To: All Current GRGA Intermediate II Gymnasts

To: All current GRGA Intermediate II gymnasts

Re: New offering - Advanced Pre-team class

GRGA will now be offering a new “Advanced Pre-team” class which will be open to any Intermediate II class member.

Intermediate II is the last of our recreational program levels. The next step after Intermediate II is for gymnasts to move into one of our two competitive team tracks, Xcel Bronze or Level 3 Pre-team.

Effective Monday, October 2nd, we will be adding a class from 6:45-8:00 p.m. that will be aimed at bridging the gap between our recreational track program and competitive team track program. Gymnasts who are interested in adding this class must concurrently participate in at least one day of Intermediate II while attending the advanced pre-team class. Gymnasts may continue to attend two days of Intermediate II while participating in advanced pre-team if they would like.

The goals of Advanced Pre-team are:

1. To give gymnasts the opportunity to experience the feel of a longer/more intensive team practice.
2. Increase time spent on the strength and conditioning that is necessary to acquire the skills and requirements needed at the introductory team levels.
3. Identify gymnasts who may have a desire to compete in the future.
4. Provide additional gym time to gymnasts with an interest in competing.
5. Provide an opportunity to move towards competitive gymnastics without making a long term or full season commitment.
6. To assist coaches and families in determining which competitive program may be the best fit for your child.

We have space for eight gymnasts in this class. Jessie Ylitalo, our Head Xcel program coach, will be the instructor. Registration will be taken on a first come-first serve basis. We will start a wait list if we have more interest than space in the class.

Please reply via e-mail if you would like to register. Additional cost to current tuition is:

$40.00 if adding advanced pre-team as 2nd practiceday/week

$25.00 if adding advanced pre-team as 3rd practice day/week

GRGA offers two different competitive avenues. The Xcel program and Junior Olympic program are both affiliated with USA Gymnastics – the national governing board for gymnastics in the United States.

The Xcel program provides competitive opportunities for gymnasts and families who may desire less of a time and financial commitment. It is also the more flexible of the two programs in terms of ability level. Xcel is great for gymnasts who may want a more relaxed practice structure or prefer the opportunity to do their own routines vs. the structured preset routines that are choreographed for the entry levels of the JO system. It is also ideal for gymnasts who may have gotten a later start into gymnastics or gymnasts who may struggle with certain events, strength, flexibility or fear. Gymnasts who participate in our Xcel program are also often involved in other extracurricular activities or sports in addition to gymnastics.

The JO level system is a more intense program that follows very specific guidelines, progressions and requirements through USAG. JO requires a higher number of hours in the gym that increases with each level. It is ideal for gymnasts who are naturally strong enough and flexible enough to be successful with the required elements at each level. It is also the most commonly regarded path toward gymnastics at the collegiate level.

Please don’t hesitate to e-mail me with any questions. If you would like to register you can reply to this e-mail.

Sincerely,

Andrea