World Gymnastic Competition

World Gymnastic Competition is a widely viewed sport that is fun to watch. The U.S gymnasts competing in world gymnastic competition travel a long road that begins in local gyms across the U.S. They may start as young as 18 months with parent-tot classes, on to recreation classes and ending up in gymnastic competitive programs. Boys and girls develop skills through age-group programs such as AAU or USA Gymnastics. Gymnasts competing in world gymnastic competition have generally gone through the age group program of USA Gymnastics beginning competition as early as age 6 and starting at level 1 and working up to level 10 and Elite. The gymnasts competing in world gymnastic competition are Elite gymnasts and work out many hours a day.

There are thousands of gymnasts competing in thousands of gymnastics clubs worldwide. Very few of these young people compete in world gymnastic competition. You may wonder what it takes to compete in world gymnastic competition and how boys and girls can get started. Both the men’s gymnastics program and the women’s gymnastics program have national programs that are used to identify athletes with the kind of talent it takes to become a competitor of that caliber.

Future Stars for boys is the programs used by USA Gymnastics. Quality gyms and coaches identify students in their gyms and try to set them on the right developmental path to world gymnastic competition using Future Stars. The program began in 1996 with the goal of identifying talented athletes, their coaches and clubs and to provide them with educational and training support. Training for the tests begins in a local gym then athletes may be invited to the regional or state testing and finally to the national level. The routines developed are complimentary to the age group competitive routines so the young boys compete through the levels to get to the top. Finally, there is a Future Stars Championship and The Men’s National Coaches Workshop. The workshop provides hands on development sessions for the athletes and education seminars for both coaches and parents. The athletes, coaches, and parents are exposed to some of the best coaches in the country and specialists in the sports science field. This is only the start on the way to world gymnastic competition.

Talent Opportunity Progam (TOPs) is for female gymnasts ages 7-11 and their coaches. Similar to the format of the boys program, it starts with testing in June and July at the state or regional level. The National TOP test is done in October and athletes that have been identified at the state or regional level are invited to participate. They are evaluated on physical ability tests and some basic gymnastics skills. The next step toward world gymnastic competition is being invited to the National TOP Training camp held in December of that year.

Learn more about world gymnastic competition by going to the USA gymnastics website. You can also find information about programs in your state and local community. All you need to get started is a gymnastics leotard and a lot of energy! Gymnastics is fun and a wonderful developmental activity for all ages and for all sports and is not just geared toward world gymnastic competition.