From glitter to coordinating hair ribbons, Gymnasts have this routine down

Women’s gymnastics is one of the few sports where makeup in competition is encouraged, and coordinating hair ribbons with leotards is common. Gymnasts are also some of the few people who can still get away with wearing scrunchies since that trend died in the mid-1990s.

With the NCAA Gymnastics Championships in town through the weekend, Corvallis is seeing all new regional trends in hair and makeup for women athletes.

From the natural style of the Los Angelians to the dolled-up dames from Georgia to Oregon State University’s own glitter brigade, the primping routines of gymnasts vary from team to team.

At OSU, hair and makeup before meets is as much about superstition as it is vanity.

“I have crazy superstitions,” said Angela Morales, a senior majoring in human development and family sciences.

This is Morales’ fourth year on the team, and her fourth year having her hair done in exactly the same way before every meet by former teammate Therese Abrams, a fifth-year business administration student.

“She does the little twisties in my hair, six across my head. She uses bobby pins to hold them down. Then she ties my hair back into a ponytail with an elastic. Then she wraps it in a bun, and puts orange and black ribbons around it. And she puts a million squirts of hair spray on. Then she adds glitter. It doesn’t come out for two weeks, but it’s fun,” Morales said.

After four years of practice as the unofficial team beautician, Abrams has the routine down to 15 minutes.

Morales is also regimented in her makeup application before meets. She uses a bronze eye shadow that she only wears for competitions. She also uses brown eyeliner, followed by black mascara.

“I have to completely do my right eye, then completely do my left eye,” she said.

Morales will swipe on Chapstick, but she shies away from lipsticks and glosses.

This routine has served her well throughout her collegiate athletics career, and Morales doesn’t plan to alter her tried-and-true hair and makeup style for the championships.

“It’s never let me down,” she said.

Abrams does between three and six women’s hair before every meet.

“Some know exactly what they want. Others say, ‘Whatever you feel like.’”

Most of the gymnasts like to have a signature hair style that’s unique to them, kind of like a calling card, Abrams said.

Hair glitter is very popular with the team, although some avoid it because they worry it will get in their eyes during competition.

“It’s fun. There’s few sports where you get to wear makeup and put on glitter and dress up,” Abrams said.

Jami Lanz, a freshman majoring in business management, has five sets of practice clothes she’ll wear this year — one for every day of the week.

She’s also particular about her hair, which she usually does herself before meets.

For competitions at OSU, Lanz “poofs” the front of her hair, then pulls the rest back into a crimped ponytail. For away meets, she twists the front section back, then does the same ponytail.

“I pretty much always do the same thing. I changed it once, and I fell,” she said, adding that most athletes are “very superstitious.”

As for makeup, Lanz favors MAC products. She likes bronze eye shadow, dark brown eyeliner, lots of shimmery blush and Oyster Girl lip gloss.

Yuki Lamb, a sophomore business administration major, doesn’t buy into her teammates’ superstitions, although she finds them entertaining.

Lamb usually wears her hair in a simple ponytail. But the repetition is for convenience, not good luck.

“I really, really dislike doing my hair and makeup and spending time on it on a regular basis,” Lamb said.

The OSU coach doesn’t want the girls wearing temporary face tattoos, jewelry or nail polish, since these could distract the judges.

However, tattoos with the trademark “G” are very popular with the University of Georgia team.

After warm-ups before each meet, the Bulldogs put the temporary tattoos on their left cheeks, then add glitter, said Ashley Kupets, a third-year member of the team. Kupets is a junior at the University of Georgia, where she is majoring in art.

All the women on the team have different hairstyles. Kupets likes a simple, fluffy ponytail. All the coifs do have one thing in common, though: sparkle.

“We all put glitter in our hair and spray it like crazy,” Kupets said.

They adorn their do’s with black, silver and red hair ribbons in various combinations. As a good luck charm, Kupets ties all three ribbons together, and wears them for the entire season.

The women wear more dramatic makeup than they would on a standard day. They use eye shadows to match their leotards. Lip gloss is also popular.

The University of California at Los Angeles didn’t qualify as a team for the championships, but three of its women will compete in individual events.

Like the Beavers, the UCLA Bruins don’t wear temporary tattoos. They’re also not big on glitter or hair ribbons, according to Tasha Schwikert, a sophomore majoring in sociology.

“UCLA has never been so flashy with the glitter and bright makeup. We’re going for a more natural look,” Schwikert said.

Simple ponytails with monochrome scrunchies are popular amongst her teammates, as are MAC cosmetics. Many of the UCLA women get French manicures before meets and wear diamond stud earrings, she added.

At a glance

The 2006 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships continue today at 7 p.m. with the Super Six, where one team will be crowned the national champion.

At 7 p.m. Saturday, the top eight individuals in each event will compete in the finals.

The events take place at Oregon State University’s Gill Coliseum, 660 S.W. 26th St.

Single session reserved seating tickets are available on the day of the event for $15. General admission costs $10 for adults, and $6 for students. All-session passes cost $40. VIP all-session passes cost $100. A brunch is offered on Saturday for $25.

For more information, call 737-4455.

Mary Ann Albright covers higher education. She can be reached at maryann.albright@lee.net or 758-9518.