Parents Proper Distance apart of uneven bars

[gymmom33]

I am new to this forum and was wondering if there is a recommended distance that the low and high bar are separated according to a gymnast's height. My daughter is 53" and is training to compete level 5. They recently are forcing her to use a bar set that is further apart (height from the ground is the same) and she says she is barely gripping on (she is afraid she will get hurt) and she says it also causes poor form when jumping and her long hang kips to not be straight armed. I am concerned for her safety and also feel that she will score lower with the bars at this distance. She broke her shoulder less than a year ago jumping to the high bar. She told her coach at least once that she believes a closer setting is better for her, but they still are having her use the further setting. Is there any advantage for a gymnast to use bars further apart at level 5? I'm just trying to understand what their reasons may be.

 

[vbdb]

My ODD is a little taller but has been catching at FIG for a year now, she has smaller teammates doing the same. It can be scarier for a smaller kid to jump that far but they are usually capable of it. I don't think there are deductions for catching at less than FIG in compulsory as she had a teammate who needed the bars changed for her and still scored well. I know from my daughter's team that sometimes coaches make them all catch at the same distance so they don't need to keep adjusting bars for each kid.

 

[sevenatenine2]

The further apart the bars are, the less she may have to pike to miss the low bar during the tap swings. I'm not sure which setting they are looking at, but that may be part of it.

 

[kayjaybe]

Our gym doesn't adjust bars at compulsory levels. We have 2 sets of bars that have different settings to accommodate different sized girls, but you use one of those 2 settings.

My dd is also small (4'8" at 14 years old....so imagine when she was 5 years younger and competing L5) and she always has to jump whereas the taller girls can just lean to grab the upper bar.

 

[gymmom33]

From what I've read FIG has a setting for height of the high and low bar from the floor but the distance between the bars is adjustable and has an allowable range.

 

[gymmom33]

Thank you sevenatenine2. She said it is not possible for her to hit her toes on the low bar during tap swings, but when her group was practicing on the bars that are closer together some of the girls did hit the bar on tap swings so they all moved to the medium bar. My daughter is about 4 inches shorter than the next tallest person. It does sound like the coach does not want to adjust bars at meets so they all use the same bar settings. I'm just wondering if this is safe for her.

 

[DefiniteMaybe]

From what I understand, FIG settings are closer together. The two gyms I know about who train elite only keep the elite track girls on FIG settings. The other girls who are college bound are moved to "wide" settings partly because college gymnasts swing on "wide". And because many different heights can swing on wide. I think "wide" can vary, but FIG are very specific narrow settings. You will notice that the bars are never adjusted at elite meets like they are at JO meets. That's why a lot of taller girls have some obstacles to overcome if they are training/competing elite.

I don't think it's unsafe to switch to "wide" when you are level 5, but it is an adjustment. It's easier to do it now before you are doing transition release moves between bars. And from what I've observed over the past 10 years in the sport--coaches nearly always have entire groups on the same settings. It would be completely inefficient and very time consuming to have to switch bar settings back and forth throughout every bar practice.

 

[Gymmommy71]

Gymnasts just have different preferences as far as how far apart they like the bars - and it doesn't always have to do with how tall they are. Sometimes a gym will dictate the setting, but many don't and will let girls use what they like - especially when they have multiple sets of bars for practicing.

My DD has liked her bars as far as part as possible ever since she was a tiny little old L5 (current L4) and first had to jump from the low bar up to high (the reason at the time was that them being too close didn't allow her to jump as powerfully as she wanted to cause she had to worry about hitting her face). Now she still likes them that way as a much taller gymnast doing giants and working on releases. She's always been at gyms that allow different settings in practice (they have multiple sets each on different settings and then the girls just devide up in groups based on what setting they like), and at meets they just go in order in batches based on their setting.

The FIG setting that elites use has the bars much closer together than most JO optional gymnasts use. Guess you can add "not liking the bar setting" to the list of reasons that my DD will not be elite .

 

[gymbeam]

From what I understand, FIG settings are closer together. The two gyms I know about who train elite only keep the elite track girls on FIG settings. The other girls who are college bound are moved to "wide" settings partly because college gymnasts swing on "wide". And because many different heights can swing on wide. I think "wide" can vary, but FIG are very specific narrow settings. You will notice that the bars are never adjusted at elite meets like they are at JO meets. That's why a lot of taller girls have some obstacles to overcome if they are training/competing elite.

I don't think it's unsafe to switch to "wide" when you are level 5, but it is an adjustment. It's easier to do it now before you are doing transition release moves between bars. And from what I've observed over the past 10 years in the sport--coaches nearly always have entire groups on the same settings. It would be completely inefficient and very time consuming to have to switch bar settings back and forth throughout every bar practice.

yes, FIG is closer. my daughter started compulsory bars on FIG, then coach moved them out, then he decided he wanted her back on FIG after level 7 so she just had to relearn all her bars this summer on a new setting while training for level 8.... which was fun.

wider tends to be a little easier for most. of course that's not always the case, but for the most part the closer together the setting- the more challenging it is considered to be.

 

[2gymmies]

From what I've read FIG has a setting for height of the high and low bar from the floor but the distance between the bars is adjustable and has an allowable range.

I'm pretty sure if she is swinging on FIG, everything is set and cannot be moved, but you only need to swing FIG if you are considering elite. Most college gymnasts and level 10s are wider than FIG.

The change in bar setting is only a big deal if someone makes it a big deal - stuff like this is generally more mental than physical. If you stay positive about the change, maybe she will too.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

All our girls (from the tiniest L4's) work on the same bar settings. We adjust the height for the L3's, but that's about it. Our TOPs competitors do use FIG, but nobody else does.

 

[raenndrops]

We have 2 bar settings too… FIG and Wide.
FIG are used by the girls who jump to front support on the high bar (Xcel Gold who don't have a high bar kip or long hang pullover) and the smaller L4s. (one is 7 and not even 46 inches tall).
Most of our girls think a wider set is beneficial to the high bar kip because you get more power and a better angle on the jump.

 

[LilyChow7]

Our bars stay at 180cm apart

 

[Deleted member 14190]

flying squirrel ! Allena a few years ago