Women USAG enforcing leotard policy

[twinmomma]

To the poster who said why can't people just wear whatever - these are CHILDREN who have yet to understand what is and isn't appropriate. Puberty alone makes so many of these leos a NIGHTMARE. Between the shaving, the periods, and the bra situation, it is clearly one more way of whittling down who's on the team. Only those willing to tie themselves into knots to get into those leos stick around. As a high school or middle school kid, I never would have.

 

[2G1B]

Oh, is it the same one that forced USAG's hand in clarifying the rule to begin with? That figures.

ETA: I just looked it up and that is a compulsary competetion leotard! With very little solid fabric on the front either. While I'd have no problem with a girl picking it to wear herself, making it the uniform is gross. Why?

I'm sorry, that Leo is awful. My DD doesn't like her comp leo this year, but it isn't something to move gyms over. That Leo though, we'd be out the door the minute that they handed them out. I don't care how amazing the gym is supposed to be, my DD would never be willing to wear that even if I would let her.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

I'm sorry, that Leo is awful. My DD doesn't like her comp leo this year, but it isn't something to move gyms over. That Leo though, we'd be out the door the minute that they handed them out. I don't care how amazing the gym is supposed to be, my DD would never be willing to wear that even if I would let her.

That would be us. And my daughter as well. It would be an indication that we were not on the same page, as to what is important and that they are not thinking of the kids.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

"modesty" is just another male way of controlling women's bodies.

I disagree. Modesty is about self respect. It is a choice. A choice to choose who gets to see what, how much and how often.
Not everyone is entitled to see everything. Its OK to be selective about who you let into your world, mentally, emotionally and physically.

And there is a huge difference between being a consenting legal adult and a minor child.

The gym is not the legal guardian of my child. I decide.

 

[3rd_time_around]

Very telling and disturbing that I immediately knew which gym had picked this leotard.

Likewise.

 

[Gigi]

I think the complete opposite, males control female bodies by dressing women in skimpy, revealing clothing. I remember a post circulating on facebook that showed the female and male directors' versions of Wonder Woman - Female version was pretty, sporty, maybe a little bit sexy (its still Hollywood) but not overt, and the male version was just sexy and very, very skimpy. I have never heard of any men object to skimpy outfits. It's not even a thing, at least not in the U.S. It is always as little as possible.

For gymnasts, I prefer a more athletic and sporty look like tank tops and booty shorts after age 13. They are serious athletes, not some glittery, pretty dolls. College leos are terrible. I often notice the camera quickly switches frame when a gymnast bends over to high five teammates after a routine at podium meets because all you see is her bare butt in a thong close up on the screen.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

College leos are terrible. I often notice the camera quickly switches frame when a gymnast bends over to high five teammates after a routine at podium meets because all you see is her bare butt in a thong close up on the screen.

We happened to be watching womens college diving on the NCAA channel on weekend. Those suits are like thongs. OMG.....

 

[twinmomma]

If we actually cared about the gymnasts and their comfort, you'd see the addition of coordinated booty shorts for leos worn in competition. I appreciate the skirted options in Acro for this reason.

 

[RTT2]

For gymnasts, I prefer a more athletic and sporty look like tank tops and booty shorts after age 13. They are serious athletes, not some glittery, pretty dolls.

Exactly this. I find it absurd that high level athletes are required to compete dressed as if they're in the bathing suit portion of the Miss America pageant.

 

[JessSyd]

I’m from Australia and I knew exactly which gym that leotard would be from. It has a very specific aesthetic.

I assume they are SylviaP leotards. Even though they are made here, you do not frequently see Sylvia P leotards like that around. Their competition leotards are everywhere, it might be the most common brand, and they all fit the rules perfectly. They provide my daughter’s current competition leotard, and they really do seem lower cut in the leg than many brands used by other gyms.

Occasionally you will see a Sylvia P practice leotard in the gym with a slightly daring back. But not as often as you would think, because only girls who do not need bras can really wear them, and often parents want something a little kid can wriggle into by themselves in the car as they race to gym, and fancy backs tend to be tricky for little kids.

In my daughter’s gym, really only little kids wear practice leotards anyway. Older girls tend to go for group tops and shorts.

 

[Sk8ermaiden]

You are not the first person I have heard say that it's not the Australian market buying the extremely-bare Sylvia Ps.

We have Sylvia P this year for comp leos, and the leg cut is much lower than last year's GKs. But we also have normal backs.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Sorry to pick your post as an example but I'm intrigued by the Australian connection. Sylvia P are the leo makers that have become popular over here in the UK over the last couple of years that seem to be using less and less fabric. And yet I note that some of the leotards are quite low cut at the leg. It got me wondering if that is a cultural thing - the high leg cut is more shocking than the cut away back and mesh fronts?

Funky backs generally are admired by UK gym kids, but some are so complicated that even with a sports bra designed to be on show they just look a crazy mess of straps. Not right or wrong - just aethetically a mess when in practical use.

Yes, SylviaP has alway been our local Leotard lady, she has always done all our uniforms etc.

