WAG Unitard in competition

[B&M's mom]

Or she may be starting a trend for different leos for different events.

 

[reluctant]

If one athlete has bare legs or solid-colored leggings and another has a unitard with spangled ankles, the judges are naturally going to notice the first athlete's knees more because their eyes will be drawn to the second athlete's ankles.

Wait, what?

I looked up Marina Nekrasova and she's worn a regular leotard for competition before (as recently as last year as seen here: ). So unless her beliefs have recently changed, it's not for religious reasons.

I saw that too, but I don't think it is up to us to judge her motives.

 

[TumbleTimes4]

Or she may be starting a trend for different leos for different events.

I hope not. Comp leos and warm ups are expensive enough without adding extra pieces to buy. I don’t even want to know what blinged out leggings would cost.

 

[Dahlia]

Wait, what?


I saw that too, but I don't think it is up to us to judge her motives.

Not my intent at all. Just pointing out to the previous posters that their assumption that it was for religious reasons may not be the case. We don't know.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

If judges really are capable of blocking out everything they see other than the specific details they are supposed to be looking for, then why do we mess with blingy leotards and fancy hairstyles and why do we tell our kids to smile? Either details outside the text of the routine and the COP matter, or they don't.

What is worn is about trends. Playing to the cameras, giving the parents/kids what they want, keeping the revenue stream going. And a whole host of things that have not one thing to do with judging.

If kids had to wear a plain solid say only black for their whole time in a sport it wouldn't "sell" the sport well. And all those leo companies wouldn't make money and the gyms wouldn't get their mark up.

Athletes/Organizations get paid by GK, Nike, Under Armour etc...... to "sell" their brands. Football teams change their uniforms all the time. Do you think the players care what they wear. Heck no, but they do want to sell more Jerseys as does Nike.

And so it goes with Gymnastics..... Ally, Simone, Laurie have blinged Leos so the girls down stream want them...... That is why they wear them and change them up. Not for the judges sake.

 

[mommyof1]

Wait, what?

What I am trying to say is:

Athlete 1 has bare legs or solid-colored leggings. There is nothing to distract the judge's eyes from her knees.

Athlete 2 is wearing the pictured unitard. The judges' eyes are naturally going to be drawn to the blinged-out calves and ankles and away from the knees.

Which athlete's knees get more attention from the judges?

 

[Deleted member 18037]

What I am trying to say is:

Athlete 1 has bare legs or solid-colored leggings. There is nothing to distract the judge's eyes from her knees.

Athlete 2 is wearing the pictured unitard. The judges' eyes are naturally going to be drawn to the blinged-out calves and ankles and away from the knees.

Which athlete's knees get more attention from the judges?

A judge is looking at both athletes form overall.

And athletes/coach/gym have the same choices.

 

[reluctant]

From the FIG COP
"2.3.2 Competition Attire a) They must wear a correct sportive non transparent leotard or unitard (one piece leotard with full length legs-hip to ankle), which must be of elegant design. She may wear complete leg coverings of the same color as that of the leotard; under or on top of the leotard. b) The neckline of the front and back of the leotard/unitard must be proper, that is no further than half of the sternum and no further than the lower line of the shoulder blades. Leotards/unitards may be with or without sleeves; shoulder strap width must be minimum 2 cm. c) The leg cut of the leotard may not extend beyond the hip bone (maximum). The leotard leg length cannot exceed the horizontal line around the leg, delineated by no more than 2 cm below the base of the buttocks."

So it looks like the length is designated (must be to ankle) but no discussion of design other than same color as leotard. I think we can all get over it and let people wear what they want.

 

[twinmomma]

What I am trying to say is:

Athlete 1 has bare legs or solid-colored leggings. There is nothing to distract the judge's eyes from her knees.

Athlete 2 is wearing the pictured unitard. The judges' eyes are naturally going to be drawn to the blinged-out calves and ankles and away from the knees.

Which athlete's knees get more attention from the judges?

Have you judged?

 

[mommyof1]

Have you judged?

IIRC, you have judged color guard. If so, you must be familiar with the design strategies bands and guards use to get uniforms to highlight or minimize various aspects of the performance. I see no reason why it wouldn't be different in gymnastics.

And, by the way, gymnastics people claim the leos are designed to maximize what the judges want to see. High-cut legs on leos are supposed to "elongate" the legs visually. If that matters, why wouldn't the design of a unitard matter too?

 

[twinmomma]

IIRC, you have judged color guard. If so, you must be familiar with the design tricks bands and guards use to get uniforms to highlight or minimize various aspects of the performance. I see no reason why it wouldn't be different in gymnastics.

