First Steps 5 - Grading System

Introduction

Regional and National competitions are organised in groups based on age and ability. The lowest ability group is grade 6 & disabilities and the highest is grade 1. Within each grade there are age groups under 9, under 11, under 13, under 15, under 18, over 18 and Mens/Ladies. By competing in recognised grade competitions it is possible to progress up and down the grades depending on your scores.

Qualifying and Retaining Scores

If you achieve a qualifying score in competition at your current grade you can progress to the next grade higher. If you fail to achieve a retaining score at grades 1 and 2 you will go back to the next grade lower. The highest grade at which you can enter without qualification is grade 4.

Regional & National Grades

There are 14 regions in the United Kingdom; West View for instance is in the North West region. Each region holds about 4 competitions each year in grades 6 to 3. The table below shows the qualifying scores for each of these grades at each age group. You can also see that each grade has a tariff limit (tariff is a measure of the difficulty of a routine).

	U9	U11	U13	U15	U18 O18	Mens Ladies
G5 to G4	48.5	48.5	49.5	49.5	49.5
G5 tariff limit	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
G4 to G3	49.5	49.5	50.5	50.5	51.5
G4 tariff limit	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
G3 to G2	50.5	50.5	51.5	52.0	52.5
G3 tariff limit	4.5	4.5	4.5	5.0	5.0
There is no tariff limit at Grade 6. Qualifying scores from from Grade 6 to Grade 5 and Grade 5 to Grade 4 are recommended only, to be administered by each division. It is therfore possible to start at Grade 4. Competitors who achieve the minimum qualifying score twice at Grade 4 are required to progress to Grade 3. There is no compulsory progression from Grade 3 to Grade 2.

When you qualify to grade 2 you are then competing in the National grade competitons of which there are about 9 each year. Obviously this involves much more travelling as the competitions are held throughout the UK including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It also means there is much more competition from other regions.

Progression to grade 1 requires a qualifying score as shown in the table below but also you must achieve a grade 1 routine minimum form score of 23.5 in the validation panel (a special group for grade 1 qualifiers).

National Championships

Championships are held for Grade 2 (November) and Grade 1 (July) and to be able to enter you must achieve a qualifying score as indicated in the tables above. If you have competed in a Grade 1 competition you will not be eligable to enter the Grade 2 Championships in that same year.

What Next?

Each region has it's own squad and you may be invited to train and compete with them in national competitions.

If you excell, particularly at the National Grade 1 Championships you may be invited to train and compete with the National Squad.

There are several International events each year in which the National Squad competes including European Championships and World Cup Events. Selection for the Squad is made using certain criteria, copies of which can be obtained from the National Squad Administrator.

You may even achieve selection for the next Olympic Games and join the very elite group of 4 Great Britain Olympians. These four people are Lee Brearley (Mens 2000), Jaime Moore (Ladies 2000), Gary Smith (Mens 2004) and Kirsten Lawton (Ladies 2004).

On to trampolining routines...