Testing Week FAQ (Develop Program)
What is testing?
Testing is an assessment that happens towards the end of each term in your child’s normal class. Gymnasts are assessed on a list of skills that they have been learning during the term. The testing process helps parents see what their child is learning, and how they are progressing, it also assists the club in knowing when to move a child to the next level.
My child cannot attend testing week, can I organise another time for them to be tested?
If your child cannot attend their normal class on testing week, they can book into a make up class on the same week and will be tested as usual!
If you cannot attend testing week and would like to organise for your child to be tested, please contact rhianna@wdgymnastics.com.au. Additional testing may be possible depending on the availability of a spare coach/apparatus.
Why do they need to have good form to have a skill ticked?
Gymnastics is all about progressions! We need to be able to perform the basic progressions with good technique before we can move on to something harder. A handstand can only lead into a handstand flatback if the gymnast can perform a handstand well.
What does it mean if a skill is not ticked?
Each skill has specific evaluation criteria that must be met for the skill to be ticked. This means that the gymnast not only has to be able to perform the skill, but they must be able to perform it with good technique and form. Your child may be able to complete the skill, however it may not be consistent/with good form.
When will my child move to the next level?
Gymnasts can move to the next level by achieving a high number of skills in their testing, or by coach recommendation. It usually takes about a year to work through each of our classes, however each gymnast will improve at their own pace. As testing happens each term, in the Develop program, gymnasts have the opportunity to move 4 times per year.
My child lost a ‘tick’ they had last term, are they going backwards?
The testing process has been overhauled at the start of 2022. The new testing criteria requires higher skill quality than has been expected in previous terms, so gymnasts may have less skills than previous terms.
Additionally, coaches might ‘untick’ a skill if the skill is not being performed as well as it was when it was ticked. This can happen due to a lack of effort or concentration on the part of the gymnast, or they may have lost the ability to perform the skill due to lack of practice (lockdowns, injuries, etc), growing (and consequently losing some flexibility or relative strength), or sometimes for no obvious reason they just can’t seem to do it anymore. This is a normal part of the learning process and improvement is not linear.
How many skills do they need to move up?
As the testing is brand new in 2023, we have not defined a precise number of skills that need to be achieved before a gymnast can move up. This term we will be asking for feedback from coaches, along with their testing results to determine who should move up.
Why is my child’s report blank?
If your child missed testing week then their report may be blank or the same as a previous term. This is because our system sends out testing results to all our recreational members at the same time.
When will I know if my child is moving up?
We start contacting parents to move classes the week after testing week. Parents are contacted about the movement before testing results are sent out.
My child can’t make any of the class times for their new class
If your family can’t make the new class type, your child is welcome to stay in their current class. We will let you know if a waitlist place becomes available.