"Hold up. What IS Level 4? Is it like World of Warcraft?"

Nay, Virginia, it's a whole different world.

The USA Gymnastics Women's Junior Olympic system ranges from Level 1 to Level 10, followed by Elite.

• Levels 1-6 are compulsory; USAG choreographs the routines, and they are performed identically throughout the country. For example, a Level 5 in Arizona does the same floor routine with the same music as a Level 5 in Vermont. As you can imagine, these competitions are quite riveting.
• Levels 7-Elite are optional. As long as a gymnast meets specific requirements in her routines, she's free to choreograph and use skills as she wishes.
• Some states allow gymnasts to begin competing at Level 3. At many gyms, gymnasts begin competing at Level 4 or 5.
• Gymnasts cannot skip levels. They must compete in at least one meet per level and attain the minimum mobility score (these vary by state) to move to the next level.
• Levels 5 through 7 have a state championship. Entry to these competitions is based on achieving a minimum all-around score. Level 8's can qualify to the regional championship from states, Level 9's and 10's can qualify to national competitions, and Elites, well, they can take on the world. These are the girls you see on T.V.

USA men's gymnastics uses the same level system.

In recent years, an alternative competitive system has been implemented - USAIGC (Independent Gymnastics Clubs). That will be the subject of a future post!

"Wait one second. I turn on the T.V. and see girls scoring 16's. What happened to the 10.0?"

The 10.0 is still used for the levels below Elite. 10.0 = PERFECTION! While 10.0's are handed out like candy at NCAA gymnastics competitions, they're much, much rarer in other competitions.

Elite now uses an open-ended scoring system, in which a.) the execution score (out of a maximum 10.0) and b.) the difficulty score (unlimited) are added together.

Congratulations! You now know more than the average parent bringing his/her child to gymnastics!