How to change your ribbon connector
It's easy to change your Ribbon connectors.
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Many competitive gymnasts chose to switch their connector to a 'thread' connector.
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The reasons are many; they enable better Ribbon shapes (extremely important for anyone competing with a ribbon), for the many AD's and Group collaborations the gymnasts rebound the stick off their body or those of their partners, having thread connectors rather than metal enable these moves to be painless and performed many times in training, lastly, the connectors are more reliable in competition. With the constant open and closing of the metal connectors, they begin to open easily, the thread connectors are permanently connected, so are more reliable in competition.
(Top tip - ALWAYS check your thread before competition, as they wear thin under training conditions, so always best to double check the stability of your apparatus before a competition.)
Items you will need
1 - Your Ribbon
2 - Your Stick
3 - Ribbon Thread Connectors
4 - Split Ring Opener
Attaching the connector thread to the Ribbon.
Firstly take the thread out of the pack, and pass through the eye of the Ribbon, as shown below.
Attaching the thread to the stick.
Firstly undo the metal clip and remove from the stick.
Now to attach the thread to the stick. You can use one or two split rings, this is your personal preference.
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Slide the split ring opener into the split ring, and open.
Slide the ring on stick into the open split rig on the thread.
Once attached, slide the ring around until both are completely closed, and can rotate freely.
Tra Da! Your Ribbon is ready for training!
Top tip - REMEMBER to always check your connectors for wear and tear before competitions!