Wildcard Gymnastics Team News

Not May 30 as it may have been stated earlier.

Sorry for the duplicate posts. We left some important information out of this week’s post.

SATURDAY & MONDAY PRACTICE — There will be no practice for any level (Boys’, Girls’, Xcel or Tumbling & Trampoline) this Saturday, May 23 or Monday, May 25, due to Memorial Day weekend. Please plan on participating in the Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 25 in Elm Grove.  Also, there is no Friday Night Open Gym this week.

WARM-UPS — The following orders and payments are due by June 20:
Warm-Up Jacket ($95)
Warm-Up Pants ($70)
Warm-Up Capris ($60)
Tank Tops ($45)

Gymnasts in Fast Track and gymnasts who plan on competing Girls’ Levels 2, 3, 4 and 5 must purchase the jacket and pants. These gymnasts may purchase the capris and tank top, but do not need to.

Gymnasts who plan on competing in Girls’ Levels 6, 7, 8, and 9 must purchase the jacket and capris. These gymnasts may purchase the pants, but do not need to. (The tank top will be billed to your account and run on the card on file if you haven’t already paid for it).

Gymnasts who plan on competing in Xcel (bronze, silver, gold or platinum) must purchase the jacket. These gymnasts may purchase the capris, pants and tank top, but do not need to. (These gymnasts may wear plain black pants or capris for warm-ups).

Parents are also welcome to purchase any of these items.  The jacket and pants or capris will be personalized. Please let us know what your personalization preference is (you may also choose to not have it personalized if multiple gymnast plan on wearing the items).

Boys’ will be purchasing a sweatshirt (and girls and parents may purchase as well), but we do not have the design or cost for that yet.

MEET FEES INSTALLMENTS — Girls in Levels 2, 3, 4 and those who are competing Level 5 in order to qualify to Level 6 will have meet fees due starting June 30. There will be three installments of meet fees, due once each month. These meet fees include membership in USA Gymnastics and AAU, all the regular season meets and the state championship meet. Any meets after the state championship meet are not included in this set of meet fees. There will be no refunds for meets that you can not make (with the exception of injury).

Please pay the meet fees for the level you anticipate your child competing. We will have our tryout late summer to verify your child’s level.

Please note, that the state board approved an increase for meet fees in the regular season and for state, so the meet fees will be an increase from previous seasons.

GIRLS’ LEVEL 2 (four meets and state)
Aug. 25 at Preseason Meet (Brookfield)
Oct. 10-11 at CSA Kids (at UW-Whitewater)
Oct. 24-25 at Wildcard (Brookfield)
Nov. 14-15 at M&M (New Berlin)
Nov. 21-22 at Salto (Waukesha)
Dec. 12-13 at Level 2 State (Site TBD)

Fees: $225 ($75 per installment due June 30, July 30, Aug. 30)

GIRLS’ LEVEL 3 & 4 (seven meets and state)
Aug. 25 at Preseason Meet (Brookfield)
Sept. 19-20 at Racine (Racine)
Oct. 3-4 at Swiss Turners (West Allis)
Oct. 10-11 at CSA Kids (at UW-Whitewater)
Oct. 24-25 at Starz (Green Bay)
Nov. 7-8 at GymHawks (Whitewater)
Nov. 14-15 at M&M (New Berlin)
Nov. 21-22 at Salto (Waukesha)
Dec. 5-6 at Level 3-5 State (Site TBD)

Level 3 Fees: $450 ($150 per installment due June 30, July 30, Aug. 30)
Level 4 Fees: $480 ($160 per installment due June 30, July 30, Aug. 30)

GIRLS’ LEVEL 5 (two meets maximum prior to moving up to Level 6)
Aug. 25 at Preseason Meet (Brookfield)
Oct. 3-4 at Swiss Turners (West Allis)
Oct. 24-25 at Wildcard (Brookfield)

Level 5 Fees: $150 ($50 per installment due June 30, July 30, Aug 30). This level will pay Level 6 meet fees as well with $70 of the Level 5 fees credited toward USAG and AAU memberships. Should gymnasts in Level 5 only need one meet to move out, they will compete the Wildcard meet as Level 6s in AAU.

BANQUET RSVPs — RSVPs for the banquet have only been trickling in. At this point we only have 13 gymnasts and families attending the banquet. You must let us know if you will be attending (also please let us know if you will not be attending). We can not just assume people are coming and we’ll run out of space like we did last year.

MEMORIAL DAY PARADE — Wildcard Gymnastics will be participating in the Elm Grove Memorial Day parade on Monday, May 25. Gymnasts on any level of team (Boys’, Girls’, Xcel or Tumbling & Trampoline), Fast Track or Gold Bugs are invited to participate. Parents or siblings may participate in the parade, but must be wearing a Wildcard T-Shirt. We will not have any t-shirts at the start of the parade.  Parents and siblings are also not allowed to march with strollers during the parade. (There is a special pre-parade for strollers, wagons and bikes which are festively decorated.)

The parade begins at 10:30 a.m. Gymnasts need to report to Elm Grove Village Park (13600 Juneau Blvd.) by 9:30 a.m. The drop off is located at the footbridge on Legion Drive (there will be a DROP OFF HERE sign). The parade concludes at the corner of Wall Street and Elm Street at The Grove Shopping Center (Sendiks Food Market).

