The State Schedule is determined by the State Committee and published at the beginning of the competitive season. Meet Directors who wish to host meets must submit a Local Meet Request Form to the appropriate individual as noted on the form. Meet Directors and their affiliates will be allowed a maximum of one Theme Meet and one Invitational per competitive year. In addition, for each Theme or Invitational meet held, these meet directors must also host one local (pre-sectional) meet. The number of local (pre-sectional) meets a meet director may host is not limited.  However, the state board will make decisions on which meets will count as qualifying meets based on the number of competitions held in any one weekend. A club may always add meets for the purpose of advancing gymnasts from one level to the next, but unless meets are on the approved MA USAG Master Meet Schedule, they will not count as a qualifying meet for athletes to advance to sectionals.  Subsequent cancellations or additions will be posted on the State Website.

COMPULSORY LEVELS

Competition for Levels 5 and 6 will be held in two seasons during the competitive year – Fall/Winter and Spring.  Each season ends with a state championship meet.  Sectionals for qualification to the spring state meets begins in January.

The season for Levels 2, 3, and 4 begins in August and concluded with each levels culminating state cup in the Spring.

OPTIONAL LEVELS

The optional season begins in August and concludes with each respective level’s culminating championship. Sectionals for qualification to the spring state meets begins in January.

USA Gymnastics sets the rules for all level 2-10 competitions.  For additional information, please call the USAG National Office and request your copy of the Women’s program Rules and Policies or you can download it from the national website at www.usa-gymnastics.org.

The purpose of this program is to provide an alternative Optional level of competition to serve any of the following athletes:

1. Those who have competed in USAG Junior Olympic (JO) program and have qualified to level 7 or 8 but need a more basic introduction to optional competition.
    

2. Those who have competed in the USAG JO program at the compulsory level and would like to experience a basic optional program during their “off” season.
    

3. Athletes who have either “retired” from the USAG JO program or do not wish to train or compete at level 7 or 8.
    

4. Those who have never been involved in the USAG JO program and are involved with program/organizations that have not traditionally used the USAG JO program.

Massachusetts PREP OP rules for 2007-8 are in a separate adendum.

Local (Pre-Sectional) Local (pre-sectional) meets are usually held in gymnastics centers but can also be run in outside facilities. These competitions are used to qualify athletes to sectionals, obtain a mobility score to move to the next level or just for experience. Any meet used for qualification to sectionals must be on the MA USAG Master Meet Schedule and sanctioned by the national office.  Meets used for mobility must be sanctioned by the national office as well, but are not required to be on the Master Meet Schedule.

Sectional   These meets qualify an athlete to states provided they have received the sectional qualifying score at a sanctioned competition listed on the MA USAG Master Meet Schedule.

Theme        These meets are a variation of a local (pre-sectional) meets with the following additions: Awards must be medals for event placements and trophies for all around and team placements. Awards must go 50% deep in each age group per event and all around.  Team awards must also go 50% deep per level. An athlete gift must also be given to each registered athlete.

Invitational  These meets MUST be held in an outside facility. It is expected that awards at Invitationals will surpass those for Theme Meets. It is also expected that the equipment should be of new quality and must meet the minimum requirements for competitions as found in the R & P.  Invitationals may also be used for mobility and qualifying to sectionals. Invitational Meets designated as a sectional may qualify the athletes to states provided they have already qualified to sectionals at least two weeks prior to the meet. An athlete who enters an Invitational designated as a sectional may either use her score to qualify to a sectional or use her score to qualify to a state meet, but may not do both at the same meet.

Entries must include coach(es) attending, coach USAG Professional Membership number, coach USAG  Safety Certification expiration date, gymnast names, gymnast USAG Athlete membership numbers, gymnast levels, gymnast dates of birth, gymnast competitive ages for the season [actual age, please – not just age group], gymnast citizenship, and the correct Competition Fees.

Entries must be received by the Meet Director two weeks prior to the meet.  Entries received after that date may be rejected by the meet director, or accepted at the Meet Director’s discretion. Entries will be accepted on a first come basis and the two week deadline is not a guarantee.

