Eight Things a Regular Person Wouldn't Know About Gymnastics/Gymnasts

Yes, I know this is the last blog assignment, but I have convinced myself that I will continue posting at least throughout the summer. I know, so dedicated, right? But anyway, I'm treating this like a regular post. It's pretty funny when somebody who is evidently not a gymnast trys to talk gymnastics. So here are a few things you may want to consider when I go off on a rant at school or something. And they're just weird and funny.


1. We spit on our grips. I don't see how this is that weird, because spit is a lot stickier than water. And don't worry, because...

2. There are antibacterial chemicals in the chalk. This became the norm after the gymnastics companies found out how much blood, sweat, and spit were on the bars, and that is extremely gross when you think about it. :( The point is, don't eat the chalk. (No really, we had a teammate a few years ago who literally take a bite out of a chalk block.)

3.When gymnasts refer to the 'gym', we are talking about the place where we train and workout. It's very awkward to say 'the gymnastics training center' or even 'Black Diamond'.

4. Only 5 gymnasts in the entire US are going to the Olympics. Just because someone is a gymnast does not make them an Olympian. And just because they aren't an Olympian doesn't mean they're a crappy gymnast.

5. The floor is not a trampoline. I have literally been asked that. Obviously there is some spring to the floor, but the reason why so many people are surprised at how un-bouncy the floor turns out the be is because the Olympians make it look like a trampoline when they tumble twenty feet off the ground.

6. Apparently, the first event invented in gymnastics was the vault. Don't you find that odd? I feel like going upside-down on a floor would easier to think of than, "Hey, why don't we run full-speed towards that stationary object and have a competition between who can do the most flips and twists off it!"

7. Grips are not strapped to the bar. Again, I've been asked. The grips do provide a dowel which almost makes your hand longer, and the leather takes away some of the friction.

Boom. Grips. Photo courtesy of: John Lynch

8. Bars aren't actually made out of wood. Okay, even I didn't know this until, like, yesterday. They are actually made of fiberglass and then laminated.

Sorry, that kind of turned into a rant in the middle. :)

~Rose