WAG Shorts at practice

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annakat

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Does anyone know where to find the usag safe sport rule saying gymnasts can wear shorts despite what coaches say?
 
They can’t if the coaches say no. Just like there are minimum mobility scores and a gym may require a higher score so it goes with shorts. It’s ultimately a gym decision.
 
Now why a coach would care at practice is a whole other thing. Our girls can wear shorts (3 inch Nike Pros or GK at practice). Have for close to 10 yrs
 
Discussion and links in this thread
 
I could not find any info about attire during practice in the safe sport policy. It would be great if all gyms would allow shorts but unfortunately each gym has their own rules. If there was a safe sport rule that the gyms had to allow shorts, then they would have to allow it.

Has anyone spoken with the gym owner or head coach about it?
 
The coach saw gymnasts wearing them and asked for us to take them off since it’s not part of dress code
 
The coach saw gymnasts wearing them and asked for us to take them off since it’s not part of dress code
I'm sorry that your gym is not allowing shorts. There is no rule that they have to allow them. Maybe you could discuss it with the head coach/gym owner so that they will change the dress code.
 
It is part of the code for competition that it is now allowed (used to incur a deduction). However, each gym decides what rules they have for their own gymnasts and many want the girls always wearing just leos so there is no mental/confidence issues during competitions.
 
many want the girls always wearing just leos so there is no mental/confidence issues during competitions.
What does shorts vs a leo have to do with a mental/confidence issue?

And if it did have something to do with it I would expect the shorts to boost confidence, not the other way around.
 
It is part of the code for competition that it is now allowed (used to incur a deduction). However, each gym decides what rules they have for their own gymnasts and many want the girls always wearing just leos so there is no mental/confidence issues during competitions.

What does shorts vs a leo have to do with a mental/confidence issue?

And if it did have something to do with it I would expect the shorts to boost confidence, not the other way around.
I think that the mental/confidence issue that could possibly arise is when the girls are allowed to wear shorts at practice but not at meets.
 
I think that the mental/confidence issue that could possibly arise is when the girls are allowed to wear shorts at practice but not at meets.

Still not understanding.

from personal experience

I have to say, 10 years of shorts a practice but not meets, quite a number of girls at more then 1 gym. Never been an issue.
 
What does shorts vs a leo have to do with a mental/confidence issue?

And if it did have something to do with it I would expect the shorts to boost confidence, not the other way around.
I never said this was MY thinking. It is however, the thinking of many coaches out there and is regularly used as a reason for not allowing shorts at practice.

However, I have witnessed this in action where girls feel less confident at meets when they regularly wear shorts in practice. They comment that they hate feeling exposed etc. Just because you have not experienced it in your gym doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Regardless, I still do not think that is a good reason for forbidding them in practice.
 
. It is however, the thinking of many coaches out there and is regularly used as a reason for not allowing shorts at practice.
How many coaches have you heard express this?

Coaches here what say you.

Are shorts at Prada mental/confidence issue.
 
However, I have witnessed this in action where girls feel less confident at meets when they regularly wear shorts in practice. They comment that they hate feeling exposed etc. Just because you have not experienced it in your gym doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Regardless, I still do not think that is a good reason for forbidding them in practice.
Hmmm how many gymmies have expressed this to you?

My kid would never chose to wear just a leo. She has worn shorts to practice since she was 2 at Mommy and me. That’s 14 years of shorts at practice. When she joined team at 6 she could no longer wear regular shorts. She had unitards for practice. And the first day she had to wear that, I had physically fight her into it and the car and her coach had to carry her pitching a fit onto the gym floor. At which point. A CGM looked at me and said, maybe she is just not cut out for competitive gymnastics. I looked at the woman and said “she is 6 she doesn’t even know she is doing “competitive“ gymnastics“. Her fit was over at her first tumble. Never complained after that and it wore those unitards for years.

She has always understood competition is different then practice. Different hair and dress code.

JMO Puberty and body changes account for mental/confidence concerns. Long after they started gym and likely wearing just leos at meets for years. With or without shorts, it’s puberty.
 
I don't have statistics, but can confirm that I as a gymnast (in the 80s/90s :) ) felt very self-conscious when wearing only a leo at meets. I always had really bad body image issues and felt that the shorts somehow "held together" the parts that I felt were "too soft", while in just a leo I just felt "flabby".
 
I'm sorry that your gym is not allowing shorts. There is no rule that they have to allow them. Maybe you could discuss it with the head coach/gym owner so that they will change the dress code.
Shorts or pants can and should be used for warm-up since they help you, well, warm up your muscles, but after warm-up, shorts should be removed to allow for maximum degree of motion, less weight and less air drag, also helps to keep the gymnast from overheating (in extreme cases), this is also why swimmers, ballet dancers, and other people engaged in heavy physical activity wear similar attire, swimmers wear leotard style form-fitting one-piece swimsuits to decrease drag, and ballet dancers wear leotards both to provide unrestricted movement and to accentuate the line.
Shorts should be encouraged to be worn during warm-up, but after the gymnasts are warmed-up, they should not wear shorts, it also helps to be more ready for competitions where you definitely wouldn't want to wear shorts because it could snag on equipment, and would negatively impact your performance
 

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