Alabama USAG

Compulsory State Meet Schedule

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Compulsory State Info

Download the 2010 Compulsory State Meet Info now.

Letter from Deb

Hello all! Returned Monday from the National State Chair Workshop. To start with, please go to the link and download all the minutes. Very important information that we all need to know before we start working toward the next season or before we continue working on the next season. Here is the link and if you have any problems go to www.usa-gymnastics.org navigate to the womeni's program and look at the menu. You will find minutes. COPY THEM!

http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/pages/post.html?PostID=5544&prog=w

It is extremely important that every club that plans on competing in Alabama next year attend our State wide meeting. I have scheduled it for Sunday, June 13th in Birmingham, Alabama. I will let you know where when I hear back from the folk I have asked to host the meeting. It should last no more than three hours and we will meet at 1:00 pm. All meet directors should be present. If you are at of town or at camp send another meet director from your gym. If you don’t have another meet director, please have someone from your gym take the test and become certified so they can represent you. You can find that information in last year’s Meet Director’s manual and on the national website. If you send a meet director other than yourself, remember they must be from your own gym because there is a great deal of information that must be taken back to your gym. The information pertains to every club so you need to be there whether or not there you are hosting a meet. Again, if you are unable to attend, please send someone to represent your gym.

We spent many hours with the USAG attorney and insurance company. There are several things we must do in order to be protected should an accident or injury occur, and several things we need to know about to be prepared before and accident or injury occurs. This includes your gym, records, and paperwork you must have with you when you travel to a meet. Please mark the calendar for June 13th in Birmingham at 1:00 o’clock. My job is to give you the information in person, your job is to be there.

Also, remember to mark your calendar for August 21st . That is our state clinic at Auburn. All level 8’s and up and their coaches are asked to attend. Any Alabama USAG Professional member may also attend. Meg Henry, the camp director, will be sending information our shortly. Have you registered for Regional and National Congress? These are educational opportunities that will help you in the coaches certification that will necessary for us to have to be qualified to coach at State Meets in the future. I’ll tell you more about that at the meeting. Check out the online courses that are available on the national web site under member services. They will be hold a great deal of importance for all of us in the future as well. See you soon!

2010 J.O. Clarifications

Periodically USA Gymnastics releases broadcast e-mails to the Membership. Some members are not receiving these communications. If you did not receive the recent e-mail ,with J.O. Clarifications, - please contact Mike Bowman

January 2010 J.O. Clarifications

Regional Congress Info

Download the Region 8 Congress Fact Sheet now.

Member Info Updates

2008-2009 Financial report and December, 2009 Board Meeting Minutes have been added to the Member Info section.

Member Info Updates

Dear Coaches,

Two things to remember:

1. Each coach you send to a meet MUST be included on your entry info. If you have a change in coaches after the entry has been sent, and time permits you must contact the Meet Director immediately. Entry form: You must include all coaches credential info-safety, pro number, background check. This must also show their numbers and/or expiration dates. Each coach you send to a meet MUST have their credentials with them. They DO NOT have to wear them, but they must show them before entering the competition. DO NOT assume that the Meet Director or the Scorer can look up that info on the web the day of the meet. This past weekend one coach did not have her proper credentials an attempt by made by the scorer and by me to look the info up for that coach. The server must have been down because we could not access the information and we tried from two different locations. Unfortunately she was not allowed to coach. BRING YOUR credentials. Without them, you cannot coach. It is a sanction violation.
2. We have had a few problems with coaches not getting their full warm up time. Remember if warm up time is kept on the score board, it is the responsibility of the participating coaches-not the judge to monitor that time. Suggestion: If there is more than one team in a squad all coaches should keep up with time. If you are first, ask the other coach to let you know when you have one minute left. Keep up with that yourself, but involve the others to protect them and you. DO NOT OVER STAY YOUR TIME! Also, remember that level 2's and 3's have 30 seconds to warm up, 4's have 45 seconds and level 5 and 6's have one minute. Prep Optionals and Optionals have different times and the optionals depend on the format of the meet. The meet director should remind you of the time you have per athlete in warmups in the coaches meeting. I am sending you the lastest PO sheet when I receive it. There was one misprint on time that is being changed.

Meet Director Meeting Report

I would like to thank everyone who attended the Meet Director's Meeting on Sunday, August 30th. JFJ was kind enough to let us use their facility, and we spent an hour and twenty minutes in a very informative and powerful discussion.

It was wonderful to have so many of you there and that included clubs who are not hosting meets this year but wanted the information. Each of the attendees received a Meet Director's handbook that covered a great deal of material. I have a book for each gym, and will either mail it to you or give it to you when I see you next. Thanks to Deb Kornegay, our Regional Administrative Chair, for attending. It is always a pleasure to have her at any of our events. She is a great help and having her there to answer our questions makes our meetings even more meaningful! Mary Ann Wallace, our State Judging Director, was there to answer questions concerning everything from requesting judges to budgeting and explained how to set up meets on her website. Thank you both for making the time we spent together well worth every moment.

Together, we discussed ideas concerning making Alabama's meet experience better for all, what to do in case of emergencies, administrative duties, dress code-which the Alabama State Committee voted to only enforce at State Meets and above, every imaginable problem, meet referee and judging duties, entry fees, equipment issues, and reviewed the handbook. It was apparent that all of these dedicated Meet Director’s have the same goal-to make the competitive experience in Alabama a pleasurable one for our athlete's, their families and coaches.

