Before The Meet: Helping your Gymnast Get Ready and Driving to the Meet

From Competition Tips From One Parent to Another

What we have learned in the past competition/meets, could be considered helpful hints to refer to during your first year as a competitive gymnast's parent. You will be amazed at how fast this list will grow. Good luck to you and your daughter during this exciting first competitive year!

TRY NOT to show how nervous and upset you may be to your child. She will pick up on this and it may affect how she performs.

DO NOT coach your child on the way to a meet. It is best to have your daughter focus on having a good time and doing her best. She is already nervous enough and will probably forget what you say - let alone what her coach has told her. Don't overload her with anything extra.

Get up the morning of hate meet with PLENTY of time to do what you need to do. There's nothing worse than trying to rush a nervous gymnast and watching her fall apart over something stupid.

Make sure to lay out ALL the clothes (leo, warm up, scrunchie, etc.) that you'll need the NIGHT BEFORE. This way you'll know if you need to do a quick wash load, etc.

Depending on how long the ride is to the meet, you may want your gymnast to change out of her competitive leo and bring her warm up on a hanger. Have her wear a warm pair of pants and a sweatshirt over her leo and CHANGE IN THE CAR as you get closer to the gym. It saves on major wrinkles while they fall asleep on the way there. DO NOT walk into the competition gym with street cloths on. Once you get to the gym you are representing a TEAM and should be dressed in a full proper uniform. Remember to zip up you warm up ALL THE WAY - especially for march-in and the awards ceremony.

Hair..this is tough one. Some prefer the hair up in a bun, and some girl's hair won't stay in a bun no matter what you do. The best bet is to do some sort of ponytail if a bun is not for your gymnast. It is best to keep the ponytail short or it flops around and is a distraction. DO plan on using plenty of hair "goop" and hair spray in your gymnasts' hair, and BRING IT WITH YOU for those last minute touch-ups. DO BRING EXTRA CLIPS AND ELASTICS just in case they're needed. Of course, if you're bringing all this extra hair stuff, don't forget the comb and brush too. The safest rule is to bring it and not need it, rather than need it and not have it. That would be just one more thing to upset your gymnast.

Lots of girls end up sleeping to and from these meets, so bring a pillow and blanket for her in the car - she'll be grateful!!!

Many girls bring a good luck charm with them in their gym bag - this could be anything from a small stuffed animal to a rabbit's foot - whatever makes her happy!

You may want to think of how to label your child's gym bag. Some may have their name embroidered on, some may attach a special key chain to identify it. When all the girls put their bags down in a pile and go back after the event, many times there is mild chaos when someone has the wrong bag. Make it identifiable to YOUR child.