Gym Cat
2013-2014
Updated January 2016
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Gymnastics Saskatchewan has adopted the USA Gymnastics Women’s Artistic Junior Olympic (JO) Compulsory Levels 1 &
2 to use for our Pre-Competitive Program. The levels will be known as Junior Olympic Level 1 and Junior Olympic Level 2
and will be classified as Pre-Competitive programming in our Province.
The USA Gymnastics Women’s Artistic Junior Olympic Compulsory Program manual can be purchased through
Gymnastics Saskatchewan. An ‘App’ is also available for purchase and download at:
https://usagym.org/pages/home/store/index.html (Women’s J.O. Compulsory App). These resources will have all the
information regarding routines on each apparatus for Levels 1-5, pictures with descriptions, deductions for each skill,
conditioning and flexibility exercises and the App has video footage of each routine. The compulsory music may also be
downloaded from ITunes.
ELIGIBILITY
CLUBS
A participating club must be registered with Gymnastics Saskatchewan as a Pre-competitive or Competitive Club to be
eligible to take part in a JO Level 1 & 2 meet. They must also have at least one coach who has attended a JO Level 1 & 2
clinic prior to attending any Pre-Competitive WAG Events. Clinics will be offered throughout the province and can be
requested by contacting Gymnastics Saskatchewan. Coaches must only take this clinic one time.
ATHLETES
Any athlete registered in a program with Gymnastics Saskatchewan is encouraged to participate in other disciplines.
Athletes must be registered with Gymnastics Saskatchewan as Pre-Competitive athletes to be eligible to take part in JO 1
& 2 meets. Athletes may register in other gymnastics disciplines at a different level. The athlete is not required to pay
more than one Gym Sask registration fee. Only the highest fee must be paid to Gymnastics Saskatchewan as the
athletes’ membership registration. Recreational gymnasts are eligible to transfer to JO 1 & 2 at any time, provided the
additional fee to Pre-Competitive status is submitted.
LEVELS and AGE CATEGORIES
For the 2015-2016 Season:
JO Level 1 – born 2009 & earlier
JO Level 2 – born 2009 & earlier
Athletes in JO 1 & 2 should train 1 to 3 times a week, 1 to 3 hours per class and NOT more than 6 hours per week.
JO Level 1 & 2 athletes are able to compete in FAST Cat or Rhythm Cat events at any time, as long as they haven’t been
registered in the Provincial Stream.
* Refer to the Gymnastics Canada Long Term Athlete Development Model for more detailed recommendations.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
SKILLS
The routines must be performed in the order indicated by the USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic Compulsory Program.
WARM-UP
As per Gym Sask Provincial 1 procedures: see Women’s Technical Regulations for details.
General Warm-up: 15 minutes, not allowed to use apparatus
Vault: 15 seconds each or 2 vaults each: Athletes grouped up to 8 in a group. Maximum 2 minutes
Bars: 45 seconds each: First 3 athlete warm-up, 1st athlete compete, 4th athlete warm-up, 2nd compete, 5th
warm-up…
Beam: 45 seconds each: First 3 athletes warm-up, 1st athlete compete, 4th athlete warm-up, 2nd compete, 5th
warm-up…
Floor: 90 sec for the group: Athletes grouped up to a maximum of 7 in a group
TIMING
No timing on Vault and Bars. Beam time requirements are as follows: 30 sec for Level 1 and 35 sec for Level 2. Floor
routines may not exceed 35 sec for Level 1 and 45 sec for Level 2.
FLOOR MUSIC
Music is mandatory for both Levels.
EQUIPMENT
Additional Mats (all Levels):
Vault
Additional 10 cm
allowed for landing on
back
Bars
Beam
Mandatory 20 cm safety mat
under the bar unless gymnast
is too tall, then 10 cm allowed
under the bar. Be sure the
mat is blocked so it does not
slide on the dismount.
