Wildcard Gymnastics Team News

Exhibition Leotards — Payment for exhibition leotards was due Friday, June 6. For those of you who didn’t indicate to go ahead and make this charge to your account, we have done that for those gymnasts who have competed before. If your account could not be charged with the information we have on file, your name will be listed below. For Fast Track and Xcel, or newly turned Level 2, please be aware that these need to be purchased so we can place the order. These will be your gymnasts competition leotard for the upcoming season. Your gymnast will be sized next week.

The following gymnasts still need to pay for exhibition leotards according to our records:

Girls’ Fast Track — All gymnasts
Girls’ Level 2 Purple — Neave D., Jennifer H., Kaelyn L., Emily V.
Girls’ Level 2 — Claire M.
Girls’ Level 3 — Emma M., Maggie M.
Girls’ Level 4 — Aniyah B., Kerigan S., Taylor T.
Girls’ Level 6 — Sofia B.
Girls’ Level 8/9 — Rose D., Ava G., Bella G., Ashley W.
Girls’ Xcel — Amari D., Mikayla V., Mariyah V., Stephanie Y.

Gold Bugs 2 (if you are reading this blog) should also order an exhibition leotard. The following gymnasts HAVE purchased leos: Jillian C., Sydney L., Mia W.

Please remit payment for this ASAP so we may order these leotards.

Long sleeve competition leotards for girls are 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.

Boys’ team singlets are $45 and are due by Friday, June 13 as well. This is for all Boys Level 4, 5/6 and 8. No gymnasts have paid for this as of yet.

Team Tryout Wrap-Up — Parents, thank you for having your gymnasts ready for our Girls’ Level 3 and 4 tryout on Friday night. Many of the gymnasts exceeded expectations and on a whole we were very pleased with what we saw. We will try to compile all the data this weekend and have evaluations and recommendations ready by Monday.

Girls’ Level Tryouts —This Friday, June 6, will be the the tryouts for the Girls’ Level 3s and 4s. Gymnasts should arrive at 4:30 p.m. and should expect to stay until 8:30 p.m. Those gymnasts who are in Level 3 and 4 who don’t usually practice on Friday should be there for this event. Level 5-Optionals will practice as normal.

Gymnasts will be evaluated by Wildcard coaches on one routine and will have the opportunity to show specific skills on their current and possibly next level. No gymnast will lose their spot on team as a result of this tryout. This is not a tryout to be on our team, just to secure a spot on the current level.  We have no set number of gymnasts for a current level. If a gymnast is capable, we will put them on that level. We want our gymnast to be successful and it isn’t fun to train all season, be lacking skills and go to the first few meets of a season and score extremely low. If a gymnast is asked to go back to the level in which she competed last year, they will still be training the skills they currently train in order to get them confidently and work on perfecting them.

Gymnasts should wear an exhibition or competition leotard from the past. Parents, we ask that you not stay during this time. This is not a meet, but a regular practice, just with evaluations.

Friday & Saturday Schedule — Friday, June 6, Levels 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and Hopes will all have practice from 4:30-8:30 p.m. Levels 3-4 will be in a team tryout. Levels 5-8 and Hopes will practice as normal. There is no open gym on Friday.

Saturday, June 7, the Level 3s that normally come should not come. Level 2s should come as normal. New Level 2s and Fast Track can also come this Saturday for an extra practice.

Leotards — Leotard orders are due this Friday for the short sleeve exhibition leotards. That cost is $40 and we will size the gymnasts. Gymnasts who must order this leotard are:

Xcel, Fast Track, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, Level 5, Level 6, Level 8/9, Hopes.

Leotard orders are due next Friday for the long-sleeved competition leotards. The cost is $140 for compulsory-level gymnasts and $150 for optional-level gymnasts. The following levels must order this leotard:

Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, Level 5, Level 6, Level 8/9, Hopes

Other levels including Fast Track and Xcel MAY order this leotard but it is not mandatory. We will be using the long-sleeve leotards for two years, so Fast Track may want to get two years out of the leotard.

Boys’ singlet orders are due next Friday and are $45. All team gymnasts must order this singlet.

We will be opening the GTM Sportswear team store again as well so you may purchase warm ups for the girls’ team (we will be using the same warm ups as last year), t-shirts and bags.

