Wildcard Gymnastics Team News

Your gymnast will be receiving the Butter Braid fundraiser order forms tonight or tomorrow (or Tuesday, if you are Fast Track). For those of you who have not sold Butter Braids, they are fantastic filled pastries that are easy to make. We are selling Apple, Cinnamon, Cream Cheese, Double Chocolate, Raspberry and Strawberry Cream Cheese. Each Butter Braid sells for $13 (and they are totally worth it!).

We have a very short fundraising window since Easter is so early this year. Please turn in your order forms (with the corresponding amount of money) by Friday, March 27th. Checks can be made out to Wildcard Gymnastics. The Butter Braids will be delivered to the gym on Wednesday, April 1. Please be certain that someone will be available to come pick up your gymnast’s order since they need to be kept frozen. We DO NOT have any extra freezer space in which to store orders. Order forms that are turned in late, may not get ordered!

Please understand that Wildcard asks the team gymnasts to participate in fundraising to off-set equipment costs. The gymnasts have expressed that they would like to see Wildcard put in a Foam Pit for training purposes. This fundraiser will help us raise a portion of the funds needed to meet the cost of putting in a pit.

We do ask that all team gymnasts (Fast Track, Boys’, & Girls’ team) participate. In order to reach our fundraising goal, we are asking that everyone sell 15 Butter Braids each. We know that fundraising is often a pain, but Wildcard doesn’t have Booster Club fees or annual membership fees or additional coaches fees like many other area gyms do. (You may choose to opt out of the fundraiser, but then a $150 donation is requested.) Please help us in achieving our fundraising goals! If you need additional order forms, please don’t hesitate to ask!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Alie at alison@wildcard-gymnastics.com.

GIRLS’ LEVEL 6s END EARLY ON FRIDAY, MARCH 13 – With a competition at 8 a.m. on Saturday at the LGA Lucky Invitational in Waukegan, we are ending the girls’ Level 6s early on Friday. They will end at 7:30 p.m., so the gymnasts can go home early to get rested for the early-morning meet on Saturday.

NO TOPs SATURDAY, MARCH 14– There is no TOPs practice on Saturday as a majority of the gymnasts in TOPs will be competing at the LGA Lucky Invitational on Saturday morning. TOPs will return on Monday.

GIRLS’ LEVEL 2, 3, 3/4, 9-11 a.m., SATURDAY— All girls’ Level 2, 3, and 3/4 gymnasts who normally come 9 a.m.-noon will only be coming this Saturday from 9-11 a.m. due to coaching availability.

BUTTER BRAID FUNDRAISER — The annual Butter Braid fund-raiser will begin soon. The selling window will be very short in order to get the Butter Braids in prior to Easter. As soon as the order brochures arrive, they will be distributed to all team members. Product orders will arrive on April 1st, ready for pick up at 4:30 p.m. Please note that we have no freezer storage availability, so the orders would need to be picked up that day. More details will come once we get the order forms. (Please remember that we are doing fundraising in order to put in a foam pit. The more we sell, the closer we get to the goal of putting the pit in!

LEVEL 3s STAY UNTIL 7:30 p.m. — All Level 3s, including the girls who competed Level 2 at the first two meets and have been promoted (former Fast Track) should now stay until 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

GIRLS’ LEVEL 6-10 STATE SCHEDULE CHANGE — There were again tweaks to the Girls’ Level 6-10 state meet, especially for Sofia B. in Level 6, who is now in the middle session. Also the middle session for Level 8 has been backed up 15 minutes. Please review the most recent schedule here.

TEAM DINNER REMINDER — This is to remind the Boys and Xcel teams that they will have their team dinner following practice on Wednesday, March 18. Practice will run until 7:45 p.m. and Xcel gymnasts will start at 5 p.m. that day. Gymnasts should bring nicer clothes to change into for the dinner. We should be done by 8:30 p.m. Accounts have been billed the $10 fee for the team dinner.

BOYS’/XCEL STATE WEEK PRACTICES — There are a few slight changes for the week of boys’ and Xcel state. The changes are the Xcel gymnasts on Wednesday, March 18, will practice from 5 p.m.-7:45 p.m. and that the boys will end at 7:45 p.m.

On Saturday, March 21, there will be no Xcel Gold practice, but there will be Xcel Silver practice. There will be no boys’ practice on that Saturday as well. Candace may add an additional practice that week for the boys.

TRAVELING MEET 2016 — There is an opportunity for a traveling meet for 2016 if we have interest. The Cancun Classic is being held Jan. 1-4 in Cancun, Mexico. This is an opportunity to do a traveling meet with almost no school and limited work interruption. If we have enough support, we are willing to add this meet to the 2016 schedule.

