Altadore Gymnastics has 3 safety strap bars. What a luxury!
Only 2 have PVC pipe.
larger version – flickr
Actually, this is my least favourite system. Using the pipe means the kids do not need to flip their wrists in handstand.
My favourite is this system:
… 2 inch (5cm) wide straps with long sport socks (from the lost & found) wrapped around the bar. I want to simulate the feel of the actual wooden rail for the girls.
Mountain Shadows Gymnastics
However, the PVC pipe is easier for beginners. It would be ideal to have both systems on each straps rail in your gym.
related posts:
video – gymnastics safety bar straps new video – Working the Strap Bar
I’ve had a couple of emails lately on how long the straps should be. I find most kids use straps between 26-35cm long, sewn in a loop from 55-75cm length of nylon webbing. (That’s 10-14″ long, from a length of material 21-30″ long.)
Or … you could simply buy them from 10-0. Note that those are the narrower 1″ version.
8 comments ↓
I don’t really like the PVC for advanced gymnasts either because the kids lose that “true” feeling on the bar. I’ve also noticed that it tends to get thin when it wears and then it can lock on itself if it’s taped too tight.
What about using gardening gloves? Does anyone have experience with that? I’m sure I’ve seen it used in videos (on this site, I think).
Gardening gloves work really well – can be hard to find in smaller sizes. Also Polyprop gloves seem to work well (smaller sizes easy to find). I have heard girls complaining about other types feeling ’slippery’
We used to use oven mitts but I’m not sure they’d work for little kids with less of a grip. Also could be tough to find a small enough size. Very effective for us, however.
We use the exfoliating gloves that you can usually buy in any normal chemist/supermarket/drugstore – see link. They work perfect. They are a bit rougher than normal woolen gloves to give more grip. They are inexpensive and the kids can buy them in a variety of different colours which keeps them happy!!
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At our gym the boys tend to use gardening gloves while the girls use socks. I always thought the reason for this was due to the boys having their thumbs around the bar while the girls don’t, although I guess it could just be the coaches’ preferences.
Rocky, as a girl I’ve always swung on strap bar with my thumbs around the bar. I can’t remember whether I was taught to do this, or just picked it up (I’m sure it’d help with feeling ’secure’ on the bar, especially if you had small hands!). It’d be interesting to know.
I strongly encourage all girls to put their thumb around the strap bar. But many, particularly the smaller ones, don’t.
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