WAG Open Letter to USAG Regarding Bars Spotting Regulations

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Earlier today, I sent the following e-mail to Connie Malone.

If anybody else feels the same way, I encourage you to speak up and contact USAG to share your thoughts.

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of coaching my girls at the NorCal Level 6 State Championships. While I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend -- as I almost always enjoy meet weekends -- there was one moment that I will be reliving in my nightmares for weeks to come. A girl from another gym peeled off the bar in the back of a tap swing, and landed directly on her head. The meet was interrupted, the girl was carried out on a stretcher and taken to the emergency room. Fortunately, she turned out to be fine, but had she wieghed slightly more or landed at a slightly different angle, she could very easily have been paralyzed or killed.

To make matters worse, this is the second such crash I have seen at a meet this year. In both cases, the gymnast was clearly proficient at the skill and not in any way working outside of her abilities. In both cases, the coach was unable to get to the gymnast in time to prevent the crash, and it is only by sheer luck that both of these young ladies are still alive and still have the use of all four limbs.

In both cases, the crash was -- or should have been -- completely preventable.

Under current USAG rules, points are deducted if the coach stands between the bars ready to catch the gymnast during a routine. And while coaches are permitted to step in for a single skill or brief sequence, this is so nebulously defined that most coaches, to avoid that deduction, simply stand back for the whole routine.

This is not an acceptable situation. Such dangerous and preventable crashes should never be allowed to occur. For the safety of all female gymnasts in the US, I urge you to rewrite the spotting regulations on bars to encourage or even require coaches to stand close to or under the bars during a routine.

EDIT: Apparently this deduction no longer applies! However, I still wish USAG would do more to encourage coaches to stand between the bars.

 

[profmom]

After a year of watching the boys compete, I completely agree with this. Having a coach there "just in case" absolutely does not detract from or dilute the routines, IMHO. I hope more coaches will take up the call.

 

[wandrewsjr]

Geoffrey Taucer - I was at the same two meets this season in Norcal where the accidents occured, and I couldn't agree more. It does not make any sense to me, ESPECIALLY at the compulsory levels, that it should be a deduction for the coach to stand between the bars for the routine.

 

[monkeysmom]

Yes! Please! My daughter had two scary falls learning squat ons at practice with coaches at another set of bars with another gymnast at the time. Thankfully no injury. I just don't understand why an elementary age girl would not have a coach there watching to try to help. It's my single least favorite thing in this sport at the moment. Seems very dangerous and I don't understand the lack of someone there at practices, let alone a meet. Please REQUIRE coaches to be there at meets. This particular topic makes me irritatated, it seems so obvious.

 

[skschlag]

I don't have a girl, but I do find that ridiculous. I think, and correct me if I am wrong, that in boys' meets the coach HAS to stand there. I love that. I love that his coach is there if needed, for anything. These are little kids.

I am so glad there was no serious injury!

 

[Azgymmiemom]

I don't have a girl, but I do find that ridiculous. I think, and correct me if I am wrong, that in boys' meets the coach HAS to stand there. I love that. I love that his coach is there if needed, for anything. These are little kids.

I am so glad there was no serious injury!

^^^ this... our boys' coaches stand there ready to catch through all of the routines. No deductions...ALL the coaches do it.
Why is this okay and it's NOT okay for the girls???

 

[GymSurvivor]

I completely agree and will support for sure!!
We also have a few smaller girls who can complete a level 6 routine just fine but in one of the meets one of the girls missed her jump to the highbar and flailed causing her to rotate just a bit and land on her arm. If a coach was standing there he could have been able to catch her, especially with how tiny she is.

I also don't know what a coach is not allowed to stand by the vault for vaulting at level 6 either (at I least I believe this is a rule, correct me if I'm wrong) but I've seen girls throw beautiful vaults and then just choke in competition, and while not life threatening ways such as peeling off the bar, it could help if a coach is standing to the side just in case.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

At boys meets in the US, coaches are REQUIRED to be present during routines on rings and high bar.

 

[wallinbl]

DD's bar coach stands just outside the high bar during the leap to the high bar, back hip circle into tap swings, then steps away before the dismount (Level 5 - I've never watched him during Level 6). He steps in there at the squat on and back out after they finish the tap swings (I just checked a few videos).

 

[wandrewsjr]

Now that I know about the boys rule, I am more curious. Does anyone know why USAG does not allow coach to stand between the bars for a compulsory routine? I sometimes do as wallinbl described, darting in and out for squat ons and swings. But I think my movement is a distraction for the girl, so I only do it for girls who I am concerned about, not for all.

 

[skschlag]

At boys meets in the US, coaches are REQUIRED to be present during routines on rings and high bar.

And are pretty much always in catching distance for Pbars!!!

 

[Quadqueen]

I had no idea there was a deduction for this. I just looked back at a video of my DD's first L6 meet a couple of weeks ago, and head coach/owner was standing behind the high bar until she jumped to high bar, then he moved between the bars. ??

 

[cbifoja]

I am not at all making light of this very serious issue...... but I read the title of this thread as bra spotting and took it to mean there had been a sudden spike in the exposure of bra straps in the world of women's gymnastics. And then I started reading.....and kept waiting to hear about the bras.....and waiting and waiting. Then I shook my head, went back and read the title again. Duh.

 

[gymkat]

Coaches are ABSOLUTELY allowed to step in to spot the squat on and tap swings.

 

[gymdog]

I'm in favor of a rule requiring the presence of the coach (as with USAG MAG guidelines) but they shouldn't be deducting for it unless you're there for the entire routine, which would be hard anyway. I guess people could say they think it's distracting to go in and out but I have never been personally concerned about that.

 

[skschlag]

For the boys, they are there there the whole time. From the mount to the stick. Why would this not work for the girls?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

i'm to the dance a bit a late here. but i don't care about 1/10 deduction. it's only a tenth. it just doesn't matter when compared to the injuries that can be suffered thru basic swings. i agree that there should be no deductions whatsoever and just like the boys. good luck Geoff and keep us posted as to what Connie Maloney has to say.

 

[eme777]

Thank you so much for writing this! My daughter injured her back when she peeled on the back swing doing tap swings during practice. I had no idea the coaches could stand there during tap swings or how serious of an issues it is.

 

[iwannacoach]

I like the tone and intent of your letter, and wish I could organize and express those very same thoughts as well as you did. I think that to put together a compulsory routine that swings against logic is just plain stupid, and even more so if there's any potential for a deduction.

I like the deduction if a coach is "camping" between the bars during an optional routine, as it would be abused by coaches who want their kids to chuck skills they have no business putting into routines, but a brief visit between the bars is fine with me.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

It should be a deduction for not standing in for swings, however it is a case of leading the horse to water... The coaches who don't 'get it' will not be ready to assist should something go wrong.