Elite competitions are the ultimate level. This is the highest level possible level you can be at in gymnastics. Most gymnasts training at the elite level are training for the Olympics. Their entire lives are dedicated to the gym. Elite level gymnasts will spend up to 32 hours training per week. Those still in high school typically do school work at the gym and is considered their "break" from training physically.
Elite competitions are usually the ones that you see on T.V (besides collegiate gymnastics). These gymnasts have been working for years to perform at this level. These gymnasts also are unique in the sense that not only do they compete nationally, but globally. International competitions at this level can be frequent. At international competitions, gymnasts from across the world will come to compete.
Chances are you can name a couple of elite level gymnasts. Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, and Shawn Johnson are a few that are most recognizable. These now house hold names worked their whole lives doing the sport they love. They all have left a lasting impression on the gymnastics world.
It's quite obvious that I have never competed in an elite competition. I have, however, attended an elite level competition. Seeing these competitions from the T.V and from the stands is a totally different experience. The way these gymnasts soar through the air should seem humanly impossible. Also from attending the competitions, it makes the gymnasts more real in a way. The skills that they are throwing are incredibly hard; these gymnasts make it look easy, however.
In my last blog, we talked about being a team as a key aspect in gymnatics. This is even more prevalent in the elite world. These girls come together to compete as Team USA. The elite level gymnasts will compete against each other for spots in international competitions to represent Team USA. Some of the competitions they attend consist of Worlds and the Olympics.
JO competitions can be highly competitive; elite is a whole new world. These gymnasts are quite literally some of the very best in the world. The elite world is so highly competitive that they have a modified version of scoring compared to JO. Instead of scoring purely on performance, scores are also affected by the amount of difficulty. That's why Olympic gymnasts are throwing a ton of insanely big skills. It's all to build up the difficulty level. Elites still have a 10.0 scale for performance, but afterward, their difficulty scores are added on to whatever their score was out of 10.0. Most difficulty scores are around 5-7 points while performance skills need to be in the 8 range.