Additional 20 cm or 10 cm
safety mats side by side
under the beam is allowed
Floor
10 cm allowed in
corner for landings
Box or beat board is allowed
for mount
Apparatus Heights:
Level
Vault
1
Two 20 cm mats (16”)
2
Two 20 cm mats (16”)
Low Bar
170 cm to the floor (height
is measured from the upper
edge of the rail)
170 cm to the floor (height
is measured from the upper
edge of the rail)
Beam
90 cm
Floor
One strip of floor
90 cm or 110 cm
One strip of floor
or diagonal on
the floor
COACHING
Coaches must be Gymnastics Foundations Artistic Certified or Level 1 Artistic Certified to coach JO Levels 1 & 2. Level 2
Women’s Artistic Technical (now called Competition-Introduction WAG) is strongly recommended for all coaches who
wish to coach at this level. In addition, each coach must have completed the Gymnastics Saskatchewan’s online Respect
in Sport course.
A coach can stand beside the apparatus at all times, but if he/she spots or touches the athlete during the element up to
the value of the element plus 0.50 will be deducted from the score. If a coach touches the athlete to assist on the
landing only a 0.50 deduction will be taken.
There is no deduction for a coach reminding a gymnast what skill is next.
SCORING
No flashing of scores
Results are handed out to coaches at the end of the meet for JO Levels 1 & 2. Results should not be posted at the
event or on the club website. Each coach can decide to share the results with parents and athletes as/if they see fit.
At the end of the event the club organizers must forward the results to Gymnastics Saskatchewan a minimum of one
week after the event.
JO Levels 1 & 2 will be judged as described in the USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic Compulsory Program with the
following omissions:
 Page 160 – Omit the 0.20 deduction for a coach/teammate giving assistance with verbal cues. We will allow
the coach to remind the gymnast what comes next in the routine.
 We will not be taking ‘text’ errors this year. (Page 157 – Up to 0.40 Incorrect position of head, arms, legs or
feet) Deduction in general – not each time – according to small, medium and large errors.) This means
incorrect as according to what is described in the ‘text’ (manual) – example “both arms forward-upward to
crown.”
Scoring:
All routines are scored out of 10.0
Maximum score = 10.0
Minimum score = 4.0
JUDGING REQUIREMENTS
 No previous gymnastics experience is required but participants must be at least 15 years old by January 1, 2016.
 A current or retired Provincial 3 gymnast (or higher) who is at least 14 years old by January 1, 2016 may register.
 All judges must attend a Gymnastics Saskatchewan JO Level 1 & 2 judging course (Day 1 of the JO 1-5 course) to
learn how to judge the Junior Olympic Compulsory Program.
 Judges who intend to judge at Gym Cat meets must be registered members with Gym Sask and must pay the
applicable fee ($53 for Pre-Competitive judge, $83 for Provincial or National judge).
 There must be a minimum of 2 judges per event on each judging panel
 Judging honoraria is as per Gym Sask Technical Regulations.
 Clubs are required to send a minimum of 1 judge for every 6 athletes registered in the competition.
 A penalty fee of $50 per athlete will be charged by the host club when minimum judging requirements are not
met.
AWARDS
All Around medals are awarded to each participant (Gold, Silver and Bronze) based on their personal score. Athlete
placings are determined using the following system:
ALL AROUND
Gold
Silver
Bronze
36.000 or higher
33.200-35.999
33.199 or lower
Clubs may distribute their own medals or can purchase medals from Gym Sask through e-mail or over the phone.
Clubs can also purchase participation ribbons (red, blue and white). Ribbons for each event are distributed according to
the following scores:
VAULT, BARS, BEAM & FLOOR
st
Red (1 )
Blue (2nd)
White (3rd)
9.000 or higher
8.300-8.999
8.299 or below
Tabulators at each event will have an envelope with a certificate for each athlete in the rotation. When the athlete’s
score is done being calculated the tabulator will place a ribbon in the envelope with the athletes certificate based on the
range of scores above. The athlete’s envelope will travel from event to event with rotation so when the competition is
done the ribbons are already sorted and just need to be attached to athlete’s certificate. The ribbons should be labeled
with a sticker on the back (Vault, Bars, Beam or Floor) so the athlete knows which event they received each ribbon from.
A participant certificate template is provided at the end of this document.
The order that athletes are called up to receive their all-around awards should be mixed up so less emphasis is placed on
ranking. No podium should be used when presenting athletes with all around medals. The announcer should announce
the age group and then call up the athletes by club and in random order and have them stand side by side. Envelopes
with certificates and ribbons attached should be given to coaches to distribute to their athletes before they leave the
building.
CONGRATULATIONS
ON YOUR ACHIEVEMENT AT THE
_____________________________
Date ________________________