The Level 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and Elite
Programs in
Guidelines for Participating in the State Meet
Competition Age Rules
Qualifying Procedure
Petitions to the State Meet
Foreign Athletes
Coaches Dress Code
Athlete Dress Code
State Meet Information
Entry Forms
Entry Due Dates
Entry Fee
Team Awards
Individual Awards
Senior Awards
Regional Qualifying Procedure
Injury Petitions to Regional
Hosting the State Meet
Bidding on the State
Meet
General
The Bid Process
The Voting Process
Meet Date
Hosting the State
Meet
Due Dates
Meet Site and Equipment
Competition Format
Scoring System
Club Listings
Preliminary Information
Entry Forms
Gate Fees
Awards
Judges Selection
Program
State Chairman Needs at end of Meet
Financial Report
Posting Meet Results
The Level 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Elite Programs
in
Guidelines for Participating in the State Meet
|
Level |
Age Groups |
Team Age Groups |
||||||
|
6 |
8-9 |
10-11 |
12-13 |
14+ |
8-9 |
10-11 |
12-13 |
14+ |
|
7 |
10-11 |
12-13 |
14+ |
|
10-11 |
12-13 |
14+ |
|
|
8 |
13-15 |
16-18 |
|
|
13-15 |
16-18 |
|
|
|
9 |
12-13 |
|
|
|
12-13 |
|
|
|
|
10 |
14-15 |
16-18 |
|
|
14-15 |
16-18 |
|
|
|
Elite |
16+ |
|
|
|
16+ |
|
|
|
Competition Age Group
Rule
A gymnast must compete as of his age on September 1st. He may jump up one year (from his birthdate as of September 1st) if he is going to change levels. A gymnast can not age jump within the same level.
Qualifying Procedure
to State Meet
A gymnast must compete in at least one sanctioned meet prior to the State Meet, in the age group and at the level they desire to compete at the State Meet. Once State is reached there is no changing. The last possible date to qualify is three weeks prior to the State Meet. The State Chairman must approve exceptions to the qualifying procedures.
Petitions to the
State Meet
At this time there are no petitions, injury relate or other, allowed for entrance to the State Meet. A gymnast must have competed once prior to the State Meet in order to qualify.
Foreign Athletes
A foreign athlete may compete in Sanctioned meets,
Coaches Dress Code
Coaches should always be professionally dressed. It is our obligation as professionals to look, act and dress the part. The following dress code will be enforced at State, Regional, and Nationals and is highly recommended for all State sanctioned invitationals. Please help our sport look professional.
Closed toe shoes (no sandals)
Slacks, Warm-up Pants, Hemmed Shorts (no denim)
Collared Shirts
No Hats
Violators will be asked to leave the competition floor.
Athlete Dress Code
All athletes must compete in long solid colored gymnastic pants, socks and or gymnastic shoe, and gymnastic competition jersey on Pommel Horse, Rings, P-Bars and High Bar.
On Floor Exercise and Vault the gymnast may compete in shorts with or without footwear or as he would for the other events. However, if he wears long pants he must have footwear on.
Gymnasts may not compete with body piercings or tongue studs.
Gymnasts may not compete with jewelry to include rings, chains, anklets, decorative wrist bands or watches.
Gymnasts are required to wear a shirt at all times during warm ups and competition.
Gymnasts are required to be in full uniform for awards.
Failure to comply
with the above rules will result in a .2 deduction taken from the gymnasts
score for each occurrence at every event.
State Meet
Information
Preliminary meet information will be available by the GAT
convention and placed on the Region 3 and
Final information will be available 6 weeks prior to the State Meet and will be posted at the Region 3 and State websites to be downloaded by coaches. This information will also be e-mailed or faxed to all coaches and clubs using the e-mail/fax address from the official Texas Club address list. The meet director is not required to mail State Meet information to the clubs.
The final competition schedule will not be available until after all entries have been received (3 weeks before meet).
