In Utah, they are proposing to put practice time limits on the high school sports (not just gymnastics high school sports) like the NCAA that does it for colleges (20'hours per week/ or 4 hrs per day). reason: [quote]One football team held daylong training sessions last August, welcoming players at 6 a.m., practicing during the hottest parts of the day, and dismissing them at 9 p.m. A drill team in central Utah last winter practiced from the time school let out, around 3 p.m., until 9 p.m., and the team's advisor asked parents to bring dinner to the school so the girls wouldn't waste time going home to eat. "Coaches were literally taking over kids' lives [at some schools]," Jordan athletic director Marc Hunter, executive director of the Utah [/quote] Several other states already have limits set, such as Arizona's rule for high school athletes is they can practice just 2 hours a day or 20 per week and the games are also included in the 20 hours per week. Utah proposes: [quote] The Utah committee recommends teams be allowed to practice up to four hours a day, or 20 a week. Games, meets, matches and competitions would not count as practice time, nor would travel to and from events, player/coach interviews or attention to medical issues, including taping. But weight lifting, workouts and film study would be considered practice, along with other sports-related activities such as team meetings and dinners. Exceptions would be made for golf, due to its unique play times. Also, multisport athletes will not be allowed to exceed the limits, even if they are practicing with two or more sports teams. Wilkey said many Utahns may be surprised to learn the state, at least now, does not prohibit Sunday games or practices, although several states across the country do have such a rule in place. This rule won't do that, but it will mandate all activities and practices within a playing season be prohibited one calendar day a week. [/quote] Article: "UHSAA rules ~ Special Report PREP SPORTS: UHSAA looks at placing limits on practicePractice not perfect" - http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_5051431 More at: "Practice time limitations set by UHSAA" - http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_5051442 The high school team that practices at our gym only does 1.5 hours / 5 days a week.

20 hrs. a week seems a lot for a high school sport. at our gymnastics club, only level 8's and up have more - at about 24 hours of practice a week (4 hrs a day, 6 days a week)

For us, highschool sports prob. do a few more than 20. Marching band/colorguard practices a lot more, and gymanstics is a/b 4 hrs perday, seven days a week. Fall sports , though, that start in summer, do practice way over that, with more than six hrs per day for an extended period of weeks.

wow, 4 hrs a day is a lot for hs sports for gymnastics - but then again it's like the optionals practice if it's a really good varsity team. flyinflex: you mean 6 days a week though, not 7, right? that's like burn out to not have a day off! 1.5 hours / day practice on the other hand is not much for gymnastics - just for jv and the lower levels. to get the release moves, giants, back-handsprings on beam - the varsity levels - better to have more than 1.5 hours / day of practice! if you work well, or 'play well' you can put it!, three hours/day of practice is pretty good, and then when you would like a little more practice one day or a little less another day, it would be nice to do it like that.

There are six days of regular practice and mandatatory open gmys on Sundays. The combined hs team is going for their second straight state title this year. It's really serious where I live. That's why my parents won't let me do it. They think I'd work myself too hard and lose weight that I don't need to. I culd tell last year when I was just doing running/lifting for 2-2 1/2 hrs 3-4 times a week that my dad thought I was working too hard, but I just wanted to be fit.

Wow flyinflex, that is a lot of gymnastics practice at your high school! Is the open gym for 4 hours too? Or probably 2 hours like club open gyms? Do they practice at a local gym club or do they have a gym in the high school?

I think the open gym is 3 hrs. There isoff season practice at the nearby salto and also weekends, but usu. they're at the hs.

ya, that's a lot of practice! the highschoolers practice at our club, so I guess they don't have a gym at their high school (like a gymnastics gym I mean)

the hs around here that have any gymnastics equipment is the old style/types and isn't used for gymnastics (no springy floor, no good bars, or updated style of vault, beam, bars, etc) - so they use the local gymnastics clubs.