I never chose uniforms or equipment designed to hide anything. If you had any concept of the sheer cost of band uniforms, you would know there's no way that they pick things year after year to hide a groups abilities. In addition, I had zero problem not being so dazzled by bling that I couldn't appropriately judge a groups dance, equipment work, or skill set.

 

[twinmomma]

I never chose uniforms or equipment designed to hide anything. If you had any concept of the sheer cost of band uniforms, you would know there's no way that they pick things year after year to hide a groups abilities. In addition, I had zero problem not being so dazzled by bling that I couldn't appropriately judge a groups dance, equipment work, or skill set.

Adding that band uniforms cost upwards of $50,000 to outfit an entire group. Most of them utilize the same uniform for 10-20 years.

 

[mommyof1]

Adding that band uniforms cost upwards of $50,000 to outfit an entire group. Most of them utilize the same uniform for 10-20 years.

Ours were replaced every 7 years. And we were repeatedly told that they had been chosen to reveal as much as possible, so we had better stay on phase and in step and guide properly. And were showed videos to illustrate this. And, yes, I know what they cost because we had to raise money to pay for them.

Again, I am just saying that if there is a way to get an advantage from the design of the leo/unitard, people are going to do it. Nothing wrong with it, but something to be aware of.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

A judge is looking at both athletes form overall.

And athletes/coach/gym have the same choices.

Edit timed out.

To add.

And if I was a high level athlete I would of course have attire that I felt played to my strengths.

Again, to suit the persona of your interpetation of the sport/routine...... To suit your body type. Why wouldn't you. But all athletes have the same parameters to adhere to and make their choices from there.

And as we can see from this thread. And many many others

What one person likes vs what another doesn't varies widely so it goes with judges.

If my kid gets a judge who is partial to tiny blondes with cute music. They wont be liking my kid as much. If they like dark hair gymmies with more serious music. My kid might have an edge over the cute little blonde that day.

If a gymnast reminds a judge of kid who bullied them in grammar school. Not gonna be that gymmies best day.

Until robots are making the call, people bring their life experiences and biasis to the table. As judges they do their best to factor it out.

 

[twinmomma]

Ours were replaced every 7 years. And we were repeatedly told that they had been chosen to reveal as much as possible, so we had better stay on phase and in step and guide properly. And, yes, I know what they cost because we had to raise money to pay for them.

In the 42 years my father was band director, the uniforms were replaced exactly 3 times. And sure, if they're white pants, you're going to see out of steps easier than you see on black pants. That doesn't mean you can't see them on black pants. But you're also talking about 50 kids at one time. It's not the same when you're completely focused on one athlete.

The bottom line is, unitards are allowed, they are not distracting, no matter how much bling you put on them. Judges are not so distracted by shiny things that they can't do their jobs.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

whereas some are wearing white socks that presumably draw attention to whether the feet are pointed.

Again, don't presume anything more then personal choice/cost. Or a mistake or a wardrobe malfunction

Dang I forgot to pack my matching socks. Crud, my red socks ripped. Gotta wear my white practice spares.

Much like figure skaters, White boots vs nude vs colored legging to match rest of costume.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

And we were repeatedly told that they had been chosen to reveal as much as possible, so we had better stay on phase and in step and guide properly.

Yes an excellent coaching "threat". Gotta rise to level of your uniform. We know you can do it. We aren't going to make it easy, we expect more.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

And my personal take on the bling. For the National Team and such. Having seen a meet live and watch the replay on TV. The bling is for the cameras. Way more "blingier" in person then shows up on TV. Its kinda like stage makeup. Overdone up close.

Really no need to over bling L2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10 kids. Except GK charges you more to be like the big girls. Or keeping up with the Jones, as to who can out bling the rest.

JMO a few little sparkly things is plenty enough bling.

 

[mommyof1]

Yes an excellent coaching "threat". Gotta rise to level of your uniform. We know you can do it. We aren't going to make it easy, we expect more.

This has gone way far afield. Again, I was just pointing out that design matters and athletes/perfomers will use that strategically...

 

[Deleted member 18037]

And, by the way, gymnastics people claim the leos are designed to maximize what the judges want to see. High-cut legs on leos are supposed to "elongate" the legs visually.

I know what the claims are.................... Again JMO not buying it.

Its how folks want to see females.

I don't know if anyone has checked out womens college diving lately. They are practically wearing thongs/floss. The sport needs this???? To make the dive "look" better. I call BS

Link Removed