Join us for an evening of fun and professional development! With an emphasis on safety, individual development, fitness and fun, instructors of recreational gymnasts will learn age-appropriate skills, drills and progressions on all events. Information about lesson planning. class management, warm-ups and games will be provided, along with hands-on spotting practice.
Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Click here to reserve your spot!
Onsite registration will be available at the registration table. Want to save time in line? Click here to access the onsite registration form, complete and bring it with you to the congress registration table. Credit cards or checks are accepted for payment.
Onsite registration will be available at the registration table. Want to save time in line? Click here to access the onsite registration form, complete and bring it with you to the congress registration table. Credit cards or checks are accepted for payment.
Visit the Region 8 Trade Show Hall to chat with vendors and check out the latest products and services in the industry, including equipment, apparel, technology, and more!
Using Hollywood, action heros and the Ninja Warrior craze to get boys through the doors, into the gym and near gymnastics equipment is half the battle. Budget-minded props, movie soundtracks, sound effects and already existing apparatus and mats can provide a setting for your junior stuntmen to act out survivable tricks that actually have their foundation in core gymnastics movement.
This session is designed to help the Women’s Program community understand all the rule changes that were approved at the 2026 annual committee meetings. You’ll hear directly from members of the Administrative, Technical, and Development Program committees as they walk through the key updates — including changes to the Rules and Policies, the Development Program Code of Points, the Compulsory Book, and the Operating Code. These updates will take effect for the upcoming 2026-2027 competition season, so this is a great chance to get clear on what’s new.
There are tons of under-utilized training tools in your gym – it’s just time to get creative! Here’s an innovative look at stall bars, sliders, bands, medicine balls, blocks, small weights and yoga methodology to train your athletes on core, stability, flexibility and strength.
Risk doesn’t show up out of nowhere…it builds. This presentation introduces the Three-Layer Risk Model, a simple, clear way to understand how individual behaviors, weak systems, and unhealthy culture combine to create preventable problems. Club leaders will learn how to assess each layer, identify gaps, and take actionable steps that strengthen their entire program. It’s a modern, practical approach to creating safer training environments.
This lecture will provide a powerful narrative using the speaker’s personal experience as an elite athlete who faced significant mental health struggles, fear and mental blocks. The session focuses on bridging the gap between an athlete’s mental state and a coach’s perception, transforming personal struggle into professional insight.
The speaker will detail the hidden signs of distress they exhibited that were not recognized by their coaches, such as changes in demeanor, atypical withdrawal, or subtle shifts in training engagement. The speaker will outline actionable support strategies that would have been most beneficial at the time, emphasizing empathetic communication and a shift from purely performance-focused interactions to holistic well-being checks.
Crucially, the lecture highlighted the “red flags” coaches often miss, emphasizing that performance decline is often a symptom, not the primary problem. Finally, the session demonstrated how the speaker’s own journey now informs their current coaching and clinical work, underscoring the critical role of early emotional support in preventing long-term mental blocks and fostering resilient athletes.
Discover how to turn parents into active partners in learning through play! This session will explore fun, purposeful activity stations that foster meaningful parent-child interaction. Learn effective strategies to guide parents in playful engagement that supports their child’s development – and makes learning fun for everyone!
This session is designed to help the Women’s Program community understand all the rule changes that were approved at the 2026 annual committee meetings. You’ll hear directly from members of the Administrative, Technical, and Xcel Program committees as they walk through the key updates — including changes to the Rules and Policies, the Xcel Program Code of Points, and the Operating Code. These updates will take effect for the upcoming 2026-2027 competition season, so this is a great chance to get clear on what’s new.
Dr. Caplan will discuss general principles and return to gymnastics after injury. Topics will include the unique needs of gymnasts in their recovery from injury, factors that affect recovery progression, how different types of injuries impact return-to-play protocols, and recognizing when it is okay for gymnasts to push through pain and when rest is best.
