Obvious, but important, information from Abid Hussain. This article might be useful to distribute to parents. A brief summary:
1.) Make sure you are wearing the appropriate attire. Flapping clothes, dangling jewelry and body piercings can get caught in equipment, scratch or cut the gymnast, as well as other people.
2.) Be serious during practice. Be aware that horsing around and other rough and tumble games can cause injuries, especially in areas where people are practicing and it is not safe to goof off.
3.) Youngsters with long hair should tie it back or secure it under a bandanna so it does not get in the eyes or get caught in the equipment.
4.) Gum is a no-no during practice or competition; it can easily become stuck in a gymnasts throat or windpipe during performances.
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read more – Gymnastic Injuries
Another good point is to disallow MP3 players during practice. In New Zealand I saw older gymnasts checking their phone text messages between rotations. NOT a good idea.
This article came from Gymnastics Rescue, a site I’ve just started investigating.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 