Introduction

We need to change the way we compete in General gymnastics if we want to attract and retain more gymnasts. The National Gymnastics League does this by introducing a format familiar to the children from other sports with a strong emphasis on simplicity, integrity, fairness, reward, teamwork and fun. The league is aimed at clubs whose gymnasts train up to 10 hours per week.

This initiative has grown out of conversations and challenges observed in General gymnastics. Competitions often aren’t engaging, don’t have many clubs attending, are too long, over run and there are often inaccuracies in scoring. Other sports such as swimming and football do a lot better at engaging the participants through leagues and team events, and gymnastics needs to take note. We believe this league provides a modern, sustainable solution to those barriers.

If you want to gain an understanding of what we aspire to achieve we would suggest visiting swimming’s Arena National League website Home Of The National Arena Swimming League 

A Modern Approach to Gymnastics

The National Gymnastics League represents an opportunity to rethink how we deliver competitive boys and girls gymnastics:

·         Localised venues means lower costs for travel and accommodation, and it makes it easier for clubs to fit it into their existing schedule. The aim is for travel to be no more than 1.5 hrs.

·         3 Simple fixed levels enables real skill tracking across seasons and the possibilities of PBs. It also supports more accurate judging.

·         Capped numbers ensures competitions don’t over run and remain short, but it also encourages training to be selected for the team.

·         Only 4 Age Categories  helps increase numbers per category without sacrificing fairness.

·         League tables and awards keep gymnasts engaged without over-complicating routines.

We are also exploring integration with Just Go, allowing:

·         Centralised gymnast registration through BG brings legitimacy and integrity to the competition and enabling more streamlined communication.

·         Link to hours training via Just Go. We are currently working with Just Go to develop a class management system that in the future will enable us to ensure that gymnasts are entering the correct training category therefore helping to improve fairness.

·         Single electronic score system minimizes risk of errors and standardizes across competitions. We are proposing a club version of BG Score or similar that should be available for all clubs but could be tested with this competition.

·         Real-time leaderboards for gymnasts and clubs will bring a familiar sense of competition and team involvement to the sport.

We are also exploring opportunities with third party scoring systems such as Elevien to:

• Have routines filmed and posted live onto the platform enabling extended family and friends to see the competition.

• To hold Remote Leagues where clubs that are geographically isolated, or struggle to get judges can still compete using video technology and a remote judging panel.

Key Features

We want to make this league run in a consistent and familiar way wherever it is being held. We want the rules to be the same at every event, the timing and format and officiating standards to be consistently high. The more we can replicate this familiarity, the more likely we can get people to attend.

·         Pilot tarting January 2026 (with a possible test Event at the end of September 2025).

·         There will be 3 League Rounds in Year 1. Each Round will consist of 2 x competitions. The first 2 rounds will see Girls and Boys compete separately. The 3rd Round will see them compete in mixed teams to reflect the new IOC format.

·         All Events to be held on a Sunday preferably at the same times (TBC). The competitions would last circa 3hrs, with each Round lasting circa 6 hours (2 competitions per round). This ensures younger children can leave earlier and that there are reasonable travel times before and after the competitions.

·         Limited numbers to 6 gymnasts per round, or 36 per competition (72 per Event). This may increase to 8, but we would rather increase the number of Leagues per Region, than the number of gymnasts per competition.

·         Gymnasts will be able to choose which pieces they compete in although the total number of gymnasts will be fixed.

·         Online League tables for individual gymnasts and clubs.

·         Points allocated to Top 6 gymnast’s in each category contribute towards league table.

·         PB tracking by gymnasts.

·         Awards presented at each event.

·         Flexible attendance model: Clubs may rotate gymnasts between competitions. In this format the same gymnasts don't need to attend every event. Clubs can either send their strongest performers or rotate participants across their wider team to represent the club. Every gymnast competes for both personal performance and club points, creating opportunity and motivation across all levels.

Open League and Remote League Events

Limiting the size of these competitions ensures that every Event will follow the same timings and not over run. However, it also means that some people may not be selected to attend. In order to meet this possible demand we are thinking of running a number of Open League events throughout the year. Open League Events are not only designed for gymnasts who were not selected for the team competitions, but also for clubs who may just want to compete in just 1 or 2 pieces (e.g. Floor and Vault).

These events give gymnasts the chance to lodge a score in the league, improve their personal best, and remain part of the competitive journey. The Open League Events will be piece focused, for example just floor and vault. This enables all clubs, what ever their size to get the opportunity to host an event and generate revenue.

As previously mentioned we are also looking at Remote Leagues that utilise the video technology of third party providers. This is an incredibly exciting development that will increase participation for clubs that would otherwise not have the opportunity to attend.