We will not be ordering Fourth of July leotards this year. Gymnasts should wear a previous year’s Fourth of July leotard for our parades. If you don’t have a Fourth of July leotard, we can indicate a good place to purchase one or you may be able to find a red, white, or blue leotard in our ProShop.

Banquet — The team awards banquet will be held on Sunday, June 29 at noon at the Country Springs Hotel and Water Park. Any boys or girls’ gymnasts who competed in two meets since August 2013 is expected and welcome to come to the banquet.

Gymnasts are free and guests are $15 (parents should probably attend the banquet). Coaches are also free for the banquet.

Reduced water park tickets are available for $16 (normally $25). Many of the gymnasts stay to swim. Parents who wish to stay in the water park, but not swim, may do so for a $5 guest pass.

Please let us know that you will attend by June 25. We can accommodate late comers, but it will help to know how many will be coming.

Gymnasts also typically dress up for this event. It is not a formal event necessarily, but the gymnasts do typically dress a little more upscale.

Summer Schedule — The summer schedule for boys and girls will begin on Tuesday, June 17.

Click here for the boys’ schedule.
Click here for the girls’ schedule.

Summer Meets & Shows — We will be doing a reduced summer show schedule this year. The following is a list of shows and events that we have at this point:

June 12-15: AAU Age Group Nationals (Disney Resort, Fla.)
June 21: Badger State Games (Mosinee)
June 25: Greendale Library Show (Greendale)
July 2: West Allis Independence Day Parade (West Allis) in the p.m. in place of practice
July 4: Wauwatosa Independence Day Parade (Wauwatosa)
July 4: Brookfield Independence Day Parade (Brookfield)
July 25: Bethany Calvalry Share Fare (Milwaukee)
July 28-30: AAU Junior Olympics (Des Moines, Iowa)
Aug. 8: Wildcard Summer Spectacular (Brookfield, date is tentative and may be Aug. 16)

We also plan on adding Tosa’s Night Out (Aug. 5) and possibly Tosa Fest (Sept. 5-6)

Registration for the Badger State Games is open. That meet will be June 21 in Mosinee and will be a very good opportunity to compete. At this point, the meet is still low on registrants, but organizers have said it’s looking more and more like the meet will be held. The cost is $50 and please let us know if you plan on competing in that meet by Friday, June 6. The following gymnasts are registered for the Badger State Games:

Bradyn Fowler, Hallie Fowler, Emily Grining, Aaliyah Krause, Nora Laughlin, Mariyah Lee, Norah Tait.

If your gymnast should be on this list, please let us know.

Registration for the AAU Junior Olympics is also open. That meet will be held July 28-30 in Des Moines, Iowa. We do not know the meet schedule as of yet. There is also a team performance as part of this competition. Please let us know by June 27 if your gymnast plans on competing at this meet. The cost is $85. The following gymnasts are registered for AAU Junior Olympics:

Aniyah Brown, Angela Busalacchi, Ava Collyard, Bradyn Fowler, Hallie Fowler, Caelyr Grining, Emily Grining, Missy Guzman, Lilly Jagodzinski, Nadia Jennings, Ella Johnston-Fodor, Lilly Johnston-Fodor, Aaliyah Krause, Vansea Kvam, Ayanna Lacking, Mariyah Lee, Emma Lieb, Jordan Morrissey, Eden Rader, Emma Sachs, Jordan Schultz, Norah Tait, Ryann Wesley, Maeggan Xiong.

If your gymnast should be on the list, please let us know.

Competitive TOPs & HOPES — Starting with the summer schedule, we are planning to switch up TOPs and HOPES times. On Mondays, TOPS practice will go from 3:30-5 p.m. instead of 4-5:30 p.m.

On Saturdays, HOPEs will be moved to 9 a.m.-noon while Competitive TOPs will be moved to 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

There will be no TOPs on Monday, June 16.

Non-Competitive TOPs – We want to invite any gymnasts Fast Track through Level 9 who are interested in increasing their strength, conditioning, balance and form to join the Non-competitive TOPs group this summer.  Non-Competitive TOPs will practice on Tuesday mornings from 9-11 a.m. and the cost is $20 per month.  Gymnasts from this group will work on the TOPs routines and skills and also have the opportunity to try out for Competitive TOPs if they are 10 years old or younger.  It it definitely an excellent way to gain a competitive advantage.

