Hooping in Far North Queensland:
HOT TIPS
Environmental considerations
HEAT. Hoops are usually made out of polypro or HDPE plastic. Both materials are happy in the heat. (They are commonly used in microwave-safe containers!)
UV. Hoops are highly susceptible to UV damage. UV from the sun can cause warping, cracking and brittleness. Some colours are more vulnerable than others. Red, blue, green and natural are the weakest. Black is the strongest. Polypro can lose 70% of its mechanical strength after 6 days of intense sun exposure!
SALTWATER. Hoops are very resistant to damage from saltwater. Yay for beach hooping!
IMMERSION IN WATER. Try not to let water enter your hoop at the join point. Once it's in, it can get stuck and change the dynamics of your hoop.
PETS. Any pet that loves a chew toy may love your hoops. Keep them out of pets' reach to avoid surprise kinks, bends or breaks. Don't leave your hoop unattended at the dog park!
ROUGH SURFACES. If you are hooping on scratchy surfaces like gravel, bitumen, or concrete, the plastic will scratch easily. This isn't necessarily bad, as it can make the hoop more grippy, but it can also wear down the plastic. Hoops can also collect dirt in the grooves. Smooth wood floors or grass are "safe" surfaces to hoop on to avoid wear.
Storage, damage, and
minor repairs
STORAGE. Hoops handle the tropical climate well, so you can store them just about anywhere that's out of the sun and rain. Storing hoops flat helps prevent warping. If you hang them, aim for at least two contact points to distribute the weight.
KINKS AND BREAKS. Hoops are pretty strong, but they have their limits. Polypro will kink and break more easily than HDPE. Minor kinks you might be able to wrap in tape. For bigger kinks and breaks you'll need a kit of hoop making supplies to repair. The Hoopologie website has free tutorials if you want to get into that.
ADHESIVES. Most adhesives in tapes don't love the tropics. Your decoratively wrapped or grip-taped hoops may start coming undone after prolonged heat exposure. To repair them, your best bet is to use thin (1/4") 3M gaffer tape to secure the loose end of the decorative tape, or a layer of extra sticky clear tape over the top. Otherwise, re-wrap the hoop. Hoops that have glue at the connector points don't fare well in the tropics because the glue breaks down over time.
FIXING A WARP. Lay your hoop flat on the ground in the heat (avoiding direct sunlight). Gravity will pull the tube into even contact with the ground. If the circle is misshapen, hold the hoop at its widest diameter and push inwards until you've made an oval shape, then release. You may need to do this several times from slightly different angles.
Hoop suppliers
LOCAL USED. If you're just starting out, you may want to check Facebook to see if anyone local is selling or giving away a used hoop. Hoopsie Dizzy does not recommend purchasing hoops from shops with storefronts in Cairns, because these generally are not made of quality materials.
HOOPSIE DIZZY HOOPS. Hoopsie Dizzy sometimes makes hoops out of polypro plastic (best for small-medium diameters). If any are available for purchase now, this will be noted on the website. Otherwise, you can borrow a hoop at a Hoopsie Dizzy class for $5.
SUPPLIERS ELSEWHERE. Buy Aussie if you can! Shipping to FNQ from overseas is pricey. When shipping from the USA (which has the widest variety to choose from), the postage itself can cost more than the hoops! Careful if you spend big from overseas: orders over $1000 AUD are subject to import duties and handling fees that cost hundreds of dollars! Here are some suppliers I have personally found reliable, from geographically closest to farthest away:
Spinjoy (Sydney) https://spinjoy.com.au/
Hoop Sparx (Melbourne) https://hoopsparx.com/
Hoopologie (Colorado) https://www.hoopologie.com/
Moodhoops (Florida) https://moodhoops.com/
What to wear
CLOTHING. With hooping, less clothing is more! Compared to fabric, skin is grippier against the hoop. If showing lots of skin sounds like your worst nightmare, there are other options. You can use grip tape around your hoop. You can also wear fibres with coarser textures/weave structures (such as denim or ribbed cotton). As you progress, it gets easier to hoop with clothes on. Tight clothes will generally be easier to hoop in than loose clothes.
INSECT REPELLANT. DEET has solvent properties and can damage your hoop, so it's recommended to use a DEET-free repellant while hooping.
SUNSCREEN. "Dry touch" or "sport" sunscreens are friendlier for hooping. Any sunscreen or lotion will make your hoop more slippery.
SWEAT. More clothes usually means more sweat, which is another reason less is more when it comes to clothing. Sweat makes hooping very slippery business. Rest assured that if you can hoop while sweaty, you can hoop even more gracefully when you're not sweaty!