This is the big one. It's at the Junior Olympic Nationals that level 10 gymnasts from all across the United States compete. It's one of the biggest competitions in most gymnasts careers. Every competition earlier in the season from state to regionals has build up to this one competition.
Nationals is the highest level for JO. This is the very top for most gymnasts. Gymnasts at this level have been training for years at this point. They typically train about 20 hours per week, 5-6 days per week. A good chunk of their time has been dedicated to the gym and training to get to this competition.
Nationals is always exciting to watch. It's not every day you get to see the very best go head to head for national titles. These titles are a big deal in the gymnastics community. They can open up many doors for gymnasts seeking a spot on a colligate team.
Collegiate coaches from all over the United States watch the weekend-long competition in order to scout out gymnasts to recruit. Top D1 schools such as UCLA, Oklahoma, and LSU watch closely for potential gymnasts to add to their powerhouse teams. Being some of the top-rated schools in the nation for collegiate gymnastics, they recruit the best gymnasts. Scoring big and claiming a title at nationals can put a gymnast in the spotlight for a D1 school. This is part of the reason why a performance at nationals must be close to perfection.
If there's any time to peak the time would be at nationals. National scores are very tight. They're some of the tightest scores I've seen besides collegiate gymnastics. For a state title, a 9.3 can typically put you on the podium. At Nationals, a gymnast typically needs at least a 9.5 to even be on the podium. For gymnasts that are older, mainly in the 16+ age range, they need a 9.65 to be on the podium. To make this concept easier to understand, think about a runner shaving 15 seconds off their best time. While it's certainly possible to shave off 15 seconds, it's definitely not easy.
Check out these scores!
1st and 2nd places are separated by a mere 0.025 (this is the difference between a slightly pointed toe and an all the way pointed toe). Fun fact, Sierra Brooks and Andrea Li are both Illinois gymnasts from the Chicago land area. Here's Sierra's amazing vault:
One of the reasons why I feel knowledgable on Nationals despite not attending myself is because I had a teammate qualify. JerQuavia, "Q", Henderson was my teammate when I competed at Gym Corner in Washington. It was so cool to hear her how her nationals experience was. Q was a standout vaulter and will be competing at the University of Iowa. She's a super supportive teammate and a hard worker. She really showed me what it was like for a gymnast to earn their place on a collegiate team. I'm pumped to see what she has for college after seeing how well she competed in Nationals this year.
Nationals will always be a tough competition that opens up many doors for gymnasts. But, there's one level higher: Elite.