Open Gym Schedule — This is a reminder of the open gym schedule for the summer. There is no longer a Saturday night open gym. That will return in September. There are no more Friday evening open gyms until September. Friday afternoon open gyms will begin Friday, June 20. Those are held from 12:30 p.m.-2 p.m.

There is no open gym this Friday, June 6, or next Friday, June 13.

Team Prices for Summer Camp — Wildcard Gymnastics will hold three summer camps as usual. We will offer a significant discount for our team members. The cost for camp for the team gymnasts is $150. Team kids will be practicing their regular daytime practice hours while in camps and will not be participating in camp activities during those practices. On days or times in which campers do not have practice and in between practices, they will be participating in the camp activities. Do not register for this on the web site as it will charge you the full $275. Please see someone at the front desk to register for our camps.

Camp dates are: July 7-12, July 21-25 and Aug. 4-8.Attending a Gymnastics Away Camp- We highly recommend that Wildcard competitive gymnasts try to attend a gymnastics camp.  It is really good for them to experience gymnastics in a new/different environment with coaches that they aren’t used to, and with other gymnasts from other gyms. Gymnastics camps are a chance for the gymnasts to learn new skills, perfect old ones, and work out of their comfort zone.  If you are interested in sending your child to a gymnastics camp this summer, please let feel free to ask one of our coaches.  There are a lot of good camps out there and we can definitely recommend a few.  (Some recommendations: Porter, any of the UW schools, UIC, Hamline, Flip Fest, and many more.)

Memorial Day — Wildcard Gymnastics will be closed for Memorial Day. There will be no team practice or rec classes.

Badger State Games — Badger State Games was an annual tradition in the state, but it wasn’t held the last few years. This year, on extremely short notice, they have added gymnastics back to the schedule of activities. This year’s competition is at Mosinee Middle School in Mosinee, Wis. (about a half hour from Stevens Point), on Saturday, June 21. There is also a tumbling only competition on that same Saturday where gymnasts will be judged on three passes.

The cost is $50 for gymnastics and $25 for the tumbling competition. Entries are due to Wildcard Gymnastics by June 6.

Organizers have indicated that they will not hold the competition if they don’t get at least 100 competitors combined in gymnastics, tumbling and cheer, so there is still a possibility it would not be held. If the competition is not held, gymnasts will be refunded. The date of cancellation is set for June 16.

It is a non sanctioned competition, but will be run by AAU rules. We encourage all gymnasts to participate, especially those who weren’t able to compete in the AAU season.

2014 Team Banquet — The date is set for the team banquet. It will be at noon on Sunday, June 29 at the Country Springs Hotel in Pewaukee. The cost for gymnasts (who competed in at least two meets this season) is free and additional guests are $15. We will have water park tickets and the costs available for $16 per person (gymnasts will have to pay for water park passes should they wish to swim). This is a discount of the normal $26. We expect all team gymnasts to be at the banquet. Coaches are free for the banquet and must pay for additional guests and water park passes for their entire party.

The deadline for RSVPing and paying for the is June 23.

AAU Junior Olympics — The registration deadline to Wildcard for AAU Junior Olympics (July 27-30 in Des Moines, Iowa) is now June 24. The cost is $85 and includes the entry to the team performance competition.

A tentative schedule for the event is as follows (your gymnast will compete only once but could compete on either of the days listed):
Sunday, July 27: Registration Open
Monday, July 28: Levels 1-5, Xcel Bronze, Silver, Gold; Opening Ceremonies that evening
Tuesday, July 29: Levels 1-8, Open, Xcel All Levels, Ladies All Levels, Team Competition
Wednesday, July 30: Levels 6-8, Open, Ladies All Levels

All competition is scheduled for 8 a.m.-6 p.m.

The following gymnasts have registered for Junior Olympics:
Aniyah Brown, Angela Busalacchi, Bradyn Fowler, Hallie Fowler, Caelyr Grining, Emily Grining, Nadia Jennings, Ella Johnston-Fodor, Lilly Johnston-Fodor, Aaliyah Krause, Vanesa Kvam, Aniyah Lacking, Elie Literski, Mariyah Lee, Emma Lieb, Jordan Morrissey, Jordan Schultz, Maeggan Xiong

If your child should be on the list, please let us know.

