The North of England Women’s Technical Committee (W.T.C) have produced the following guide to competitions. This information is relevant for most of the competitions that we enter:
Registration
When gymnasts arrive at the competition venue, they report to the registration desk (usually next to the spectator entrance or the entrance to the competition area). All they need to do is confirm their name and club so that the organisers can check which gymnasts have arrived. The registration time quoted is the latest time for registration. Individual clubs have no influence over registration time. this is set by the W.T.C organisers.
The respective club’s coaches will usually be waiting at this area to collect the gymnasts. They won’t necessarily go straight into the competition area, as a previous round may still be underway, so you may have to wait outside the competition area for a while. If the coach is not available (they may still be involved in a previous round) the gymnast should wait with their parent/carer until the previous round has finished and a coach becomes available.
Once gymnasts have reported to their coaches they remain with their coaches until the competition has finished. They should not return to their parents/carers. It is very important gymnasts do not the competition area without receiving specific permission from the competition organisers.
General warm-up
All the gymnasts from all clubs involved in each competition round have a general warm-up on the floor for 10/15 minutes. Each club’s gymnasts are supervised by their own coaches.
March on and introduction
The usual format is for the gymnasts to be taken to a holding area after the general warm-up. They then march in and go to the judges for the piece of apparatus where they will be competing first. The coaches know which apparatus this will be. Whilst the judges are welcoming the gymnasts, the organisers will announce each gymnast individually. When their name is called, the gymnast should present to the crowd.
Compete
During a 4-piece competition, gymnasts will compete on (vault, bars, beam, floor). Each time the gymnasts move from one piece to another this is called a ‘Rotation’. There may also be a ‘Rest’ rotation, if there are too many gymnasts in a round to split between the 4 pieces of apparatus. The gymnasts always move round in the order: – vault, bars, beam, floor but they may start on any of these pieces of apparatus, for example, if they start on beam then they will compete beam, floor, vault, bars and so on.
Rest Group: In the event of a rest group, Gymnasts are not permitted to leave the competition area unless it is to use the bathroom. Also, they are not permitted to bring food onto the competition area other than a banana or cereal bar in their bag, if it is needed for medical reasons, please ensure you inform the competition organiser prior to the start of the competition
Before competing on each piece of apparatus (and in addition to the general warm-up) gymnasts warm up on each piece of apparatus before their actual competition performance.
When it comes to the competition performance each gymnast will perform one or two vaults (normally the best of the two scores counts) but only one routine on bars, beam and floor.
Each piece of apparatus has judges to give the gymnasts a score for their performance. Gymnasts must ‘Present’ to the judges both before and at the end of their routine on every piece. The head judge for each piece of apparatus will raises their arm when they are ready for the gymnast to present then start. Coaches (and judges) have a programme for the competition so know which gymnasts should be on which piece at each stage of the competition. Coaches also have numbers for their club’s gymnasts that they show to the judges before each gymnast performs so that the judge can record the score against the correct gymnast.
At the end of the round all the gymnasts in the competition will usually leave the competition area, again whilst the organisers check all the scores. The gymnast then march back onto the floor to wait for the presentations. These are methodically announced by level of competition and age group. Gold, Silver and Bronze medals are given for places 1/2/3 and place ribbons for 4/5/6 on every piece of apparatus and for the overall winners (all 4 scores added together). This can take a while, but the gymnasts have worked hard to get to where they are, so they deserve their recognition.
General information
Gymnasts should arrive already wearing their leotard and tracksuit/leggings. They should also have their handguards/wristbands and some water/drink with them. Gymnasts should carry all this in their Gymnastics bag.
There will usually be more than one ‘Round’ in each competition held during the day/weekend. Normally (but not always) all gymnasts from all clubs in a particular level/age category, will be in the same round unless there are too many to do so.
This is why our gymnasts do not all have to be at the competition venue at the same time or even on the same day.
Spectators are allowed to take photographs/videos but only of their own gymnast(s) There must NOT BE ANY flash photography.
There is an individual gymnast and team entry fee for all W.T.C. competitions
There will also be a spectator admission fee for all competitions. All venues have a spectator seating are and provide some refreshments.
Spectators
Spectating parents. gymnasts and coaches are expected to behave in a professional manner and must not attempt to coach from side lines or distract the participating gymnasts in any way. They should also not shout at any coaches, judges or competition officials. The W.T.C. request your cooperation on this matter. In the event of this taking place the offenders may be asked to leave the arena.
If you have any questions, we politely request you wait until the end of the competition or back in your own gym and speak to your respective club coaches.