Gymnasts should come prepared wearing a Patriotic or former Fourth of July leotard or our current exhibition leotard. If your child does not have any of these leotards, a Wildcard Gymnastics t-shirt is sufficient. Gymnasts should wear athletic shoes and socks (no sandals) and should wear stretch gloves for tumbling. Also, please bring water (preferably half of a squeeze bottle that has been frozen).

If we have inclement weather, which is likely, we will allow gymnasts to march in their warm-ups and if it is wet, we will likely not tumble.

NEW PRACTICE TIMES START TODAY — Please remember that our new practice times start today. There have been some changes in the practice schedule and we’re trying to balance out and even out our groups. Once again, here is the new practice schedule:

Girls’ Level 2: MON 4:30-6:30 p.m., WED 4:30-6:30 p.m., THU 4:30-7:30 p.m. (7 hrs)
Girls’ Level 3: TUE 4:30-7:30 p.m., THU 4:30-7:30 p.m., SAT 9 a.m.-noon (9 hrs)
Girls’ Level 4: MON 4:30-7:30 p.m., WED 4:30-7:30 p.m., FRI 4:30-8:30 p.m. (10 hrs)
Girls’ Level 6: MON, TUE, WED, FRI 4:30-8:30 p.m. (16 hrs)
Girls’ Level 7: MON, TUE, THU, FRI 4:30-8:30 p.m. (16 hrs)
Girls’ Level 9: TUE, WED, THU, FRI 4:30-8:30 p.m. (16 hrs)
Girls’ Fast Track: TUE 6:30-8:30 p.m., THU 6:30-8:30 p.m. (4 hrs)
Girls’ Xcel Bronze: THU 4:30-6:30 p.m. (2 hrs)
Girls’ Xcel Silver: THU 4:30-6:30 p.m. (2 hrs)
Girls’ Xcel Gold: WED 6-8:30 p.m., SAT 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. (5 hrs)
Girls’ TOPs: MON 4-5:30 p.m., SAT 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (3.5 hrs)
Girls’ MiniTOPs: TUE 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (2 hrs)

Boys’ Level 4: TUE 4:30-6:30 p.m., THU 4:30-6:30 p.m. (4 hrs)
Boys’ Level 5: MON 4:30-7:45 p.m., WED 4:30-7:45 p.m.; SAT 9:15 a.m.-11:45 p.m. (10 hrs)
Boys’ Level 8: MON 4:30-7:45 p.m., WED 4:30-7:45 p.m.; SAT 9:15 a.m.-11:45 p.m. (10 hrs)

T&T: FRI 4:30-5:45 p.m. or SAT 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. (1.25 hours)

BANQUET RSVPs — We have had a very minimum of RSVPs for the banquet on Sunday, May 31. Please make your plans to attend our annual year end celebration. Gymnasts are $10 and other guests are $20. Please RSVP by May 20 to gymnastics@wildcard-gymnastics.com or at the front desk with a count and how to you will pay. Gymnasts and families will be given tickets for the event.

Water park tickets are an additional $17 per person. Gymnasts are not free for the water park. You do not need to purchase water park tickets to participate in the banquet. Adults wishing to enter the water park but not swim are $5 per person. You are responsible for your child at the water park. The water park is open from 2-6 p.m. for our guests.

AAU NATIONALS PARTICIPANTS — We are looking to have a team dinner at Buca di Beppo or Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas (both cater to teams), probably Thursday night. Please let us know of a preference and we’ll start collecting pre-orders. Buca is a family-style Italian meal. Planet Hollywood is a typical American restaurant, but its group meals run $19 per person and up, even for children. Parents are responsible for paying for their own children.

KAROLYI’S CAMP PARTICIPANTS — For those gymnasts participating in Karolyi’s camp who got their forms in the mail, please return final payment directly to the camp itself. Also, please add the $80 for transportation to and from the airport. Our flight information is as follows:

Inbound: July 6, Spirit Flight 595, Chicago O’Hare to Houston Bush Intercontinental
Departs 9:15 a.m., arrives 11:55 a.m.

Return: July 11, Spirit Flight 500, Houston Bush Intercontinental to Chicago O’Hare
Departs 6:39 p.m., arrives 9:15 p.m.

SUCCESS WALL ADDITION — We have our final success wall addition for the 2015 season. At the 2015 Region 4 Tumbling & Trampoline Championships held over the weekend in downtown Milwaukee, Wildcard had its first-ever regional champion. West F. won the Level 6 boys’ 8-under tumbling with a nationals-qualifying score of 51.8.

West also had a fantastic first-pass in Double Mini, scoring the highest score of any level 5 participant regardless of age or gender, scoring 9.8, 9.8 and 9.7 (out of 10) from the three judges. He finished fifth in Double Mini and was third in Level 5 trampoline as well.

2015 AAU Age Group National Championships
June 11-14, 2015
Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino
3000 Paradise Rd., Las Vegas, Nev. | MAP | 1,792.2 mi., 27 hours, 38 min.

BANQUET IS MAY 31 — The Wildcard Gymnastics’ team banquet will be held Sunday, May 31 at the Country Springs in Pewaukee at noon instead of Sunday, June 21. We apologize for the switch, but we didn’t realize it was Father’s Day and there are very limited weekends in which we will be able to do the banquet.

The specifics are the same. Gymnasts are $10 and other guests are $20. Please RSVP by May 20 to gymnastics@wildcard-gymnastics.com with a count and how to you will pay. Gymnasts and families will be given tickets for the event.

