A parent-friendly guide to one of the most confusing (and exciting!) steps in gymnastics - team tryouts!

Different organizations use different systems. Some gyms compete Level 1, some don’t. Some use numbers, some use colors. Some combine levels, some separate them. And then there’s Xcel — the program no one warns you about until suddenly your child is in it.

I had no idea that kids gymnastics had layers — recreational, developmental, competitive — each with its own purpose and pace within a gymnastics facility.