To: Men’s Coaching and Judging Community
From: Dennis McIntyre, Men’s Program Director
I would like to congratulate all of you on a successful season of junior men’s competitive gymnastics in the United States. The 2006 Junior Olympic National Championships was a great testament to the outstanding job that our coaches are doing across the country with the development of our athletes. The meet, as always, was an exciting one featuring many truly outstanding performances in every session of competition.
Although we saw a successful season, this past year has been a difficult one in many respects as we worked to address changes in the new FIG Code of Points. As a country, we resisted and spoke against many of the changes that were subsequently adopted by the FIG for the current Code of Points. This new code has altered many of the concepts that most of us, as coaches and judges, grew up with and are accustomed to. The nature of the changes, our objections to many of the concepts and the way in which the FIG went about the implementation process has made the transition process especially difficult.
The Age Group Competition Committee (AGCC) was tasked with addressing these changes in the most positive way possible for our country. Based on the timing of the information from the FIG Men’s Technical Committee and the frequent changes in basic information that our AGCC received, I believe they did an outstanding job of trying to incorporate the concepts, rules and new judging procedures into the junior program. The goal here was to address the changes, move forward with transition and review the optional program rules at the end of the season.
The time has come for that review of the optional age group rules. The AGCC is now soliciting constructive feedback, suggestions and ideas from the junior coaches and judges. The window of opportunity to submit your suggestions to the AGCC will be fairly short in order for the committee to work in a timely manner and be able to submit any recommended rule changes to the JOPC by the end of June. Please send your suggestions to AGCC Chairman Gil Elsass at Gilgym@aol.com and please copy me on your submission at dmcin@usa-gymnastics.org. To be most effective, you should take the time to fully explain the rationale for your suggestions and consider all of the ramifications that rule changes have on athletes, coaches, judges and meet directors. Please email your suggestions no later than June 1 for consideration.
The U.S. Junior Olympic Age Group Competition Program has always been a difficult mix of long term development and short term rewards. Our program has always had to walk the thin line of being able to develop our future National Team members and Olympians effectively while encouraging the participation of athletes of all skill levels. Our success to date has only been accomplished through innovative thinking and ideas which have come from many different sources within the men’s community. I encourage you to put everything on the table and look at the entire program, from the very top to the very bottom, as you consider the ramifications of any suggested changes.
The Junior Olympic Program Committee voted at its last meeting to implement the deductions of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3, as well as no longer limiting element groups to four skills; however, the JOPC also stated that they could change this stance if more viable suggestions were presented. So, again please do not limit your thinking as you consider positive revisions to the junior program that will ideally be in effect through 2008. I believe that you should consider everything including the JOPC changes, new areas of junior program bonus or skill exceptions and even consider how using the new FIG additive scoring system that goes beyond 10.0 might work for the junior program.
Thank you in advance for your time and efforts with respect to the junior age group program.
Dennis McIntyre
Men's Program Director
317-829-5634 office
317-490-4256 cell
317-237-5069 fax