Also, please be aware that we have a strict two-hour time limit this year as there is an event following ours.

Water park tickets are an additional $17 per person. Gymnasts are not free for the water park. You do not need to purchase water park tickets to participate in the banquet. Adults wishing to enter the water park but not swim are $5 per person. You are responsible for your child at the water park. The water park is open from 2-6 p.m. for our guests.

Gymnasts and their families who are currently on our competitive team and competed two meets (in Girls’ Level 2-8, Boys’ Level 4 or 8, Girls’ Xcel Silver or Gold, or on Tumbling & Trampoline) since September are invited and those gymnasts are eligible for awards. Gymnasts who are on the team but haven’t competed (Girls’ Fast Track, Girls’ Xcel Bronze and Silver, Boys’ Level 4 and Tumbling & Trampoline) are also invited, but will not be eligible for awards.

SIBLINGS AND OTHER NON-PARTICIPANTS DURING CLASSES — We are having an increasingly large number of non-participants, specifically siblings and other family members, on equipment and running through the gym during class times. We must remind you that all non-participants must be in the playroom supervised by an adult or in the spectator seating area supervised by an adult. We can not have non-particpants on the equipment in either the front or the back gym during classes (or before or after classes for that matter) or running through the lobby, dance room or party room at any time.

After your child’s class or practice, we must ask that you keep your children off equipment and out of the lobby areas and dance room as well. Once their practice time is done, they are no longer participating in classes and need to be off the floor and equipment supervised by an adult. This has recently come to a bigger concern as we have had some of our gymnasts personal property misplaced by some of our non-participants. We appreciate your understanding in this matter as safety is our main concern.

TEAM BANQUET — Wildcard Gymnastics will have its team banquet on Sunday, May 31 at noon at the Grand Ballroom in the Country Springs in Pewaukee. This is an all-team banquet and is for members of our girls’ (Level 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, Xcel Silver and Xcel Gold), boys’ (Level 4, 8) and our Tumbling and Trampoline teams.

Gymnasts who competed at least two meets during the 2014-15 season and are currently enrolled on our team and their guests are invited to this fantastic year-in-review celebration and celebration of our successes during the past year. Gymnasts are $10 and other guests are $20. Please RSVP by May 20 at gymnastics@wildcard-gymnastics.com with the number of guests you plan on having attend. This event is a lot of fun for our gymnasts

The banquet will be a buffet of assorted pizzas, tossed salad, garlic bread and lemonade.

As with previous years, we have the opportunity to purchase group tickets for the water park, to be enjoyed after the banquet. Water park tickets are an additional $17 per person. Gymnasts are not free for the water park. You do not need to purchase water park tickets to participate in the banquet. Adults wishing to enter the water park but not swim are $5 per person. You are responsible for your child at the water park. The water park is open from 2-6 p.m. for our guests.

Gymnasts who are new members to our team (boys’ Level 4 and girls’ Xcel Silver, Xcel Gold and Fast Track) are also invited to attend, but will not be part of the awards ceremony.

Please RSVP (by e-mail to gymnastics@wildcard-gymnastics.com) to the banquet and provide payment for your guests by May 20.

OPTIONAL LEVELS TANK TOP FOR SHOWS/PARADES — At this point, we’ve only received payment for five tank-tops for the shows for the girls’ Level 6 and up gymnasts. If we don’t receive payment by Monday, May 11, we may be forced to cancel the tank-top order and the Optional gymnasts will wear last year’s exhibition leotard for shows and performances.

U.S. CLASSIC — Once again, the country’s best women’s gymnasts will be competing at the U.S. Classic at the Sears Center in Chicago on July 25 at 6 p.m. In the past three years, this event has seen several Olympians and Olympic hopefuls. This is your chance to see potential 2016 Olympic Team members.

We can get group tickets for the event for $35. These tickets will be in the lower level and are $45 if not purchased through our club. Like all events, all spectators, regardless of age, need a ticket. Please RSVP with number of tickets requested (by e-mail to gymnastics@wildcard-gymnastics.com) and provide payment by May 20. We will not be able to get additional tickets at the group rate or with our club after the deadline.

Wildcard Gymnastics WILL NOT be providing transportation. Families will be on their own to get to and from the Sears Center.

This is the last year that the U.S. Classic will be held in our area. It is moving to Hartford, Conn., next year.

TEAM TRYOUTS & MAKE UP INFO — Xcel, boys’ and T&T tryouts were a marvelous success. We extended invitations to six new members of our boys team, 17 new members of Xcel Bronze and Silver, and 15 members of our Tumbling & Trampoline team. Congratulations to all those who made our team and we look forward to seeing you at our first practices the week of May 18 (as a result of a larger-than-expected Silver team, we have decided to keep the new Silver team practicing at a different time from our Gold team).

For those gymnasts who were unable to make the tryout, please see a team coach for a makeup. For T&T, we need about 15 minutes for a quick tryout. Boys and Xcel will require a bit longer. There is still time and plenty of room to join all of our teams, especially Tumbling & Trampoline.

For athletes who came to the T&T tryout, you should come to the practice time which won’t conflict with your gymnastics practice time. For those athletes who are in both TOPs and on our girls’ team that practice Friday, you will practice T&T on Friday before returning to gymnastics practice for the remainder of the school year. Once the summer schedule begins, we will try to find an additional practice time.

