At the beginning of the summer, even though decisions had not yet been made about what level everyone would be competing, Z's coach asked if the girls wanted to attend the Judge's Cup Qualifier again. He said they had more experience, and could use it as a means to get the jitters out for the season. Several of the girls said that they would like to do it and as a result we registered seven girls, but only five ended up going.
Throughout the summer, the girls were all working on up-skills, had testing for their levels and we knew that Z would be competing level 8 for the 2019 season. We had a mock meet on November 30th, and Z actually outscored all her teammates on all events except vault--and this included bars where she did not do her dismount. Sometime after Regionals, Z got a mental block against doing her flyaway. No matter what we and her coach would do, she just couldn't get herself to do it. As a result, we knew that she would never qualify for the state team at the qualifier. I told her that it was not a big deal and that this would just be a way to get her jitters out. I also pointed out that it was being held at a gym we had never competed at before and was the same gym that our final meet of the season will be held.
Interestingly, on Tuesday before the meet, Z decided to start working her flyaway again. I watched her do it on Wednesday with a heavy spot from her coach on the large mat stack. On Thursday, the coach told her dad that she would be doing the flyaway at the meet. I still wasn't sure, but on Friday I was told that she had done it with a spot from the ground. A huge improvement in four days.
The day of the qualifier, we got up and got ready. The gym was three hours away and she was had to be there by 2:00pm. This year they held the qualifier differently. Instead of one big session, they broke the meet into two sessions with two age groups for each session. This way, the girls were able to get more awards, but it was harder to tell your position since you had to look through all four sessions to see the all around scores. Again, only the top six and one alternate were named to the state team and would represent in Kansas at the National Judge's Cup.
We started on beam and Z was the third on her team to go. Both girls before her fell, so I was a little concerned. Z has a habit of doing what those before her do, but not this time. She didn't fall and other than a fairly big wobble after her full turn, she looked pretty solid. She scored a 9.175, which was the highest out of her team and got her fourth place.
On floor, she was the fourth out of our team to go. Her routine looked great. She remembered to breathe and scored a 9.475. Again, this was the highest on her team and ended up getting her first place.
At this point, Z's dad called and asked how things were doing. With two events done, Z was in first place in both events and all around. I reminded him, joking, that if she did well enough, she was going to Kansas. He had forgotten, but said it didn't matter and not to put pressure on her. I can't talk to her during meets and her coach had told the girls to just have fun at the meet, not to let it bother them and to actually not even look at their scores. I don't know if she was or not, but I definitely was watching.
Vault was next. This year the level 7 vaults are weird because they are timers and you land on a large mat, not on the floor. Z scored an 8.825, which we thought was low, but turns out was one of the higher scores of the day. In fact it took first place in her session. Her coach said the judges are all learning how to judge the timers.
While Z was on vault another girl outscored her on beam and turned in a huge 9.800 on bars. At this point, knowing her difficulty with bars and her dismount, I knew everything was basically over for her.
Z got up on bars--again the fourth on her team. Two of her teammates fell before her, and again, I thought that was it. But no, my girl wasn't going to let that bother her anymore. She turned out a beautiful routine and scored a 9.600-which ended up being 2nd place.
Overall, she scored a 37.075 and was second place in her session.
After her bar score, I started looking at the all around scores from the morning session and there were only four that were a 37.000 or above. I knew the girl who had the 9.800 on bars had over a 37, which meant that it was very possible that Z was part of the state team. As I was getting ready to text her coach to see if we were going to Kansas, I saw him looking for me. I ran over to him and he told me that Z was the alternate, but that she would still be going to Kansas. He said he didn't tell her and didn't want me to say anything. I quickly texted her dad and let him know and he was freaking out as much as I was.
After the awards were handed out, they announced the state team. Turns out her coach lied to me--she wasn't the alternate, but was actually one of the top six! He said he wanted me to be surprised. :) While they were announcing the team our girls were apparently discussing whether they should all go out for dinner. An assistant coach suggested that they should pay attention and respect those who made the team--two people before they called Z's name. :)
We had to stay for awhile after filling out forms and getting sized for the team leo and warm ups, but one of her teammates stayed to go to dinner and celebrate with us. We ended up getting pizza with her teammate and coaches.
The whole day was so weird and I still can't believe it happened--but I guess I better believe because in 36 hours we will be on a plane to Kansas!
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