wearing shorts/no shorts

[gymdog]

Our girls can wear bar shorts. Nothing else. They can wear 2 piece leos. We live in the south. Summer is very hot and humid here. The gyms air isn't that great. The girls get very hot. So 2 piece leos help them stay cooler. But none of these girls are developed as the oldest is only 12.

Me too...so you wear a nylon leo. 2 piece seems worse because uh, you'd be sweaty but it wouldn't be...absorbed by anything. Sorry for being gross...I'm just saying...I don't get the appeal.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

I really did not like two piece either, and they are very popular here due to the heat. Now I see a benefit to them, and that is small children take less time in the bathroom when they are wearing a two piece.

 

[hawaii_gymnast]

My club in a no shorts club all the time unless you have a specific reason that has been discussed with your coach. We are only allowed to wear shorts for rope clim at certain bar skills because we get cuts. I wear shorts every chance I get, I think I just want to wear them so much because we can't

 

[Kiwi]

Our rec kids are allowed to wear anything without buckles or zips. Our competitive girls have to wear leos, no 2-pieces, and are allowed to put on shorts only for bar. I think a few of the older girls do wear very short tight shorts over their leos, or occasionally shorts with a fitting singlet top, but the younger girls are not allowed to. Someone told me the no shorts rule was so that the coaches can see which muscles the gymnast is using, in particular that they are tightening their buttock muscles.

 

[gymgurl]

Well, We all wear the black velvet GK shorts so baggyness is not an issue, our coach has said if you have your period you can wear shorts but we all wear tight fitting clothing and i am one of those people who don't care much at comps as you do a routine and put your trackies back on and as for seeing the skill more correctly........they are tight velvet shorts and move with me so i just hate this rule.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

My gym seems to allow girls to wear the shorts that are designed for gymnastics - we sell GK shorts, too. One girl (10 yrs) always gets yelled at for wearing non-gym shorts, although they ARE pretty skintight. Sometimes they try to discourage younger girls from wearing shorts, but they always let the older girls (for reasons all over this thread) so it doesn't stick. With the "Why does [best gymnast in the gym, 17yo] get to wear them if I can't?" stuff, it's hard to enforce.

I never wear shorts, cuz I'm worried they'll make bars feel different. Besides, what if I get my period during a meet? I just got it this summer after two years w/o, so I was like "WHAT. I gotta do gymnastics like this?" but then I got used to it. :-(

As for two-pieces, we ordered a lot of them last summer but wound up not letting the girls wear them. It's very hot and we don't have AC, but when the older girls wound up wearing them, the tops were too revealing. They didn't want a double standard, so nobody can wear them now. You can wear the bottoms as shorts, though.

 

[coachmolly]

I can see not allowing specific kinds of shorts/two-pieces for safety reasons, difficulty spotting, lack of coverage (not only for modesty reasons but also exposing skin directly to the bars), and any of those reasonable concerns, but when it comes to gym specific shorts, I'm not really sure what the concern is. Coaches just need to pick their battles. Requiring "no shorts" practices once in a while for a team that will never come to practice without their shorts is reasonable, at least for routines, but I just feel like enforcing such a controlling rule is kind of a waste of time.

 

[gymdog]

I really did not like two piece either, and they are very popular here due to the heat. Now I see a benefit to them, and that is small children take less time in the bathroom when they are wearing a two piece.

Haha, okay, this I can see.

Overall I haven't really come up against the problem but if I did I think I would have to ask them to wear a leotard that covers their midriff. I'm not usually one to get overly hung up on modesty but I don't know. It seems like there are some spotting drawbacks to me.

 

[Kiwi]

The two-pieces we have here do cover the midriff, they are just basically like fitting singlets with matching gym shorts. You can get them in nylon lycra, cotton lycra or stretch velvet. A few years ago quite a few of the competitive girls at our gym were wearing them, I'm not sure what happened, perhaps the coaches didn't like them and introduced the leotards only rule. Some of the rec girls at our gym still wear them.

 

[avi]

My DD's coach recommended shorts for bar work after she got bruises on her hips. She is only 4 1/2 so no concern about body image yet!

 

[gymnastica9]

Personaly I wouldn't like it (you can wear shorts any practice at my gym) but since it's only one day a week you should be fine.

 

[Coach.Simon]

yikes.......gotta go...................................

mind reader

 

[gymgirl1129]

Well my gym is very lax anbout shorts. The only time we can't wear them is while we are competing and some girls even warm up with them on. I think it will just take some getting used to but I'm sure the no shorts Saturdays will be fine (I mean its only one day, right?). Maybe for that time of month ask your coach if you can wear them otherwise, I guess you'll just have to suck it up.

 

[CoachGoofy]

Our girls can wear shorts, except a couple times throughout the season we have a "team leo, no shorts" practice.

The just a sports bra thing is an absolutely not. Skin is slippery, and catching them can be challenging enough without worrying about that. Sometimes they'll want to wear a tank top and shorts, & I don't understand it but it's not the kind of thing worth fighting about--as long as I can see their lines, I can deal with it.

 

[All Chalked Up]

Adding to my first post-

As a coach, I really don't care as long as they're not baggy. Cannot spot the kid if they're baggy, just not gonna happen. COACHES, PICK YOUR BATTLES! It's no biggie. Besides, us coaches wear pants to coach, don't we? So why can't the girls wear shorts? (intended as a joke but not a very good one!)

As a gymnast, I'm glad we get to wear shorts- Most of my suits are high cut in the legs, which I find comfy- but I don't like people seeing the super high leg; makes me feel uncomfortable. Hence, shorts.

 

[CreateMagic]

Our team gymnasts are not allowed to wear shorts ever, except for warmup. We start this as soon as they start preteam. Its not a "battle" to be chosen--the girls know the rule, they're used to it, they get over it. No biggie.

 

[sportsmom22]

Our team girls are supposed to wear the bar shorts over their leotards to practice. My dd wears hers in the door and then quickly takes them off and sticks them in her cubby. She is super sensitive to fabric and seams. All of the other girls wear them and a few wear tight soffee shorts. It's not an issue at meets (that I know of), the girls just know that they can't wear them. If it's a big issue for you, talk to your coach.

 

[gymgurl]

Hi guys, Just thought maybe i should give you an update, This rule has been in place for quite a while now and although it has got less awkward it still is very awkward. I did have a chat with my coach about it before and it really helped with my insecurities about the no shorts rule. I still don't think it makes a difference at competitions.

 

[Jamie]

They bug the hell out of me! My girls wear the little short shorts that have things on the bum like stars or their name or whatever, they're constantly pulling them out of their bums! Personally I used to wear 3/4 leggings but I think my girls wouldn't be caught dead in them!

I'm very sympathetic towards teenage girls and don't see why they can't wear shorts while training but know that they will have to take them off for comps. the shorts the wear aren't loose so i can see their shape and form. i was once a teenage girl so i understand what it's like, especially when you get to the age where you have your period and that can be very difficult with training.

 

[KarenUK]

Where we are, the girls are allowed to wear shorts to compete - my daughters club allow shorts for competition once the girls are in high school, but not for younger girls. For training, as long as it's clean and close fitting then it's generally fine - the girls tend to wear shorts most of the time, but maybe 3/4 leggings in the winter. Maybe this winter they will be fine with just shorts though - the heating was condemned last winter - but has now been fixed