Entry Forms
All entry forms to the State Meet must be typed and checked by the coach for accuracy. The official State Entry Form listed in the appendices is the only form that can be used. Incomplete entries will be returned to the coach and may incur late fees.
Entry Due Date
All entries must be postmarked 21 days before the State Meet. Entries will not be accepted without correctly completed forms and the entire payment. Late entries will incur a $10 late fee and must be approved by the State Chairman. Teams that fail to pay the late fee will not be eligible for the State Meet.
Entry Fee
State entry fees are set by the USAG National Office and are currently $50 per gymnast. At this time there is no refund policy in effect for injured athletes or extenuating circumstances and will be left up to the State Chairman.
There is no team fee.
Team Awards
Team awards are to be given for each state recognized age group and level where there are at least three full teams.
At least 50% of the teams in each group will receive awards and ties will receive awards.
Team awards are based on the top 3 scores from each event.
At the State Meet, a team will be recognized by meeting all of the following criteria:
a. Geographic workout location
b. Defined by the USAG Club #
c. Team mailing address
d. The majority of the team training is at one geographic training location
Individual Awards
The USAG Men’s National R&P guidelines for awards and tie breaking will be used.
Senior Awards
Special awards will be presented to all graduating high school seniors in the men’s program. The Senior Award Application with instructions can be found in the appendices section. The Senior Award application must be submitted 3 weeks prior to the State Meet. The award will be presented at the Level 10 session of the State Meet.
Regional Qualifiers
All coaches that have athletes that qualify to the Regional Meet must turn in their entries to the State Chairman before the end of the State Meet. Entries must be filled out completely and include the correct payment.
Injury Petition to
Regional
The coach of a petitioning gymnast should first contact their State Chairman. Petition forms can be downloaded from the region 3 website and must be submitted to the State Chair with a physician’s statement and past meet results. The petition is due prior to or at the State Meet. Petitioning athletes are required to pay the regional entry fee and coaches should include these athletes on there Regional entry form with the words “Petition Pending by their name. Gymnasts should show from previous scores the ability to easily beat the Regional qualifying score by at least 2.0 points. The State Chairman will contact the Regional Chairman for final approval. Once approved, the State Chairman will contact the individual coaches with the decision.
Hosting the State Meet
Bidding on the State
Meet
The Texas State Meet is the cornerstone of our program. It is the last State function of the year and a highlight for parents and athletes. We have a long tradition of running great competitions that do not tax the athlete, coach, officials, or parents. It is very important that individuals planning on bidding on this meet have experience in hosting meets and a desire to run the meet at the level we are used to.
General Information
Any individual can bid for the State Meet as long as they are a men’s professional member and safety certified.
The Texas Men’s Program will use the USAG National Rules and Policies for running the meet unless the Texas Men’s Rules and Policies supersede it. Meet Directors and coaches must be knowledgeable in all of these rules and be equipped to handle all requirements.
Meet Directors must follow the Texas State Outline for the
State Meet. The State Chairman will work
closely with the host gym to assure a quality meet. Strict
adherence must be followed or the State Chairman has the choice to re-award the
meet. Additionally, if there is a change
in Meet Director, Host Club, Meet Location, or Meet Date, the State Chairman has
the ability to select a new bid.
There will be no limit on the number of State Meets in a row a club may host; however, the same club may not host both State Meets in the same year.
The Bid Process
The site and date of the State Meet will be decided at the Texas Men’s Summer Business Meeting.
All interested individuals must submit a written bid on or before the summer meeting. In addition, all bids must be completed in full on the official State Meet Bid Form. Incomplete bids will not be accepted.
Two copies of the bid are to be given to the State Chairman prior to the bid presentation, one copy will be posted for all members to review and the other copy will be for the State Chairman’s records.
Each person will be given a set time to present their bid to the coaches at the meeting.
The Voting Process
The vote to decide the host of the State Meet will be done by secret/closed ballot on a form generated by the State Chairman.