The basis of all gymnastics is a basic proper handstand. Come learn different drills and ways to develop a handstand for rec. and beginning level athletes.
This session will cover:
The panel mat is a gym essential – ubiquitous in every space, and yet often underestimated. It’s the one piece of equipment found in every gym, and most gyms could use more of them. While typically used for tumbling, the panel mat’s versatility extends far beyond that, especially whencombined with other matting. Discover how this simple, yet indispensable tool can prove to be your go-to in teaching just about everthing.
Updated Deduction Guidelines for Choreography, Expression, Posture, Footwork, and Dynamics
Guided Hands on Spotting Practice
Vault: basic vaulting skills.
Uneven Bars: Pullovers, Back Hip Circles, Swings and Regrips, Squat-Ons.
Balance Beam: Handstands, Cartwheels.
Floor: Cartwheels, Back Walkovers, Front Walkovers, Backward Rolls, Handstands, Back Handsprings.
Space in this session is limited! Reserve your spot by signing up at the Congress registration desk beginning Thursday at 5:30p.m.
Session attendees aged 18+ must be U110 SafeSport Trained to participate in hands-on spotting activities.
Digital life is now part of coaching life. And if you’re not actively managing it, it’s managing you. This session is your crash course on the tech tightrope coaches walk every day – social media boundaries, messaging expectations, group chats, recording and posting culture, and what “digital professionalism” looks like in 2026. Get tools, scripts, and guidelines you can implement immediately to keep yourself, your athletes, and your club protected in a world where everything has a screenshot button.
Learn how to run effective warmups and conditioning when space is limited and numbers are high. This session focuses on efficient movement, intentional sequencing, and keeping gymnasts engaged. Walk away with practical ideas you can implement immediately—no extra floor space required.
Turn your lunch break into a learning opportunity with Hailey Wagner as she shares strategies for developing powerful, confident front tumblers! Lunch not provided. Please bring your own lunch.
Hungry for knowledge? Grab your lunch and get some tips from Cathy Campfield on how to handle those unusual judging situations and things we sometimes miss. Lunch not provided. Please bring your own lunch.
Navigating the changes and revisiting the foundations of Level 10.
Guided Hands-on Spotting Practice:
Uneven Bars: Kips
Beam: Cartwheels, Handstands, Back Walkovers, Cartwheel-Side Handstand Dismounts
Floor: Front Handsprings, Back Handsprings
Space in this session is limited! Reserve your spot by signing up at the Congress registration desk beginning Thursday at 5:30p.m.
Session attendees aged 18+ must be U110 SafeSport Trained to participate in hands-on spotting activities.
During this conversation, we’ll cover cost effective ways to maximize your social media accounts. Getting these accounts to send you more traffic, sell more to your current clients, and build a fantastic reputation within your community.
Learn how to construct Xcel routines that are clean, confident, and engaging.
We’ll explore composition, choreography choices, and skill selection that highlight each athlete’s strengths. Turn basic routines into polished performances without adding unnecessary difficulty.
Navigating the changes and revisiting the foundations of Level 8.
Learning styles are how people process information, while teaching styles are how teachers present information. Uncover your strengths and identify your athlete’s needs to maximize results and reduce frustration.
Guided Hands-on Spotting Practice
Uneven Bars: Clear Hips; 3,6,7 Circling Skills
Floor: Roundoff BHS-BHS, Front Handsprings, Front Tucks
Space in this session is limited! Reserve your spot by signing up at the Congress registration desk beginning Thursday at 5:30p.m.
Session attendees aged 18+ must be U110 SafeSport Trained to participate in hands-on spotting activities.
This session focuses on building a structured, scalable staff training program that fits ANY gym size. Learn how to onboard new coaches, develop monthly training plans, create coaching progressions, teach spotting safely, and implement an internal certification structure that keeps staff learning. Includes templates for evaluations, mentorship systems, and ongoing professional development.
Stuck for space or equipment? Come learn about vault solutions without a vault table that can be used and adapted for all levels and all entries with minimal set-up! These solutions are also athlete-body friendly, limiting impact while training in limited situations!