T&T REGION 4 CHAMPIONSHIPS — The Tumbling and Trampoline Region 4 Championships are in Milwaukee at the Wisconsin Center District Convention Center on May 16-17. The complete schedule for our small T&T team is available here. While our two athletes are only competing in six of the groups, this is a very large meet with 184 groups competing over the two days. If you are interested in cheering on the Wildcard T&T team or watching some of the amazing tumbling and trampoline athletes (one of the competitors is the reigning world double mini champion), click here for more information.

AAU NATIONALS DEADLINE EXTENDED — If you still want to go to Las Vegas and gamble on your child winning a national title, there is still time. AAU has extended its deadline to Thursday, May 7. At this time, the following athletes are registered for the competition:

Girls’ Level 3: Caelyr G.
Girls’ Level 4: Aniyah B., Essence B., Mariyah L., Sarah S.
Girls’ Level 6: Bradyn F., Emily G., Nadia J., Aaliyah K., Maria R. (visiting from Brazil), Norah T.
Girls’ Open Optional: Hallie F. (visiting from M&M)
Boys’ Level 5: West F.

AAU JUNIOR OLYMPICS REGISTRATION IS OPEN — Registration for AAU Junior Olympics is now open. The cost is $85 per gymnast. You may register with Blain at the front desk. Please have your credit card available as we will not be charging this to your account, but will be registering directly on the AAU Junior Olympics site.

NEW TEAM PRACTICE TIME REMINDER — This is a reminder of our new practice times, which will take effect on May 18. The new practice times are the following:

Girls’ Level 2: MON 4:30-6:30 p.m., WED 4:30-6:30 p.m., THU 4:30-7:30 p.m. (7 hrs)
Girls’ Level 3: TUE 4:30-7:30 p.m., THU 4:30-7:30 p.m., SAT 9 a.m.-noon (9 hrs)
Girls’ Level 4: MON 4:30-7:30 p.m., WED 4:30-7:30 p.m., FRI 4:30-8:30 p.m. (10 hrs)
Girls’ Level 6: MON, TUE, WED, FRI 4:30-8:30 p.m. (16 hrs)
Girls’ Level 7: MON, TUE, THU, FRI 4:30-8:30 p.m. (16 hrs)
Girls’ Level 9: TUE, WED, THU, FRI 4:30-8:30 p.m. (16 hrs)
Girls’ Fast Track: TUE 6:30-8:30 p.m., THU 6:30-8:30 p.m. (4 hrs)
Girls’ Xcel Bronze: THU 4:30-6:30 p.m. (2 hrs)
Girls’ Xcel Silver: THU 4:30-6:30 p.m. (2 hrs)
Girls’ Xcel Gold: WED 6-8:30 p.m., SAT 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. (5 hrs)
Girls’ TOPs: MON 4-5:30 p.m., SAT 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (3.5 hrs)
Girls’ MiniTOPs: TUE 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (2 hrs)

Boys’ Level 4: TUE 4:30-6:30 p.m., THU 4:30-6:30 p.m. (4 hrs)
Boys’ Level 5: MON 4:30-7:45 p.m., WED 4:30-7:45 p.m.; SAT 9:15 a.m.-11:45 p.m. (10 hrs)
Boys’ Level 8: MON 4:30-7:45 p.m., WED 4:30-7:45 p.m.; SAT 9:15 a.m.-11:45 p.m. (10 hrs)

T&T: FRI 4:30-5:45 p.m. or SAT 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. (1.25 hours)

Additional practices will be made available starting June 16.

TEAM TRYOUTS — As a reminder, the Team Tryouts for Boys, Girls’ Xcel and Tumbling & Trampoline are on Saturday, May 2 at 1:30 p.m. If your child is interested in any of these three teams, please make sure you’re here at that time. Gymnasts can try out for more than one team at the tryout. These three teams are also good for athletes with little experience and who wish to compete, so bring friends who might be interested. Tryouts are scheduled until 4 p.m., but may end earlier. We will have a short parent information session at the beginning of the tryout while the gymnasts stretch and warm-up.

AAU NATIONALS ENTRY DEADLINE — The deadline to register for AAU Nationals (June 10-14, Las Vegas) is Friday. The cost is $85 and we need you to have your credit card with you when we register your child as we will be registering directly on the AAU site (we will not be billing accounts).

As of this time, we have the following gymnasts registered and scheduled to compete:

Girls’ Level 3: Caelyr G.
Girls’ Level 4: Aniyah B., Essence B., Mariyah L., Sarah S.
Girls’ Level 6: Bradyn F., Emily G., Nadia J., Aaliyah K., Maria R., Norah T.
Boys’ Level 5: West F.

If you have not made hotel reservations at the Westgate Resort, you can do so at the following link:

https://aws.passkey.com/event/13855091/owner/3453/home

As of now, they have no regularly-priced rooms available for Sunday night, only Concierge rooms, which are twice the price.

As with all other events, we will not have the competition schedule available until three weeks prior to the event. There is a generic schedule available, but it doesn’t give us much information other than the compulsories will likely not be on Sunday and the boys will not be Thursday.

If you have not registered and plan on attending, please do so by the end of the week.

