We have dedicated competition squads for General Gymnastics, Trampoline and DMT. All of the squads have a clear focus on preparation for and performance at competition and, as a result, there are expectations placed by the club on competitors’ and their parents.
We recruit for our competitors’ squads by holding trials when we have spaces available. This gives all of our club members the same opportunity to achieve a place in our competitors’ squads however there are certain expectations that they will be assessed against at the trial.
Expectations
Our squads are broken into sections; minis (for children turning 4 or 5 in the year of competition and in reception or above), pre-competition (gymnasts turning 6 or 7 in the year of competition, trampolinists turning 6 in the year of competition) and mainstream competitors for all those old enough to compete in regional competitions.
All of our competitors’ sessions are charged at the same hourly rate as our mainstream recreational sessions, most of which include some compulsory strength and flexibility training. however the club operates a discount across all classes that reduced the cost of sessions after the first 2 sessions per week. This is applied per family. Competitors have a minimum number of hours that they are required to train per week which depends on the level they are competing at.
Minis squad (in reception or Year 1 and turning 4 or 5 this calendar year) will need to attend our minis squad session, which lasts 1 hour, plus a separate 1 hour recreational session.
Pre-competition squad will need to attend our minis session, which lasts 1 hour, plus a separate mainstream competitors session and conditioning session.
Mainstream competitors, at the lower levels of competition, will be required to attend 2 equipment sessions (each 1 hour 30 minutes) plus an appropriate conditioning session (1 hour).
Competitors will be required to attend each appropriate competition that their coach selects. We anticipate this will be 3-4 competitions per year for new competitors at a cost of £7.50 – £15 per competition. Before beginning to compete all competitors must have purchased the necessary club kit (Leotard, shorts if male, tracksuit top, tracksuit bottoms and t-shirt) at an approximate cost of £115 for child sizes and £160 for adult sizes.
The trial process
All those considering competitors trials should check the relevant links below for the requirements of their squad, at their age.
Trampoline requirements
Gymnastics requirements
Children of minis squad age will be assessed primarily on strength, flexibility, response to coaching and technique. Pre-competition participants will be assessed similarly in terms of the focus being on their potential rather than their current level of performance (assuming the minimum criteria linked above are met) however specific consideration will be given to their ability to reach the competition requirements for their age by the time they are old enough to compete (7 in the year of competition for trampolining and 8 in the year of competition for gymnastics). Mainstream competitors will be assessed on their flexibility and strength plus their current peak skill level will be assessed along with execution judging of the routine for their age group as it would be in competition. At all ages a significant weighting will be placed on the participant’s attitude and response to instruction.