I truly enjoyed the opportunity to share your concerns, ideas and support! Thank you again for attending what I hope will become an annual event. I am asking each meet director to add something in our handbook for next year. TOGETHER we can accomplish so much more!

Every meet we have on our calendar had someone present to represent them.

June:

Sports Festival Ann Williams

August:

Judges Cup Mary Ann Wallace

September:

CCY Invite Jamie Wallace

Festival of Stars Meg Henry and Eric McDaniel

Fliptanic LuAnn Nix

October:

Planet Invite Joanne Novikov

Southern States Diamond Invite Deb Santos

Anna Bama Noma Meeker

Pirates of the Caribbean Phillip Acton

November:

Veterans Day/Legacy Brianna Salter

Bama Rama Mike Holdefer and Erin Kightlinger

Blue Gray Christi Tumlison

Huntsville Invite Mike Holdefer

December:

Compulsory State Meet Phillip Acton

Optional Judges Cup Mary Ann Wallace

January:

Jam Jev Invite Molly Jacks

Carnival of Stars Meg Henry, Eric McDaniel

Winter Blast Noma Meeker

Legacy Spring Invite Brianna Salter

Spirit of Courage Deb Walls

February:

CCY Invite Jamie Wallace

Mardi Gras Joanne Novikov

Cirque du Saltos Noma Meeker

Crimson Classic Mike Holdefer-Erin

Elite Cup- Robin Spaeth

March:

Auburn Invitational Becky Thornton

Optional State Meet Mike Holdefer

National Team Training Camp

Region 8 USA Gymnastics has decided to open this Training Camp opportunity to all Level 10 National qualifiers, Level 9 Eastern National qualifiers, Level 10 NIT qualifiers, and all Elites and Pre-Elites. Entry Form

Regional Prep Optional Guidelines

The Regional Prep Optional Guidelines have been updated.

Rules & Policies

The bound version of the 2009-2010 Rules & Policies will be available the first of October. The 2009-2010 Rules and Policies is posted on the USA Gymnastics web site.

Emergency Action Plans by Michael Taylor

It would be a good idea to add this to your staff manual.

Many minor injuries can be taken care of by a quick ban-aid, a few minutes of rest, or by applying ice to the injured area. First aid supplies must be available at all times. Ice cups and frozen sponges should be kept in a readily available freezer. To protect the child's skin from freezing, use towels or some other available covering but try to avoid directly applying ice to exposed skin. For personal safety reasons, the first aid provider should treat any bloody injury carefully (you will find blood spill rules in the Meet Director's Handbook you will be receiving this weekend). If a child has a blister or a rip and it can be treated with a band aid or piece of gauze and some tape, it is okay. If the rip or blister is causing a great deal of discomfort, the parent should be notified. If a child has a loose tooth and they can extract it themselves, it is okay, but staff is NOT to assist them in any way. Simply put, a band aid (applied by the child to their own injury) or an ice pack is about the extent of care staff should provide. Anything more should be directed to the parent and a medical professional. Above all, have a written Emergency Action Plan, practice it and follow it!

New Board Member!

The Alabama State Committee welcomes Phillip Acton to our board. The Board consists of the following members:

• Deb Walls, Chair
• Meg Henry-JO Representative to Region 8-Chair of Upcoming Optional Training Camp
• Kathy Chambers-TOPs Representative
• James Linderholm-Special Events and Banquet Power Point Chair
• Otis Reeves-Special Events and Program for Banquet Development
• Tom Brown-Special Events and Banquet Development
• Jeff Pangallo-Special Events and Member at Large
• Phillip Acton-Score Tracker
• Mary Ann Wallace-Assignor-non voting
• Lu Ann Nix-Hospitality Committee-non voting

The State Committee voted to increase our numbers by one and with only one person running for the State Committee, it was unanimous to add that person, Phillip Acton. We know that he will be an asset to the board. Phillip will be tracking our scores this year to check on each athlete's qualification to state, and to make sure each athlete has completed the requirements before advancing to a higher level. We now have seven voting members so there will be NO ties. I only vote in case of ties. The committee met recently and the minutes will be published as soon as they have been approved by the Regional Director and the Committee. I look forward to seeing the committee and the board at Judges Cup and the upcoming Meet Directori's Meeting.

Alabama Optional Training Camp

What:

A Free Optional Training Camp for All Level 7 - Level 10 Gymnasts

When:

Saturday, September 26th, 2009
9:00am - 4:00 pm

Where:

JFJ Elite
Birmingham, AL

For all Coaches...

Any gymnast you are interested in bringing to the camp, I will need a list of your athletes name, USAG number, and level they will compete this next season. Please send this to:
United Gymstars
C/O Meg Henry
6100 Brewbaker Blvd
Montgomery, Ala 36116
OR
E-mail Meg at gymstarcoach@aol.com

*** This will be a great opportuninty to train together, work hard , fellowship, and give our gymnast a chance to improve their gymnastics. I will be sending a list of all the participating clinicians as soon as they are confirmed. Look foward to seeing all of you there.

Thanks
Meg Henry

2009 – 2010 USAG Rules & Policies

The 2009 – 2010 USAG Rules & Policies is now available for download through the USAG website. The document is available as a single PDF file. You may also request a hard copy by filling out the online request form.