Finals Update

Well, there's good news, and not so good news!

The good news is that we had a great day--we had several good friends come out to support Kaylie, and it was just wonderful to see them!

The not so good news is that although there were no calamities, it wasn't one of those great days in which all the routines just came together. :-( Kaylie did fine on vault (an 8.6) and floor (and 8.625) but her bar routine was a struggle, and she essentially fell on her landing so she scored an 8.025. Finally, her beam routine was good, but not great, and she really had her heart set on great. She just seemed to struggle a little bit here, and a little bit there. Her score was an 8.8, which is the 2nd highest she's ever gotten, and earned her a 10th place medal. Her all-around score was a 34.05. But knowing Kaylie, it's all just good motivation for her shift to level 5 training!

She skipped Monday's workout---too tired after a very long day on Sunday, but is all geared up for tonight--her first official all level 5 training, and I don't have to do those boring level 4 routines anymore!! The team has been working on level 5 skills for the last couple of weeks, and now will be doing them exclusively. She already has her "squat on"---a level 5 bar skill in which they pull themselves into a standing position on the lower bar, before jumping to the high bar. She'll be working extra hard to build upper body and abdominal muscles to improve her efforts at obtaining her kip. If she doesn't get her kip by February (I think!) she won't get to compete level 5 in the spring--so important stuff!

On beam she already has a back walkover---but that's for level 6. She needs to get a cartwheel on beam for level 5, but she's finding that more difficult to achieve. Go figure! So I'm going to raise some funds to buy her a "Stick-It" beam. Basically its a regulation length/width strip of synthetic suede that sticks to the carpet for practice at home. This way she'll be able to practice without worrying about falling off, and can do it safely at home. It will also allow her to work on the routine itself whenever she feels like it.

Kaylie also now has a fan page on Facebook! Thanks to one of her biggest supporters, Kate, for making this happen! Check it out here.

Finals!!

I just got the info for Kaylie's finals session--she'll be competing with two of her teammates on Sunday, November 15th in the evening. Wish it was a morning session, since we had hoped to meet with friends afterwards, but such is life. Of the six gymnasts from Kaylie's team who made it to finals, hers is the only session with three girls--the other three gymnasts have to compete without the support of their teammates. Kind of makes me sad--we'll just have to cheer them on in spirit!

Kaylie Made it to Finals!!!!

Since it's taken me a week to post it, you might think that I am not excited about Kaylie making it to finals---when in fact I am beyond proud and excited. I was just super behind in getting Halloween costumes done, so had to set my post aside until today!

Kaylie came down with a nasty chest cold 6 days before the Sectionals meet, and missed about half of her workouts. Very stressful, worrying about her health, and hoping that she would feel well enough to actually get thru her routines. Since she couldn't work out as much as planned, she spent some time on the computer, reviewing videos of her past competitions, and studying the official book that lays out the routine requirements and deductions. When she did get to the gym, she focused on the things she felt she needed to improve on from her previous meets. We also looked at the beam scores of the other girls in her age division that would also be competing at her session. She was within one tenth of a point of the highest score, so she knew she had a shot at getting on the podium for Sectionals. She really wanted to score a 9.0 or higher on at least one event, so that was the event she put her energy into.

She slept for an hour on the drive to the meet--and arrived feeling ready to go! Her team was assigned the Squadron A rotation (meaning they do events starting with vault, then bars, then beam, and finally floor.) She scored an 8.775 on vault--her second highest score on this event! Next up was bars. I got a little nervous during the warm-up, as she was struggling a bit--but she managed to do a decent routine and scored an 8.375--she wasn't happy with the routine or score, but thinks it was pretty good considering her health, etc. Now the event we were waiting for. I'd been jotting down the scores of the other gymnasts, and the highest at that point was an 8.9--could she do it?? She had a wobbly warm-up, but once she got up there to compete, it was gorgeous! Then they flashed her score-----a 9.1!!!!! A moment later I could see her hopping up and down, she was soooo excited! One of her teammates tied her score, and then they were off to the floor routine. She was managing pretty well energy wise (I bet the adrenaline was going from the excitement of her first 9.1 score!) and scored an 8.7 on her floor routine--the best yet in an USAG competition! Her all-around score was 34.95--her best to date, and easily qualifying for Finals.

