Practice Schedule, Rest of Week — The Girls’ Team practice schedule will be slightly adjusted this week due to the holiday and parades. The following is the Girls’ Team practice schedule for the week:
Wednesday, July 2 — Morning practice unchanged; no evening practice (West Allis parade)
Thursday, July 3 — Morning practice unchanged; evening practice unchanged (TOPs will have an added practice starting at 3:30 p.m.)
Friday, July 4 — No practice (Wauwatosa/Brookfield parades)
Saturday, July 5 — No practice
The practice schedule will return to normal on Monday, July 7.
As a side note, there are no Wildcard Recreation Classes this week, but there are Brookfield Recreation Department Classes through Thursday.
Parades — We will have three parades in the coming days to celebrate our nation’s independence. Girls should wear an old Fourth of July leotard. If your gymnast does not have one of those, an exhibition or Wildcard leotard will suffice. If your gymnast has neither, a Wildcard t-shirt will work as a third choice. If none of those work, any leotard as a last resort will be OK. Parents walking in the parade should wear a Wildcard t-shirt. Boys should wear a singlet or a Wildcard shirt. The only parents who may march with us are the parent volunteers. We have limited adult sizes in t-shirts but have sufficient children sizes. We will be open Wednesday morning and Thursday if you need a t-shirt. Please call before you come to be sure we have a shirt in the necessary size.
The West Allis Parade is Wednesday, July 2. All team and pre-team gymnasts and Gold Bugs are invited to participate. Gymnasts should be dropped off on 77th Street between Greenfield and Pierce in space number 100. Gymnasts should be dropped off by 6:30 p.m. The parade starts at 7 p.m. and should be completed by 8 p.m. The parade route goes from 77th and Greenfield to 70th St., turns right, and concludes at Vet Park on 77th and National. It will be a relatively quick parade route, so please be prompt when picking up your child. We will not have the staff to wait with your children. There are kids’ activities at the Park where the parade ends, if you want to partake in any of those after the parade.
The Wauwatosa Parade is Friday, July 4. Fast Track, Girls’ Level 3, Level 3/4, Girls’ Levels 8-up, and all boys’ team are invited to this parade. The parade begins at 9 a.m. Please have your gymnast at spot 49 at the Wauwatosa Library on Wauwatosa (76th St.) and North Avenues around 8:30 a.m. The parade will proceed from that spot to Mayfair Mall (opposite its usual direction). Please be available for your gymnast at the Cheesecake Factory parking lot immediately after the parade.
The Brookfield Parade is Friday, July 4. All Gold Bugs, Girls’ Level 2, Girls Level 4, Girls Level 6 and Xcel are invited to this parade. The parade begins at 10 a.m. Please have your gymnast at spot 35 at Brookfield Central High School by 9:30 a.m. The parade starts on Calhoun and Gebhardt, moving down Calhoun to North Avenue and then turns left on North Avenue Norhardt Drive. This parade is a short, fast-moving parade. Please be prompt to pick up your gymnast at the Ruby Isle Shopping Center (near Yo Mama!).
For each parade, don’t forget your gloves, tennis shoes, and socks. Bring a water bottle to share. If you freeze half a water bottle the night before and fill it with water in the morning, it will be nice and cold and melt throughout the morning. We will need a couple of parents to help hold the banner and hand out brochures.
If you have multiple children split among parades, please go to the parade of your oldest child.
Competition Leotards Past Due — Fees for the competition leotards are past due. Long sleeve competition leotards for girls were due Friday, June 13 and that cost is either $140 (Level 2, 3, 4) or $150 (Level 5, 6, 8/9) pending on the level of the gymnast. Level 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8/9 should order this leotard which will be used for two years. Fast track, Gold Bugs 2 and Xcel Silver/Gold may order this leotard as well but it is not mandatory. If you aren’t sure if you have purchased this leotard, please ask at the front desk.