Come learn progressions and teaching ideas that utilize a trampoline and tumble track for your recreational classes.
“Tuck your butt under, suck your ribs in, lighter on your feet, hollow out your body, straighter line.” I assume this is not new language to hear. All have their place within the sport, and all have their place within disordered pressures. We cannot eliminate the facts of the sport, but we can change how we approach it. Language around food, body size, shape, and exercise directly impact impressionable minds; Minds that may value their coach’s opinion over all else. This lecture gives insight into how seemingly normal language within the sport of gymnastics can influence disordered behavior, and how discussion around the “whys” within the sport impact intentions behind the action.
In this judging lecture, we will cover the essential criteria for evaluating front tumbling in women’s gymnastics on both balance beam and floor exercise. We will focus on technical execution, amplitude, precision, and the connection of skills. Judges will learn to assess both the difficulty and artistry, ensuring a fair, consistent, and comprehensive scoring approach for each gymnast.
Discover how to design vault and bar stations that keep athletes moving with purpose.
We’ll cover progressions, organization, and skill development tailored to Rec and Xcel programs.
Create stations that build confidence, consistency, and measurable improvement.
The most important way we control our gross revenue is through effective understanding of what to charge our customers. In this lecture, we will discuss strategies for: when to adjust, how much to adjust, and how to come to grips with the emotions that hold us back from charging what we’re worth.
Join us as we celebrate Region 8! We will start the night honoring our 2026 National Champions and Hall of Fame Inductees. The fun will continue as we transition to Dueling Pianos to support our Region 8 athletes through the Tim Rand Legends Fund. Join us for food and drinks, raffle items and prizes!
Click here to purchase tickets!
Rise and Shine! Begin the day with a rejuvenating morning stretch session. Awaken your body, mind, and spirit in preparation for an invigorating day of learning and professional growth!
Onsite registration will be available at the registration table. Want to save time in line? Click here to access the onsite registration form, complete and bring it with you to the congress registration table. Credit cards or checks are accepted for payment.
Visit the Region 8 Trade Show Hall to chat with vendors and check out the latest products and services in the industry, including equipment, apparel, technology, and more!
Brian Payne, major contributor to Preschool Gymnastics Coaches Facebook site, will be sharing a multitude of his fifty different preschool themes and secrets of budget-minded props that have been vital to his mobile tumbling and movement education success.
If you need a close up look at Pirate Soup, Reindeer Roundup, Hang like a Bat…man, Hulknastics, Junior Firefighter School, Winter Olympics without Snow, Leaping Leprechauns, Fun with Food, Football knock down the Wall, then this is the place for you.
Navigating the changes and revisiting the foundations of Level 9.
Body tension is the foundation of every successful skill. Let’s break down how to teach, reinforce, and transfer body control across all events. Leave this lecture with easy drills and coaching cues to implement.
Running a successful gymnastics program requires more than great coaching—it requires a legally sound business foundation. Yet most gym owners are unknowingly exposed to significant risks in four key areas: business entity structure, personal injury liability, tuition agreements, and staffing practices. Small oversights in any of these categories can drain profits, trigger regulatory penalties, weaken your valuation, or even shut down your gym entirely.
In this practical and eye-opening session, attorney and former gym owner Matt Becker will break down the most common legal landmines he sees in gyms across the country—and how to fix them before they become expensive problems. Using real scenarios drawn from more than 800 gym consultations, Matt simplifies complex legal issues into clear, actionable steps you can implement immediately.
Attendees will learn:
Whether you run recreational classes, competitive teams, camps, or preschool programs, this session will help you protect your athletes, your business, and your long-term financial stability.
Explore Nick’s Pyramid of Preparation, a 5-stage framework designed to help coaches understand skill development more effectively and unlock consistent, long-term athlete progression. From shaping and prerequisite strength to technical preparation and readiness, this model gives coaches a clear roadmap for preparing gymnasts to learn skills safely, confidently, and efficiently.