During her team's floor rotation, one of the girls on beam scored a 9.350 so that put Kaylie, and her teammate Cierra in second place for beam---Kaylie didn't realize that as she hadn't been watching the scores--so she was amazed, and super thrilled when they called her name for the award! And to top it all off, she also came in 7th in the All-around! It was a really good meet!

She had a relapse of her cold by Monday--worse than ever--so she missed a few more days of school, and all of her workouts for the week. Now she's feeling much better, and ready to get busy during the next two weeks until Finals!

I've posted some photos in the slideshow--they're a bit out of focus because the gym set up the podiums to the back of the gym, instead of up front by the spectators--but you get the idea!

Sectionals Next Week!

It's been a fun and exciting Prelim season for Kaylie! She's done well at all of her Prelims--with last weeks meet being her best of the three--a 33.85 all-around score! She scored 8.4 on vault, 8.425 on bars, 8.75 on beam, and 8.275 on floor. She's been working very hard in preparation for next weekends Sectional event---she really wants to score a 9.0 or better on at least one apparatus.

She'll be taking an additional class for the next four weeks, with the gym's head coach, in preparation for these last two meets. She loves working with this coach, and so is very excited about the opportunity.

The girls will also be getting their warm up suits this week--a little late, but exciting none the less! Most of the teams have serious, matching suits, leos and gym bags--so our girls have felt a bit unpolished, if you will, not to have a warm-up set. Thankfully the gym found a really nice velvet set, at a great price. I'll post some photos and her sectionals scores after the meet.

Kaylie Qualified for Sectionals!!

Hello Everyone,

We're so excited that at Kaylie's first USAG meet yesterday, she scored a 33.55 all-around, which qualified her to compete at sectionals this year!

It was a fun day and although Kaylie was nervous and excited, she didn't let it get to her. The team started with the vault (usually Kaylie's worst event) and she scored an 8.9! She usually gets in the high 7's, so that was an awesome result for her, and the third highest score on her team.

Next up was the bars--normally she scores a bit higher on this one, but she still managed to get a good enough score to place for her age group---8.2 with a clean routine. The team as a whole didn't practice bars much in the days leading up to the meet--quite a few of the girls had "rips". Basically they had tears on the palms of their hands. That's something gymnast just have to put up with, but not really ideal to have them at competition time! Kaylie's were mostly healed, and didn't really bother her for this competition.

The third rotation was for beam. It seems that the whole team was nervous about this one, and most of the girls fell at least once in their routines. Kaylie wasn't happy that she was wobbly during her routine, but managed to do a nice job, stay on the beam, and finish in time for a score of 8.6---best score for her team.

Last was the floor routine---looked ok from across the gym, but apparently lots of small deductions, and a problem with her round-off-back-handspring so she got a score of 7.850---a full point lower than she usually scores, but a good learning opportunity. I am so proud of her that she didn't let it faze her, she's just super determined to work extra hard on her routines this week so that she does even better on the meet this Saturday!

Competing against other teams who have obviously been competing at this level for a while was a bit disconcerting for the girls, but they didn't let it get to them---too much! Apparently, some gyms will hold their gymnasts back until they regularly score in the mid to upper 30's---this helps the gym achieve higher rankings at meets, but does create an un-level playing field for those girls who are competing for the first time. At this meet, there were two teams who were competing for the first time, and two teams who have been competing for quite a bit longer. Some gyms also have a stricter program, and ours is definitely focused on the girls having a good experience over just getting great scores. I really love the family atmosphere at our gym.

