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State Chairman Elections Coming Soon!
Nominations Requested
Nominations for State Administrative Committee Chairman must be in hand
March 1, 2016. Form below:
1.State Administrative Committee Chairmen (SACC) shall be elected by the Professional members of the Women's Program in their respective states.
 
2.They shall serve for two (2) years and be elected in the spring on even- numbered years.
 
  1. Elections to be completed by April 15th. Term of office to begin July 1st.
Criteria for nominations:

 

Nominees must be USA Gymnastics Women's Program professional members for a minimum of two years in the state program in which they seek election

 

Nominees must be at least 21 years old and be members in good standing.

It is strongly recommended that the State Committee Chairman candidates  

have financial skills, organizational skills, communication skills, a working knowledge of the program and the willingness to fulfill the duties and  

responsibilities of the position.

 
Duties and responsibilities of the SACC:
The State Administrative Committee Chairman (SACC) is responsible for the
overall organization of all designated qualifying events and programs within their State. The State Administrative Committee Chairman (SACC) shall work in
close cooperation with the Regional Administrative Committee Chairman
(RACC), Regional Junior Olympic Committee Chairman (RJOCC) and the
Regional Technical Committee Chairman (RTCC) to effectuate State programs. Any problems that cannot be solved by the State Administrative Committee
Chairman (SACC) should be submitted to the appropriate regional personnel.
 
For specific job responsibilities of State Administrative Committee Chairs,
please see pages 23-26 of the Women's Operating Code found online .     
 
Nomination form for State Chairman
 
Name of Nominee:__________________________________________ 
Address of Nominee:_________________________________________________  
City: ______________________________ State: ____ Zip: _________  
Phone: ___________________________________________________  
Email: ____________________________________________________
 
Mail completed form to Region 8 USA Gymnastics, % Debby Kornegay, 394 Stonebridge Road, Birmingham, AL 35210 or e-mail complete information.
 
Mailed and e-mailed forms must be in the hands of Debby Kornegay, Region 8 RACC no later than March 1, 2016. Any nominations received after this date will not be accepted.

Vault Rules Update


Since Optional season is now underway, there have been some questions regarding Vault, especially for Level 8. In order to stay consistent across the country, I have consulted with the National Chairs of the JO and Technical Committees and the JO Program Director and am presenting the following explanation of the rules on their behalf. Please feel free to post this on your websites.
 
Level 8 Vault Questions
 
Is a coach allowed to ask for and receive the average of the first vault at Level 8?
Coaches can ALWAYS ask for the score of the first vault at ANY level. Many times it's an issue of protecting a slightly injured athlete from doing another vault if the first vault score is adequate and acceptable.  Sometimes the gymnast plans to perform two different vaults and the coach wants to know the score of each to determine which was the counting vault.  For Level 8's, it's essential that the coach knows the score of the first vault to assist in their decision to have the gymnast try a second vault or not.
 
Please explain the 1.00 deduction for the coach spotting (assisting) during the post-flight for Level 8?  Is there ever a time that we would void a Level 8 vault, in regards to the spotting deduction?  
If a Level 8 (or any optional gymnast for that matter) is spotted in pre-flight or support phase, the vault is Void.
Since Level 8 is the first level at which salto vaults can be performed, the JO and Technical Committees decided to add a 1.00 deduction for spotting in the post-flight to encourage coaches to not be reluctant to "bump" the salto in order for the athlete to complete more of the BA rotation. While the intent was to keep the athletes safer on flipping vaults, it is also applicable to any vault performed by Level 8's.
 
If the gymnast is spotted not only in the post-flight, but also during the landing phase, the spotting assistance on the landing phase deduction of 0.50 will also be applied for a total of 1.50.

CONNIE MALONEY
USA Gymnastics
Technical Director of Women's Jr. Olympic Program 
Floor Exercise Music Approval Form

If you have Floor Excercise music that has the possibility of a deduction due to words/song please download this form and send to Marian Dykes , Region 8 Technical Committee Chairman for approval.
Level 6 Regional Qualifiers added to Training Camp
Beginning in 2016 athletes who qualify to compete at Level 6 Regionals will be eligible to attend Level 6, 7 & 8 Training Camp to be held July 22-24 at Tampa Bay Turners. 
Training Camp fees

Training Camp fees for Level 6, 7 & 8 and Level 8, 9 & 10 Training Camp have been increased to $150.00 per athlete. National Team Training Camp will remain at $130.00.
 
2016 Training Camp Sites

Level 6, 7 & 8 Training Camp will be held July 22-24 at Tampa Bay Turners in St Petersburg, FL.
 
National Team Training Camp will be held September 16-18 at University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL.
 
Level 8, 9 & 10 Training Camp will be held September 30 - October 2 at Orlando Metro in Orlando, FL.

 
 
Bids Awarded

Region 8 USA Gymnastics Committee awarded 2017 Regional bids in their December meeting.
 
