Parent’s Guide to Competitive Gymnastics

Deborah Sevilla, creator of the Dream Believe Achieve Athletic sport-specific journals and scorebooks, has reached out to help parents ease into the world of competitive gymnastics. This helpful guide was created with the help of coaches from different gyms, judges, sports psychologists, and fellow gym parents from around the world.

When Deborahs own daughter entered into the world of competitive gymnastics, she found it exciting, overwhelming, as well as confusing. What is going on, what is normal, and what is expected at the gym, at practice, at meets? Years later as an employee of her daughters gym, the questions she had back then are the same questions she is asked over and over by parents new to gymnastics. While working meets, Deborah also heard the same questions coming from the parents of their gymnasts from other gyms.

Many gyms write and distribute their own policy handbooks to new parents. These handbooks are gym-specific, and offer helpful information regarding tuition, late fees, and practice hours, but fail to explain much of anything else. Parents always wonder whether their gyms policies are the norm or unreasonable. Questions always arise regarding preparation for practices and meets, parental involvement during practices, and proper etiquette at meets.

This guide is loaded with valuable information to answer your questions that are not answered in your gyms policy handbook. You will also find a glossary of gymnastics terms to help decipher gymnast-speak, as well as forms for you to complete with your own gyms information, contacts, and other important information you need to know. All of this is easily accessible and kept together in this guide.