Anonymous
Post 01/09/2025 09:31     Subject: Fairfax County Gymnastics Recommendations
The way that gymnastics works is that you sign up for a recreational class that is open to everyone. These are almost always larger groups. If your child shows exceptional aptitude, she will be invited to try out for the team. Try-outs are held in the spring and I've noticed many gyms have open tryouts now. When she makes a competitive team, that's when the real training begins.

Sign up for a rec class, see how she likes it. There is a lot of conditioning in gymnastics and not everyone is cut out for it. You need to have discipline to do your exercises and the maturity to not be constanty goofing around when you're waiting your turn at a station.

From that list, Capital and Novaks are the gyms with the best competitive teams. You're lucky you have lots of good options near you!
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2025 15:05     Subject: Fairfax County Gymnastics Recommendations
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

I'd avoid rhythmic. If your daughter wants to do gymnastics because she likes the acrobatic side of things, she probably wouldn't enjoy rhythmic. Plus the culture of rhythmic is unbelievably toxic.


How is it toxic? As in competitive or cutthroat or body shaming?


NP and my DD does artistic but we live in the rare part of the U.S. (not dmv) with some rhythmic gyms. Unfortunately rhythmic is culturally 30-40 years behind the reforms in artistic gymnastics and dominated by former Eastern European and Russian coaches and their protégés. Changes to the code of points in the last 20 years driven by a tiny handful of specific and literally corrupt Russian coaches put a huge emphasis on hyper flexibility and specific body types. The girls who compete in my area are almost exclusively Russian, Ukrainian and 1st gen mainland Chinese, so their parents bring their own cultural baggage to the sport, which may or may not be in conflict with your own family values. It was a big issue for us as 2nd gen non-mainland Chinese.

TLDR: avoid rhythmic. Fascinating sport but not currently a healthy one for girls.


Thank you for this info! This is very helpful. I'm familiar with what you described and this is not what we are looking for.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2025 02:03     Subject: Fairfax County Gymnastics Recommendations
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

I'd avoid rhythmic. If your daughter wants to do gymnastics because she likes the acrobatic side of things, she probably wouldn't enjoy rhythmic. Plus the culture of rhythmic is unbelievably toxic.


How is it toxic? As in competitive or cutthroat or body shaming?


NP and my DD does artistic but we live in the rare part of the U.S. (not dmv) with some rhythmic gyms. Unfortunately rhythmic is culturally 30-40 years behind the reforms in artistic gymnastics and dominated by former Eastern European and Russian coaches and their protégés. Changes to the code of points in the last 20 years driven by a tiny handful of specific and literally corrupt Russian coaches put a huge emphasis on hyper flexibility and specific body types. The girls who compete in my area are almost exclusively Russian, Ukrainian and 1st gen mainland Chinese, so their parents bring their own cultural baggage to the sport, which may or may not be in conflict with your own family values. It was a big issue for us as 2nd gen non-mainland Chinese.

TLDR: avoid rhythmic. Fascinating sport but not currently a healthy one for girls.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2025 21:58     Subject: Fairfax County Gymnastics Recommendations
Anonymous wrote:

I'd avoid rhythmic. If your daughter wants to do gymnastics because she likes the acrobatic side of things, she probably wouldn't enjoy rhythmic. Plus the culture of rhythmic is unbelievably toxic.


How is it toxic? As in competitive or cutthroat or body shaming?
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2025 12:28     Subject: Fairfax County Gymnastics Recommendations
Pick a gym closest to where you live. If she ends up on team in the next 2 years your looking at 3+ days at the gym for 3+ hours each time.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2025 08:08     Subject: Fairfax County Gymnastics Recommendations
Real instruction starts when the make pre-team. Tryouts most places are in the spring. In other parts of the country anyone can join pre-team, but most programs are oversubscribed here so she'll need to meet strength, flexibility and skill expectations to be invited to join the pre-team program.
Anonymous
Post 01/05/2025 14:07     Subject: Fairfax County Gymnastics Recommendations
Nowhere are you going to get meaningful 1:1 time. That's just not how gymnastics is. Instruction is done in groups, and I give serious side eye to any gym that pushes the availability of private lessons, especially to class kids.

Near you is MEGA. A bit further are Capital, Cardinal, Apollo, and Novak's.

I'd avoid rhythmic. If your daughter wants to do gymnastics because she likes the acrobatic side of things, she probably wouldn't enjoy rhythmic. Plus the culture of rhythmic is unbelievably toxic.
Anonymous
Post 01/05/2025 09:00     Subject: Fairfax County Gymnastics Recommendations
Daughter is 7 and currently in gymnastics at Kidnastics. This is a lot of fun, but the facility is small and classes are large. I'm looking for a place with more 1:1 time where coaches will actively coach and push her. I'm not looking for her to be in the Olympics, lol, but not just a place where she is running around for an hour a week. She has decided this is the sport she wants to pursue, so I want to support that. She's very athletic (strong and flexible). A friend suggested rhythmic gymnastics because she's very tall and looks like a dancer.