We are still also leaning toward Hawaii in 2016 (if this meet doesn’t work out and the rest of the meet schedule works out) or Hawaii in 2017.

Please let us know if you would be interested in attending the Cancun Classic in 2016. The Cancun meet offers both boys’ and girls’ competition, but it is a non-sanctioned competition.

SUCCESS WALL ADDITIONS — We had one gymnast compete last week, Reed in Level 8 at the Salto Invitational. He made the success wall with an 11.8 on vault.

Boys’ Practice Saturday — The boys’ team practice will be shortened on Saturday, March 7, to be 9 a.m.-11 a.m. as the Level 8s have a meet at noon. Candace will need to leave for the meet so practice will be slightly shortened.

State T-Shirt Orders — T-shirt orders for Girls’ Xcel State, Boys’ State, Girls’ Level 6-10 State and Boys’ Regionals are due soon. You can pre-order at the GymTreasures web site if you have not done so already. There will be a limited amount of items for sale at the meet itself. Personalization and bling (for girls) will also be available at the meet site. The following are the links for t-shirt orders:

Boys’ State
Girls’ Xcel State
Girls’ Level 6-10 State
Boys’ Regionals

State Team Dinners — As per our tradition, we will have team dinners for each team prior to their state championship meet. The boys and Xcel will have their dinner on Wednesday, March 18 at 8 p.m. at the gym in the dance room. Xcel practice that night will start begin early at 5 p.m. and go until 8 p.m. for both Silver and Gold. Boys should plan on staying that night the duration or come a bit later for those who leave early.

The meal will be catered from Fazolis (most likely … if not, we will cater Noodles). Gymnasts should bring nice clothes as we tend to make this event a bit dressy.

The cost is $10 per gymnast. A $10 charge will be added to each gymnasts account this month. Please advise if your gymnast will not make it.

The Girls’ Level 6s and Level 8s will have their team dinner on Thursday, March 26 at 8 p.m. Details have yet to be worked out for this but we will likely have this at Noodles on 124th and Capital in Wauwatosa. We will confirm details as they become available. With it being such a large group, we will have to develop the details a little more. The cost for this will be determined as we have a better idea of what we’re doing as a group.

Updated Xcel State Schedule — There was an error on the lone Saturday session with Xcel Gold gymnasts on the schedule recently published. The schedule on the blog has been corrected. The schedule below is correct for the Saturday session for Christen and Stephanie:

SATURDAY, MARCH 21

GIRLS’ XCEL GOLD – Christen, Stephanie
Arrive – 11:40 a.m.
Stretch – noon
Meet Begins — 12:15 p.m.
Awards — 3 p.m.

The complete Xcel State meet schedule is available here.

State Meet Schedules — For easy reference, the state meet schedules are available here:

Girls’ Xcel
Boys’
Girls’ Level 6-10

AAU Nationals Venue Change — The AAU Age Group Championships will still be held in Las Vegas, Nev., June 10-14, but will no longer be at the Riviera. The new venue will be The Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. The Riviera was purchased by the Las Vegas Convention Center and will be closing in May. The Westgate will honor the $49 midweek/$89 weekend rate that the Riviera was offering and will continue to offer it through the duration of the meet.

Honestly, this is a HUGE upgrade. The Riviera was a dump and the Westgate is much nicer (having stayed there this summer). The Westgate is slightly off the strip by about two blocks, but it attached to the Monorail, which will make travel up and down the strip significantly easier.

A very tentative schedule has been posted and is the following:

Wed., June 10 — Registration 3-8 p.m.
Thu., June 11 — Registration 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Girls’ Levels 1-4, Xcel Bronze, 8 a.m.-9 p.m.
Fri., June 12 — Registration 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Girls’ Levels 1-5, Xcel B-S-G, 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sat., June 13 — Registration 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Girls’ Levels 5-9, Xcel S-G,, Boys All Levels 8 a.m.-9 p.m.;
Sun., June 14 — Registration 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; Girls’ Levels 6-9, Ladies All Levels, Boys All Levels 8 a.m.-6 p.m.

More information on the competition is available here:

http://image.aausports.org/dnn/gymnastics/2015/agn/2015AGNEntryPacket.pdf

We have started a new conditioning circuit this month.  We have seen some dramatic improvements in strength and flexibility with the gymnasts who are really working to do the correct shapes and positions.  Here is a copy of the conditioning as requested by several gymnasts, so they could work on it at home.  (Parents, feel free to give it a try!) Click the link below for a .pdf version to print out.

