Acro Army How to start an Acrobatic Gymnastics

Acro. Army

How to start an Acrobatic Gymnastics Program um l o , C s es 014 r ng , 2 o C r 12 5 n be o gi em e R pt Se H s O bu

Welcome to Acro! q. A whole new world full of opportunity awaits you!

Why we love ACRO! Nadine D. - Age 5 'Because I like it and my mom made me do it' Madison B. - Age 8 'I am challenged and I like moves and trios or pairs and love the coaches and the kids' Maddie M. - Age 9 'I love acro because it makes you strong and healthy and fun!' Grace J. - Age 11 'I love acro because all of the people are amazing. I love competing with everybody' Mariena P. - Age 11 'I do acro because I feel unique compared to other sports and it keeps me healthy' Danielle B. - Age 12 'It makes me feel like I'm awesome and I am just so addicted to it' Naomi D. - Age 12 'I love acro because I get to know more people and I get to be apart of a team. My favorite part of acro is the routines! : )' Makayla M. - Age 12 'I love doing acro because. . . -I'm addicted to it -I'm competitive -It's fun' Savannah S. - Age 16 'I do acro because I love it so much I'm addicted. I like how it makes me push myself, I like being a part of a team. '

Agenda q What is Acro? q The History of Acro q USA Acro History q What do you need to start? q Benefits for your gym q Benefits for your athletes q Benefits for Coaches and Judges q Pair/Group Definitions q Exercise Definitions q Age Groups q Levels q Typical Training Hours q Typical Season q Additional Information

What is Acro? q. Acro is the combination of: q. Artistic Gymnastics q. Pairs Figure Skating q. Cirque du Soleil Acrobatics q. Acro is: q. Exciting q. Beautiful q. Creative q. Graceful q. Fun q. Developmental q. Partnership q. Performance q. Strength q. Flexibility

Acro is… A combination of: q Elements of difficulty q Partner Skills q Gymnastics Skills q Choreography q Dance q Synchronization q Musical Interpretation q Performance … which highlights the athletes’ strength, flexibility, agility and cooperative effort. Five events: q Women’s Pair q Mixed Pair q Women’s Group q Men’s Group

The History of Acro q Acro is one of the oldest sports disciplines q Dates back thousands of years q Archaeological evidence in the form of drawings and statues many centuries BC in Egypt and Persia q By the end of the 18 th century, Acro was flourishing in Europe q Within the last 80 years… q Formal competitive Acro began in the Soviet Union in the 1930’s q Acro began in the United States in the 1970’s and has grown across the country q Acro can be found in over 30 countries around the world q Until 2002 Acro had it’s own governing body but merged with USA Gymnastics and we are still growing!

USA Acro History q 2004 World Championships – MPGold Medal q 2004 World Age Group Games – WG Silver Medal & MP Silver Medal q 2006 World Championships – MP Bronze Medal q 2006 World Cup – MP Silver Medal q 2006 Int’l Age Group Competition – WG Silver Medal q 2007 World Cup Finals – WG Bronze Medal & MP Bronze Medal q 2008 World Championships – MP Silver Medal q 2008 Int’l Age Group Competition – WP Silver Medal q 2008 World Cup – MP Gold Medal q 2010 World Championships – MP Gold Medal q 2012 World Championships were held in the USA for the 1 st time! q 2014 World Championships – MP Bronze Medal q 2014 Acro. Army takes America’s Got Talent by storm!

What do you need to start?

Benefits for your gym q Adds an additional program to your gym – quickly and inexpensively! q Provides unique advertising and marketing opportunities q Creates new excitement q Attracts new athletes q Retains your current athletes q Provides more choice for your students q Offers more competitive outlets q Captures additional revenue

Benefits for the athletes q Gymnasts can do acro in addition to current disciplines q No weight or size consideration for athletes q All body types are needed q Less risk of injury q Partners assist athletes to safe landings q Fewer age limitations which leads to a wider window of opportunity to accomplish goals q Opportunity to experience high level International and World competitions q Encourages artistic expression by combining the love of gymnastics with the love of dance q Helps athletes build life skills – working in pairs or groups – and builds lifelong friendships.

Benefits for Coaches & Judges q q q Opportunity to become involved in a new discipline Learning curve is not a great because of similarities to artistic gymnastics Educational opportunities to advance quickly and professionally Opportunity to participate in National Competitions Opportunity to experience high level International and World Competitions

Pair/Group Definitions q q q Women’s Pair – 2 Mixed Pair – 2 Women’s Group – 3 Men’s Group - 4

Exercise Definitions q Balance Exercise q Static elements, pyramids, and lifts q Showcases strength and flexibility q Individual elements show flexibility, strength, and agility q Dynamic Exercise q Partner throws and pitches q Involves catches, re-catches, and dismounts q Lots of flight and motion q Individual elements show tumbling and leaps q Combined Exercise q Balance elements q Dynamic elements q Demonstrates athletes versatility

Age Groups q. Junior Olympic Program (J. O. ) q 11 & Under q 12 – 13 q 14 – 15 q 16 & Up q. Junior Elite q. Senior Elite q. Minimum age is 13 q. There is a maximum age differential of 15 years

