Wildcard Gymnastics Team News

Sorry, this was supposed to have posted earlier this week but apparently it never went through.

Level 3s will practice this Friday, October 2 from 4:30 – 8:30 p.m.  (The kids can stay for Open Gym since the meet isn’t first thing in the morning.)  Please note, they will not practice on Saturday, October 3 since they will be competing this weekend.

Level 2s will still practice this Saturday but the time will be moved to 9-11 a.m. as the coaches will need to attend the meet.

Halloween Leotards

 (not mandatory but totally cool for the Wild Wild West Meet!)

Dear Team Parents and Gymnasts,

We need to move extremely quickly on this!  For our Wild Wild West Competition, we thought it would be really cool to have a Halloween themed leotard.  I was able to get them at a pretty decent price so we are looking at $32.00 a piece!!!!   I absolutely need your order by Thursday night at 8:30 p.m.  No EXCEPTIONS.   You do not have to choose to order the leotard, but it will look really awesome on all of our team kids that whole weekend!

Please indicate below, your payment method and your child’s street clothes size.  I will size accordingly using Destira’s measurements.  Gold Bugs, Fast Track and Excel are all included in this order.

Purple w/ Cat             Orange Pumpkin         (Candy Corn – not an option)

Black Skeleton             Grey Spider

——————————-DUE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1st  —————————–

Gymnast’s Name  ________________________________         

Street clothing size  ____________

Payment $32.00 :   Circle one

Cash                  Check  # _________________    

Charge my account on file (must have card on file)

Credit Card Number_________________________________________
***** Leotard Choice   ________________________________________

PS – Be sure to “friend” Wildcard Gymnastics on Facebook as well as Amy Baehr Grining for other updates!   HURRY and get your orders in.  You are welcome to order for siblings too!

2015 Wild Wild West Classic
October 23-25 2015
Wildcard Gymnastics
3545 N. 127 | MAP | 51.19 mi., 59 min.

FRIDAY, OCT. 23

GIRLS’ LEVEL 2 – Jillian, Payton, Grace, Lily D., Alanna, McKayla, Keagan, Marcella, Mahogany
Arrive – 5:45 p.m.
Stretch – 6 p.m.
Meet Begins — 6:45 p.m.
Awards — 7:45 p.m.

SATURDAY, OCT. 24

GIRLS’ LEVEL 6 – Emily G., Nadia, Ella, Aaliyah, Norah, Ryann
GIRLS’ LEVEL 7 – Ava C., Bradyn, Delaney, Lilly Ja., Elie, Jordan M., Camille, Eden
GIRLS’ LEVEL 8 – Rose, Ava G., Glenna
GIRLS’ OPEN – Crystal
GIRLS’ XCEL GOLD – Madeline, Kelsey, Alivia, Maggie, Anna, Kamryn, Jenna Wi., Maeggan, Stephanie
GIRLS’ XCEL PLATINUM — Hattie, Miley
GIRLS’ XCEL DIAMOND — Anastasia
Arrive – 7:45 a.m.
Stretch – 8 a.m.
Meet Begins — 8:40 a.m.
Awards — 11:20 a.m.

GIRLS’ XCEL BRONZE – Hayden, Brill, Leslie, Naomi, KaMiya, Megan, Paige, Elizabeth
GIRLS’ XCEL SILVER – River, Angel, Natalia, Skyler, Amanda, Mya, Jenna Wh.
Arrive – 11:30 a.m.
Stretch – 11:45 a.m.
Meet Begins — 1 p.m.
Awards — 2 p.m.

GIRLS’ LEVEL 4 – Aniyah, Damaiyah, Amani
Arrive – 6:05 p.m.
Stretch – 6:20 p.m.
Meet Begins — 7:30 p.m.
Awards — 9:10 p.m.

SUNDAY, OCT. 25

GIRLS’ LEVEL 4 – Vanesa, Taylor T., Mariyah, Kaylie, Angela, Sarah, Essence, Taylor W.
Arrive – 7:45 a.m.
Stretch – 8 a.m.
Meet Begins — 9:10 a.m.
Awards — 11:15 a.m.

GIRLS’ LEVEL 3 – Caelyr, Emily C., Claire, Ruth, Sadie, Lilly Jo.
Arrive – 11:30 a.m.
Stretch – 11:45 a.m.
Meet Begins — 12:45 p.m.
Awards — 2:20 p.m.

GIRLS’ LEVEL 3 – Emma, Jordan S., Olivia, Kayla, Siena, Jordyn H.
Arrive – 2:25 p.m.
Stretch – 2:40 p.m.
Meet Begins — 3:35 p.m.
Awards — 5:20 p.m.