Conditioning Plan for Spring 2015

2015 Wisconsin Xcel State Championships
March 20-22, 2015
Salto Gymnastics
1417 Poplar Dr., Waukesha | MAP | 16.2 mi., 27 min.

FRIDAY, MARCH 20

GIRLS’ XCEL GOLD – Katherine
Arrive – 8:45 a.m.
Stretch – 9 a.m.
Meet Begins — 9:15 a.m.
Awards — 12:15 p.m.

GIRLS’ XCEL GOLD – Aliyah, Kelsey, Jenna
Arrive – 12:45 p.m.
Stretch – 1 p.m.
Meet Begins — 1:15 p.m.
Awards — 4:15 p.m.

GIRLS’ XCEL GOLD – Alivia, Anna
Arrive – 4:45 p.m.
Stretch – 5 p.m.
Meet Begins — 5:15 p.m.
Awards — 8 p.m.

SATURDAY, MARCH 21

GIRLS’ XCEL GOLD – Christen, Stephanie
Arrive – 11:40 a.m.
Stretch – noon
Meet Begins — 12:15 p.m.
Awards — 3 p.m.

SUNDAY, MARCH 22

GIRLS’ XCEL SILVER – Amari
Arrive – 7:45 a.m.
Stretch – 8 a.m.
Meet Begins — 8:15 a.m.
Awards — 10:20 a.m.

GIRLS’ XCEL SILVER – McKayla
Arrive – 10:45 a.m.
Stretch – 11 a.m.
Meet Begins — 11:15 a.m.
Awards — 1:10 p.m.

GIRLS’ XCEL SILVER – Daisy, Marcela
Arrive – 1:40 p.m.
Stretch – 1:55 p.m.
Meet Begins — 2:10 p.m.
Awards — 4:05 p.m.

COMPETING TEAMS – Air Force, Altius, Bay Area, Flex, GymStars, Gymfinity, Infinite, LaFleur’s, Madison Turners, Midtown, Middleton, Midwest Twisters, Phoenix, Russell, Salto, Scamps, Team UP, TNT, WCGC, XCel.

PLEASE NOTE – Parents, we did not create this schedule. This was created by the host gym. If you are unhappy with the Friday session, please let us know and we will work to get you a refund. We are not happy with the Friday sessions as well, especially since there is time on Saturday and Sunday unused.

Boys’ State Championships
March 21-22, 2015
Waukesha North High School
2222 Michigan Ave., Waukesha| MAP | 19.4 mi., 21 min.

SATURDAY, MARCH 21

BOYS’ LEVEL 4 – Max, West, Charlie, Jack, Dylan
Arrive – 8:15 a.m.
Stretch – 8:30 a.m.
Meet Begins —10 a.m.
Awards — noon

NOTE: Traditional format (warm-up all six events then compete all six events).

SUNDAY, MARCH 22

BOYS’ LEVEL 8 – Reed
Arrive – 8:45 a.m.
Stretch – 9 a.m.
Meet Begins — 9:45 a.m.
Awards — 12:45 p.m.

NOTE: Modified Capital Cup (warm-up an event, then compete an event).

COMPETING TEAMS – Air Force, Alitus, Gymsport, Infinite, Jump Around, LaFleur’s, Lakeshore Springers, M&M, Madtown Twisters, Midwest Twisters, North Shore, Oshkosh, Racine, Salto, Scamps, Starz, Swiss Turners.

NOTE: More information on the state meet can be found at this link.
Meet Begins —10 a.m.
Awards — noon

GymTastics Spring Fling (AAU) 2015
March 22, 2015
GymTastics
925 S. 12th St., Watertown | MAP | 44.9 mi., 49 min.

SUNDAY, MARCH 22

GIRLS’ LEVEL 2 – Jillian, Kassidy, Payton, Grace, Lily D., Serenity, Alanna, Keegan, Mahogany
Arrive – 7:45 a.m.
Stretch – 8 a.m.
Meet Begins — 8:45 a.m.
Awards — 9:45 a.m.

GIRLS’ LEVEL 3 – Kayla, Siena, Olivia, Caelyr, Jordyn H., Aniya H., Jennifer, Lilly Jo., Claire, Emma, Kaylie, Ashley M., Korynne, Maggie, Ruth, Rhianna, Jordan S., Kayleeanna, Taylor, Bella W.
Arrive – 10 a.m.
Stretch – 10:15 a.m.
Meet Begins — 11 a.m.
Awards — 11:50 a.m.