The State Chairman or a neutral party appointed by the State Chairman will count the vote.
There will be no proxy/abstinee voting for the State Meet, you must be present to vote.
To vote, a coach must be a USAG professional member with a current safety certification and represent a men’s team that has competed in the past State Meet or is planning on registering athletes and competing in the upcoming year. One vote per club is allowed.
State Games Committee
The State Meet Director will become a member of the Texas
State Games Committee and will be required to attend two state planning
meetings. The first meeting is at the
GAT Convention and the second meeting will be at the Summer Coaches Business
Meeting. They are required to produce
information concerning the progress of the meet and reports and recommendations
for future meets. A financial report
must be made available at the Summer Meeting.
Their tenure will begin and end at the Summer Coaches Business Meeting.
Meet Date
The Level 6-Elite State Meet should be held 2-4 weeks prior to the Regional Meet and must cover at least a 2-day period. If approved the competition may be 3-days. The date for the event is voted on at the Summer Business Meeting. The State Chairman may make changes in the date if there are scheduling conflicts.
State Meet Structure
and Procedures
Information
Preliminary meet information must be available at the GAT
convention and placed on the
The Texas Rules and Policies club address section will be the official mail list for the State Meet. This website section will be updated as new clubs are registered with the State Chairman and can be downloaded for use.
Final meet information must be approved by the State Chairman before it is posted or sent out. The meet information must include the following:
Meet Title, Date, Site, Host, Meet Director with contact numbers, Website or e-mail contacts, Hotel information, Entry fee and who to make checks to, Entry form and rules, Entry form deadline and penalties, Return mailing address, Competition format, Age groups, Team age groups, Equipment, Awards information, Admission cost, Video policy, T-shirt cost, Program Cost, Hospitality information, Coaches and Athletes dress code, Senior Award information, and a very tentative competition schedule. We recommend a separate handout for parents to include information on costs, location, hotels, concessions, t-shirt ordering, program well wishers ads and map.
This information is
due to the State Chairman at least 8 weeks before the State Meet.
The final competition schedule will not be available until all the entries are received.
After approval by the State Chairman, the State Meet
information must be posted at the State website and sent out via e-mails,
faxes, or US mail. This must be posted and sent out 6 weeks prior to the State Meet.
State Meet Entry Form
The only entry form to be used at the State Meet is the official State Meet Entry Form available in the appendices section. All entries must be typed and filled out completely to be valid.
Entry Due Date
All entries must be post marked 21 days before the State
Meet. Entries will not be accepted that
are not typed or on the official State Meet Entry Form. Late entries must be approved by the State
Chairman and will incur a $10 per athlete penalty. Those teams that fail to pay the late fee
will be ineligible to compete at the State Meet.
Competition Format
There are many factors to consider when choosing the competition format for the State Meet. The Meet Director, State Chairman and Executive Committee will help decide the best competition format after evaluating all the options. The following are requirements we have established for the meet:
Each session should not exceed 100 athletes. (72 is recommended)
A separate awards area is preferred.
Six events must be run simultaneously with awards following immediately after.
Each session must have adequate time for stretch, coaches meeting, warm-up, and competition.
The competition day will follow the start and end times prescribed in the National R&P book.
At the coaches meeting the following items must be addressed; march-in procedure, event rotations, team rotation, gym rules, score card procedure, awards ceremony, emergency plans and any other information needed to aid in the running of the meet. The head of officials should also be given time to address the coaches with procedure related to the judges.
Meet Site
The meet site should have adequate seating, parking, floor and ceiling space, and restrooms to safely accommodate spectators, gymnasts, judges and coaches.
There should be a minimum of four times the seating available as there are gymnasts in any one session. (i.e. 72 gymnasts = seating for 288 spectators)
A minimum of one gym is required.
Equipment
The type of equipment and mats used is up to the Meet
Director; however, it must be in safe working order and listed when making the
bid.
