Trampoline and Tumbling Competitions
Why sign up for a Trampoline and Tumbling competition?
· Your athlete will be able to meet other athletes who have the same interest in trampoline and tumbling!
· Meeting others across the state
· Your athlete will be able to show off their routine to family and friends
· They will get a score and that will help determine what they can improve on to make them a better athlete
· Helps athletes understand what they are capable of
· Seeing some amazing advanced level athletes compete
· It can help improve confidence and self-esteem
· It is FUN!
Trampoline and Tumbling meets
As you may know a trampoline and tumbling(TNT) competition is called a meet.
TNT meets can seem confusing if you’re not familiar with how they are organized and run. First, TNT meets can feel intimidating to both the athlete and their parents because they do not know what to expect. If you and your athlete know who meets run it can make their first meet less stressful and a happier occasion.
TNT meets are sanctioned by AAU or USTA. The WTTC meet is sanctioned by AAU. Since it is sanctioned by AAU, we will be following the rule and regulations of AAU.
There is usually a fee for spectators to watch the TNT meet. Yes, even the athletes families must pay to watch the meet they’ve already paid for their athlete to attend. It is one of the quirky things about TNT meets. The good news is, all or some of the money raised benefits the host gym!
Meet Schedules
For most TNT meets, you should plan on being there for the entire day. During most meets, there will be multiple events going at once. Schedules will be sent out a few weeks before the meet. The meet schedules will show the warm up time. Most TNT meets run ahead of schedule, so please plan on being there an hour in advance, unless you are the first group to go.
There may be times where the meet runs behind. No one wants to be running late, I promise. The TNT meet director Judges, coaches – everyone wants a meet to run on time, but it doesn’t always happen. There are a million moving parts of a running meet, and it can be kart to keep them all running smoothly – especially when hundreds of kids are involved!
If your athlete is involved in more than one event, their events might overlap. THAT IS OKAY. Have your athlete tell their coach and the coach will let the next event know they will be there shortly.
Stretch Outs
Meet announcer will call out an event, age group, and level. This will be when your athlete will report to stretch outs. There will be designated stretch outs for each events. If you do not know where they are, have your athlete ask their coach. Parents are not allowed on the competition floor unless they are assisting with the meet. Athletes will go stretch out on their own if there is not a coach around at that time. Once everyone is there they will be put into order to compete.
Warm up
Once athletes are lined up in order they will be walked over to their event. Each event has different amount of warm ups. Coaches will go over this with the athletes before the meet. Here is a list of how may warm ups the athlete will get before they compete In front of the judges
Trampoline
· Beginner – 1 touches, one routine per touch
· Novice – 2 touches, One routine per touch
· Intermediate– 2 touches, One routine per touch
· Sub-Advanced– 2 touches, One routine per touch
· Advanced– 3 touches, One routine per touch
Tumbling
· Sub-Beginner—two (2) passes with one routine per pass
· Beginner—Two (2) passes with one routine per pass
· Advanced Beginner -- Two (2) passes with one routine per pass
· Sub-Novice 1 – one run down mat. Two (2) passes with one routine per pass
· Sub-Novice 2 – one run down mat. Two (2) passes with one routine per pass
· Novice – one run down mat. Four (4) passes with one routine per pass
· Intermediate– one run down mat. Five (5) passes with one routine per pass
· Sub-Advanced – one run down mat. Five (5) passes with one routine per pass
· Advanced– one run down mat. Five (5) passes with one routine per pass
Double Mini
· Beginner – Straight Jumps, 2 Practice Passes
· Novice – Straight Jumps, 3 Practice Passes
· Intermediate – Straight Jumps, 4 Practice Passes
· Sub-Advanced– Straight Jumps, 4 Practice Passes
· Advanced– Straight Jumps, 4 Practice Passes
Single Mini
· Beginner – Straight Jump, 2 Practice Passes
· Novice – Straight Jump, 3 Practice Passes
· Intermediate – Straight Jump, 4 Practice Passes
· Sub-Advanced – Straight Jump, 4 Practice Passes
Competition
There will be 3 judges at each event. One judge will be standing and the others will be sitting. The one that is standing is the superior judge they will have yellow scores. The two that are sitting are aesthetic judges they will have white scores. They judges may all be sitting. The superior judge will call out your athletes name and pass 1 or 2 as well as saluting to the athlete. Your athlete will salute(raise arm above head) back to them then can begin their pass. Your athlete will then compete their pass. When they land they will salute back to the judges to signify they are done with their pass. If they have more than one pass, they will get back in line to compete again.
Scoring
Each judge will have scores. The yellow number (superior judge) Flashes a score that does difficulty. The more difficult the skills the more extra points the athlete gets. Turns, Front flips, backflips, and etc. will receive more difficulty points than a tuck, straddle or pike jump. The white scores (aesthetics judges) this is the score of the pass. The athlete will get a higher score if their legs are together, knees straight, arms clean, sticking the landing, etc. The scores from all the judges and routines will be combined to for a final score. This is the score that they will get their awards in.
Flights
Depending on the amount of athletes competing in the same age group and level, they might be broken down into flights. There is a maximum amount of athletes that can be in the same group, so there will be flights according the number of athletes. You will be able to see their flights on the table with the program on them.
What is an Age Group and Why Does it Matter?
Even though your athlete may be in class with other athletes of the same level does not mean they will compete against those other gymnasts. Your athlete only competes against the other athletes at their level and age group.
At meets, Athlete of specific levels are separated into groups, so they’re competing against a smaller group of athletes closet to their age. Ages are divided according to AAU Iowa. The age they are at of the meet date is the age group they will be in.
Awards
To many athletes, one of the best parts of a TNT meet is the awards ceremony. After your athlete competes, they will walk down to awards. During the WTTC meet, every athlete will receive an award. 1st-3rd place will receive a trophy and 4th and lower will receive a medal. They will receive these awards in the group that they competed against. If your athlete is competing on more than one event, be aware they might be needed for their next event.