Comments on: pros and cons of bike shorts

By: Gymgirl97

Gymgirl97 — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:10:29 +0000

I myself am a gymnast and wear shorts all the time in training I don’t have any problems with them and feel nicer in them and nearly everybody else in my group has them as there is no rule to say that you can’t.i think you should be allowed to wear them even in competitions as they are safe and aren’t exactly harming anyone.

By: coach Rick

coach Rick — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 23:51:23 +0000

Yeesh. Red flags are going up all over the place, LDV.

Best document your concerns in writing and give them to the owner of the club.

By: LDV

LDV — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 11:32:51 +0000

We have a new, young, male coach at my daughter’s gym who will no longer let the optional girls wear shorts. I find this troubling for several reasons.

1st for the reason that several of you have mentioned, the girls are more comfortable wearing them especially around the time of their period.

2nd It is more sanitary to wear shorts. Some of the younger girls have stopped wearing underware because it isn’t easy to find panties that will work under leos in their small sizes, except through some place like GK, but that gets expensive. When they do moves like straddle rolls on the beam you know they are spreading more germs around than they would with shorts on. I’ve heard that a couple of the girls have had vaginal infections since the new shortless policy has been in place.

3rd As a mom I find it makes me uncomfortable with this coach. Personally I think he just want a better look at their butts, he tells the girls he’s an “ass man” and has flaunted his girlie magazines in front of parents and gymnasts when traveling. My daughter loves gymnastics and this gym is the only option we have for gymnastics in our area, so what’s a mom to do? (The owner of the gym won’t stand up to him about anything, I think she is afraid of him.)

I don’t feel like I’ve heard a single good reason for not letting the girls wear tight shorts, I’m not buying the argument that they will do better at competition.

By: Carolyn

Carolyn — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 06:52:28 +0000

I know from experience in our gym that many of the younger girls who wear shorts over their leotards do it because they don’t want their underwear to show. Since many of the cheaper leotards dont come with lining, undergarments are necessary and many parents don’t think about that when they purchase the leotards…. I have seen girls with their underwear completely out of their leotards (they were only 4 or 5 yrs old, but still)- this was because the parents bought underwear that were too big, knowing the girls would grow into them. I am personally a fan of the biketard for practice (available in CH XS- Adult S/M depending on the brand) – you can buy it bigger so they can wear it longer… but they can still create wedgies once they get too small.

By: Jessie

Jessie — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:57:47 +0000

Thanks Blair Lowe:)

Some of my young girls will even salute the judge then pick before they start their routine! Obviously I tell them not to but it does make me chuckle inside, they just don’t get it sometimes!

By: ky

ky — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:54:33 +0000

Does the butt glue really work? I only took tumbling classes when i used to be a cheerleader and never had leotard issues, but always wondered how butt glue could be expected to work what w/all the movement and such. One second your right leg is in front of you w/your foot above your head, the next your left leg cranked up your posterior side as far as humanly possible, the twisting the turning, the bending; it just doesn’t seem like any adhesive could prevent a wedgie…

I’m indifferent to rules about wearing shorts and such, but do feel that if regulations are in place for when shorts can and cannot be worn, they must be established and understood from a young age so that when one does reach puberty or any age where the wearing or not wearing of shorts becomes as issue, there are expectations for what happens. Therefore having to remove shorts at certain times would be totally normal and routine and not some type of punishment of humiliating experience.

By: Blair Lowe

Blair Lowe — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:08:11 +0000

Wow, Gem. I’ll skip that. Kudos to Don.

I think Jessie was dead on that it’s the younger girls that will pick at them and just want to show my support for her in that opinion. Even the boys will do it too. There are now the boy cut unitards but not all gyms use those yet. They should, really. I feel bad when they tell me they ride.

By: Gem

Gem — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:34:57 +0000

That and tampon strings/pad wings are not a good look

By: Galit

Galit — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 03:56:02 +0000

Another benefit of shorts and probably another reason why they’re worn so much is so they can shave “down there” less often.

By: Tristynn

Tristynn — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:53:35 +0000

I agree with Anweiler. Once your female athletes reach a certain age, wearing just a leotard during practice can be a humiliating experience. For your older female athletes, say, high school aged girls, competitions are only a few hours long and “female protection” isn’t as big of an issue. For a girl going through puberty and is in the gym for seven hours at a time, 6 days a week, their periods are reason enough for her to be able to wear shorts to practice.

If my male coach were to ask me to take off my shorts just because he didn’t like them, mentioning the “p” word is usually enough to make a man squeamish and stop asking questions.