Guided Hands-on Spotting Practice:
Uneven Bars: Flyaways
Beam: Back Walkover-Back Handspring; Back Handspring-Back Handpsring; Back Handspring-Layout
Floor: Aerials, Front Tucks, Standing Back Tucks
Space in this session is limited! Reserve your spot by signing up at the Congress registration desk beginning Thursday at 5:30p.m.
Session attendees aged 18+ must be U110 SafeSport Trained to participate in hands-on spotting activities.
AI isn’t coming, it’s already quietly reshaping how the most efficient gyms operate. In this engaging session, Mark Mahoney, Founder & CEO of Jackrabbit Class, will break down five practical, real-world ways gyms are using AI today to save time, improve decision-making, and increase profitability without needing to be tech experts.
From front desk automation to marketing optimization and staffing efficiencies, you’ll walk away with immediately usable ideas. We’ll also explore when technology supports growth vs. when culture, leadership, and systems should be prioritized to ensure long-term success.
Key Takeaways:
Five specific AI use cases gym owners can implement right now.
Where AI adds real value vs. where it creates distractions.
How to balance automation with culture, relationships, and leadership
A clear framework for deciding when to scale with tech, and when to simplify.
From Shaping to Mastery – Explore how athletes learn new skills over time, linking motor-learning science with practical shaping and progressions for gymnastics. Learning Objectives: a) Explain the stages of motor learning and how they relate to gymnastics skills b) Identify shaping requirements and physical prerequisites for major skill families c) Apply progressions that develop develop timing, rhythm, & movement efficiency d) Use profiling to assess readiness and reduce failure cycles e) Effective Skill & Routine Verification.
Balance beam is the art of teetering between gravity and grace. With each arabesque and daring dismount, we celebrated the gleeful ballet of nerves and skill, where falling is just a prelude to soaring. Discover ideas for balance development from floor activities to high beam happenings. Body positioning, strength, coordination, and progression will help to straighten even the wobbliest gymnast.
Competition nerves are a brain response to wanting to do well, but typically not a helpful emotion to let run the show. In this session, you’ll learn a simple meet-day mental routine your gymnasts can use during warm-up, between events, and right before they salute. These tools help them settle their nerves, focus their brain, and compete the way they train.
Judging Level 6/7 vault can be a challenge for even the most experienced judges. This session will provide hints to help judges evaluate the vault consistently.
Guided Hands-on Spotting Practice
Uneven Bars: Low Bar Giants
Floor: Roundoff Back Handsprings, Back Tucks and beyond
Space in this session is limited! Reserve your spot by signing up at the Congress registration desk beginning Thursday at 5:30p.m.
Session attendees aged 18+ must be U110 SafeSport Trained to participate in hands-on spotting activities.
The most successful clubs teach Gymnastics Skills and Life Skills. We don’t just Teach – We Demonstrate! From administration, to annual plans, to coaches.
The Georgia USAG Open Meeting is for all Georgia professional members to review state specific updates and changes, and to discuss issues and concerns expressed throughout the year. Attendees may also submit questions or concerns for discussion to the SACC ([email protected]) prior to the meeting.
Make your lunch break count! Grab a bite to eat and join Hailey Wagner as she shares practical tips for helping athletes develop confidence leaning over the bar. Lunch not provided. Please bring your own lunch.
Here’s something to chew on! Bring your lunch and join Diane Thompson as she shares a sampler platter of valuable judging tidbits. Meal not provided. Please bring your own lunch.
Quick bites, big insights! Grab your lunch and join Jen Skorski for a simple, stress-free look at how QuickBooks can keep your club’s finances organized and working for you! Lunch not provided. Please bring your own lunch.
You have to rotate to bars with your preschoolers/beginners. Do they have upper body strength? Do they have grip strength? Can they even reach the bar? Here are many ways to keep them active while gaining the upper body and grip strength to succeed.
