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Yes! I’ve seen the Nomis gloves… I sooo wanted to order a pair but I have no idea how international orders work. Besides, the only colors they have right now are a multi-colored green-red-black thing or something like that. Maybe we should get a bunch of Veeners together that want them and order them together and see if we can get a discount and save ourselves the individual hassle of international shipping crap…

And thanks for the info on the MG gloves, I’ll probably order myself a pair when I get some more cash. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif

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Amcut – can you still spin with the non-tacky MG gloves??? I’ve heard they still stick too much. And what exactly is that material made out of?? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_scratch.gif From the picture you can just see some shiny stuff – it almost looks like PVC or something…

I’m thinking about getting a pair of these just to have… I thought they would be too sticky for my tastes, because I don’t want to give up my spins – my hands sweat so bad I can’t even do a reverse grab anymore. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif But I’m still working on my modified batting gloves – left hand is done, about 1/3 of the way done with the right. Unfortunately, it’s been raining and I haven’t been on the pole since USPDF weekend so my grip is suffering too much to get a proper test-run.

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My hands sweat really badly, too, and am currently on a quest for the perfect pole glove. I suspect I have that same condition you do – my hands are always sweating, and I’m even leaving wet streaks on the keyboard right now (it’s gross!). I’ve tried hand antiperspirants (Dry Hands, Tite Grip, etc.) and nothing has stopped the sweating for me. And the sweat negates every other grip aid I’ve tried. Even if I dry my hands off completely and immediately before a move, literally 2 seconds later they are just as sweaty and I lose my grip. Once I start sliding, there’s no stopping it.

People generally look down on using gloves because it’s better to learn without it, but when you have an actual condition that you can’t do anything about, then you really don’t have much of a choice. It’s not like you’re being lazy or taking shortcuts, or even that you need to learn to relax so the sweat will stop, you just can’t stop your hands from sweating! And it can be dangerous if you can’t control it, and I don’t think that any amount of grip strength training will completely help in this case (although you should probably still work on strengthening your grip, anyway).

Right now I’m modifying a pair of leather batting gloves to meet my needs – cutting the fingers off, sewing the raw edges, and pulling the extra padding out of the palm. They grip really well when I want them to grip but slide a bit too easily, but I do like that I don’t have to sacrifice my spins. Most gloves grip too well so that you can’t spin in them. My goal is to have a glove that grips like my skin so I could do an uncut dance if I wanted to, and not have to skip moves because of too much or too little grip.

In addition to this, I’m looking into getting a 45mm pole (easier to grip with hands) and I bought one of those powerballs to help strengthen my grip.

Mighty Grip makes pole gloves, with and without "tack" on the palm, but I’ve heard you can’t spin with either glove. Golfing gloves are great, maybe just a smidgen too sticky, but the palms are extremely thin – I’ve tried a pair but I was afraid they would rip. Joel (Poledancefan) told me that quarterback gloves are perfect, but I haven’t tried them. And for the UK peeps, Nomis 1/2 finger gloves are supposed to be awesome, too.

Generally, find something with either a sticky palm, or something with the smooth, soft leather. Don’t get anything with the fuzzy kind of leather – they slide (been there, tried that). I’d recommend going fingerless and something with a couple layers in the palm but without extra padding – that way you get the grip but your hand can still get a feel for the pole itself, and it won’t be so thin that it rips. Also decide what you’re looking for, as in if you want gloves just to help with your holds or if you’re looking for a glove that does everything like I am (warning: I had a heck of a time trying to find my everything glove…. not fun). I’d also recommend still working on moves without gloves as long as you feel you can do them safely, but don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t work out.

Oh, and be prepared to spend money on this whole thing. You’ll be trying and returning gloves and probably wasting money at some point because you’re going to have to experiment to find your preference.

And this is just my experience, I’m no expert…

Amcut is another glove junkie, maybe she’ll chime in… https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

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Empy is right – we were explicitly told at the start of the competition that we could not record any part of the show and it was printed in the program, too.

I just wanted to point out how funny it is that even the performers are posting on Facebook saying "Hey look! A video of me! Watch it before it’s taken down!" If the performers don’t care and you don’t tag the video as being from USPDF or get a shot of their banner above the poles or anything, then who really cares??? It kinda bugs me that they are once again showing "ownership" over the dancers and their performances… They shouldn’t have to re-perform and record their routines just to show everyone what they did. I would think the YT vids would be free advertising for USPDF.

But at the same time, it’s not all that different from recording a movie in a theater. The movie belongs to the producers, etc. etc. at that point – not the individual actors. The only difference is that this is a live performance. While each routine belongs to the individual dancer, the entire show is USPDF’s.

However, with a movie, it’s taking away from the profits of whoever owns the movie because people are watching it illegally. With a competition, it’s a one-time thing – they aren’t going to lose a profit from people posting vids of competition clips, especially because USPDF doesn’t sell DVDs of the show! It’s never going to be seen again except by the dancers themselves who get vids of their performance – they have nothing to lose. And once again, free advertising – people would watch the clips and want to go the next year.

