WAG Level 5 Bars - Can you Straddle?

[PalmTree]

I have a very tall Level 5 gymnast. The bars do not go out far enough for her to not hit her feet on the low bar when she does her tap swings (she is 5'4''). The bars at our gym are fine, but when we go to meets they always have bars that don't go out far enough. One of the judges said our home bars must have "extenders." They just look like normal bars.

Two questions:
1. Why do the official bars not go out very far? Doesn't seem fair to taller gymnasts.
2. In the Level 5 Bar Routine, is she allowed to straddle her legs in her counterswings on high bar? Otherwise, she has to be horribly piked which is a deduction.

So frustrated! Any opinions help! Especially as we have a meet tomorrow

 

[Deleted member D3987]

this is not making sense to me. are you attending USAG sanctioned competitions? all USAG sanctioned events must have approved equipment. this means uneven bars that you can set at all parameters. the judge doesn't know what she's talking about...as usual. and maybe you got a lazy coach that sets the bars at 1 setting for all the kids that he has in the rotation?

so then, what competitions are you attending?

no, she is not allowed to straddle without a deduction. and no, there is no deduction for piking when the legs are closed. it's the text. so if the judge told you that also...consider the source.

i'll wait to hear from you.

 

[PalmTree]

I'm her coach so it's not a lazy coach problem!! she's not "my" kid, I didn't explain well. We go to USAG competitions, the last two which were at very big name gyms. So I know the equipment must be official. But I slid the bars apart as far as they go (there is a bolt it goes down to). They are still way closer than at our home gym. I asked the other coaches as well as the judge, and they all said that's as far as it goes. What am I missing?! Our home bars are AAI. Meet bars were also AAI bit quite different. It's possible that our bars are quite old; could that make a difference?
The judge didn't say anything about piking but I assumed it would be a deduction. So it's not? That's good I guess.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

this is not making sense. does your gym have the 1200 series aai? those are the ones with small, medium, large, extra large spreader. and they're chrome. these would be over 10 years old.

the new aai bars are the elite series. they're navy blue on the bases and the spreader. the low bar has an adjustment to raise and lower as well as the spreader on the high bar upright. and there is a "star" bolt that stops the high bar spreader from going below horizontal. these bars, the elite series, go out farther than the old 1200 series.

so then, this is not making any sense to me. i'll stay on with you right now so that i can help you with this before tomorrow.

 

[PalmTree]

WOW. I'm relatively new to all the bar moving. At previous gyms we always had guy coaches move equipment. I'm not sure I understand much of your bar terminology there. I can make the high bar higher, so I do that but it doesn't help much. I'm not sure what kind of bars we have without looking, except that they are AAI. Our bars are chrome. Meet bars are blue. Is it possible our home bars do have an "extender"? I honestly don't even know what that would look like. I feel like such a bad coach!
I really appreciate your help!!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

if your gym bars are chrome, those are the old bars. the 1200 series. they don't spread near as far as the elite series.

so then, at her height, the low bar and the high bar should be up 2 clicks from the line. the low bar spreader should be all the way up. and the high bar spreader should be at 5 showing. that should be plenty wide for an athlete that is 5'4". you could spread them all the way out, but i don't think that would be necessary. this is for the elite series where the spreader and the bases are navy blue/blackish.

it could have been that the bars were out of FIG at those other meets. like the high bar being down to far and the low bar being up to high which would make them to close. i would've had to see them to know for sure.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

by the way, the only way you can match the setting on your gym bars would be to use a tape measure. you take the tape end and place it up on the high bar. then stretch it over the center of the low bar. the tape would be on an angle from the high to the low. understand? just like the picture in the R&P book.

then when you get to a meet, set the bars as i said above and have someone spread the bars while your tape measure is on until the bars are spread out to the exact same setting that you have in the gym. then you'll know for sure where to set them. understand??

 

[PalmTree]

Yes. That will definitely work!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

whew. another thing, the settings between the 2 series are NOT the same. not even close. so i assume in your gym that the high bar is up higher than usual and low bar lower than usual. and then they are probably on extra wide. i don't remember the translation anymore because it has been so long. so then, use the tape measure and you'll know for certain. but make sure the high bar and low bar at the meets are 2 clicks above the indented line that you see on the piston. understand??

this will help you set the bars at a meet where you may also encounter Speith or Gymnova bars.

 

[JBS]

Our local high school has the old Classic AAI bars with the conversion kit below...

Classic Conversion Kit

They also have the low rail uprights set to vertical and the high rail slanted way out. With this conversion kit and the bars slanted the way that they have them...they go much wider than an AAI Elite set as they would be set up at a meet. They go almost a foot wider.

If this is the problem...don't set your practice bars any wider than the competition bars will go.

 

[coachmolly]

I coach HS and many of the girls are in the 5'4 range (as am I) and on our very old bars, they have to very severely pike in order to do tap swings. However, at our bars farthest setting the girls can jump from low bar to front support on HB. When we compete elsewhere, many of those places with much newer though I imagine not the newest or most expensive bars, we don't even need to go to the extra wide setting for the girls to swing sufficiently without an enormous pike. So I too am confused by these bars you've been competing on, and the lack of help being offered from fellow coaches. Just the regular old settings should be fine for a kid of her size and level.
Do you have an assistant coach you can send over to mess around with the bars at meets while you are warming up your kids? I know it's crazy figuring out new bars, especially when you're crunched for time.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

you're right about that. i forgot about that conversion kit.

 

[gymdog]

Our local high school has the old Classic AAI bars with the conversion kit below...

Classic Conversion Kit

They also have the low rail uprights set to vertical and the high rail slanted way out. With this conversion kit and the bars slanted the way that they have them...they go much wider than an AAI Elite set as they would be set up at a meet. They go almost a foot wider.

Yes, the base extenders will go wider. However AAI current bars go pretty wide too. I'm a little shorter than 5'4, but I can't hit the low bar even if I try at 5 below F with the low bar spreader all the way up. Arm length can make some difference and I don't have long limbs, but I still think if you put the current bars all the way out she can at least make it work.

 

[ivyagogo]

I say go back to the early days and do bar beats to find your setting!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

hahahaha^^^^^^^^^^^stomach whips..........lol.