GIRLS’ LEVEL 3 – Korynne, Rhianna, Jennifer, Neave, Kendra
Arrive – 5:25 p.m.
Stretch – 5:40 p.m.
Meet Begins — 6:35 p.m.
Awards — 8 p.m.

COMPETING TEAMS – AMKM, Altius, Carousel, GymTastics, Gymlingo, Infinite, LaFleur’s, M&M, Madtown Twisters, Oshkosh, Starz, Swiss Turners, WCGC, West Side, Wind Lake

NOTES – Please note that this is a very large meet (probably the largest compulsory meet of the season for the year other than state). We will need lots of help (with set-up, tear down and meet administration) and donations for concessions. The donations and volunteer lists should be up by the end of the week.

Confidence is key in being a successful athlete.  This week our focus for the upcoming meet is not only being confident, but being able to give the appearance of being confident.  This assignment introduces 5 ways to build confidence.  Please have your gymnast complete this assignment as soon as possible, so she/he can begin working on these ideas in practice.

Click Showing Confidence for a .pdf of the assignment.

CHILI’N — This is just a reminder that Wildcard will be performing at Chili’N on the Avenue on North Avenue today at 3:30-4:30 p.m.  The kids area is between 67th & 68th Street.  There will be lots of chili to taste and enjoy as well as other activities.  Team gymnasts should be wearing exhibition leotards or the Wildcard tank top.  Boys should have a Wildcard T-shirt.  The performance will be relatively quick giving you lots of time to enjoy the festivities.  Please arrive on time.  We’ll see you there! (All Saturday practices will still run as scheduled.)

FUNDRAISER — Please remember that all fund-raising orders are due on Oct. 8.

SUCCESS WALL — Success wall additions from the Racine Homecoming Invitational are:

Level 3
Jordyn H. — 9.100 on bars, 9.075 on floor
Kayla B. — 9.500 on vault (1st)

Level 4
Essence B. — 1st on vault
Sarah S. — 9.025 on floor
Taylor T. — 9.025 on beam

CSA Fall Challenge
October 10, 2015
Williams Center, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
800 W. Main St., Whitewater | MAP | 51.19 mi., 59 min.

PARENT MEETING — There will be an important parent meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 21 at Wildcard Gymnastics. Team parents and gymnasts are welcome to attend. It should be brief. If we are done with the meeting prior to the regularly scheduled end of practice, gymnasts will have the opportunity to continue with practice. Thank you in advance for your attendance.

Swiss Cup
October 3-4, 2015
Swiss Turners
2214 S. 116th St., West Allis | MAP | 7.64 mi., 11 min.

FIRST MEET OF THE SEASON & PRACTICE CHANGES —Hooray! This weekend is the first meet of the compulsory season. Please be sure that gymnasts are coming and staying for their entire practice this week.  We would like to have the Level 3s come to practice Friday night from 4:30 -8:30 p.m. in order to get them practice before the meet.  Also, please note, we ask that Level 3 & 4s do not stay for open gym so that they can be rested and ready for the competition.

As a reminder, here is the schedule for the first meet of the season.

In order to have the Level 3s come in and due to some staffing issues for Friday and Saturday, the Optional gymnasts (Level 6-9) will have Friday night off. They are welcome to come to open gym at 8:30 p.m. Additionally, there will be no Xcel Gold on Saturday this week. We will offer a makeup practice soon.

CHILI FEST — On Saturday, Sept. 26, Wildcard Gymnastics will be performing at 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. at ChiliFest in Wauwatosa. Chili Fest will be along 65-68th Streets & North Avenue. The Family area, where we will be performing will be on the West end.  We’d like Level 2-9 Girls’, Xcel Gold, and Boys’ teams to attend. This will be our last show of the season!

MENTAL TRAINING HOMEWORK — Since the meet season is upon us, we will once again be posting mental training homework for all of the team gymnasts to complete. We will discuss the topic during the week and we expect that the gymnasts to do the assignment at home.  Mental training is very important in gymnastics and it reinforces important ideas and behaviors that the gymnasts can rely upon in competition.

This week’s assignment is “Creating a Gymnastics Vision Board”.  A vision board is an amazing way to direct thoughts, desires and goals.  Please encourage your gymnast to take the time to think about his/her vision board and create something to be proud of.

Click  here for a pdf of this week’s assignment.

PRE-SEASON MEET — We want to thank everyone for being at the team picture and pre-season meet. In Level 2, 3 and 4 we had perfect attendance! That’s the first time ever that everyone from those levels attended the pre-season meet. In all, only 11 gymnasts weren’t at the team photo, by far and away our best turnout. Thank you to everyone who was in attendance!

MEET FEES — Thank you to everyone who has paid their compulsory level meet fees. The final installment was run on Aug. 30 for those who hadn’t already paid. If your charge didn’t go through, you should have received an e-mail stating as such, so please pay those promptly.

