UPDATE:
Good news.
In California, coaches were not standing in for Compulsory J.O. Bars, fearing deduction, even if they didn’t spot their gymnast.
Beginners are at risk of slipping off backwards, while trying to get as high a swing as possible in competition.
But check out what JBS, founder of the Chalk Bucket forum, found after researching the issue:
Page 163…section VIII…#4 of the JO Compulsory Program book used to read:
Coach standing between the bars or next to the beam throughout exercise 0.10
Now it reads:
Coach standing next to the beam throughout exercise 0.10
read more on Chalk Bucket…
JBS links to the relevant update in the 2005-2013 WOMEN’S JR. OLYMPIC COMPULSORY BOOK ERRATA.
So, … J.O. coaches CAN stand-in for their kids on Bars in compulsories. Without deduction. You may want to photocopy that update document and take it with you to the competition if you want to stand in.
Note also:
118 L5/6 V A. General: Add 12. There is NO deduction for coach standing between the board and the vault table.
You’re still not allowed to stand in for Beam or Floor.
____ see original post below:
Jeremy Waters, California Sports Center, San Jose, CA:
Open Letter to USA Gymnastics
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of coaching my girls at the NorCal Level 6 State Championships. While I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend — as I almost always enjoy meet weekends — there was one moment that I will be reliving in my nightmares for weeks to come. A girl from another gym peeled off the bar in the back of a tap swing, and landed directly on her head. The meet was interrupted, the girl was carried out on a stretcher and taken to the emergency room. Fortunately, she turned out to be fine …
Under current USAG rules, points are deducted if the coach stands between the bars ready to catch the gymnast during a routine. And while coaches are permitted to step in for a singe skill or brief sequence, this is so nebulously defined that most coaches, to avoid that deduction, simply stand back for the whole routine.
This is not an acceptable situation. Such dangerous and preventable crashes should never be allowed to occur. For the safety of all female gymnasts in the US, I urge you to rewrite the spotting regulations on bars to encourage or even require coaches to stand close to or under the bars during a routine. …
If you’ve an opinion on that, leave a comment on Jeremy’s Facebook page.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 