AAU JUNIOR OLYMPICS — As of now, the registration window for AAU Junior Olympics (Aug. 4-7, Virginia Beach) has not opened. Meet fees are $85. We will let you know when registration has begun. We will do the same registration process as with AAU Nationals, by registering directly on the web site. The competition is Aug. 5-7 and Aug. 4 is the on-site registration day. We recommend being in Virginia early as the on-site registration is not always available at the competition venue. As with AAU Nationals, we do not have a meet schedule until 3-4 weeks prior to the competition. Please note that this competition is for girls’ gymnastics only.

The hotel reservation window has opened, however. You can register through the AAU’s hotel partners at the following link:

https://pse.tournamenthotels.com/pse/event/507

When searching for a hotel, use Newport News as the location. The gymnastics competition is at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Newport News.

As of now, the coaches have hotels booked not through the AAU but through the Country Inn and Suites in Newport News. You can book a room through this link:

http://www.countryinns.com/newport-news-hotel-va-23602/vanewpor

Hotel nights are available for as little as $70 per night, much less than the AAU properties.

Also, anyone interested in chartering a bus to the competition, please let us know. We have researched prices and the cost of a 50-passenger bus is roughly $200 per person, if we can fill the bus. The fewer the people on the bus, the more the per person cost is. Please note, that we will not have access to the bus for transportation during the competition time. The bus would simply get us to and from Virginia. We will likely not charter the bus unless we have a full group.

BADGER STATE GAMES — A third, non-sanctioned summer competition is available for our girls’ gymnasts. Badger State Games will be held Saturday, June 27 and Sunday June 28 in Wesson, Wis. at Gymsport. This is another opportunity for your gymnasts to remain competitive. The cost for this meet is $45 for compulsories and $55 for optionals and Xcel gymnasts. Registration deadline for this competition is June 1.

We HIGHLY recommend this for all of the former Level 6s to try Level 7 for the first time, especially those planning on going to AAU Junior Olympics.

FOURTH OF JULY PARADES — We have added a third Fourth of July parade to our rotation. In addition to the morning parades in Wauwatosa and Brookfield, we are doing an afternoon parade in Butler. All gymnasts are invited to participate in this parade. Line-up starts at 1:30 p.m. with the parade beginning at 2 p.m. It’s a very short parade. We expect it anticipate the parade to be done by 3 p.m. More information will be made available as we get closer to the parade.

2015 GIRLS’ COMPULSORY SCHEDULE — The TENTATIVE 2015 schedule for the Level 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s is as follows (the schedule might change, pending on other factors, including some clubs changing their date):

Aug. 25 at Preseason Meet (Brookfield) — 2, 3, 4, 5
Sept. 19-20 at Racine (Racine) — 3, 4
Oct. 3-4 at Swiss Turners (West Allis) — 3, 4, 5
Oct. 10-11 at CSA Kids (at UW-Whitewater) — 2, 3, 4
Oct. 24-25 at Wildcard (Brookfield) — 2, 3, 4, 5 in USAG; 6, 7, 9, XB, XS, XG as AAU
Nov. 7-8 at GymHawks (Whitewater) — 3, 4
Nov. 14-15 at M&M (New Berlin) — 2, 3, 4
Nov. 21-22 at Salto (Waukesha) — 2, 3, 4
Dec. 5-6 at Level 3-5 State (Site TBD)
Dec. 12-13 at Level 2 State (Site TBD)

Note that Level 2 state may be held the previous weekend as part of the Level 3-5 state meet.

WARM-UPS, ETC. — We think there may be some confusion regarding what each level needs to purchase regarding warm-ups and leotards. This is what each level will be required to purchase, with everything else being your choice to purchase:

GIRLS’ FAST TRACK — Short sleeve leotard, warm-up jacket, warm-up pants (may purchase capris, tank top, or long-sleeve leotard but do not need to)

GIRLS’ LEVEL 2 — Short sleeve leotard (if not already owned), warm-up jacket, warm-up pants (may purchase capris, tank, or long-sleeve leotard but do not need to)

GIRLS’ LEVEL 3 — Short sleeve leotard (if not already owned), warm-up jacket, warm-up pants (may purchase capris, tank, or long-sleeve leotard but do not need to)

GIRLS’ LEVEL 4 — Short sleeve leotard (if not already owned), warm-up jacket, warm-up pants (may purchase capris, tank, or long-sleeve leotard but do not need to)

GIRLS’ LEVEL 5 — Short sleeve leotard (if not already owned), warm-up jacket, warm-up pants (may purchase capris, tank, or long-sleeve leotard but do not need to)

GIRLS’ LEVEL 6 — Short sleeve leotard (if not already owned), long sleeve leotard (if not already owned), warm-up jacket, warm-up capris, tank top (may purchase pants, and upgrade to optional-level long-sleeve leotard but do not need to)

GIRLS’ LEVEL 7 — Short sleeve leotard (if not already owned), long sleeve leotard (if not already owned), warm-up jacket, warm-up capris, tank top (may purchase pants but do not need to)

GIRLS’ LEVEL 9 — Short sleeve leotard (if not already owned), long sleeve leotard (if not already owned), warm-up jacket, warm-up capris, tank top (may purchase pants but do not need to)

GIRLS’ XCEL — Short sleeve leotard (if not already owned), warm-up jacket (may purchase pants, capris, or long-sleeve leotard but do not need to)