So do I see why they do it? Yeah. Do I agree with it? Nope.

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Yay for Brynlyn (one of my instructors) for making it into the Top 5 AGAIN! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif She was a little down on herself and didn’t think she had done well at all.

I thought she was SO CUTE in the compulsory round – hers was the only one that stuck out in my mind from that round. But near the beginning of her optional round, I believe her hand slipped during a reverse grab? and you can tell it shook her up – she didn’t seem as confident or she was enjoying herself as much. She didn’t do badly, she appeared to nail the rest of her tricks, but you could see a slight difference after that. If I hadn’t seen how she was in the previous round, I wouldn’t have known the difference.

So relay the message that she was awesome and I enjoyed watching her – just about all the dancers slipped but the important thing is that she kept going. I personally would’ve broken down crying or something…

And Keiloces was smart and didn’t tag the videos… *sneaky look*
I’m almost feeling guilty for not trying to record the show! I had a perfect view – very inside row on the right side balcony, so no heads in the way or anything. But I think an usher was chillin’ not too far from me… I’m going to have to brush up on my camera hiding skillz for next year, I guess https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_tongue.gif

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Yeah, it’s a banner across the top of the Shop ~~> Accessories page… I was like https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_surprised.gif

I wonder if it would work with the old poles or not??? The X-Pert has a dome, too, right??? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_scratch.gif Just wondering…

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Just FYI everyone: the videos of the amateur comp. have been taken down, too.

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I emailed X-Pole US about something different and it took a week and 2 emails for them to answer me – Heydi said that they are really busy and backed up right now, so don’t be surprised if it takes a little while longer than they usually take… Just giving you a heads up https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

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GatorGirl – thanks for clarifying! I knew I was probably off about how they got their "original" pros but I knew I was right about the rest of it for the most part… But thanks for correcting me! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_salut.gif

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seriously. what’s the difference between amateur and pro again? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_tongue.gif

Serious question?

It’s just status with USPDF, that’s all. In order to compete in the national competition you have to have "pro" status with them. Last year I believe they picked the original 12 pros just from the get-go because it was the first year. This year, the dancers that placed in the top 3 (I think) in the west and east coast regional competitions automatically got pro status (like Karol and Amber). And then whoever won the amateur competition won pro status so that they can compete in the national competition next year. It’s no actual reflection on the dancers’ talent – I mean, look at Becca Butcher! She’s just as good as any of the pro ladies but she’s not a "pro."

So, yeah, it’s just a status title that gives them permission to compete. Seems almost silly to me… don’t understand what the real point of it is, myself – seems like it’s an unnecessary extra step. If anyone knows feel free to enlighten me!

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Wow that was fast… 0_0 I thought they would be up for at least a week! I hope this doesn’t mean that they’re going to crack down on the camera stuff next year… https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_confused.gif

And yes, a lot of the competitors did the allegra… I wanted to pull my hair out when the host asked Allegra to demonstrate it! I was like, "We’ve seen it a million times already!" lol Oh well, no one can do the allegra like Allegra, anyway.

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Just as a general FYI:

USPDF does record the competition to give to the competitors – but they can’t sell DVDs to the general public because of the music rights. Maybe they’ll be able to do that someday, but that’s not the case right now. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

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I wipe the pole and my hands constantly, I have moments where I end up staring at the pole and wiping my hands absentmindedly while I sing along with the music. And if I even touch the pole and there’s any moisture, I have to wipe them off again. It’s like when I slide down the pole it pulls more sweat out of my hands as I go down… it’s disgusting.

I miss the reverse grab… my hands sweat too much. I can’t even put enough weight on it to start the spin, I just slide straight down. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif

I’m looking at gloves, but I want something that doesn’t glue you to the pole. I found some biking gloves that have the "stickier" leather on the inside, and I’m thinking about trying those. I had another pair but they had the fuzzy leather on the palms and I couldn’t grip at all. But I’ll try these ones I found and if they don’t work I’ll go for the Mighty Grip ones. I’m getting desperate because grip aids don’t work for me – even the hand antiperspirants. :-/

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Look around in this Competitions forum some more and you’ll find what you’re looking for.

Things have pretty much died down and we’ve kinda had an unspoken agreement not to discuss it much anymore – it’s all said and done. *shrug*

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Someone did get videos up on YouTube of most of the performances! There are links going around Facebook – PINKPOLEPRINCESS22 is the channel.

Amber’s was BY FAR my favorite, with Alethea’s as second. I had tears in my eyes watching Amber’s – perfectly showed her two sides of her dancing. There are two particular moves that wowed me and I’ll definitely be working on those.

I loved Zoraya’s, she’s so strong and her dancing was beautiful. I love how it’s sensual, but in a subtle way. Like notice how she doesn’t do the typical butt-first thing standing up from the floor, she just stands up! Plus we got to meet her at the B&P party Thrusday night – she is like the sweetest person ever! She made sure that Kee (bauderlady) got a very special souvenir, but I’ll let Kee tell that story https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif

Sarah’s routine (or lack thereof) was impressive, but she always looks so bored!!! I heard she doesn’t choreograph anything… and you can tell. She even was starting to do another move when her music cut out at the end of her time. I love her moves but it’s hard to get into it when even the dancer doesn’t look like they’re enjoying themselves.

