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| Competitions My waffle about (personal experience of) Organised Chaos (competitions) I won't lie to you. Trampolining competitions can be nerve-wracking for some people! Luckily, I’ve never been one of those people. I’ve seen all too many people do a move wrong and burst into tears because of it. (The judges stop marking if you do a move wrong, land on the crash mats, et cetera et cetera). Take this one girl who was in a competition I went to. It was a regional competition (as are all the Grade Six to Three comps, which I am still going to- I’m in Grade Four at the mo) and this girl (I name no names- that’s because I don’t even know her name but…) did the first move wrong. It was a back somersault and she fell over on the landing, and burst out crying. Anyway, I’ll stop waffling (famous words, which will, doubtlessly, be ignored by my gobbledygook brain) and get to the point! My attitude to competitions is as such: I went to a competition, having only just learnt back somersaults a few weeks previously, and I landed most of them at that point, but they weren’t the prettiest by far. My coach had told me I could put a summy in my voluntary routine if I wanted to, and only if I didn’t mind if it went wrong…I told him I would do a back somersault, and if it went wrong, so be it, at least I’d tried (it didn’t go wrong though, and I did well in that comp). Of course, you want to do well in competitions, but it really really really really isn’t the end of the world if you do badly (in a rare moment of seriousness, I would like to stress that last point- IT ISN’T THE END OF THE WORLD). If you fall over or do it wrong, just aim to do better next time! And remember, it’s supposed to be FUN! Slight nervousness IS expected! So don’t worry! The first competition you do is probably the most nerve-wracking, as you don’t know what to expect. My aim is to try and tell you exactly what goes on, so you have some idea about what will happen and what to expect!!! So….down to the nitty-gritty! The nitty-gritty Competitions are either regional (e.g. Yorkshire and Midlands competitions) or national. Grading competitions (where trampolinists perform in order to qualify for the next grade) are run at a regional level for Grades 6-3 and at a national level for Grades One and Two. At competitions, trampolinists must perform two different routines. The first is a set, or compulsory routine, which is created by the trampoline-boss peeps and is specific to your age group and grade (level). To see these routines, you can view my Routines page. The second routine is called your voluntary routine and is made up for you by your coach, and aims to show off the best you can do! It can be of any difficultly (tariff)- you are awarded points for the difficulty, but most competitions have a tariff limit, which are detailed on my Tariff page. Both of the routines are 10 moves long. All competitions have the same structural base: • General warm-up of set routine • Controlled warm-up of set routine • Performance of set routine • General warm-up of vol routine • Controlled warm-up of vol routine • Performance of vol routine General warm-up- each performer usually gets around two of these (although occasionally you get more!). At this point, everyone who will be competing will be stood around the trampoline, waiting for their turn! Controlled warm-up- you get another, final, warm up 5 turns before you compete for real (so, after your controlled warm-up, 5 more competitions take place before you compete, each with warm-ups in between!) When its your turn to compete, you hop onto the trampoline and sit down (don’t worry, this bit will become more clear when you actually attend a comp!). What you are doing is waiting for the Superior Judge (the guy who tells you to start performing) to come across! Most people tend to sit, but a few times, the guy is already waiting to tell me to start before I’ve even got on! (But, then again, maybe it’s just me who’s slow!) Anyway, you have to wait because the judges may still be sorting out the scores for the performer who went before you! A panel of judges mark each routine. There are 6 judges altogether- 5 form judges and 1 tariff judge. The form judges look at each move in turn and mark on how well it is performed. The tariff judge marks on the complexity of the routine and checks that the routine is actually performed correctly. The form judges mark each move you do out of 1; with deductions for each incorrect thing you do (travel etc.). The final score is out of 10 (that is if you complete the full routine, otherwise it is out of how many moves you complete…if you only manage 4 moves and then fall over, it will be out of 4!). After you’ve done your set routine performance, the judges (after a lot of humming and ahh’ing) will hold up your scores- there are 5 in total, and the highest and lowest scores are ignored. The remaining three are added together, and give you your set routine score! For your voluntary routine, there is also a sixth score held up by the tariff judge- this is your tariff score. All the scores are added together to give you your final result, and in some competitions there may be a final competition, where the vol is repeated, for the crème de la crème! Here’s a typical layout of a competition: The trampolines are arranged in pairs (for synchro routines- where two trampolinists perform the same routine at the same time, in time with each other) If you look closely, you can see the judging panel below the GB flags (which for some reason, are sideways…). This is a national competition (don’t ask which one!) that was held at Ponds Forge International Leisure Centre in Sheffield Remember, although it is a competition, the only person you’re competing against is yourself, so aim to do the best you possibly can. If you do your best and are happy with your performance, then you did well! And, oh yeah, GOOD LUCK!!! FAQ’s How do I get involved in a competition? Firstly, you must get involved in a trampoline club/squad…contact local ones for information on how join! See my club database for a few starters. What should I wear? The formal attire is a leotard for girls, and a leotard and whites for boys, with white socks, or trampoline shoes, for both. See the pictures below to get a general idea: Many clubs have their own leotards which all the trampolinists wear, and some clubs allow members to wear any leotard they like. However, in regional competitions, the rules are more relaxed, and boys may wear white shorts and t-shirt. Enough questions for now!!! Got any more? Ask me at sam_bounze@yahoo.com!!! |
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