Highlight the differences between scoring Dev and Xcel bar routines with similar skill sets —such as Level 6 and Platinum — since routines can look alike but score very differently.
Guided Hands on Spotting Practice
Vault: Yurchenko Training
Uneven Bars: Overshoots
Beam: Dismounts
Space in this session is limited! Reserve your spot by signing up at the Congress registration desk beginning Thursday at 5:30p.m.
Session attendees aged 18+ must be U110 SafeSport Trained to participate in hands-on spotting activities.
Every coach steps into the role carrying a script they didn’t write. It’s the one handed to them by the coaches who came before — the good, the inspiring, and the deeply harmful. Those patterns repeat from generation to generation, shaping how coaches set expectations, communicate, motivate, and respond under pressure. Some coaches follow the script exactly because it’s all they’ve ever seen; others rebel against it, but still feel its pull when things get hard.
This session looks directly at those inherited patterns and how they show up in today’s gyms. Through lecture and guided discussion, coaches and managers will explore which behaviors are worth carrying forward and which patterns need to be intentionally broken so they aren’t passed to the next generation.
All the building blocks for outstanding bars.
Fear and frustration don’t mean your gymnast “doesn’t want it.” They mean her brain is overwhelmed or in fight-or-flight. In this session, you’ll learn the Mental Routine built on the Four Fs—a simple, powerful process coaches can use to help athletes work through fear, frustration, and self-doubt. You’ll leave with a repeatable routine to help gymnasts rewire fear, regain trust in their bodies, and get the skills they need this season.
Understanding the bio-mechanics, progressions and analysis of dance skills in the competitive program.
Apply the updated rules to calculate your start value.
As a gym owner, you don’t just manage facilities, you run a high-pressure business built on performance culture. Every decision, every challenge, every conversation is filtered through one system first: the brain.
When your mental operating system is optimized, you’ll easily lead with clarity, confidence, and consistency, no matter how chaotic the day gets. Ready to build your business with less stress? Then don’t miss this interactive, high-impact session.
Join Jackrabbit Class and The Better Brain Project for a practical, energizing look at the neuroscience behind high-performing gym leadership. You’ll discover how mental fitness helps you:
Make faster, higher-quality decisions
Handle tough conversations without stress
Strengthen time-management and boundaries
Maintain resilience so you can lead at your best
You’ll also see real-world outcomes through a gym case study and leave with simple tools you can put into action immediately to elevate how you lead your athletes, your staff, and your business.
Maximize practice efficiency by using trampoline and side stations strategically.
This session focuses on keeping athletes active, reducing downtime, and managing large groups. Train smarter—not longer—while maintaining quality and safety in Xcel practices.
Emergencies and unexpected situations don’t wait for the perfect staff member or the perfect moment. How a club responds in those first few minutes depends heavily on the preparation, communication, and systems that were built long before anything went wrong.
This session gives coaches and club leaders a clear, practical look at how readiness is developed — from strong policies and daily communication habits to tabletop walk-throughs, staff training, and on-the-floor decision making. In this experiential workshop, participants will explore how well-designed systems can prevent confusion, reduce risk, and shape a coordinated response when the unexpected happens.
When you understand the athlete’s mind, you have the ability to bring out the best in them in a positive and caring manner.
This session will provide several strategies to keep your daily training assignment and workouts interesting, challenging, and actually fun! Learn to take your “typical workouts” and evolve them into assignments that your athletes want to do!
Navigating the changes and revisiting the foundations of Levels 6 and 7.
Discover Nick’s Octimisation Model—an 8-point visual framework that identifies the essential movement patterns and physical competencies required for long-term technical mastery. Coaches will learn how to assess these foundations, integrate them into daily training, and use the Octagon to guide smarter progressions and athlete development.