I would definitely say the high cut leg line is more uncomfortable for most of us down here than the open backs. Perhaps it is a cultural thing, the typical Aussie thing is shirtless guys, singlets for girls etc. But it’s the high cut leos that disturb my families the most, not the backs. One reason why we always use SylviaP is because they are (at least here) lower cut around the legs and don’t give the kids constant wedgies.

Also the scrappy backs are a new thing, she has been doing our leos since the 90’s and this is only something we have seen in class wear recently. The majority of the competition wear here that she does, does not have an open back. In fact I don’t recall seeing any SylviaP leos at any of our comps with open backs or strappy back etc. It isn’t SylviaP that is designing this stuff, the gyms are designing it and they are making it.

We have never thought of them as making revealing leotards because they don’t make them for comps here.

I think what has happened, is when an Australian company heads overseas, they are not aware of the US comp rules etc. the gyms wanted something different, and they quite willingly make it, while other Leo companies might not because they are more familiar with the US rules.

 

[RTT2]

Aussie_coach, is it a deduction in Australia if a bra strap is showing? I wouldn't care too much about open backs if judges didn't care about seeing (oh, the horror!) the strap of a sports bra.

 

[Aussie_coach]

JessSyd makes a good point too, Aussie gymnasts after about the age of 8 or so don’t tend to wear leotards to training. They love their crop tops and bike pants (I think referred to as sports bras and booty shorts at least in the dance world in the US). If you have a class of pre teens or teens, in ,lost cases 95% of gymnasts will be wearing crop tops and not leotards.

So yes, culturally we are much more comfortable with showing the back than we are with high cut stuff.

 

[&bs]

There is no deduction for straps showing, we follow FIG rules for all levels (shoulder and hip rules), but no deductions for earrings, hair, straps etc.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Aussie_coach, is it a deduction in Australia if a bra strap is showing? I wouldn't care too much about open backs if judges didn't care about seeing (oh, the horror!) the strap of a sports bra.

I have never seen a deduction for this, I thought this was just a joke in stick it, like it was a deduction in your code but nobody ever took the deduction.

I just had a look at our code of points to clarify. No where is any sort of deduction mentioned for underwear showing.

The backs of our leotards can be no lower than the lower line of the shoulder blades, but even then you never see them that low. Gyms don’t try to push the envelope with cut away backs and mesh bits or anything like that. We just have high back leos on everyone.

I think this may also be reflective in the US changing their comp leotards all the time. I am always shocked when I hear of gyms having a Leotard for two years and then changing it.

Here we have to have Leotard colours and designed registered so no two gyms look the same and everyone keeps the same Leotard for many, many years. It becomes distinctive to their gym, so that each club is quickly and easily recognised at competitions.

 

[Sk8ermaiden]

Some gyms are designing their own leotards, but Sylvia P's competition catalog is full of open backs - at least 50% it seemed when I looked. So they are marketing them here - I wonder if the offered designs will be back to normal next year with the crackdown on the rule?

The US companies - GK in particular, are making leotards that don't follow the rules either.

 

[twinmomma]

I have never seen a deduction for this, I thought this was just a joke in stick it, like it was a deduction in your code but nobody ever took the deduction.

I just had a look at our code of points to clarify. No where is any sort of deduction mentioned for underwear showing.

The backs of our leotards can be no lower than the lower line of the shoulder blades, but even then you never see them that low. Gyms don’t try to push the envelope with cut away backs and mesh bits or anything like that. We just have high back leos on everyone.

I think this may also be reflective in the US changing their comp leotards all the time. I am always shocked when I hear of gyms having a Leotard for two years and then changing it.

Here we have to have Leotard colours and designed registered so no two gyms look the same and everyone keeps the same Leotard for many, many years. It becomes distinctive to their gym, so that each club is quickly and easily recognised at competitions.

I know in Acro it's a deduction for visible undergarments. This was something we had to figure out last year - finding underwear cut high enough that wasn't a thong. Bras we've used clear straps and nude colors, or full bodysuits to avoid the deduction.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Some gyms are designing their own leotards, but Sylvia P's competition catalog is full of open backs - at least 50% it seemed when I looked. So they are marketing them here - I wonder if the offered designs will be back to normal next year with the crackdown on the rule?

The US companies - GK in particular, are making leotards that don't follow the rules either.

They appeared in the catalogues once US clubs started asking for them. I believe the really controversial club in question was the first one to start using SylviaP, and that set the tone.

 

[gymgal]

talk about cultural differences. why can not anyone just wear whatever? a perv will always think about sexualising your kid if heshe sees it, no matter what she or he is currently wearing. "modesty" is just another male way of controlling women's bodies. please do not enforce these ideas apon children. just let them pick a leo they like and that's that. imo this is a very, very, very conservative us-american debate. if you do not like high cut leos do not buy them.

modesty goes both ways and those who think this for girls often feel the same for their boys as well. As others have noted, have you seen men's gymnastics with these types of revealing and impractical uniforms? Also, these are team leos. The girls/families don't get to choose unless they do so by walking out of the gym

If we actually cared about the gymnasts and their comfort, you'd see the addition of coordinated booty shorts for leos worn in competition. I appreciate the skirted options in Acro for this reason.

I know my dd is in the minority with this but she would hate having to wear shorts. Never wears them in practice (her choice)