One of the reasons for this deadline is that the host gym must add or delete assigned judges at least one week prior to the meet or incur substantial penalty fees under the national judge’s contract

The meet director may refuse any entry that is telephoned, emailed or faxed. If the Meet Director accepts such entries, the coach is making an automatic agreement to pay the full fee, and should mail the fee immediately. Subsequent scratches or changes do not relieve the entering club of the obligation to pay all fees as indicated by the original entry.

Requests for refunds for scratches received prior to the two-week deadline may be honored at the Meet Director’s discretion. There will be no refunds for scratches after the deadline.  Replacements (with an athlete in the same age division and same level) may be made up to the start of the timed warm-ups.

It is the responsibility of the meet director to also personally contact all assigned judges, and all entered clubs regarding any time changes, additional sessions etc.

It is essential that Club Administrators enter early for meets in which they wish to participate so that the State Administrative Committee may know as soon as possible about any needed additions or adjustments to the schedule.

Entries must include information about the coaches attending, including name, USAG professional number and safety expiration date.  Athlete information must include: names, USAG Athlete membership numbers, levels, date of birth, gymnast’s competitive age for the season [actual age, please – not just age group], and citizenship. Entries will not be considered completed unless competition fees are paid in full. Please use the current year form for each level.  

Sectional and State Meet entries and fees must be in the hands of the appropriate Level Representative two weeks before the competition. Athletes who qualify on the deadline date must FAX their entry to the appropriate Level Rep by noon of the Monday following the meet. The Level Representative must receive a copy of the entry form and appropriate entry fee by the Wednesday following the meet.  A maximum fine of $25.00 per individual entry will be charges to individuals whose entry is received after the deadline or if the entry is completed improperly.  There will be no refunds given if the request is made after the postmark deadline has passed.

EXAMPLE:  Gymnast qualifies on Sunday, December 24, 2006 and wishes to enter the Sunday January 7, 2007 sectional. Her coach must FAX and mail the entry form and fee to the L 9/10 Rep by Monday – December 25, 2006 so that is received by Wednesday, December 27, 2006. MA USAG is not responsible for mail not getting to its final destination on time. It may be advisable to send the entry/fee by next day or 2^nd day mail to avoid being closed out of a meet.

Level Representatives

PREP OP*         Jen Scannell

2, 3, 4*               Laura Tebo

5 and 6               Linda Drowne

7 and 8               Jason Watkins

9 and 10             Paul McCarthy

Representatives marked by an * are appointed (non-voting) members.

Meets which exceed these limits may be sanctioned and held but will not be accepted as qualifying competitions unless approved by the State Committee.

Requests for exceeding the Theme Meets maximum entry fee must be sent to the State Committee and must include a specific description of why the additional funds are needed.  Reasons such as: meet is a fundraiser, athlete scholarships, cost of facility clean up, conflicting schedules, lost income due to cancellation of classes are not valid and will not be considered.  An anticipated budget including all anticipated income and expenses must be supplied by the meet director.

Invitationals - There are no entry fee limits for Invitationals held in outside facilities.

Facilities that charge an admission fee for competitions held in gymnastic facilities must provide comfortable and adequate seating for spectators. Maximum fees are:      

A gymnast’s competitive age is determined by her age on the date of the culminating meet of her season. The last day of competition at the culminating championships is the determining date.  For Levels 5 and 6 their age in the fall season is based on their age as of the Winter State Championships. For levels 4, 5 and 6 in the spring season, their age is based on the culminating Spring State Championship. Level 7’s are based on age as of the Level 7 State Championships. Level 8’s are based on their age as of the Level 8 Regional Championship.  Level 9’s are based on their age as of the Level 9 Eastern Championship.  Level 10’s are based on their age as of the JO National Championship.

For local (pre-sectional) meets at which only achievement awards are given, age groups do not need to be considered. For local meets at which placement awards are given, age groups determined by the State Committee must be used. However, any large groups may be subdivided into smaller ones in order to make awards more equitable.  Age groups may not be combined. For squading gymnasts at multi-level local meets, first priority is given to level, second priority to team, and last priority to age group.

Age groups at the State Championships will be based on an equitable division of qualifiers, and will be determined by the State Administrative Committee.  Age groups for Regionals, Easterns and Nationals will be determined by the National Office prior to the State Meet based on the birthdates of all State Qualifiers.

