‘Archaic’ clothing regulations overhauled

Competitive gymnasts can now wear shorts over their leotards and will no longer face penalties for having a visible bra strap, following an overhaul of the sport’s “archaic” attire regulations.

Gymnastics New Zealand have made the changes to make their athletes, most of whom are young women, feel comfortable and safe, and to ensure the sport is fully inclusive, chief executive Andrea Nelson said.

The changes align with a report just released by Massey University’s School of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition which details national sport organisation perspectives, decision-making* processes, and directives pertaining to female athlete uniform designs.

The Massey University study, along with athlete consultation conducted by Gymnastics NZ, confirmed that body image was considered the greatest issue for gymnasts when it came to sport uniform design.

“We surveyed our competitors across all of the gymnastic disciplines and what we found was that most of the girls actually love wearing a leotard,” Nelson said. “But there are some gymnasts who just don’t feel comfortable in that attire.

“It was a pretty simple change to allow competitors to wear shorts to ensure no one feels uncomfortable or excluded.”

“We found the regulations around underwear were unclear and unevenly applied and, to be honest, a little archaic,” Nelson said.

“The changes we’ve made are around comfort and safety. Gymnastics is a tough enough sport without having to stress about incurring a deduction because a judge can see your bra strap.

“We had parents of young gymnasts come to us worried that they couldn’t find a bra for their daughter that would provide adequate support that didn’t have a visible strap. That sort of thing shouldn’t be happening.

“We’ve also addressed a gender equity issue. Male gymnasts have been able to wear shorts or trousers, but until recently females haven’t.”

The changes have been made to all five gymnastic codes for competitions in New Zealand. They do not apply to international competitions

“Gymnastics is a tough enough sport without having to stress about incurring a deduction because a judge can see your bra strap.’’

Gymnastics New Zealand chief executive Andrea Nelson