Boys’, Girls’ Optional and Xcel have meet fees due starting in September, payable in four installments.

The following are the meet fees and installments and updated schedules as there have been some changes (due to conflicts and meet fee costs):

Xcel (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum & Diamond)
$100 (Installments of $100 due Sept. 30, Oct. 30, Nov. 30, Jan. 15)
Oct. 24-25 — Wild Wild West Classic (Brookfield, Serves as Mock Meet)
Dec. 12-13 — Clash of the Titans (Oshkosh)
Jan. 9-10 — M&M Challenge (West Allis)
Jan. 29-31 — Altius Pink Ribbon (Franklin … includes leotard)
Feb. 20-21 — Wildcard Cruise Classic (Brookfield)
March 12-13 — State Championships (Waukesha)

Girls’ Level 6, 7, 8/9
$875 (Installments of $220 due Sept. 30, Oct. 30, Nov. 30, Jan. 15)
Oct. 24-25 — Wild Wild West Classic (Brookfield, Serves as Mock Meet)
Dec. 12-13 — Clash of the Titans (Oshkosh)
Jan. 1-3 — Cancun Classic (Cancun, Mexico)
Jan. 9-10 — M&M Challenge (West Allis)
Jan. 29-31 — Altius Pink Ribbon Invitational (Franklin … includes leotard)
Feb. 20-21 — Wildcard Cruise Classic (Brookfield, AAU)
March 5-6 — Mississippi River Vacation Classic (Dubuque, Iowa)
March 19-20 — State Championships (Madison)

Boys’ Level 4
$480 (Installments of $120 due Sept. 30, Oct. 30, Nov. 30, Jan. 15)
Oct. 24-25 — Sheboygan YMCA (Sheboygan, Serves as Mock Meet)
Dec. 5 — Judges Invitational (Racine)
Jan. 9-10 — M&M Challenge (West Allis)
Jan. 17-18 — Strongman Invitational (Altius)
Feb. 5-7 — Sheboygan YMCA (Sheboygan)
Feb. 27-28 — Scamps Invitational (Kenosha)
March 19-20 — State Championships (Madison)

Boys’ Level 5/8
$720 (Installments of $180 due Sept. 30, Oct. 30, Nov. 30, Jan. 15)
Oct. 24-25 — Sheboygan YMCA (Sheboygan, Serves as Mock Meet)
Jan. 9-10 — M&M Challenge (West Allis)
Jan. 16-17 — Strongman Invitational (Altius)
Jan. 29-31 — Iceburg Open (Minneapolis)
Feb. 12-14 — Midwest Twisters Invitational (Milwaukee)
Feb. 27-28 — Scamps Invitational (Kenosha)
March 4-6 — Salto National Invitational (West Allis)
March 19-20 — State Championships (Madison)

Note that regionals is not included for any boys’, girls’ or Xcel level.

COMPETITION SEASON REMINDERS — This is the transcript of the information that was given out over the PA system after last Friday’s mock meet.

At the Meet: Be on time. Early is always better (however, for the benefit of meet organizers, try not to show up any earlier than 7:30 a.m. for an 8 a.m. session)! Have hair and make up already done (there are bows available for purchase in the front lobby). Be prepared with a bag for warm-ups, shoes, closed water bottles, & grips, etc.

Please remember that parents should be cheering for all Wildcard team members. Please have appropriate conversations in the stands. Speak positively about judges, coaches, other teams, and members of own team. (You never know who is listening!)

At a competition, parents and gymnasts are representing Wildcard so please be respectful and be a role model.

Sit with other Wildcard families and dress in team colors. You don’t have to wear Wildcard apparel, but let’s have some purple power!

Please understand that gymnasts are not allowed to go to their parents during the meet. Parents may not enter the competition area for any reason.

Gymnasts need to be cheering for their teammates and watching the competition. It’s okay to have a little fun with your teammates but remember that everyone has a different way to focus during a meet. While some kids might need to release a little nervous energy, others need a little quiet time to prepare.

After the Meet / At Awards: Never approach the judges!

Please stay for everyone’s awards.

Please don’t correct the PA announcer if your child’s name is mispronounced. The announcer is doing his/her best and are often volunteers. It can be very nerve wracking to try to read all of the awards while having people yell at you. So to keep the awards moving, please just accept the occasional mispronunciation. We do our best to let the announcers know how to pronounce each gymnast’s name ahead of time.

Remember that our competition is against gymnasts from other clubs, not with our own teammates. So if one of Wildcard’s gymnasts takes 1^st and another takes 2^nd, be happy for both gymnasts’ accomplishments and not be mad that your kid didn’t take first. In an ideal world, 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd would be populated by Wildcard kids.

