Sports

Hooping at the Quarry: The 60s Fad is Back

These days, hobbyists can learn Hula-Hoop skills online or at The Baltimore Free School, and can make their own hoops from hardware and crafts supplies.

Hula-hooping, known these days as "hooping," has made a comeback—even in Pikesville.

This weekend, Baltimore resident Caitlin Deane was hooping at dusk in a grassy field near the restaurants at Quarry Lake at Greenspring shopping center in Pikesville.

"It's definitely good exercise ... It's so nice out, so you can do it outside now," she said.

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Deane was practicing with her friend, Chelsea Seiden of Pikesville.

They said the fad from the 1960s is definitely back, and they learned how to hoop from friends, from instruction videos online. There are also classes at The Baltimore Free School.

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The school offers a weekly Hula-Hooping class with various instructors who teach a variety of moves and skills, the school website states.

The next class is set for 7 p.m. March 23, but that class is full according to the school's schedule.

As the sun began to set, each woman rotated a hoop on her wrists, arms, around her shoulders, waist and feet.

But they still have a long way to go in developing their skills, they said.

"I have some friends who are fire performers—with hoops on fire," Deane said. "We haven't upgraded to fire yet."

To start the hobby, Deane recommends searching for a light-weight Hula-Hoop online. There are even collapsible ones, she said.

Or, make one yourself. She made her own from tubing for plumbing at Home Depot.

She bought some decorative glitter tape online and wound it around the hoop.

For instructions on creating a hula hoop, visit YouTube.

To see vintage Hula-Hoop commercials from the 60s and 70s, see the videos attached to this article.

Do you enjoy hooping? Upload some photos to this article, or tell us how you learned, or your favorite skill, in the Comments section below this article.


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