The USAIGC is a College Bound Competitive Program
The USAIGC fosters an “Optional College Bound Competitive Program”
Our Competitive Program is one component of our organization. Competitively we have made a major directional change for our athletes. We have chosen a different path for the development of our competitive athletes. We have chosen a “College Bound Competitive Program”, a program by our design that will allow our athletes to be prepared for collegiate gymnastics.
To accomplish this, the USAIGC has reorganized are competition programs by re-writing the competition requirements, rules and judging criteria for our five optional levels. We have adopted the NCAA Collegiate Rules for our top competitive levels and have begun building a bridge from our entry optional Bronze level to our top Premier Level.
The heart of the new USAIGC competitive program is the time factor and learning curve in the training of our athletes. Our program is based on athlete longevity; we want to intentionally slow down the learning process of skills to allow the coach and athlete to develop a long term training and skill development program that can span over a number or years. This longevity factor is critical in the USAIGC competitive program. We want our athletes to during their junior high school year. Our competitive goal is to have our athletes prepared to compete in the Collegiate Program.
Athlete benefits from our USAIGC College Bound Program
1. During the athletes early years, our program will allow our gymnasts to spend less time in
the gym training and more time on related and / or non-gymnastics activities. Why
can’t an entry level athlete train for 9 hours or less hours per week? We feel that quality and
not quantity is the most important part of developing gymnasts in their early years of
development.
2. The intentional slowing down of the learning process takes the stress off our gymnasts
and coaches, allowing them to focus on execution and long term skill development
making a better, safer and healthier athlete. This process allows the coach and athlete the
necessary time to work on lead-up skills; develop strength, flexibility, conditioning, and
to continue to perfect execution.
3. The “slowing down process” will have a major impact on reducing injuries because skills
can be mastered at a logical and safe pace. Our program will allow time for learning and success.
4. It is the USAIGC’s intention to maintain our athletes in our competitive program for 10+ years encouraging athletes to stay in our sport longer.
What is the new USAIGC doing for ALL College Bound Athletes?
We are providing a Competitive College Bound Competitive Program on the National level. The corner stone of our competitive program is our College Bound Invitational. In 2002 the USAIGC held the first ever College Bound Invitational. This “event” (not a competition) is for sophomore, junior and senior high school athletes wishing to compete for a Collegiate College / University. The event is an evaluation of the gymnast’s skills, attitude and spirit in front of over 120 Collegiate Coaches from Division 1-2-3 schools. The USAIGC College Bound Invitational is now one of the most important events for high school sophomores, juniors and seniors.
What the USAIGC is not? The USAIGC is not the National Governing Body (NGB) for the
sport of gymnastics; USA Gymnastics is. The NGB (USAG) is responsible in developing elite level athletes for the purpose of choosing the best USA Olympic Teams. The USAIGC supports the USAG and is a voting member in good standing on the USAG Board. The USAIGC is not an Elite program. We do not have to follow the rules created by the FIG (Federation of International Gymnastics), rules that are created for two International Competitions: the World Championships and Olympic Games. The USAIGC creates its own rules to meet our competitive goals and objectives.
USAIGC Competitive Program Goals and Objectives
1. To jointly develop a USAIGC “membership driven” College Bound competitive program.
2. To have a competitive program that uses a “common sense approach” to rule
development along with a “positive scoring system” for the self-esteem and self-worth
of our athletes.
3. A competitive program that is educationally sound, progressively challenging, safe and FUN!
4. A competitive philosophy that believes competitive events is not just about the competition; they are just as much about the total experience for our athletes, their families, coaches and officials.
The new USAIGC is an Independent Gymnastics Club Owners Association!
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