Pros & Cons: NCAA Teams Take On Double-Meet Weekends

Pros & Cons: NCAA Teams Take On Double-Meet Weekends

Many NCAA teams throughout the season will experience two meets in one weekend.

Feb 24, 2017 by Keri Monstrola
Pros & Cons: NCAA Teams Take On Double-Meet Weekends
Many NCAA gymnastics teams throughout the season will experience two meets in one weekend. Those squads that choose to take on this difficult schedule often find themselves competing in three meets within an eight-day span.

Let's take a look at some of the pros and cons of competing twice in the same weekend.

When teams are facing a quick turnaround between two meets, the focus of the weekend can often change. Athletes and teams need to maximize their time to allow their bodies to be rested and healthy. During the off days between the meets, athletes spend more time recovering, getting treatment, getting sleep, preparing mentally, and catching up on school work.

This accelerated schedule can allow teams to bounce back from an off performance or to build on a successful competition in their first meet. Double-meet weekends often benefit the teams that have more depth and can be challenging to those that are thin on certain events.

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Pros

  • Preparation for NCAAs 
  • Great bonding experiences (traveling together)
  • Allows new athletes to gain experience
  • Additional meet/score for team RQS
  • Day off between meets
  • Another opportunity to compete for fans

Cons

  • Taxing on bodies 
  • Forced to rest key athletes
  • Short recovery time
  • Injury/illness can happen due to lack of recovery time

FloGymnastics talked with current NCAA athletes and coaches on the topic of double meet weekends:

Ashleigh Gnat (LSU)
"Competing two times in one weekend was a really cool experience. Our success of the weekend speaks to what our practices are like and our preparation. I think we handled the pressure very well and I am proud of this team."

Lauren Johnson (Georgia)
"Our coaches like to prepare us for many different situations, including postseason and nationals. We enjoy the meets together as a team as we bond and lift each other's spirits during those double-meet weekends as they can be draining."

Coach D-D Breaux (LSU) 
"It's been about three years since we did the double weekend. It gives us the ability to prepare for NCAA Championships at the end of the year. The girls will have to go back to back on Friday and Saturday in April. It also helps us exercise our depth and as you saw in our lineup on Sunday we did that. I always say you can't just say you have depth. You have to actually put it to the test and I think that's we did over the weekend."