GIRLS’ LEVEL 4 – Angela, Vanesa, Ayanna, Mariyah, Sarah, Taylor
GIRLS’ LEVEL 5 – Kamryn, Maeggan
GIRLS’ LEVEL 6 – Madeline, Emily G., Nadia, Ella, Aaliyah K.
Arrive – 12:15 p.m.
Stretch – 12:30 p.m.
Meet Begins — 2 p.m.
Awards — 5 p.m.

COMPETING TEAMS – GymTastics, Gymlingo, Hard Core, Hazel Green, Madison Turners, West Side.

Girls’ Optional State T-Shirt — Orders are being taken for the Level 6-10 t-shirts and sweatshirts through the vendor’s web site, by clicking here. There seems to be a bit larger selection on-line rather than ordering through the club, especially an adult extra-small sweatshirt (of which there are no children sizes or AXS through the club). Order early, especially if you want the AXS sweatshirt. Personalization is available at the meet. There will be a limited number of apparel available on site.

Boys’ State and Xcel State t-shirt information has already been posted to the blog previously.

Saturday’s Practice — Saturday’s practice is as normal—the first in a long while—with the exception of TOPs, which will be from 9 a.m.-11 a.m. There will be no optional level practice on Saturday until after the state meet.

Gymnasts Prior to Practice — We are again having an issue with gymnasts running around and being on equipment prior to practice. This is especially true on Mondays and Wednesdays. We are also having an issue with parents being in the practice area prior to practice. If this continues, we will have to institute stricter pre-practice policies.  Please understand, that we need to ensure safety and reduce any risks of injury.

Locker Room Etiquette — Gymnasts should be using the locker room and not the cubbies in the gym to store all of their belongings. Additionally, gymnasts should be respectful of the belongings of others. Please use the lockers and locker-room cubbies to store shoes and jackets. If something is out of the cubbies and on the floor, please be respectful and pick it up and avoid stepping any clothing/items that are on the floor.

Private Lessons — Amy has limited availability for private lessons Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday in non-practice times. Please check with her for her updated availability at amyg@wildcard-gymnastics.com.  Some of the other team coaches may also be available.  Please check with them directly if you are interested in scheduling a private lesson.

AAU Nationals Venue Change — AAU has indicated that the AAU Age Group Nationals will not be held at the Riviera as previously announced. It will still be in Las Vegas, at a different venue, to be announced. Hotels reservations will be honored at the price previously announced. We will let you know once we have the location of the meet.

AAU is taking entries for the meet. If you wish to register, please come to the gym with a credit card and we will process the entry with you (you will directly enter your card on the AAU web site … we would prefer not to take payment and then register later).

AAU Nationals is open to any of the girls’ and boys’ competitive levels.  It would be really cool to have a large team go to Nationals, so please consider making this a vacation option.

AAU  Junior Olympics Schedules — AAU Junior Olympics is scheduled from July 29-Aug. 8 in Virginia Beach, Va. AAU has not released any hotel information yet, so we can not pass that along.

The gymnastics competition is scheduled from Aug. 5-7 (check in Aug. 4). Feats of Strength All-Sports Combine is scheduled Aug. 6. There has also been some interest expressed in Tumbling & Trampoline, which is scheduled to run July 30-Aug. 2 (July 29 is check in and open work out). T&T athletes will get to compete twice, most likely, in a prelims and finals set up. If anyone is interested, we can try to participate in the T&T competition and the All-Sports Combine. Please let us know if you have interest in competing in all three. Also, if we have enough gymnasts, we will enter one team performance group.

Unfortunately, there is no Boys’ gymnastics competition at AAU Junior Olympics, but the boys can compete in the T&T competition and All-Sports Combine.  Again, we’d love to have a big Wildcard team represented, so the more the merrier!

Entry fees for gymnastics are $80, T&T $73 (if competing all three events), All-Sports Combine is $48. Our gymnastics meet schedule will determine if we can compete in Feats of Strength.

