What to Expect at a Competition

All competitions start Friday morning and run through Sunday evening. Each day has 4 sessions. The first session always starts at 8 am (7:30 am arrival).

Each competition session typically runs 3-4 hours. Sometimes shorter, sometimes longer. Then, there is an awards ceremony after the session, in a different room.

Your child will compete in ONE 3 to 4-hour session at some point during the competition weekend. She has no obligation to the meet prior to or after her scheduled session.

We do not get to choose when our athletes compete. Meet directors schedule us and let us know when our athletes will be competing, typically 2-3 weeks prior to the competition weekend.

As soon as we receive the session schedules for a competition, I will upload them here to the parent portal, & notify families.

Session information will be under the Meet & Events page.

Your child is expected to arrive 30 minutes prior to her warm-up time, stay for the duration of the competition, AND attend the awards ceremony. Then, you are free!

There is no obligation to the competition prior to or after your child’s session.  

Please arrive early!

It can often be challenging to find parking or the correct venue at the site of the competition (meets are typically at convention centers, hotels, university campuses, etc.)

Once parked, find the athlete check-in line. All competing athletes will need to sign in. 

Once checked in and allowed inside the competition venue, your child will leave you and enter the competition floor and find her team. They are now JAG’s responsibility until the end of the session.

There will be a short 15-20 min warm-up on the floor spaces

After the warm-up, athletes will march in, line up, and the meet host will announce the competing clubs.

Then, they may or may not play the national anthem. They will always play it at the very first session of the day.

Athletes will then begin their timed warm-up on their first event.

• Athletes will start on one event and always follow the Olympic order.
• Olympic order: Vault --> Bars --> Beam --> Floor

Each athlete will get between 30 seconds to 1 minute to warm up on each event, depending on their level. A timer will calculate warm-up times based on how many athletes are warming up together.

• Xcel Bronzes get 30 seconds per athlete, per event to warm up.

Athletes will compete individually in each event in front of one or 2 judges.

• They must salute the judge prior to starting their routine, and after completing their routine – otherwise, they will receive a deduction.
• Judges will score the routine and the score will be projected on a screen somewhere inside the meet venue.
• Athletes perform and are judged on one routine for Bars, Beam & Floor. For vault, they get to perform 2 vaults. 
• Judges evaluate both vaults and then only submit a score for the better vault. (So if one vault is a complete mess up, don't stress! They can still score well on the other vault!) 
• All routines are judged from a perfect 10. We tell the kids “It’s like money. You start with $10, and lose nickels & dimes every time something isn’t correct.” Ex: Anytime you fall, you lose 5 tenths or 50 cents.

JUDGING IS SUBJECTIVE. JUDGING IS SUBJECTIVE. JUDGING IS SUBJECTIVE!!!

• There are rules around it, yes. But really, it rarely makes a lot of sense. Please try to accept that. Please help your athlete grasp that! Please don’t allow your athlete’s identity to get caught up in her scores!
• Judges are human – and each judge will care about different attributes of a routine (i.e. Some will watch the lower body looking for deductions while others care more about the upper body. Or some care about the continuity of a routine and its “flow”, while others are only looking at individual skills. It’s impossible to figure out what the judges are thinking! And it WILL be different at the next competition!)
• If a score is really off, a coach can approach the judge at the end of the rotation to inquire about the deductions. This rarely results in a score change.  
• Parents are NEVER allowed to approach a judge. Our club can be disqualified from a competition for this. Please never approach a judge! Find a JAG coach and communicate with them if absolutely necessary.

We expect all athletes to remain on the competition floor until the entire session has been completed. Often one event will be running behind while the rest of the meet has finished. To show good sportsmanship, we have all JAG athletes stay and cheer for the last event until the final athlete has competed, even if they’re from a different team.

The meet director will announce when the session has ended.

Then, we will excuse the athletes and release them from our care (as we often have to immediately start another session.) FIND YOUR ATHLETE - and go with her to the awards ceremony!

• We expect all JAG athletes to stay for the full duration of the awards ceremony. Please do not leave as soon as your child has received her medal(s). Remember you represent JAG as a club and we hope all our families demonstrate good sportsmanship by staying to cheer for every JAG athlete.  

Parents are never permitted onto the competition floor.

• Please be sure to stay behind the roped-off area designated where spectators can view.
• The only exception to this is if your athlete gets injured, then a coach will come and escort you to your child.

Please do not attempt to communicate with coaches during a competition while they are on the floor.

• If a coach is available between sessions, or during the awards ceremony, you may approach them. However, if you have a concern about your child’s performance we ask that you reach out to your coaches after the weekend, once we have returned to JAG.

Please also refrain from speaking to or calling your athlete over to speak to you during the competition.

• Parents must leave their athlete at the start of the competition with the expectation there should be no communication until the end of the session.
• It’s not appropriate to call her over to talk to her about her performance, her score, or how she’s feeling about something. Please save all communication for the end of the competition.
• If a coach sends your child over to you for something, this is the only time we welcome interaction between a child & their grown-ups during a competition.
• That being said – please feel free to cheer loudly and show your support from the stands for your child plus any & all JAG athletes!

No flash photography

• It’s a safety issue for the kids as they try to focus on their skills & the equipment.
• Be sure the flash is off when you start filming!

Please DO remain supportive of your athlete regardless of her performance, her scores, or her mood! All of the coaches at JAG are committed to training your athlete to be a strong, independent, and positive competitor. Please help us in these efforts!

• There is nothing more challenging than trying to console an athlete who tells us “My grown-up (mom/dad/etc.) is going to be mad at me because I fell.”
• Our top priority at JAG is always our athlete’s safety, well-being & emotional health. This comes first before medals, trophies, or placements. Please help us reinforce these teaching moments!