Pixie Grips for Level 4

[lorifrances]

My daughter's gym strongly recommends grips for Level 4 and requires them before Level 5.
My daughter is just starting Level 4 and is 7.5 yrs old. She's never had a rip; her hands are rough and slightly calloused. She's a good gymnast, but of the four events, bars is her weakest area. Her highest score on Level 3 bars was a 9.0.

Her gym is recommending Pixie Grips because her hands are small. I was wondering if anyone has experience with these (they don't seem to be too widely used). I believe the narrower the grip the better given her skill level.

Can you give me your review of Pixie Grips or tell me of a better-liked alternative?

Thanks!

 

[MaryA]

This is what my DD used all last year (level 5). They were her first grips and are what the HC recommended for all of the smaller level 5 gymnasts. They seemed to work fine. I know nothing about gymnastics, but she wore them, she liked them (bit of a learning curve to get used to them), they held up well, but now she's outgrown them and moved on to a different kind (she was 9 so was in the biggest size). The only thing I would say is that you may not want to get the pixie grip kit that came with wrist-bands etc. My friend got her DD that kit and the wrist bands were HUGE on her. My friend ended up cutting them apart and sewing them back together smaller.

I'm not sure why they would be recommended for level 4, unless it's because they want them used to them before they start training the big level 5 skills (kip, squat-on, etc.). It was a bit of a bummer for my daughter to be making progress towards those skills and then to get the grips and take such giant steps back on her skills while she got used to the grips. The YMCA gym my DD goes to starts using them at level 5 but I know that the local private gym doesn't start using them till 6 or 7, I think.

 

[Azgymmiemom]

I thought the same thing...I guess different gyms have different philosophies...at our gym, the kids don't get their grips until AFTER they can successfully perform kips(boys included). THEN they are allowed to purchase them. Our gym has all the kids get bailies grips. My dd hates hers...would rather not wear them. She says they hurt her wrists...

 

[lilgymmie7]

DD competed level 5 last year and did not use grips at all. For some reason her old coach preferred that she didn't. She was the only level 5 without them. However, because I thought she needed them prior to competing I did purchase the Pixie grips 000 last year. Luckily, her hands have not grown much if at all during the season.
She is now using the Pixies at her new gym, and they were very difficult to get used to she said. She struggled to do all of her skills. She's tough so she could still do them, but they looked quite ugly. I am happy to say that she is coming along great after the 1mo. initiation! She did a great cast hs on bars the other day and was stuck up in the hs for a bit!
For little hands they seem like the way to go. Now I don't know what that will mean next year or the year after if her hands begin to grow. She'll have to break in new ones no doubt anyways. Good luck to your DD!

 

[cher062]

They are the same as regular grips but made smaller for the tiny hands. My old gym we had alot of smaller girls at L4 and L5 and they all had them. My DD on the other hand had piano fingers and hands and was in a size 1 at L6 when she got her first pair of grips and now is in a size 2 but I think in the fall she may need larger ones. At our old gym when my DD was a L4 and L5 they didn't have the girls use grips at all but the last coach who is still there had all the girls get grips when she arrived.

 

[bookworm]

My daughter has worn Hot Shot grips by US Glove forever...they have a narrow strip on the palm and allow her to "feel" the bar around them...she's been wearing them for over 10 yrs and wouldn't wear anything else..

As an aside, I can't imagine why you'd need any type of grip at Level 4...my daughter didn't wear grips til L6...

 

[2gymmies]

My dd got grips at Level 7 and at that point reluctantly. She has small hands and our gym wants the girls wearing Reisport grips (which are not narrow). She really thought they were very slippery for 4 months or so, but can't imagine bars without them now. I wouldn't rush into grips unless your gym requires it! Just one more thing to keep track of...

 

[eme777]

My DD's first grips were the Pixie grips & she didn't care for them. She felt like they were hard to break in, so she sprayed w/ water & the leather got smooth & unusable very quickly. We got her the narrow width Bailies to replace them & she likes them much better. My DD is 10 yrs old, over 5'1", but her hands are so tiny, she's in a size 00 grip. Her fingers are also narrow & they tend to slip out of the finger holes. This wasn't any better with the Pixie grips, in fact, I think it was a little worse. On the plus side, the Pixie grips are pretty inexpensive (as long as you won't have to replace them too soon).