Gloves+competition=yea or nay?

ammivo started this discussion · 9/28/2010

Hi! My name is Artemis and this is my very first post 😮 I love this forum and all its helpful members so where else would I go with my own problem but here? 😉 I'm quite new to pole (I bought my x-pole in June) and I'm self-tought! I've gotten really addicted to pole-you know the feeling 🙄 -and I am proud to say I've learned quite a lot in a short amount of time 😁 (Got my elbow grip ayesha two weeks ago, I also have aerial invert, knee hold, superman, no hand teddy etc *proud proud proud* hihi) So here's the deal...I live in Sweden and in January our annual(!) pole competition is coming up and I actually consider signing up for it! 🥂 I really want to do it this time 'cause if I wait one year I can no longer be in the "newbie-group"(=for polers w <1 years experience)! The problem is that I know for a fact that I'll get really nervous performing there and it's probably going to be really hot in there as well so I'm gonna have to rely on some sort of grip-aid and I was thinking that gloves would be the most reliable alternative? What do you think about that? I do like Mighty Grip but I don't think I would get throught a whole routine with it. What would a judge think abt a competitor using gloves? Would they be more critical to you if you used gloves or are gloves accepted during competitions? 🤔 I haven't actually tried pole gloves before but I'm assuming even the non-tack would help me through static holds? I hope you can help me!!

6 replies

Veena · 9/28/2010
Congrates on all you moves!! 🥂 I know some competitions will not allow the use of gloves, so I would check on that before making a decision. Whatever you decide on, I would defiantly practice with it so your accustom to it.
Jenn · 9/28/2010
I have really slippery/sweaty hands and so I am always looking for different ways to help me grip better. I tried the gloves, and personally, they felt really foreign to me. I didn't like that my hands weren't in direct contact with the pole and my fingers weren't able to completely flex around the pole because the gloves were so stiff. I definitely prefer the grip aides on the hands overall. Maybe you could try them first and then decide? I haven't seen any competition videos yet in which the competitor was wearing gloves, but then I'd don't see how that is much different than using lotions, chalk, tacky clothing/shoes, which I am sure competitors have all used to help them grip.
amy · 9/28/2010
have you tried tite grip? apply 2 hrs before poling and it totally works to prevent the sweat. i know some women here swear by it!
ammivo · 9/28/2010
First of all: thanks so much for all the answers!! I'll definitely try the gloves like you suggested, Jen, and maybe I could "pimp" them so that they match the rest of the outfit or smth 🤔 Whoa the tite-grip sounds really interesting! It seems logical that a sweat-reducer would be a better alternative during a performance than a grip enhancer since you wanna be able to spin easily as well 😉 They sell it on eBay so even I- a poor Swede-can get a hold of it 😉
ammivo · 10/7/2010
Ok lovely ladies I just wanted to tell -and thank- you for recommending Tite Grip to me! I tried it for the first time today and I could just do trick after trick without wiping the pole down every 30 seconds! I started practicing on a routine I've been thinking about and suddenly the music stopped and I realized I had completed the whole 3,5 minute song without wiping the pole down even once 🥂 AND I did it like three or four times! The only sad thing is that now I realize more than ever how bad my floorwork is (a refrigerator has more natural grace than me, it seems 😳 ) but on the other hand- now I know what to work on 🙄 Thanks again 😳
amy · 10/7/2010
🥂 awesome! glad that worked for you 🙂