TUMBLING & TRAMPOLINE — Long sleeve leotard for girls (which will be the same as the gymnastics’ team), singlet and shorts or pants for boys (which will be the same as the gymnastics’ team) warm-up jacket for girls (which will be the same as the gymnastics’ team), warm-up sweatshirt for boys (which will be the same as the gymnastics’ team), trampoline shoes

BOYS — Singlet (if not already owned), competition shorts (if not already owned), competition pants (if not already owned), warm-up sweatshirt

The costs are expected to be the following:

Tank-top: $40 (optional levels are due April 24)
Short-sleeve leotard (same as last year’s design): $40
Warm-up jacket: TBD
Warm-up jacket with pants or capris: $160
New Long-sleeve leotard: $150

The best part about our warm-ups is that they do not need to be purchased all at once. If your child is not competing in September or October, they do not need to purchase these right now. We can wait until they are closer to the competition time to place their order. For Gold Bugs, if they are not expected to compete in the fall season, the order doesn’t need to be placed now.

As of now, we don’t have a firm date on the order placement for warm-ups, but expect a date around May 15.

$
WARM-UPS — We are in the warm-up purchasing phase of our every two-year cycle for purchasing warm-ups one year and competition leotards the next. We are currently sizing the girls’ team members for warm-ups. Optional level girls (levels 6-up) will be required to get a tank-top, jacket and capris (we are waiting on the design for the capris). The pants are optional. Compulsory level girls (levels 5-under) will be required to get a jacket and pants. Xcel girls will be required to get the jacket but the pants or capris will be optional. Boys will be required to purchase a sweatshirt (which we don’t have yet to size, nor do we have the design).

For optional level girls’, we need to place the order for tank tops by the end of this week in order to have those for our first parades. Tank tops will cost $40, which will cover tax and shipping. Gymnasts are to wear black shorts to accompany the tanks and may wear a leotard underneath.

The cost of the jacket and pants or jacket and capris is $160 which will cover tax and shipping (the cost may change). We don’t have a due date on that yet, but that will likely be sometime in May in order to have those by mid August. We don’t have a cost for the boys’ sweatshirt yet. Again, the thought is to use these for at least two years.

Parents who wish to order apparel may do so. Gymnasts may also order extra apparel, but be mindful that that at the compulsory level, we are requiring the pants and not the capris, and at the optional level, we are requiring the capris and not the pants.

The design of the apparel is at right.

EXHIBITION & COMPETITION LEOTARDS — We are going to use the exhibition leotards we have currently for a second year. We have a significant inventory of exhibition leotards currently in the pro-shop at $40 each. If we do not have enough of a size, we can order more at the $40 cost, but it will take 4-6 weeks for those to arrive. New Xcel gymnasts will use these as competition leotards unless they purchase the long-sleeve version.

For gymnasts wishing to purchase a long-sleeve leotard, please note that we are NOT in the cycle to purchase long-sleeve leotards. We will be doing that next summer. If you wish to have a long-sleeve leotard for your gymnast, you will need to purchase the new design next year.

We do have a limited stock of the compulsory-level long sleeve leotards (approximately 8) and a very limited stock of the optional-level leotards. If you are interested in getting a long sleeve leotard for next season, please let us know and we’ll let you know what we have in stock (prices will vary if the leotard is new or used). If we have to order, cost will depend on the number of leotards we are ordering.

TEAM TRYOUTS — We are having a tryout for three of our four teams on Saturday, May 2 at 1:30 p.m. The teams we are having tryouts for are:

• Boys’ Level 4 and up
• Girls Xcel Bronze and up
• Tumbling & Trampoline Team

BOYS: Any boy who is currently in the Level 3 group should attend this tryout. Any boy who is in our classes and wishes to be on our team should attend this tryout. Any boy who is interested in gymnastics should attend this tryout. Boys must turn 6 prior to Sept. 1 to be able to be on team. The skills needed for boys are cartwheels, forward rolls, roundoff rebound (or two-foot cartwheel); support and swings on pommel horse; run and hurdle on vault; swings and pull ups/overs on rings; swings and holds on parallel bars; and swings and a chin up on horizontal bar. Boys’ practice for Level 4 will be twice a week at two hours per practice (practice will increase in the summer).

We welcome any boys who have more advanced skills that may be placed directly on a Level 5 team or higher. Level 5 and up practices more than the Level 4 boys. Boys currently on the team do not need to attend. We are looking for up to 10 boys for the Level 4 team. This year, three of Wildcard’s six boys earned at least one state championship on an event and the Level 4 team was the third-best team in the state.

Boys will compete six meets during the regular season and the state championship. The competitive season is late December-mid March.

XCEL: For girls Xcel, we will be accepting girls ages 6-up wishing to tryout for Xcel Bronze (new to Wildcard), Silver, Gold or Platinum. The tryout will focus on the Bronze and Silver levels, but gymnasts wishing to join our team at higher levels will be asked to do more advanced skills. The skills needed for the bronze and silver levels are run/hurdle on vault; glide swings, pullovers and hip circles on bars; leaps, jumps, and t-positions on beam; and cartwheel, leaps and forward/backward rolls on floor.

The Xcel Bronze and Silver teams will practice separately from the Xcel Gold /Platinum teams. Practices for Bronze and Silver will be twice a week for two hours per practice. Gold will likely be increasing up to six hours in the summer. We are looking for up to 10 girls for the Bronze/Silver team.

