America's Funniest Videos - uneven bars falling down - Oh My!

[gymgal]

I was watching an old AFV show tonight with the kids when a gym blooper series came on. First thing I did was make dd leave the room - didn't want her to see what can happen. She sees it in real life enough... Anyway, there were at least three clips of regular sized uneven bars collapsing during routines in competition! talk about scary! These bars did not appear to have cables attached, which I thought was really strange. Even when we have competitions in places where you can't bolt to the floor, there are still cables set into concrete blocks, etc. Has anyone ever seen this happen in real life?

 

[JBS]

Yes...AAI had an issue with a batch of defective quick links. The quick link stayed screwed shut and the back end of it pulled out. The quick link bent and the bars fell. The gymnast was shaken up, but otherwise OK.

This was during a level 8 session at our meet. We had 2 women's gym and a men's gym. We changed out every quick link on both sets of unevens and the high bar. The ring tower was older and did not have the affected quick links. It was not good.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

the 1st and most famous: Ludmilla Tourischeva 1975 World Cup UB (Bars collapse) - YouTube

this is what JBS is talking about: Uneven Bars Collapse - YouTube

and i know this old gymnast: Bars collapse - YouTube

 

[JBS]

this is what JBS is talking about: Uneven Bars Collapse - YouTube

Nope...not this one...ours was on a giant.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

sorry, didn't mean yours like in your gymnast. that video is the quicklink snap you were talking about.

 

[bogwoppit]

Yes, one of my first times in a gym as a mom, not as a coach. The anchor, in concrete, ripped out of the floor and the bars collapsed. Small head ding for gymmie, total heart attack for the coach and parent.

It happens,but not that often. I hate gymnastics bloopers, as you just know how scary they ate for all involved. I never let my kids watch them. But then I also hate those videos that parents send in of their kids in awful situations. Seriously who wants to make money from their child's misfortune.

 

[Sarah'sMom]

Years ago in my high school (I won't say the year), we had a gymnast who fell and fractured her back so badly that her gymnastics career was over. She was in one of my classes and she was out for months. When she came back to classes, she told us that the school they were competing at did not have their bars anchored to the floor and that to hold the bars down they put mats down and had the girls sit on the mats. She said that when she was doing something (I don't recall the move) on the high bar, the bar moved/bounced so that she didn't catch it, hence the fall. As I think about it now, I wonder who in his/her right mind would allow gymnasts to compete like that -it just seems so unreal.

 

[gymgurl]

Well, Once in a competition the high bar ripped clean out of the floor and it tipped to the other side while a high level gymnast was competing luckily no one was hurt, it just delayed competition a bit. Meanwhile in our gym, we have had a gymnast not tighten the beam properly so that the next gymnast got on and did a routine and as she dismounted it fell down :S no one was hurt and once the bar slipped down a hole and it gave the gymnast a fright but nothing else

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

Not quite the same, but just as scary... my DD was doing giants on the strap bar last year and the bar collapsed on her. Hurt her shoulder since she couldn't let go of the bar!!!..... Then...... it happened again about a week later! She didn't get hurt the second time, but I was furious. It was simply lack of checking equipment by the coach. The boys team had used the bar and changed the settings both times (according to DD).