Level 9 & 10 Regionals will be April 6-9, 2017 in Greensboro, NC hosted by Kidsport Gymnastics
 
Level 6, 7 & 8 Regionals will be held April 21-23, 2017 in Mobile, AL hosted by Planet Gymnastics.
Xcel Regionals will be held May 11-14, 2017 in Myrtle Beach, SC hosted by Thomas Gymnastics.
 
 
TRLF - Tim Rand Legends Fund
Please consider making a donation to the TRLF. Region 8 has paid for all Level 9 & 10 entry fees to their National Championships for the last several years. Entry fees and Level 10 number increase this year, so we need your help to continue paying National entry fees. Please consider donating a percentage of the profits from your invitational. Have a Cartwheel-A-Thon. Come up with something new, but please help us out!
 
Guidelines for Regional Entries
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR COACHES OF REGIONAL QUALIFIERS
 
EACH COACH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ENTERING THEIR OWN ATHLETES ONLINE by MIDNIGHT THE MONDAY AFTER STATE MEET.
 
Please be sure that you have ALL necessary information ready to enter your gymnasts in the Regional Meets -- USAG athlete number, birthdate, etc. - ALL Regional entries will be done online. DEADLINE is midnight Monday after your State Championship.

If a gymnast is NOT entered by midnight the Monday after State Meet; in order to enter the gymnast(s) in the Regional Meet the following penalty will apply to the coach:
 
 -    a $25.00 late fee per gymnast (in addition to the regular entry fee) must be paid to the Regional Meet Director

PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR GYMNAST HAS QUALIFIED (according to the official announcement of qualifiers) -- AND ENTER HER ONLINE PROPERLY WITHIN THE SPECIFIED TIME.
 
PETITIONS: (No petitions for Level 6, 7 or 8 Regionals)
 
1.   Any petitions should be mailed to the RTC, Marian Dykes -- it is YOUR responsibility to get all information needed for petitions.
 
2.   Marian must RECEIVE petition NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY following State Meet.
 
3.   You should call, FAX or E-mail Marian to notify her that a petition is coming. (770-451-6910 Ph, 770-457-0943 Fax)
 
4.   All petitioning gymnasts must be entered online. Payment will not be processed until petition is approved.  
 
5.   Complete Petition Form available online. Email or fax a copy of Petition Form to Debby Kornegay  205-951-0184
 
6.   A photocopy of one pre-state, sanctioned meet results from the current season (at the level to which they are petitioning) showing a score at least one (1.00) point greater than the regional qualifying score.
 
AT REGIONALS:
 
To be allowed onto the floor of competition, all coaches MUST be an active USA Gymnastics pro member. Coaches not entered online must SHOW their USA Gymnastics Membership card at Coaches sign in to be allowed onto the competition floor..
 
Level 9 & 10 coaches - you need to have with you ALL necessary information to enter your gymnasts in the National meets - entry fees for Level 9 East and JO Nationals will be paid by TR Legends Fund. You will need club checks for any JO National apparel that you wish to purchase.
 
CHECK REGION 8 WEB PAGE FOR REGIONAL MEET SCHEDULES!

Meals at Regional Competition
Please make sure you know the following.

Due to the expense of food in outside facilities and the fact that coaches receive per diem from their gym, no meals will be provided to coaches at Regional competitions. Meet Directors may provide, but are not required to provide, vouchers for meals or a green room with snacks.

Region 8 Hotel for JO Nationals
Region 8 will again have a host hotel at JO Nationals in Fort Worth, TX.  Information for hotel registration will be given out to qualifiers in the apparel room at Regionals where athletes and coaches are sized for National Apparel. 

Mileage for Judges
Effective January 1, 2016, the rate for mileage reimbursement for judges is $.54 per mile to reflect the recent decrease in the IRS standard mileage rate for 2016.

Region 8 Congress
Join us June 17-19, 2016 in Charlotte, NC for Region 8 Congress.  More details available here Region 8

The Tim Rand Memorial Golf Tournament will be held on Sunday, June 19th with Region 8 Congress.  More information available at your State Championship.
2016 Region 8 Hall of Fame inductees
Please join us at Region 8 Congress banquet to celebrate our athletes' successes at Level 9 Easterns and JO Nationals. We will also install Region 8 2016 Hall of Fame Class - Gene Alexin, John Macready, and John Roethlisberger.
 

Petition Forms
 
 
Xcel, Level 9 & 10 athletes who are unable to compete at State Championship due to injury may petition to compete at Regionals.  

Level 9 & 10 Petition form
   
  Xcel Petition form

No petition is allowed for Level 6, 7 or 8 athletes since these athletes qualify by placement. All Level 6, 7 & 8 athletes must compete at State Championships in order to qualify to Level 6 Regionals, Level 7 Regionals and Level 8 Regionals.
 
 

Minutes
 
  Minutes from the Region 8 USA Gymnastics December 2016 are available HERE.