Xcel will compete four times during the regular season and the state championship. The competitive season is January-March. Xcel is a great level for gymnasts who want to participate in other sports as the time commitment is less. Also, gymnasts get routines tailored to their abilities.

T&T: Any boy or girl on our team is encouraged to tryout for the Tumbling & Trampoline. We also welcome anyone for this tryout for lower levels of team. Tumbling & Trampoline competitions consist of three disciplines: tumbling (on a rod floor), trampoline and double mini. A tumbling competition consists of two passes of 4-8 skills each. The compulsory levels require rolls and cartwheels at the introductory levels all the way up to consecutive back handsprings and back tucks at the upper compulsory levels. Trampoline competitions consist of one 10-skill routine. At the lower levels, those routines are five skills and the five skills are repeated. At the upper compulsory levels, there 10 different skills including various back and front tucks. Double mini competition consists of two 2-3 skill passes. Lower level compulsory competition consists of different types of jumps connected. Upper level compulsory combines a jump with a salto of some sort.

T&T competitions are more like track meets in that one, two or three events go at a time in flights, usually by level and age. Competitions with three events going at one time go really quick, with each flight taking 10-15 minutes. This season, we will attend a total of four T&T competitions (two regular season, state and regionals). Next year, we plan on four regular season meets and state. Current gymnasts will have the benefit of having leotards/singlets/warmups already. The only additional equipment needed is trampoline shoes and those are available online for $15 or less.

The T&T team will practice once per week at an hour and 15 minutes total. There will be two practice opportunities so most every gymnast should have an opportunity to be in one of the two classes. Skills needed for tumbling are cartwheels or roundoffs and rolls for lower levels and consecutive backhandsprings on tumble track for upper levels; trampoline skills needed seat drops and knee drops connected to a tuck jump and jump turns for lower levels and tuck jumps to saltos for upper level compulsories; double mini skills needed will be run-hurdle-straight jump-tuck jump off for lower level compulsories and a saltos in combination with other jumps for upper level compulsories.

Upper level T&T compulsory athletes will also be required to attend open gym at another club as a group one or two times prior to the first competition to acclimate to a rod floor and a Russian trampoline. The rod floor is similar to the tumble track, but reacts differently. A Russian trampoline offers a higher bounce than the trampoline we have.

So far, this season, our two athletes have won 11 first place finishes including four state championships in the limited practices. Also available at Level 5 and higher is the opportunity to go to the national championships, which is something we might do if the event is relatively close. The cost will be an additional $35 per month for team gymnasts and $60 per month for non-team gymnasts.

SCHEDULE CHANGES — With our lower levels of compulsory and upper levels of girls’ optionals growing, we’re looking into balancing the groups. The following is our new groups that will change on May 18:

Girls’ Level 2: MON 4:30-6:30 p.m., WED 4:30-6:30 p.m., THU 4:30-7:30 p.m. (7 hrs)
Girls’ Level 3: TUE 4:30-7:30 p.m., THU 4:30-7:30 p.m., SAT 9 a.m.-noon (9 hrs)
Girls’ Level 4: MON 4:30-7:30 p.m., WED 4:30-7:30 p.m., FRI 4:30-8:30 p.m. (10 hrs)
Girls’ Level 6: MON, TUE, WED, FRI 4:30-8:30 p.m. (16 hrs)
Girls’ Level 7: MON, TUE, THU, FRI 4:30-8:30 p.m. (16 hrs)
Girls’ Level 9: TUE, WED, THU, FRI 4:30-8:30 p.m. (16 hrs)
Girls’ Fast Track: TUE 6:30-8:30 p.m., THU 6:30-8:30 p.m. (4 hrs)
Girls’ Xcel Bronze & Silver: TBD (4 hrs)
Girls’ Xcel Gold: WED 6-8:30 p.m., SAT 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. (5 hrs)
Girls’ TOPs: MON 4-5:30 p.m., SAT 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (3.5 hrs)
Girls’ MiniTOPs: TUE 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (2 hrs)

Boys’ Level 4: TUE 4:30-6:30 p.m., THU 4:30-6:30 p.m. (4 hrs)
Boys’ Level 5: TUE 4:30-7:45 p.m., THU 4:30-7:45 p.m.; SAT 9:15 a.m.-11:45 p.m. (10 hrs)
Boys’ Level 8: TUE 4:30-7:45 p.m., THU 4:30-7:45 p.m.; SAT 9:15 a.m.-11:45 p.m. (10 hrs)

T&T: FRI 4:30-5:45 p.m. or SAT 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. (1.25 hours)

The following practices will be added starting June 15 for our summer schedule:
Girls’ Level 2: TUE 9 a.m.-noon (3 hrs)
Girls’ Level 3: WED 9 a.m.-noon (3 hrs)
Girls’ Level 4: WED 9 a.m.-noon (3 hrs)
Girls’ Level 6: THU 9 a.m.-noon (3 hrs)
Girls’ Level 7: MON 9 a.m.-noon, THU 9 a.m.-noon (6 hrs)
Girls’ Level 9: MON 9 a.m.-noon, TUE 9 a.m.-noon, THU 9 a.m.-noon (9 hrs)
Girls’ Fast Track: TBD
Girls’ Xcel Bronze & Silver: TBD
Girls’ Xcel Gold: TBD

All Boys: WED 9 a.m.-noon (boys will add an additional morning to replace Saturdays)

Also, please note that all Friday practices in the summer will be 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. instead of 4:30-8:30 p.m. Friday T&T practice will be 11:15-12:30 p.m. Open Gym on Fridays is held 12:30 p.m.-2 p.m.