Girls’ Competition Fees Starting in July — The first installment of meet fees for girls’ Levels 2, 3 and 4 are due July 15. Please pay prior to then or you will be billed and charged on July 15. Subsequent installments are due August 15 and September 15. The meet fee installments are:
Level 2: $65 (three installments for $195)
Level 3: $145 (three installments for $435)
Level 4: $150 (three installments for $450)
Boys’ all levels, and Girls’ Levels 6-8 and the winter/spring Level 2s will have meet fees due later in the year.
AAU Junior Olympics — AAU Junior Olympics registration is now closed, but they typically extend the registration a few days. If you are interested in participating in the meet, please let us know ASAP and we can still try to get you in. The cost is $85 and the meet is July 27-30 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Secret U.S. Classic — Every year, they hold the U.S. Classic in secret, but we always find out about it (kidding, Secret is the sponsor). The competition is an elite-level girls’ competition at the Sears Centre Arena at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2 in Hoffman Estates, Ill. We can get group tickets for $25 per person if we order at least 10 tickets. Please place your U.S. Classic Order by July 16 if you are interested. We will not be providing transportation to the event. Additionally, there is a junior elite session at 1 p.m. if you decide to make a day of it. We will not be getting tickets to the junior elite session. You can buy those at the box office if you so desire.
AAU Nationals and Badger State Success — Our off-season summer competition schedule started off with a bang at the AAU Age Group Nationals in Disney Resort, Fla. Wildcard had seven gymnasts compete over the course of four days with the following medals won:
Essence B. — 6th place vault in Level 3
Aaliyah K. — medaled in three of four events and took 5th in the All-Around in Level 4
Hallie F. — took fourth place in the All-Around in Open Optional
West F. — Was the national floor and vault champion in a 12-competitior, 9-under Level 4 boys group (he’s only 5!). He also placed on two other events and was fifth All-Around. A day later, he won the Free Run in Level 2 Freestyle Acrobatics in an 8-under age division. He also took second place on both speed runs. West won a total of 8 medals (3 gold) at the national championships!
A week later, several gymnasts competed at the Badger State Games. Nine Wildcard Gymnasts won 29 gold medals at the event, making it a huge success for us. The gymnasts won the following medals:
Caelyr G. — Won all four events and All-Around, Level 2
Mariyah G. — Won three of four events and All-Around, Level 3
Nora L. — Won two events, Level 3
Aaliyah — Won all four events and all-around, Level 4; Won Mini Tumbling
Emily G. — Took second on beam and third on all other events and All-Around, Level 4; Fourth in Mini Tumbling
Norah T. — Took second on three events and the all-around
Bradyn F. — Won all four events and All-Around, Level 6; Third in Mini Tumbling
Hallie F. — Won all four events and All-Around, Open; Won Youth Tumbling
West F. — Won Tiny Tumbling
Please consider these events for future years. Next year’s AAU Age Group Nationals will be at the Riviera Hotel and Casino June 10-14 in Las Vegas. Next year’s Badger State Games have not been set.
Conditioning
We are still doing T25 for any parents that want to join us. It’s a great workout and really helps provide good role models for the kids when they have their parent doing it too. Mondays and Wednesdays T25 starts at 7:45 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays T25 begins at 7:00 p.m. Fridays we do T25 right away at 9:00 a.m. This version of T25 (Gamma) uses weights. We have limited weights at the gym. Some kids have asked about getting their own; we love that idea. If you purchase a set of 5 pounds (or lighter) weights for your gymnast, please have them put their names on them. Also, we had some kids ask about the sliders that we use to work on splits. The sliders are actually furniture movers that you can buy at Home Depot/Lowes. They come in a 4 pack so you can split it with a friend and the best thing is you can use it around the house, so it’s a functional purchase too! We highly encourage the gymnasts to get sliders that they can use at home!
For all of Wildcard Gymnastics team information, sign up for e-mail reports at Wildcard’s team blog, wildcard-team.com. For more information, including team information, like Wildcard Gymnastics on Facebook or follow Wildcard Gymnastics on Twitter @wildcardnews. For all the meet results, including previous meet results, season highs, awards, 9.0s and all meet statistics, go to the Wildcard Gymnastics web site, wildcard-gymnastics.com, and click on the team tab.
Wildcard Gymnastics Team News 