Success Wall Additions — We, once again, had quite the number of success wall additions from our competition at the Hang 10.0 Invitational in Kenosha. The following gymnasts will be added to the success wall:

Level 2 Girls:
Kayla B. — 9.050 on floor
Grace D. — 9.000 on floor
Siena F. — 9.050 on beam, 9.100 on floor
Aniya H. — 9.100 on floor
Jordyn H. — 9.450 on floor
Kayleeanna T. — 9.500 on floor
Taylor W. — 9.200 on floor
Bella W. — 9.350 on bars, 9.000 on beam, 9.650 on floor (1st)

Level 4 Boys:
Max B. — 9.9 on rings (1st), 9.9 on vault (1st), 10.1 on horizontal bar (1st), 1st All-Around
West F. — 10.3 on floor (1st), 1st on pommel horse, 9.8 on rings, 10.1 on vault (1st), 10.7 on parallel bars (1st), 11.1 on horizontal bar (1st), 1st All-Around
Dylan K. — 9.6 on floor, 9.9 on pommel horse, 10.0 on rings, 10.1 on vault, 9.7 on parallel bars, 10.7 on horizontal bar
Level 4 Boys Team — First Place All-Around

Level 6 Girls:
Sofia B. — 9.050 on vault, 9.200 on beam
Hattie B. — 9.200 on beam
Bradyn F. — 9.000 on beam
Delaney H. — 9.200 on vault, 9.250 on vault (1st), 9.400 on beam, 9.375 on floor, 1st All-Around
Elie L. — 9.000 on vault
Jordan M. — 9.000 on beam

Xcel Silver Girls:
Amari D. — 9.250 on bars

Xcel Gold Girls:
Kelsey E. — 9.000 on beam
Anna P. — 9.100 on vault
Aliyah R. — 9.125 on floor

Tumbling & Trampoline
Bradyn F. — Level 6 Tumbling (1st), Level 5 Double Mini (1st-T)
West F. — Level 5 Tumbling (1st), Level 5 Trampoline (1st)

LGA Lucky Invitational
March 14-15, 2015
Waukegan Field House
800 N. Baldwin Ave., Waukegan, Ill. | MAP | 58.2 mi., 1 hour, 3 min.

SATURDAY, MARCH 14

GIRLS’ LEVEL 6 – Sofia, Hattie, Ava C., Bradyn, Emily G., Delaney, Lilly Ja., Aaliyah K., Izzie, Elie, Jordan M., Camille, Eden, Norah T., Ryann
Arrive – 7:45 a.m.
Stretch – 8 a.m.
Meet Begins — 8:45 a.m.
Awards — 11:15 a.m.

SUNDAY, MARCH 15

GIRLS’ LEVEL 8 – Rose, Ava G., Bella G., Glenna, Anastasia, Crystal, Ashley
Arrive – 10:50 a.m.
Stretch – 11:10 a.m.
Meet Begins — 11:55 a.m.
Awards — 2:30 p.m.

GIRLS’ XCEL SILVER – Daisy, Amari, Marcela, McKayla
GIRLS’ XCEL GOLD – Christen, Kelsey, Alivia, Anna, Aliyah R., Katherine, Jenna, Stephanie
Arrive – 5:50 p.m.
Stretch – 6:05 p.m.
Meet Begins — 6:45 p.m.
Awards — 9:20 p.m.

COMPETING TEAMS – Buffalo Grove, Chicago Park, Deveau’s, Flying High, Gymnastics Zone, Huntley, IGI, Jaycie Phelps, Legacy Elite, Libertyville, M&M, MEGA, Palmers, Twistars.

NOTE – M&M Level 10 session (Hallie) is Saturday at 2:35 p.m.

Salto National Invitaitonal
March 7, 2015
Wisconsin State Fair Park Products Pavilion
 640 S. 84th St., West Allis | MAP | 5.9 mi., 9 min.

SATURDAY, MAR. 7

BOYS’ LEVEL 8 – Reed
Arrive – 11:45 a.m.
Stretch – noon
Meet Begins — 12:30 p.m.
Awards — 4 p.m.

NOTE: Parking is $5 on site. There is no admission fee for spectators.

Hang 10.0 Meet Information — Here is a link to the meet information for the Hang 10.0 meet this weekend in Kenosha. It has been a while since it was posted, so we will make it easy for you to find with this link.

Saturday Practice Changes — Due to the numerous number of competitors this weekend in Kenosha, we are unable to have practice for any level on Saturday, with the exception of Xcel.  There will be no girls’ compulsory levels, girls’ optional levels, TOPs or boys’ practice. Xcel will be held as scheduled from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

We are not switching any groups to Friday night. Friday’s practice will be as normally scheduled.

Boys’ State Meet Apparel Orders — See this link for boys’ state apparel orders, which are due to Wildcard Gymnastics by the end of February. Also there is information on placing an ad in the meet program if you are interested.

You can also pre-order directly with the apparel supplier, which we highly recommend. The link for direct orders is available here. There will be limited on-site orders available.

Xcel State Meet Apparel Orders — You can pre-order Xcel state apparel directly with the apparel supplier. There is no pre-order available through the gym for Xcel state. The link for direct orders is available here. There will be limited on-site orders available.