Levels - J. O. Program q Levels 1 – 4 q Pre-competition, learning levels q Level 5 q One combined compulsory routine q Choreography must be attempted – artistry is not scored q Can be mastered by athletes with no previous experience q Level 6 q One combined routine with compulsory elements q Choreography is required q Artistry is not scored q Level 7 q One combined routine with compulsory elements q Choreography is required q Artistry is scored

Levels - J. O. Program – Con’t q Level 8 q 1 Balance Routine with compulsory elements q 1 Dynamic Routine with compulsory elements q Level 9 q 1 Balance Routine with compulsory elements q 1 Dynamic Routine with compulsory elements q First level for additional optional elements q Level 10 q 1 Balance Routine q 1 Dynamic Routine q First level for which athletes must qualify q First level for complete skill choices q Junior and Senior Elite complete Balance, Dynamic, and Combined routines

Typical Training Hours & Staffing q q q Level 1 – 4 Level 5 – 7 Level 8 – 9 Level 10 Elite 2 – 4 hours per week 4 – 8 hours per week 8 – 12 hours per week 10 – 15 hours per week 12 - ? Hours per week q At our gym we practice 4 hours per week up through levels 7 and Levels 8 & 9 practice 6 – 9 hours per week. Our pre-team practices 2 hours a week. q Coach to Athlete Ratio: 1 coach to 3 - 4 pair/groups

Typical Season q August – Tryouts q Determined by evaluating athletes as to individual ability, sportsmanship, etc. q Pairing and grouping of athletes is based on size, age, sex, ability, level of commitment of the athlete and parents. q Parent, coach and athlete meetings q Proposed level and partnering of athletes is determined by the coaching staff. q September –Music Selection q October – November q Conditioning and individual skill development q Work on basic skills for proposed level q Choreograph routines

Season – Con’t q December - February q Continue training elements/skills for routine q Refine choreography q Run full routines q February – April q Host mock meet in gym q Compete local meets q Continue to refine choreography q May q Compete in State Championships q Compete in Regional Championships q June – National Championships

Getting started q Coaches – you have coaches in your gym who probably want to be a team coach but you don’t need one in your existing programs – use them! q Athletes – Look at your instructional artistic classes - you have kids who would be thrilled to be asked to be on a team but are too old to go to your J. O. artistic program – ask them! Talk to athletes who are stuck in your J. O. artistic program – Acro gives them another option! q Look at your cheer program athletes – their season is winding down as Acro’s is winding up – they can do both! q Start an Instructional Acro Class – ask for a four month commitment – get them a leo – teach them a group routine – look for opportunities for them to perform! Community events like Cheer for a Cure are perfect for this. Get them hooked on acro before you ask them to join the team! q Instead of conditioning at the end of your instructional classes have your coaches teach basic acro moves – kids love this! Make it fun and challenging!

Resources Acro Coach PDFs by level https: //usagym. org/pages/acro/video/index. html Acro Coach Video Youtube Search for Acro Coach Video – videos by level can be found J. O. Program https: //usagym. org/pages/acro/events/program_events. html Code of Points https: //usagym. org/pages/acro/pages/jo_codeofpoints. html Rules & Policies https: //usagym. org/pages/acro/pages/rules_policies. html Pre-team Information & Handbook https: //usagym. org/pages/acro/pages/overview_preteam. html q How to start an Acro Team Booklet – on the USA Gym website go to Member Services, Member Club Only – scroll down towards the bottom of the page q Pair/Group and National Event Registration (Must get pair/group number before you can compete. Register your athletes with USA Gym first. ) http: //www 3. usa-gymnastics. org/ireg/login. php q Online Tariff Sheet http: //www. acrousa. com/ (there are videos here to show you how to enter your skills before a meet) q Regional Judges Clinics – TBA q Acro Blocks http: //www. acroblocks. com q Federation of International Gymnastics www. fig-gymnastics. com q q q

Region 5 Meet Schedule Region V Clinic January 3, 2015 Hand 2 Hand Gymnastics Hand 2 Hand Invitational February 21, 2015 Hand 2 Hand Gymnastics March Madness March 8, 2015 SSYMCA, Sidney OH Master's School of Gymnastics Invitational March 21, 2015 Galletin, TN YMCA Invitational April 19, 2015 Darke County YMCA OR SSYMCA OHIO State Meet May 2, 2015 TBA Region V Championships May 16, 2015 Hand 2 Hand Gymnastics National Championships June 22 - 28 Location TBA

Region 5 Acro Committee q Regional Administrative Chair – Diane Trifiro office@hand 2 handgym. com 937. 743. 1466 q Regional Technical Chair – Carisa Laughon gearycm@yahoo. com q Regional JO Chair – Jessica Taylor jtaylor@sidney-ymca. org q Regional Judges Chair – Angie Layne aerialsthletics@yahoo. com

Mentor Gyms q Hand 2 Hand Gymnastics – Springboro OHIO Diane Trifiro office@hand 2 handgym. com 937. 743. 1466 David Trifiro david@hand 2 handgym. com 937. 743. 1466 q Aerial’s Athletics – Wilmington OHIO Angie Layne aerialsthletics@yahoo. com 937. 403. 7067