So my fears of 1st meet catastrophe are laid to rest, and now that she has made that qualifying score, we can just relax and enjoy the next two preliminary meets---this Saturday the 26th, and then the weekend of October 10th.

Kaylie's First Official Meet!

We found out last night that Kaylie will be competing as an official USAG gymnast for the first time on Sunday the 20th!! She was assigned to a 12pm session, which means we don't have to get up at 5am! Yeah!

For those that don't know how it works, at level 4, gymnasts compete at the preliminary level first, and if they score a 30.00 or higher at any of the scheduled prelim competitions, they move on to compete at Sectionals the weekend of October 24th. If they score 32.00 or higher at Sectionals, they are able to compete at the State Finals (So. Cal) in mid-November.

At Kaylie's gym, any gymnast that makes it to finals, will move up to level 5 in December. She's very excited about that prospect! She's now training an additional 3 hours per week to prepare for the meets, and if she moves to level 5, will continue with the additional hours. We'll keep ya posted!

Photos from the last two Mini-Meets

Here are some photos of the last two mini-meets at Kaylie's gym--mostly I took movies, which I'll post next!

Prelims are almost here!

It's been a busy summer, and I've not updated Kaylie's blog in a long time---I have some new video, and photos from the two other mini-meets that were held at her gym over the summer, so will get those posted within the next few days. She did very well at the second meet--scored a 34.45 all around! In the weeks prior to the third meet, she was out of town, so not her best scores, but she still did well, scoring 32.90!

She'll be competing in her first real meet the weekend of September 19th, and then again the following weekend. Her final preliminary meet in October, and hopefully she'll score at least a 30.00 to qualify for the Sectionals in late October.

We'll be doing some auctions to raise additional money for the meet fees, so look for those postings in the next week.

And the results are.....

First place in Floor and Bars!!!! We're so excited that Kaylie did so well! She had a lot of fun, and didn't have any problems with nerves. Her best apparatus is normally the beam, but she lost her balance, and fell early on in the routine, so lost a full point for that---but the good news is the fall didn't shake her, and she did really well with the rest of the routine. She missed the twist in her dismount, so since she still had time, she got right back on and re-did the dismount correctly. Not sure how much that helped her with regards to her points, but really proud of the confidence she displayed to re-do the element.

She did a fantastic job on her bar routine--still needs to work on her glide, and had a bit too much momentum on her stride circle, but did so much better than the other girls it was a pleasure to watch. She scored a 8.7 for that event. She did one of her best floor routines ever---an event that she has always struggled with--I think because her coach for levels 1-3 didn't focus on those skills, she came onto the level 4 team seriously lacking in floor expertise. She really enjoys it though, and has worked hard to improve. She was sooooo thrilled to come first in that event, scoring an 8.5

Vault is just not her event, so she didn't expect to do well in it--just have fun and do her best. She did enjoy getting to see the video of her vaults, and the opportunity to see what she's doing wrong, and where she needs to improve.

The next mini-meet will be held on June 27th. The goal of the coaches is for each girl to improve upon her scores from the previous mini-meet, and to build their skills and confidence heading into the state preliminaries.

Great job Kaylie---We're sooo proud of you!

Competition Today--Sort of!

Wow, it's been too long since I've posted---guess things have been really busy!

Today Kaylie will be competing for the first time----but not in an actual, USA Gymnastics competition. Because the annual membership in USA Gymnastics runs from August to August, the owners of Kaylie's gym decided to have 3 mock competitions at our gym over the summer, rather than enter the girls in real competitions. This saves all of the parents from having to pay the membership fee now, and then again in August. So sort of good, and sort of a bummer. Kaylie seems ok with it though--so if it works for her, it's fine by me. I'm always happy to save a buck! She is bummed that she doesn't get to wear her team leo--but since she's the only level 4 team member that has hers, it makes sense! Kaylie was measured as the fit model, so hers was the first one to be completed.