If possible, please stay for someone’s session if she is by herself. Next time, it could be your child by herself at a meet. It’s nice to know teammates are there cheering. Also, it is very unlikely that teammates not competing will be allowed on the gym floor with competing teammates, but the lone individual will know that she is supported (and we will make certain of it).

Remember find something positive to say your child and leave corrections to the coaches. Your job as a parent is to be supportive and champion their accomplishments. Make them feel special no matter what!

Other Important Points: Please know that we try to get everyone’s scores on Facebook almost immediately. There will be mistakes. Sometimes we read a score wrong. Sometimes we add wrong. We are trying to do this quickly. Also, we try to get the more accurate scores on the blog/website and success wall right away. Most of the time we are doing this late at night after a long weekend of competition, often without official results from the host club. Sometimes we make a mistake or accidentally forget someone. It’s not intentional or a big deal. We always acknowledge them during our Monday meet debrief.

If you have questions or concerns, please consider the “24 hour rule” with both your gymnast and coaches. Sometimes 24 hours gives you time to find out the answer, calm down, or think of a better way to approach a difficult situation. We don’t adhere to a strict 24 hour rule, but understand that the coaches are parents too. The coaches want to have time to talk to their kids as parents as well.

If possible, out of courtesy please give advance notice if you aren’t attending a meet. Also, please understand that there are no refunds for missed meets. (Severe injury is an exception.)

Please note: It is a team rule that you must attend your scheduled practice before the day of a competition. This is to be certain that your child is mentally prepared, focused, and physically ready. We have the right to not allow your child to compete.

Please do not expect your child to be on the medal stand if they aren’t coming to their specific level’s practices. Missed practices are definitely reflected in the scores or performances.

It is imperative that your gymnast attend her correct practice in order to be properly prepared. As we mentioned on the blog, with close to 100 kids on team, we don’t have the ability to accommodate makeups for every kid who misses (every gymnast missed at least one practice this summer).

We do not get meet schedules usually until 2 weeks in advance. Please do not call the host gym or ask our coaches if they know when your child competes. We post the schedule the minute that we have it. Also, we can not change the day your child competes, the session, or the award divisions. That is all determined by the meet director.

State Qualifying Scores:

Level 2 – No qualifying score (must compete in two meets)
Level 3 – 33.0
Level 4 – 32.0

WARM-UPS FOR XCEL — Xcel gymnasts should place their order for warm-up jackets by the end of September. Warm-ups are $95 for the jacket only. Xcel only needs to purchase the jacket. Pants are optional for the Xcel gymnasts. On the order form, there is no size information. We will size the gymnasts.

Xcel bronze, silver and gold should purchase the compulsory warm-ups. Xcel platinum and diamond should purchase the optional warm-ups.

Also, if your Xcel gymnast has not purchased a leotard or ordered one, please do that by the end of September as well.

Visit this site to place your order if you have not already:
wildcardgymnastics.tictail.com

PASTA FUNDRAISER — By now most of the team gymnasts have received their pasta fundraiser envelope.  We are once again partnering with Fun Pasta to raise money for new equipment at Wildcard.  Please understand that unlike other gymnastics clubs, Wildcard does not have a Booster Club, we do not charge you extra for coaching fees at meet, we do not assess an annual registration fee, and we go out of our way to try to keep your tuition costs low.  Fundraising is a way to bring in extra money to be able to replace worn out equipment, send coaches to training, offer additional practice times in the summer, etc.  Please help support Wildcard by participating in the fundraiser.

These items make fantastic gifts items for the holidays.  We do expect that everyone is participating in the fundraiser in some way.  If you prefer to just make a donation, you are welcome to do so for $150.  Brochure Pasta orders are due to Wildcard by October 8th and we expect them to be delivered by October 15th. If you have friends or family place an online order, those will be shipped almost immediately at the time of order.  While we don’t receive as much of a profit from the online orders, it is a convenient way to reach out-of-state family.

Here’s the link to the online pasta orders.  https://www.funpastafundraising.com/shop/wildcard-gymnastics-1

PRACTICE TIMES — We are having a huge issue with kids coming late (or not coming at all) to their scheduled practice times, particularly in the Optional groups. This is making it really difficult to manage group sizes as we don’t know how many kids will be showing up late.  (For example, one night we combined two groups because at the start of practice there were only 7 total kids.  By the end of the night 5 more had trickled in. Now we have a group of 12 that could have been split and gotten more individual attention.)  We want to continue to allow the gymnasts the opportunity to participate in school activities but we need them to arrive promptly so that the groups can be coached appropriately. Please remember that the practice times are designed to benefit the gymnasts.  If you are missing practice, it’s hard to get prepared for competition season.  If you are taking full advantage of the practice hours we provide, the competitive season will yield success.