Why comps and meets aren’t so scary!

What a fantastic weekend full of competitions we had here at FCGC. It was so good to see all our gymnasts “big” and “smaller” show off their skills, and be acknowledged for their hard work. If you couldn’t make it down, it was a great turn out! We had many other clubs compete at our venue over Saturday and Sunday. It really helps to build the sense of community within this sport.

We had our Adults Gymstar Open Comp on Saturday, and our 1-4 competition/meet on Sunday.
It was jam packed with hard working gymnasts and fun, exciting routines. Next competition season, try to head down to support our gymnasts, and enjoy the opportunity to watch a great social sport for yourselves!

If you’ve ever thought about entering yourself or a gymnast into a Gymstar Comp, you are already on the right path. 

It can be a daunting thing to think about! 

The most frequent things we hear from our gymnasts are things such as “who’s going to be there?”, “I’ll be embarrassed”, “I’m scared of the judges”, “I’ve never been to that gym before, It’s too scary” and many more.

As valid as these concerns may be, it’s also best to think about why we might be concerned with them in the first place. There just might be a solution to help ease and comfort the gymnast, and get them excited to perform their routines.


Let’s address some of these concerns together!

• Judges are there to help you along your gymnastics journey. They will base your routine on only what you present to them. That is not to say you haven’t performed some amazing routine run throughs in practise, or training. Only what you have demonstrated on that day. Your results can be used as an excellent guideline for what aspects of a routine or skill you could work on, and what you do really well!
• A new venue can be a bit disorienting at first. However you would be surprised just how quickly you can acclimatise to new surroundings. By the time you leave the gym, you won’t even remember that you hadn’t seen it before. Participating at new gyms is also a nice way for you to be introduced to new equipment. You might find you do really well on a different beam, or it’s not so scary to vault in that gym. You never know unless you try!
• Feeling embarrassed is a normal feeling we all have experienced, and it’s something we all can relate too. There is nothing to be embarrassed about competing in a competition. Everybody is there for the same reason. Each participant has arrived to do their best, show off their skills, and be involved in the sport of Gymnastics. As gymnasts, we all have and will experience very similar things. Wether it be forgetting parts of a routine, landing on your bottom, injury or nervousness. We are all in this sport together, and each clap is a very sincere clap of encouragement.
• Who’s going to be there? What do you do if you are the only one of your friends competing, and you feel terrible just thinking about it? Think about who will be there. Yourself! You are about to demonstrate your amazing skills, and you will be able to remember it forever and ever! You can tell your friends about it next time you see them, and tell them how awesome you were! Not to mention you will have fabulously supportive coaches to encourage you through out your entire day. They will be there to guide you through rotations of apparatus, talk to you before and after your event. They will be cheering loudly for you, and be the first ones to hi-5 you when you’re done! 

Remember if you’re feeling nervous and unsure, talk to a coach about it. They will be more than happy to talk to you, and think of ways to help you feel at ease. Our coaches may even be able to introduce you to other gymnasts and coaches who will be there on the day.

Not to mention you can receive awards, medals and lollies on the day!


Have you attended a competition, meet or challenge this season as a gymnast or a participant? How was your experience? Let us know in the comments.


Signing off for now,
Coach Maygan