The USAG Men’s R&P will be the official document for all mat and equipment specifications.
A minimum of one piece of equipment is required. Two sets of parallel bars are recommended.
Ample matting must be available for mounting, dismounting or raising the event surface.
It is recommended to have a back up plan in case of equipment failure.
Scoring System
A proven, reliable computer scoring program is required.
Scores must be flashed after each routine and all results must be posted after each session.
A back up plan must be available in case of computer, power, or program failure.
State Meet results must be posted on the State and Regional website immediately following the competition.
Pro Score is currently recommended for use at the State Meet.
Medical Trainer and
Emergency Action Plan
The State Meet must have a trainer in attendance for all sessions. In addition, an emergency action plan should be developed in cases of medical or other emergencies.
Entry and Gate Fees
Athlete entry fee: $50
Team fee: None
Gate fee: $6 - Adult, $3 – Child, Child 5 and under free
The price for an all day pass can not exceed the price of a single session.
Awards
Individual awards will be the standard USAG state medal and
will be presented to the top finishers in each event.
All-around awards will also follow the same procedure as the individual awards. The State Chairman has the ability to award more places, however, the final count should be an even recognizable amount.
Awards will be ordered by the State Chairman or State Meet Director from A-1 Awards as soon as the final athlete count is available. The cost of the awards is the responsibility of the meet Director/Host. It is important that extra awards are ordered and all medals are counted prior to the meet.
Team Awards
Team awards are given to all age groups for all levels where there are at least 3 teams.
At least 50% of the teams in each group will be awarded.
The top 3 scores from each event will be used to determine team score.
The team classification rule will be used to identify teams.
There is no team fee charged.
The team awards will be secured and paid for by the meet Director/Host with the quality of awards consistent for all age groups and levels. Awards can be ordered from any vendor.
Senior Awards
The senior award presentation will be held at the Level 10 session of the meet. The State Chairman is responsible for ordering and paying for the award.
Program
A program is required at the State Meet. The program should include meet information, welcome letters from the meet Host and State Chairman; gymnasts score sheets, teams competing, names of officials and any other information useful for the parents and public.
Judges
Judges are chosen as a joint effort between the State Chairman and the State Judging Director. The Texas Gymnastic Judges Association president or liaison will comprise a list of candidates and alternates for the State Meet and forward that list to the State Chairman for approval. The State Chairman and Executive Committee will review the list and make recommendations for selection. Selection for the State Meet must be finalized by February 14th of each year. The TGJA Liaison will contact the selected officials and assign the judges to their events.
To judge the State Meet a candidate must be in good standing with the State, Region and National program. They must be a men’s professional member of the USAG and safety certified. They must be at least Nationally and J.O. certified. They must have judged at least 4 USAG J.O. meets prior to the State Meet.
There is a minimum of one judged per event and it is recommended to have a judging director (not assigned to an event) at the meet.
The Judging Liaison and the Meet Director will coordinate all travel, accommodations, scheduling and payment for the officials.
State Meet Tax
The host of the State Meet is required to pay a $1 per
athlete head tax for each paid entry as is outlined in the Texas Rules and
Policies, Section 1 (Hosting Competitions in
Sims Tax
The host of the State Meet is required to pay a $1 per
athlete head tax for each paid entry as is outlined in the Texas Rules and
Policies, Section 1 (Hosting Competitions in
End of Meet
Procedures
The State Chairman will need the following items immediately following the meet:
1. Copy of all team entries
2. Signed copy of Sanction
3. Two copies of meet program
4. Check for Awards (if ordered by State Chairman)
5. Meet and Team results from all sessions
6. State Tax Check, Sims Tax Check
7. Break down of competitors by level and age
Financial Report
A financial report of the State Meet must be presented to
the State Chairman, Executive Committee and Games Committee at the Summer
Coaches Business Meeting. A report form
is available in the appendices section.