Twice a year Pinnacle Gymnastics hosts a meet for its recreational gymnasts, once in May and again in December. The Rec Meet is open to all recreational gymnastics students from preschool through team development. Gymnasts usually have two weeks to practice routines during class. The routines are made up of the skills the gymnasts have been practicing during their weekly class. Everyone gets to practice and learn routines, but the Rec Meet is an optional event. Gymnasts who are interested in showing off the skills they've learned can enroll in the meet. There are no judges at the Rec Meet, this is a just-for-fun event.
The Rec Meet is a great way for gymnasts to show off all their hard work. Pinnacle invites parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other spectators into the gym to sit and watch their athletes perform. It can be intimidating and overwhelming for some participants, but once they become comfortable with the idea of the audience being in the gym, it is a great way for athletes to build confidence. Most of the family that is invited to watch have probably never seen their niece/granddaughter/cousin do gymnastics before. This adds an extra sense of excitement, especially because the audience claps and cheers for participants after they complete each routine.
Each participant is in a group with other gymnasts in their level. Each group has a coach to help them practice their routines before they perform, and to help them remember each piece of their routine while they are performing. Gymnasts in a group might not necessarily be in the same weekly class as each other, so it is a great way for gymnasts to meet new friends who share their love of gymnastics.
Participants are also encouraged to watch and cheer on the other gymnasts in their group, which creates a contagious atmosphere of support and confidence. Many gymnasts still feel nervous when they get up to perform their routine, and the support from their group, as well as their group's coach, really builds self confidence. Some gymnasts really blossom when they are performing, and it is not uncommon for a gymnast to perform a skill by themselves for the very first time.
Usually, for the gymnasts at least, the most exciting reason to participate in the Rec Meet is the trophy. At the end of the meet, each gymnast is called up to receive a trophy and a certificate. The trophies are different from meet to meet, and it is fun for gymnasts to look back at the different trophies they have received throughout the years. In addition to the trophy and certificate, gymnasts enrolled in a team development class also receive a ribbon from each event. Each ribbon has words of encouragement or praise about their routine from that event's "judge". "Judges" for the team development session of the Rec Meet are Pinnacle coaches or upper level competitive gymnasts. Often times getting to be a "judge" is a coaches favorite part of the Rec Meet.
The Rec Meet is great for all the reasons above, but the best part of the Rec Meet is the sense of confidence, accomplishment, and encouragement that permeates the entire event. Gymnasts leave with a smile on their face and a trophy in their hand. Parents leave feeling proud of their young gymnast. Coaches leave feeling proud of the gymnasts in their group, and proud of themselves for getting their gymnasts through the meet successfully. It is one of the ultimate feel-good events.