The Gymnastics Guide

Helping gymnasts and coaches to be their best every day!

Weekly GymNews 4/3/2020


It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve written one of these news posts. It didn’t really make sense to me to write about gymnastics news when no competitions were happening and the only news was about cancellations. To be honest, it was all just a little depressing. But this week I realized that things […]

Monday Motivation: Why Athletes Should Develop Grit


“Being a gymnast means always striving to do things you think you cannot do.” -Aly Raisman   I recently read this quote and felt it was a great quote for gymnasts. In fact, it applies not only to gymnastics, but to other sports, and to life in general. “Always striving” made me think of grit, […]

5 Fun Ways to Do Gymnastics at Home

5 Fun Ways to Do Gymnastics at Home


Going stir crazy because you aren’t in the gym? Social distancing can be tough on everyone, especially gymnasts who really want to practice. So what’s a gym family to do? Well, they need to find some fun ways to incorporate gymnastics at home! Here are a few ideas to get you started.  Conditioning Ok, maybe […]

Weekly GymNews: March 11, 2020


NCAA Gymnastics News: Long Island University is adding a gymnastics team for the 2020-2021 season! NCAA rankings for the week: 3/9/2020. It’s pretty tight at the top, with the season nearing its end! NCAA updates from last weekend’s meets: Collegiate recap from USA Gymnastics’ site Live blogs from The Balance Beam Situation: Friday, Saturday, and […]

Making Sense of Composition – Level 10 Beam


What skills make up a great Level 10 beam routine? At Level 10, the requirements are much more rigorous than other levels. Judges have deductions available, called composition deductions, to reward gymnasts who perform higher level skills. In 2018, those deductions became a LOT more specific… and a lot more confusing. Modeled after the collegiate […]

Weekly GymNews – March 4, 2020


NCAA Gymnastics News: NCAA rankings for the week: 3/2/2020. Oklahoma is still #1 – who made the rest of the list? NCAA updates from last weekend’s meets: Collegiate recap from USA Gymnastics’ site Live blogs from The Balance Beam Situation: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Elite Gymnastics News: The Melbourne World Cup was held with the […]

Making Sense of Composition – Level 9 Beam


This post has been updated to reflect the 2022-2026 Code of Points. What skills does a Level 9 gymnast need for an exceptional beam routine? She will need a combination of strong acro skills, dance skills, and a big dismount. Judges have deductions available, called composition deductions, to separate gymnasts of different skill levels, within […]

Making Sense of Composition – Level 8 Beam


This article has been updated to reflect the 2022-2026 Code of Points. What are the ingredients for a great Level 8 beam routine? Gymnasts need a combination of strong acro skills, dance skills, and a big dismount. Judges have deductions available, called compositional deductions, to separate gymnasts of different skill levels. In 2018, those deductions […]

What’s New in 2019-2020


The optional season is officially in full swing, so I thought this would be a good time to review some of the changes and updates for this season. There are several changes to the Level 6/7 vault deductions, along with  updates in several other areas. General: Video review is now allowed for spotting deductions and […]