people there to watch.
We started on bars. The seats were right next to the bar set up so we had a great view. Warm-ups looked good and other than losing her balance on her squat on, Z's routine looked great. She ended up with a 9.575, so if she hadn't had the arm swings and the step on the dismount, who knows what the score would have been. She took 2nd place on bars.
Beam was a different story. Warm-up looked good, but during the actual routine, you could see right away that her back walkover was off. She fell, and when she got back up did the handstand to a back walkover. One of the judges gave her the full credit, but one reduced her start value to a 9.500. She wound up with an 8.325. Again, not bad considering the fall.
Floor was great. Her teammate that went right before her scored a 9.775 and Z saw the score before she started. She did seem a bit off on some things but overall was good. She scored a 9.375, and was in third place.
Vault was a bit scary. It took me a bit to get over to the vault area and when I saw her warming up, Z looked upset. She mouthed she didn't know what was wrong and since I didn't see her first warm-up vault, I had no idea. When she went, she balked, which is apparently what she did the first time. The third vault, she made it over the vault table, but barely, arms were bent, etc. She was very upset and went to talk to the coach. She appeared to be crying and I was afraid that he was going to have her scratch vault. He let her do another warm-up vault and it definitely looked better. When she finally competed, she looked great, scored a 9.500 and took first place. She told me after that she had a stomach cramp and couldn't remember where she was supposed to start her run. That put her off, but she pulled it back together.
She scored a 36.775 all around which was good enough for 4th place.
Once again, for the third meet in a row, her team scored first place!! It appears at this point that our team is unstoppable.
Sunday, February 11, 2018
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Flips Invitational - 2018!
This was by far one of Z's favorite meets last year--the travel, the fun hanging out with her friends and the meet itself was fun. Last year she competed on Friday afternoon, so she took the day off school and we left early in the morning (it's a 4+ hour drive depending on the snow levels). This year she didn't compete until Saturday, but since the coach had to be there for an earlier session on Saturday morning and was planning on leaving on Friday, he moved Friday's practice to the morning for those who could make it. We decided to take the day off school, go to practice and then leave on Friday afternoon. Although there was forecasted snow and possible chain controls, the drive was perfect.
We got into Reno around 6pm and waited for the rest of the team, including her coach. The entire group ended up going to Round Table for dinner and playing games while we were there. Z proved herself to be the Connect 4 master, winning I think 6 games before one of the coaches finally beat her. :)
We got up the next morning and Z did homework to pass the time. We got lunch, did hair and then headed down to the venue. The session before us was behind schedule so we got to watch our level 6 girls on beam. I was a little concerned because one of the girls had a fall on beam during warm up, but it was before we got there and Z didn't see. Sometimes the falls affect her and sometimes they don't.
After the warm up, we found out that we were starting on beam. I'm always happy to start on beam since it gets it out of the way! :) Warm up looked good and Z had a couple of wobbles, but overall it appeared to be one of her best routines. Her score was a 9.225, which was good enough for 6th place.
Floor was next and I was determined to record her routine. Last year she had a great routine and I had hit the wrong button on my camera. I achieved success this year and I'm glad I did since she scored a 9.525 (just slightly less than her 9.550 from last year). This earned her 2nd place.
Vault looked good. It is hard to see since the vault is so far back from the viewing area, but other than a small step on the landing I didn't see much. She scored a 9.300, which tied for 4th place.
Bars was last. Again, it has been inconsistent at best for the whole team. I hadn't had a chance to watch much practice before the meet, but I know that Z had changed her bar routine from the last meet. During warm up, one of the girls hit her feet on the high bar and had a pretty good fall, which of course did concern me. Z got up, did her routine and I almost thought she was going to fall on her clear hip to handstand but didn't. I really was not expecting the 9.625 score that flashed up--I couldn't see it and when someone else told me what it was I started crying. Z got a hug from a team mate and also shed a tear, it was so exciting. She ended up in 2nd place. She now holds her gym's record for the highest Level 7 bar score.
Her all around score was a 37.675--the highest she's ever had--and placed her in 2nd place on the podium. And for the second meet in a row, our team took home first place as a team!
Our Level 8 girl competed in the session after us, so we were able to relax a bit. Then we ended up doing mexican food with her coach and a few other teammates and coaches. Z's coach was turning 21 the day after the meet--we had them sing happy birthday to him during the awards for Level 8. :) And, in a repeat of last year, the girls and coaches all played laser tag as the arcade was closing for the night.
We got up the next morning, ate breakfast and headed home! It was a great weekend!
We got into Reno around 6pm and waited for the rest of the team, including her coach. The entire group ended up going to Round Table for dinner and playing games while we were there. Z proved herself to be the Connect 4 master, winning I think 6 games before one of the coaches finally beat her. :)
We got up the next morning and Z did homework to pass the time. We got lunch, did hair and then headed down to the venue. The session before us was behind schedule so we got to watch our level 6 girls on beam. I was a little concerned because one of the girls had a fall on beam during warm up, but it was before we got there and Z didn't see. Sometimes the falls affect her and sometimes they don't.
