This competition worked way differently than gymnastics competitions. There were 8 different floors; they called it "rings." I was in Ring 2 for both events. Every event in each ring is like a mini competition itself, because they give the score within the ring after every performance. After everyone within that event performs, they give out the medals (1st, 2nd, and 3rd.) I think the most people competing within one event was 14 people, which was the one I was in. And since they only gave 3 medals, they were really good quality. They were pretty heavy too.
The divisions were also really different. There are Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced groups, and you can apply in whichever group you want! I applied into the Intermediate. But within those 3 groups, it is also divided again in terms of age; there were groups with really young people to 7 yrs, then 8 to 12 yrs, and 13 to any age over 13. I was in Intermediate 8-12 yrs, so some people in my event were 8 years old. That's why it was easy for me to win.
I competed in 2 events: Contemporary Long Fist (Chang Quan), and Contemporary Straightsword (Jian Shu). I got 1st place/gold medal in Long Fist and 2nd place/silver medal in Straightsword. I think everything was pretty fun overall!
