WAG Painting the bar with chalk at a meet?

[Deleted member 15064]

L5 meet this past weekend. Fiercest competitors in our tri-city area. I was sitting directly in front of the bars and noticed their coaches "painting" chalk on the bars with little artists brushes before their girl's rotation.

Smart tactic or (another) sign of their psychosis?

 

[gymdog]

Um...it's not unusual to apply chalk directly to the bars, but it is uncommon to use paintbrushes. Maybe they were using a scraper to remove chalk, which does look kinda like a paintbrush and maybe that's what you saw , but the bristles are wire and it scrapes chalk off the bar. These aren't really meant to be used on the rails, btw, before anyone gets any bright ideas, but that doesn't stop people.

 

[CoachTodd]

Guess they just didn't want to get their hands dirty?

 

[saddlupasb]

Maybe they were using Liquid chalk?

 

[aerialriver]

Who knows. It seems to work for them!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

things like this never cease to amaze me...

 

[Deleted member 15064]

I'm fascinated by this stuff too as I learn about it... Thanks all for clueing me in that people do this, regardless of the tools used.

They were definitely painting not scraping. Adding not subtracting chalk. Burly male coaches, so I don't think it had to do with dainty hands needing to stay clean.

But, yes, it works! Psychologically or otherwise. The proof is in the scores...

It makes me giggle though at the thought of our club's coaches doing something similar. I can just hear their dismissals to the suggestion - something along the lines of a Dunno response, but said in a female voice.

 

[Moxiegrl83]

No chalk painting, but at State meet last weekend I was surprised to see one L2 with 4 coaches in her session. My poor child had to be satisfied with one coach for 2 athletes.

 

[Faith]

No chalk painting, but at State meet last weekend I was surprised to see one L2 with 4 coaches in her session. My poor child had to be satisfied with one coach for 2 athletes.

I've seen this before- one (high level) coach with one child, and the rest of the team making do with two low level coaches between 8 of them. I've also seen one child with 3 coaches, one being the HC (big well known club). In both cases these kids were obviously the club's "next big thing". I was interested to see neither of these kids blew the competition away. They placed, but no amazingly high scores or anything.

 

[Moxiegrl83]

Same here Faith. The girl did great but didn't blow anyone away. It was very bizarre.