FLIGHTS TO KAROLIY’S CAMP — Final payment, names and birthdates for the flights to Karoliy’s is due by April 30. The total amount is $216.18 if paid by check or $222 if paid by credit card.

AAU AGE GROUP NATIONALS REGISTRATION — The deadline for registering to AAU Age Group Nationals (June 10-14 in Las Vegas) is fast approaching. The deadline is May 1. At this point, we only have the following gymnasts registered:

• Aniyah B.
• Sarah S.
• Essence B.

Registration and payment is done through the AAU web site, so we need your card present to register. This is not something we can charge to your account. We know that many of you have stated you are attending this competition, so we need you to register soon.

To book your hotel at the Westgate Resort (the meet site is at the Westgate as well), click here.

TEAM COACHING CHANGES — We are having a couple of coaching changes to our team groups that we want to make you aware of. First, we want to thank our Xcel coaches, Bella Gordon and Heidi Kostrzewa, for their service this season. They will still be around for the next few months prior to them heading to college. Taking over the Xcel program will be Alyssa Milazzo. Alyssa has been a team coach at Wildcard this season and she’s excited to become part of the Xcel program, serving as the head coach for Xcel Gold and Silver. Leading Xcel Bronze will be Beth McAleer. Beth has two daughters on our team in Level 3 and has been teaching preschool and rec classes for the past year.

Taking over the lead of boys program will be Jason Trow. Jason has been with Wildcard for a year, serving as boys’ pre-team coach and the girls’ fast track coach. We want to thank Candace Wittrock for five very successful years as our boys’ team head coach, with three All-Around champions to her credit. She will still be part of the program, helping with the upper level boys on a less-regular basis. She is pursing a masters’ degree and hopes to return to Wildcard in a greater capacity when she is done. Blain Fowler is also helping out with the boys and will be the head coach of the Tumbling and Trampoline program.

We want to thank Candace, Bella and Heidi for their work to make our teams a success.

SUCCESS WALL ADDITIONS — We did not do a blog post last week and we are a bit remiss on updating the success wall, but we will do that soon. The following gymnasts made the success wall from the weekend that included boys’ regionals, T&T state and the Carousel meet:

Girls’ Level 2:
Jillian C. — 1st place bars
Kassidy D. — 9.650 on vault, 9.000 on floor
Payton D. — 9.500 on vault
Grace D. — 9.250 on beam, 9.000 on floor, 1st place All-Around
Amari D. — 9.500 on vault, 9.100 on beam, 9.00 on floor
McKayla M. — 9.000 on bars

Girls’ Level 3:
Kayla B. — 9.000 on floor (1st)
Caelyr G. — 1st place All-Around
Maggie M. — 9.150 on bars, 9.150 on beam

Girls’ Level 4:
Sarah S. — 9.500 on vault (1st), 9.100 on floor, 1st place All-Around

Girls’ Level 6:
Emily G. — 9.200 on vault, 9.200 on bars
Nadia J. — 9.2oo on vault, 9.050 on beam (1st)
Ella J. — 9.150 on beam
Aaliyah K. — 9.300 on vault, 9.300 on bars, 9.100 on beam, 9.000 on floor, 1st AA
Team — 1st All-Around

Boys’ Level 4:
Max B. — 9.600 on floor, 10.000 on rings, 10.200 on p-bars, 10.400 on horizontal bar
West F. — 10.900 on floor, 9.500 on pommels, 10.900 on rings (1st), 9.700 on vault, 11.000 on p-bars, 11.100 on horizontal bar (1st)
Jack G. — 9.800 on floor, 9.900 on horizontal bar

Boys’ Level 8:
Reed B. — 11.500 on rings (11th), 11.500 on vault

T&T State:
Bradyn F. — State Champion: Level 6 Tumbling, 22.8 (national qualifying score) on trampoline
West F. — State Champion: Level 6 Tumbling, Level 5 Trampoline, Level 5 Double Mini

2015 Region 4 Tumbling & Trampoline Championships
May 16-17, 2015
Wisconsin Center District
400 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee | MAP | 11.2 mi., 15 min.

SATURDAY, MAY 16

SESSION 1
Group 14 — Boys’ Level 6 Tumbling (2) — West — 10:20 a.m.
Awards — 12:20 p.m.

TEAM INTRODUCTIONS
March In — 1:20 p.m.

SESSION 2
Group 93 — Boys’ Level 5 Double Mini (2) — West— 2 p.m.
Group 69 — Girls’ Level 6 Tumbling (2) — Bradyn — 4 p.m.
Awards — 5:20 p.m.

SUNDAY, MAY 17

SESSION 4
Group 149 — Girls’ Level 5 Double Mini (2) — Bradyn — 10 a.m.
Awards — noon

SESSION 5
Group 175 — Boys’ Level 5 Trampoline (2) — West — 1:40 p.m.
Group 184 — Girls’ Level 5 Trampoline (2) — Bradyn — 4:40 p.m.
Awards — 5 p.m.

NOTE — Please arrive 45 minutes before your scheduled time. The number in parenthesis denotes on which apparatus the athlete is competing (there are multiple of each event).