I really liked Estee’s too, but I really can’t say why… I just did, lol. And Karol’s, of course, although once again I can’t really think of a specific reason why.

I did feel bad for several of the dancers because I think just about every one of them that wore heels slipped at least once. :-/

I wrote out a huge, detailed recount of my weekend that I put on Facebook (yeah it’s long, but I didn’t want to forget anything!), but the competition was only a very very small part of my weekend.

One thing I did want to mention was how generous all the ladies were – they all were more than willing to get pictures with anyone that asked. Me and my roommates (Kari, Kee, and Day) practically tackled Allegra for pictures at the B&P party on Thursday, lol. (that was funny, I saw her standing behind the other three girls and I’m just standing there pointing with my jaw on the floor. They’re all like "what? why are you pointing?" then they turned around, gasped, and out came the cameras!).

Truly an epic weekend… no other way to describe it.

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Amy’s right – 45mm PS stainless, both for competitions and in their studio

I took a workshop at NYPD and they had just put in a new part of the studio, so the stainless poles were brand new. I’m used to a 50mm chrome and my grip SUCKED! It was Amber’s workshop and she wanted us to do a climb using your knees, which I’m used to climbing using a thigh grip. So I’m like "yeah, that climb isn’t happening today!" and promised myself I’d work on it at home.

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Congrats, Jungle! March is the month of Pole’versaries for both of us!

I remember when you joined the site (like, right after I did, lol). You were so much fun and still are!

Here’s to another year of pole awesomeness, and many more to come! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif

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From a pole sit??? Um… probably a few weeks, maybe, and that was poling just about every day. I’m still not entirely pain-free but it’s more like discomfort than actual pain. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when it happened, it’s not like I went "Whoa! This doesn’t hurt anymore!"

Moves like the gemini and scorpio don’t bother me at all anymore.

Now, as for the superman… I have to be in a particularly tolerant mood for me not to jump off the pole doubled over my thighs after 0.2 seconds. I hate that move… https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_evil.gif

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Are you just talking about for the basic invert (crucifix)???

I laid on the floor on my back, with the pole to my side – about halfway between my ribs and hip along my waist. I’d pull my legs up into the invert position, grip, and then relax my abs so my legs were holding the weight. This way you can experiment with the grip without falling (and you’re in the same position you would be if you inverted from standing). It’s basically the same thing Polergirl is telling you to do, except hers is from a headstand and mine is laying down. Point being to find a way to hold yourself upside down to play with your legs without falling on your head in the process. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_tongue.gif

I’m strange – I grip quite a bit with my feet and ankles. I get creases in the skin on top of my foot from sliding down sometimes… kinda hurts. But it’s nice for moves like the caterpillar climb where you can’t rely on your knees and thighs to grip as much. *shrug*

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Credit goes to Glitter for that one – she’s the one who had the idea and did the ordering and everything. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif Awesome idea.

But I’m glad they made you so happy, Veena. You don’t deserve anything less.

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georgiamarie – the collarbone issue is what kept me from learning the shoulder mount (or dismount), I’m a bit boney in that area, too. I was so frustrated because everyone kept saying "you’re not supposed to hit your collarbone" but no matter how much I curled my back and shoulders to keep the pole against the top of my shoulder when I reached up with my feet, I couldn’t reach around the pole enough with my feet/legs to grip; so I would have to roll onto my collarbone to get that extra couple inches so I could get a grip with my legs. That "tuck" everyone kept saying was the key to it all was actually the problem…

And honestly, if it wasn’t for the grip I use, I would still be hitting it. I don’t know if it’s the combination of being boney and long-waisted or flexibility or what, but other people that appear to be built like me don’t have these problems! Grr…

I use respect grip – the one that Felix uses. It scrunches your skin on your shoulder up and keeps direct pressure off the bone (this grip may not work for you, but you could try). That’s what did it for me – maybe someday when I’m stronger and more flexible I’ll be able to do the other grips…

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Lol it’s how I learned the regular shoulder mount! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif

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I had no idea that you can break in a pole! .

Yup, I’m pretty sure that’s just with stainless, though, other poles don’t have to be broken in as far as I know. (someone correct me if I’m wrong)

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I’m no expert, but when you take it down, I’d do it VERY slowly. Even do a few slow turns on the adjuster screw then leave it to come back and do a few turns later (depending on how fragile you think your ceiling is). That way it lets the ceiling settle back into bearing its own weight instead of a sudden change. And that way, worse-case scenario, if the ceiling does start falling apart or anything, you can stop and leave the pole where it is until you can get something else under there.

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If it makes you feel any better (don’t know if you already knew this), but once you get the pole broken in, it’ll grip better.

I use Tite Grip, but it’s a hand antiperspirant – so if your hands don’t sweat it won’t help you much. A lot of dancers like Mighty Grip, but it’s too sticky for spins. I’ve found that rubbing alcohol does nothing for me.