The events that are planned will include prizes and goodie bags, just like a real competition, and will be judged by actual judges. Each competitor will have to do their routines under the exact same guidelines as a real meet, so it should be a good introduction for them into the world of competitive gymnastics. Each event will have a theme of some sort, and provide a fun family atmosphere. I'll be posting pictures, maybe some video, and comments tomorrow.

Update on Gymnastics Camp

Well, we got mixed news about the scholarship for Kaylie to attend a week long summer gymnastics camp. She did receive a scholarship, but it was only for about 23% of the fee, and we just can't afford to make up the difference at this time, so she won't be able to go this year--hopefully things will improve in the upcoming year and maybe she'll be able to go next summer.

Also, we have not yet been able to take pictures/video at the gym, as Kaylie had a cold over her spring break, and we weren't able to go to the gym. Oh well, sometime soon we'll get some new pictures!

Kaylie's First Meet!!

Finally we know when Kaylie will get to participate in her first competition!! She will be competing at the Club Champion gym's annual Pasadena Classic on the last weekend in May!! We won't know which day, Saturday or Sunday, that she will compete on until a week or two beforehand, but we are excited to finally know which meet she will be attending! She will be competing at level 4 in this friendly meet, which will help give her some experience prior to the state preliminaries in the fall.

Team Leo!!

Well, it's been a while since I last posted---have been working extra hard lately to make ends meet, and cover all of the gymnastics expenses. I have taken on a part-time job to cover Kaylie's basic training fees and started a small business/website selling my Barbie size fashions. Keeps me too busy! But with all of the economic challenges these days--our family has been hit hard, like many families all over the world---I'm very happy to be managing as well as we are.

Kaylie was super excited at the gym today, as she was able to try on the sample team leo, and was measured for fit for her leo!! Very exciting stuff, and helps make the upcoming competitions more real. It has been very hard for Kaylie to keep her focus during the last several months of waiting to find out when she would be competing. We still don't know the dates yet--but we know they're coming! It's looking like May/June, but I'll keep you posted.

We are also applying for a scholarship for Kaylie at one of the local gymnastics summer camps--we'll keep our fingers crossed that she is accepted for a week this summer. We are also celebrating Kaylie's 11th birthday this week--tonight she has several friends coming for a sleep-over. We should be taking some new pictures, and even some video in a few weeks.

Hewow!This is a post about a website I play on. It is called,Whyville.This website is kid friendly.It is really fun because you get to make your own avatar and meet new friends. You can also get in touch with your friends that you know if they have an account. Even though the website is kid friendly, some people aren't as nice as they should be. But you can either silence or vaporize them so they don't bother you. If they say bad words you can also report them. go to the website at:
www.whyville.com. i really think you should go to this website because i have had alot of fun on it doing various diferent things, like making my avatar look like a cat, or a carrot! yhis is probably one of my favorite websites to play on. did i mention you could get a house? well anyways,
the website will give you all the information you need. There are also people you can ask questions, so have fun!! my username is gymgirI12

Where does the time go?

It seems it has just flown by lately.....maybe it was just the rush of the holidays, but here we are----it is now 2009!

Kaylie has had somewhat of a break from gymnastics for the last few weeks--between holiday activities, the unexpected (but wonderful) snowfall that we had, and the gym being closed for the holiday. She's gearing up for a new year, and excited that she is getting ever closer to actually competing.

One of the funny things about the lower levels of gymnastics is that you work, and work---but you may not have a "competition season". In soccer, or football for example, you practice for a few weeks, and then you play against other teams, ready or not. It has been hard for Kaylie, who has a generally competitive nature, to work and work with no opportunity for competition. Right now it looks like May or June--although she'd be quite happy to compete sooner if she can.

I also would like to take a moment to thank our friends and family who have supported Kaylie--it is so deeply appreciated. I have had a very hard time bringing myself to search out donations, in this very difficult economic time---so I did not end up doing the raffle. We are incredibly fortunate to have people in our lives who have been able to help out in spite of today's challenges, and I thank you all for your time, and generosity.