After the warm up, we found out that we were starting on beam. I'm always happy to start on beam since it gets it out of the way! :) Warm up looked good and Z had a couple of wobbles, but overall it appeared to be one of her best routines. Her score was a 9.225, which was good enough for 6th place.
Floor was next and I was determined to record her routine. Last year she had a great routine and I had hit the wrong button on my camera. I achieved success this year and I'm glad I did since she scored a 9.525 (just slightly less than her 9.550 from last year). This earned her 2nd place.
Vault looked good. It is hard to see since the vault is so far back from the viewing area, but other than a small step on the landing I didn't see much. She scored a 9.300, which tied for 4th place.
Bars was last. Again, it has been inconsistent at best for the whole team. I hadn't had a chance to watch much practice before the meet, but I know that Z had changed her bar routine from the last meet. During warm up, one of the girls hit her feet on the high bar and had a pretty good fall, which of course did concern me. Z got up, did her routine and I almost thought she was going to fall on her clear hip to handstand but didn't. I really was not expecting the 9.625 score that flashed up--I couldn't see it and when someone else told me what it was I started crying. Z got a hug from a team mate and also shed a tear, it was so exciting. She ended up in 2nd place. She now holds her gym's record for the highest Level 7 bar score.
Her all around score was a 37.675--the highest she's ever had--and placed her in 2nd place on the podium. And for the second meet in a row, our team took home first place as a team!
Our Level 8 girl competed in the session after us, so we were able to relax a bit. Then we ended up doing mexican food with her coach and a few other teammates and coaches. Z's coach was turning 21 the day after the meet--we had them sing happy birthday to him during the awards for Level 8. :) And, in a repeat of last year, the girls and coaches all played laser tag as the arcade was closing for the night.
We got up the next morning, ate breakfast and headed home! It was a great weekend!
Golden State Classic
So our second meet and "first" of the season was the Golden State Classic. Z loves any meet held at this facility, and didn't mind that she was going to get to spend the night at her aunt's house the night before. Having her aunt come watch was a bonus. Hard to believe it has been over a year since Z has competed at this gym and I just realized that we didn't compete any meets there for Level 6.
The girls started on beam. It was hard to see the warm-up as the beam is in the far corner of the gym. She seemed a little shaky and a bit off, but didn't actually fall. She scored an 8.500, which was a little confusing to me. Talking to her coach later, he told me that she paused too long between her back walkovers which reduced her start value to a 9.500. She had a couple of big wobbles and she told me later that she had forgotten her mount and missed a little bit at the front of the routine.
On floor, I thought she looked great, and she scored a 9.375--I thought it was a little low, but her coach pointed out that her split leap was a bit off and her front tumbling pass was low. She took 3rd place.
Vault was weird as they used a vault going the opposite direction of what we are used to. It was nice because the video shows her running towards me and you could see the actual vault a lot better. While she did take a step on her landings, she scored a 9.400, which wound up being 1st place.
Bars was last. As a team, bars has been inconsistent this season. I've seen some really good days and some not so good days. The girl right before Z fell on her cast to handstand on the high bar and I was afraid that it would affect Z. And, I was right. She never quite hit handstand on the low bar and then didn't complete her giant and fell. She still scored a 9.000, and took 4th place.
Z's all around score was a 36.275, which was good enough for 4th place. The team took first place as a team--the girls were so excited! This is only the second year that we have had enough girls on the optional team to even be considered for a team award.
This wasn't the best meet that she has had, but it was an improvement over Judge's Cup and a good starting point.
We have two weeks until the next meet when we are Reno bound!
The girls started on beam. It was hard to see the warm-up as the beam is in the far corner of the gym. She seemed a little shaky and a bit off, but didn't actually fall. She scored an 8.500, which was a little confusing to me. Talking to her coach later, he told me that she paused too long between her back walkovers which reduced her start value to a 9.500. She had a couple of big wobbles and she told me later that she had forgotten her mount and missed a little bit at the front of the routine.
On floor, I thought she looked great, and she scored a 9.375--I thought it was a little low, but her coach pointed out that her split leap was a bit off and her front tumbling pass was low. She took 3rd place.
Vault was weird as they used a vault going the opposite direction of what we are used to. It was nice because the video shows her running towards me and you could see the actual vault a lot better. While she did take a step on her landings, she scored a 9.400, which wound up being 1st place.
Bars was last. As a team, bars has been inconsistent this season. I've seen some really good days and some not so good days. The girl right before Z fell on her cast to handstand on the high bar and I was afraid that it would affect Z. And, I was right. She never quite hit handstand on the low bar and then didn't complete her giant and fell. She still scored a 9.000, and took 4th place.
Z's all around score was a 36.275, which was good enough for 4th place. The team took first place as a team--the girls were so excited! This is only the second year that we have had enough girls on the optional team to even be considered for a team award.
This wasn't the best meet that she has had, but it was an improvement over Judge's Cup and a good starting point.
We have two weeks until the next meet when we are Reno bound!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)