This energizing, three-hour training is built specifically for PreTeam, Developmental, and Xcel coaches who want clearer progressions, stronger basics, and more confident athletes. Using the “Begin Here → Go Anywhere” philosophy, coaches will learn how to teach essential shapes, build smart strength, and connect those fundamentals directly to skills on vault, bars, beam, and floor. Through live demos, practical drills, hands-on practice, and coach-to-coach teaching, you’ll walk away with consistent language, effective cues, and proven methods you can use immediately in the gym. This boot camp is equal parts instructional and fun—packed with movement, problem-solving, and lightbulb moments that will make teaching beginners simpler, safer, and way more successful. Click Here for more info!
This Boot Camp is FREE to Region 8 Congress Registrants
Sign-up at Congress Registration Table beginning Thursday, June 25 at 5:30 p.m.
Congress gives you the ideas—this session helps you turn them into action. After a full weekend of Congress sessions, ideas, and notes, it can be difficult to know where to begin. This short interactive session will help gym owners and leaders organize their key insights, prioritize what matters most for their program, and identify which ideas should be implemented now, next month, or later in the year.
Participants should bring their Translate Notes Into Action form and be ready to work through a simple step-by-step process for narrowing ideas, identifying strategic priorities, and building a practical implementation plan. Attendees will leave with a clearer path for turning Congress learning into action and seeing meaningful return on their investment.
Onsite registration will be available at the registration table. Want to save time in line? Click here to access the onsite registration form, complete and bring it with you to the congress registration table. Credit cards or checks are accepted for payment.
Visit the Region 8 Trade Show Hall to chat with vendors and check out the latest products and services in the industry, including equipment, apparel, technology, and more!
In every skill there is a deliberate place to look.
This lecture will show how intentional lesson planning and a well-structured annual program calendar can streamline operations, support staff consistency, and strengthen overall program quality. Attendees will learn how to design purposeful class structures, expand lesson plans into additional class offerings, and create progressive station setups that support athlete development while improving the daily flow of classes.
The session will also address how to reduce planning fatigue by building repeatable systems instead of starting from scratch each year. Participants will explore how to refresh lesson plans with new themes while maintaining consistency, purpose, and skill development. Attendees will leave with practical tools to plan smarter, teach more intentionally, and support the long-term success of their classes, coaches, and athletes.
Preschool gymnastics is scary when you don’t understand why they act the way they do. This course provides a look at the cognitive, social and emotional development of age 2-5 year olds. Teachers will learn how to identify potential behavior “stingers.”
This session will focus on USA Gymnastics Rules and Policies. Have you ever wondered “Where is that rule? Is it in R&P, Dev Code, or Xcel Code?” You will learn how to compare 2025-2026 R&P to 2026-2027 R&P, where to find R&P index, how to search your R&P, & how to order tabs for your R&P. The goal will be to help judges not have that panic of WHERE IS THAT RULE! Plus there is no test, so you can relax in this session and have some well deserved downtime.
Side stations utilizing only incline mats (and a few aids). Get the most from the most common gym shape!
Mastering fundamental tumbling is one of the most important investments a coach can make in an athlete’s long-term development. In this session, Nick will break down the key acrobatic principles that drive successful front and back tumbling including; basic shapes, positions and mechanics. Coaches will also gain insight into Nick’s favourite drills, teaching methods, and progressions designed to build confidence, quality, and long-term performance.
This session will focus on amplitude of leaps and jumps on beam as well as degree of completion of elements with turns in the air. The goal will be to help judges differentiate amplitude and precision in these skills on beam.
Presented by Positive Coaching Alliance, this FREE workshop gives coaches practical strategies to handle challenging behaviors, strengthen team culture, and create practices where athletes can thrive. Instead of viewing disruptions or lack of focus as simple attitude problems, coaches will learn how behavior can be a form of communication – and how to respond in ways that build connection, accountability, and growth. Participants will leave with tools to manage tough moments with clarity and consistency, design more engaging and inclusive practices, and foster stronger relationships that lead to better athlete engagement and long-term team success.
This Course is FREE to Region 8 Congress Registrants!
Space is limited! Click Here to Register!