Invitationals may deviate from the established age groups as long as the information on age grouping is included in the original mailing.

The following are the age groups by level for sectionals and pre-sectionals.

NAWGJ is the designated official’s assignor to contract officials for all competitions. All contracts will follow the current USAG – NAWGJ National contract. NAWGJ will assign judges who meet the criteria for the meet to local (pre-sectional) and Theme meets based on availability.

It is the responsibility of the State Administrative Committee to oversee the selection of officials for State Championships and make recommendations for selection to Regional meets. NAWGJ is to provide a list of all eligible and available officials for the State Committee’s consideration. NAWGJ will issue contracts to the selected officials. It is the obligation of the official Meet Director (State Chairman) and the Meet Referee to determine final event assignments.

Meet Directors of Invitational Meets who wish to invite their own judges, either from in state or out-of-state, may do so.  However, they must give the names of the judges to the NAWGJ assignor, who will verify their eligibility and issue contracts.

In order to host a sanctioned competition the Meet Director must be a USAG professional member and a certified meet director. The Meet Director’s Certification Exam is on the USAG Website. Once the exam has been completed it is to be mailed to the National Office with a check for $15 ($25 emergency processing). 

The Meet Director must obtain a sanction by submitting a Sanction Request Form and fee to the USAG National Office. USAG will then forward a sanction packet to the Meet Director.

In an effort to produce more efficient score tracking methods the State Committee has decided that meet directors will be required to use PRO SCORE at all qualifying competitions. Meet Directors must send the results to the appropriate Level Representative in a ProScore ptf file. If a meet is scored manually or by another scoring program, the Meet Director must pay an additional recording fee of $1.00 per athlete to the level representative.  Make check payable to USAG-Mass.

Only competitions on the designated State Schedule may be used for qualification to sectional competitions.

Qualification scores for Levels 5 – 10 must be earned at a USA Gymnastics sanctioned competition.

Any gymnast in Level 9 or 10 who earned a 32.00 or better at Regionals, Easterns or Nationals in the 2005-2006 season is automatically pre-qualified to the State Championships in the Spring of 2007, providing she is still competing at the same level.

Only Levels 8, 9, and 10 gymnasts advance to a higher level of competition. Level 8 Regional qualification is based strictly on AA placement. The top seven gymnasts in the 8-12 age group, the top seven gymnasts in the 13-14 age group and the top seven gymnasts in the 15-and-up age group make up our three Massachusetts State Teams. The 8^th place athlete in each age group will become part of the mixed state team. A certain number of additional All Stars will also be invited. This number is based on the number of State Qualifiers we have in comparison to other states. These places are filled in rank order of AA score, regardless of age group.

Levels 9 & 10 gymnasts must score a 34.00 AA at States to be eligible to qualify to Regionals. There is no limit on the number of gymnasts who may qualify.

 
Scores from out-of-state USAG sanctioned competitions will be accepted for sectional qualification, mobility or injury petition purposes provided an official score sheet and a copy of the sanction is sent to the appropriate level representative and state chair.

Standards for minimum awards to be presented are found in Rules and Policies and must be followed at all qualifying competitions.  It is recommended that the top 1/3 of each age group be given awards.  Any meet director may always give more than the minimum.  However they may not give less.

There will also be Team Competition at all State Meets for those teams who have the required number of gymnasts and who choose to enter the Team Competition. The State Committee will determine the number of counting scores required to make up the team score. Traditionally, three (3) scores have counted at all State Championships. The Team entry fee at all State Meets is $25.00.  Banners/trophies will be awarded to the top teams.

The State traditionally presents an achievement plaque to each graduating Senior at her final Massachusetts competition in recognition of her many years of contribution to Massachusetts Gymnastics. It is required that all gymnasts be actually competing in their Senior Year, unless injured.  It is the responsibility of the coach to notify the State Chairman well in advance so that no one is missed.  It is traditional for the athlete’s coach to present the award at the respective event.

At the beginning of each State Championship Meet, each state qualified athlete will receive a Champions Medal in recognition of this accomplishment. Athletes will march in by team and receive their Champions Medal presented by their coach.