Level 3-5 Tryout — As we mentioned earlier, gymnasts will be “earning” their spot on their level on Friday, June 6 during the regular 4:30-8:30 p.m. practice time. Gymnasts will likely get to perform two routines for two different sets of coach evaluators and the data will be pieced together. Gymnasts may also be asked to show skills from the next training level. It will take a couple of days to put all that data together, so gymnasts and parents will not receive that information immediately.

For those who can not make the tryout time, please let us know and we will try to schedule a separate evaluation time with those who will be able to attend on June 6. Level 3s who normally practice on Saturday will have their practice moved to Friday, June 5. There will be no Level 3 practice on Saturday, June 7.

Summer Practice Schedule — The summer practice schedule will begin on Tuesday, June 17. Click here for a reminder as to summer practice times.

Competition and Exhibition Letoards (click the image to see it larger) — It’s time to order competition leotards for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons and summer exhibition leotards for the girls’ season. Levels 2 – 9 will be purchasing both longsleeve and exhibition leotards.  Boys should be ordering singlets for the exhibition and competition season as well (for boys, it’s the same singlet for both competition and exhibition.  Also, please note that the boys will be changing shorts and pants color to gray, so you will need to purchase those as well).

Once again, our competition leotard will be coming from Australia, so we need to expedite this process to receive them prior to the competition season. Compulsory gymnasts leotards will be charged $140 for the leotard and optional gymnasts $150.

Xcel gymnasts must purchase the exhibition leotards. They may also purchase the long-sleeved competitive leotards. They will compete in exhibition leotard unless they have purchased the long-sleeved leotard. If the Xcel gymnasts choose to purchase the long-sleeved leotard, silver and gold gymnasts will get the ones for Levels 2-5 and diamond and platinum gymnasts will get the ones for Levels 6-10.

Exhibition leotards will be coming from GK and will be $40. Boys singlets will also be from GK and are $44.

Deadline for ordering leotards and singlets is June 10. We will size all gymnasts for the leotards and singlets.

Xcel Coaching Change — For those of you who don’t know, we are having a coaching change in our Xcel levels. Missy is no longer at school in Milwaukee and will not be returning in the fall. Ashley will still be part of the program, but we have moved Heidi and Bella from classes to coaching the Xcel team. They have been working with the Xcel gymnasts for the past two weeks and are doing very well.

Beginning with the start of the summer schedule, gymnasts on Xcel Gold (Kelsey, Katherine, Anna and Stephanie) will add a half hour to their practice schedule, staying until 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. The Saturday schedule will not change.

AAU Nationals — Gymnasts competing at AAU Nationals should plan on wearing last year’s Wisconsin leotard. Families, we will need to borrow one child medium or child large Wisconsin leotard for one of the gymnasts.

For AAU Junior Olympics, we plan on wearing our new exhibition leotards.

Road Construction — You may have noticed that there are some road construction signs being staged on 127th St. There is a road construction project that we know very little about other than the Auer through 127th St. corridor will be one way for the summer. This will also impact street parking as that will likely be off limits for the summer.

Please reserve our parking lot for our recreation gymnasts whose parents typically stay for classes. Drop your gymnast off at the beginning of practice if at all possible.

If you arrive after 5 p.m. on a weekday or 1 p.m. on a Saturday please feel free to park in the First Supply lot north of our building.

We expect the construction to run through the end of September. There will also be construction on 124th Street as well as the rest of the majority of the roads in Wisconsin.

AAU Junior Olympics Dates — We published the wrong dates for AAU Junior Olympics. Based on what the AAU has on their website now, AAU Junior Olympics will hold registration on Sunday, July 27 and competition on July 28, 29 and 30. Please make a note of this.

Team Prices for Camp — Wildcard Gymnastics will hold three summer camps as usual. We will offer a significant discount for our team members. The cost for camp for the team gymnasts is $150. Team kids will be practicing their regular daytime practice hours while in camps and will not be participating in camp activities during those practices. On days or times in which campers do not have practice and in between practices, they will be participating in the camp activities. Do not register for this on the web site as it will charge you the full $275. Please see someone at the front desk to register for our camps.