Parent's Guide: Competitive Rhythmic Gymnastics in USA (Part 1)

During the last years the interest in rhythmic gymnastics in the USA is continuously growing. Every year new rhythmic gymnastics clubs apply for membership in United States of America Gymnastics (USA Gymnastics, USAG) – the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States.

Parenting a competitive athlete is a great responsibility, which includes choosing the right place for training, making your child to follow proper diet to increase physical power and flexibility, accompanying her to the competitions, and so on. To provide parents a comprehensive understanding of the whole competition process, IK School of Rhythmic Gymnastics in Miami starts a series of articles on competitive rhythmic gymnastics in USA.

Choosing a Rhythmic Gymnastics Club for Your Child

Each autumn members of USAG register their athletes, who are intended to take part in rhythmic gymnastics competitions. Annual registration fee is $55 for each gymnast. To register athletes for competitions, a club must be a member of USA Gymnastics. Therefore, if you want your child to participate in competitions, the first step is to choose the right place for training.

By September 2015 there are 128 clubs registered as members of USAG. Among the leading states are California (31 clubs-members of USAG or almost 25% of all registered members), Florida (11 clubs), New York (9 clubs), Georgia (8 clubs), Illinois (7 clubs), and Washington (7 clubs).

Quick tip: When choosing rhythmic gymnastics club for your child, check out how your local clubs have been performing at state, regional and national competitions in previous years  to identify the most successful gymnastics schools in your area. You can also get some valuable insights analyzing the athletes on the current and past Rhythmic Gymnastics National Teams, to identify the top-performing gymnastics schools, or reading Yelp! reviews, to get an idea of how a particular gymnastics school is estimated by the locals.

Taking Part in Rhythmic Gymnastics Competitions.

The process of progression to a National Competition requires a certain amount of meets to be attended, depending on the gymnast’s level. You can find general information about required meets and championships for each level in the table below.

Level 3	Levels 4 – 6		Levels 7, 8	Levels 9, 10
Invitational meets – May participate in several meets during a season	Invitational meets – May participate in several meets during a season		Invitational meets – May participate in several meets during a season	Invitational meets – May participate in several meets during a season
State Meet – Providing athlete attended an invitational	State Meet – Providing athlete attended an invitational		State Meet – Providing athlete attended an invitational	State Meet – Providing athlete attended an invitational
Regional Championships – If the host offers a Level 3 invitational within the regional championships)	Regional Championships – Must attend State meet to qualify for Regionals		Regional Championships – Must attend State meet to qualify for Regionals	Regional Championships – Required to progress to National Qualifier
	Open Championships, National Invitational – Must have attended Regional Championships to qualify for Open		USA Gymnastics Championships – If athlete places in the top 8 at Regional Championships	National Qualifier – Athletes from Level 9 who place in the top 25 at Qualifier go to the Level 10 and are qualified for USA Gymnastics Championships
				USA Gymnastics Championships – Junior (up to 15 yo) and Seniour (15+ yo) athletes, who place in the top 8 at the USA Gymnastics Championships go to the Rhythmic Gymnastics National Teams

In USA rhythmic gymnasts compete in Levels 3 – 10. Up to Level 6 the athletes of each level are divided into groups according to age. Gymnasts competing in Levels 7 – 10 are not divided by age. Rhythmic Invitational Competitions are a kind of review of a gymnast’s skills and are mandatory for further participation in State Meets.

Level 3 athletes usually participate in Invitational and State meets only. They may participate in Regional championships if the host offers a Level 3 invitational within the regional championships.

Levels 4 – 6 athletes participate in Invitational, State, Regional and National Open Championships.  To qualify for Regional Championships an athlete must have attended State meet. To qualify for National Open Championships an athlete must have attended Regional championships.

Levels 7, 8 gymnasts participate in Invitational, State, Regional and National Championships. Only the top 8 athletes at Regional Championships, regardless of the age, are qualified for USA Gymnastics National Championships.

Levels 9, 10 athletes also take part in invitational and state competitions. Participation in Regional Championships is required to progress to National Qualifier. Athletes from Level 9, who place in the top 25 at Qualifier, go to Level 10, and are qualified for USA Gymnastics Championships. Athletes, who place in the top 8 at the USA Gymnastics Championships, go to the Rhythmic Gymnastics National Teams.

IK School of Rhythmic gymnastics has 5+-year history in Miami. Over this period IK has become one of the most successful rhythmic gymnastics schools in Florida. Our school has the best coaches in Miami area, who help our students to develop to their fullest potential.

Having already created many champions in Miami, we are not going to rest on our laurels. IKS is the best place in Florida for competitive gymnasts to receive highly professional training and achieve outstanding results. Visit www.ikgymnastics.com for competitions results, schedule and details.