A gymnastics class is the one place where a girl's clothes are part of her technique, not just something she happens to be wearing. A coach needs to see the line of her leg in a split, whether her knees are locked in a handstand, and where her shoulders sit in a bridge. Loose fabric hides all of that. This is why almost every club in Cairo and Alexandria asks for a leotard or a fitted gymnastics set within the first few weeks, and why the thing most parents buy first - a comfortable t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms - usually gets sent home again.
Anja makes sportswear for girls aged 4 to 16 only. There is no adult, men's or women's range, so everything below is written about kit for a child or a teenager, not about what a mother might wear to her own class. If your daughter is inside that age band, the gymnastics collection is the right starting point, and this guide walks through how to choose from it and what else she will need around it.
What a Gymnastics Leotard Does that a T-Shirt and Leggings Cannot
The leotard is a single piece that runs from shoulder to hip with nothing to come untucked. That sounds like a small detail until you watch a seven-year-old attempt a forward roll in a loose t-shirt: the shirt rides up over her face, she stops mid-movement to pull it down, and the coach has to reset her. Multiply that by forty minutes and you lose most of the session.
The second thing a leotard does is give the coach a clean visual line. Spotting a girl through a back walkover means watching her hips and shoulders travel in sequence. A fitted one-piece makes that readable from across the hall. A baggy top makes it guesswork, and guesswork is how corrections get missed.
The third is grip against apparatus. On bars, a loose shirt bunches between her body and the bar. On beam, excess fabric at the hip catches when she swings a leg through. None of this is about appearance - it is about whether the equipment behaves the way it is meant to.
The Girls Gymnastics Leotard in the Anja range comes in a galaxy print across four colourways - Blue-Pink, Blue, Multicolor and Dark Blue - in sizes from 4-6 Years up to 14-16 Years. It is made in a stretch Lycra fabric with four-way stretch, meaning it gives in every direction rather than only along its length. That is the property that matters when she is in a split or a backbend, because a fabric that only stretches one way will pull her back out of the shape she is trying to hold.
The Anja Gymnastics Range: Leotard, Metallic Set and the Pieces around Them
The store carries eight pieces in the gymnastics collection, and they split into three jobs. There is the one-piece leotard. There is a three-piece set. And there are separates - leggings, shorts and performance tops - that work around both.
The Girls Metallic Gymnastics Set is a crop top, shorts and leggings sold together in Pink, Silver or Black, again in sizes 4-6 Years through 14-16 Years. It is built in the same stretch Lycra as the leotard, and the three pieces share the same stretch across the blend, which is the reason they move as one garment rather than one piece restricting another halfway through a routine. For a girl who is not yet comfortable in a leotard, or for a club that allows either, the set is the more flexible purchase: she can train in the shorts and crop top on a hot day, add the leggings when the hall is cold, and wear any of the three pieces on their own outside class.
Around those two sit the separates. The Girls Black and White Sport Leggings have a high-rise waistband that is cut wider at the back than a standard legging, specifically so it stays put through a backbend instead of rolling down, and they come in Black-White, Black-Pink and Black-Blue. The wider leggings collection gives you alternatives including a wide-leg yoga pant for stretching and rest days. For tops, the Girls Sleeveless Performance T-Shirt is a two-tone sleeveless cut in four colour pairings, and the broader t-shirts collection covers cap-sleeve and short-sleeve options for warm-ups. The Girls Drawstring Shorts in soft cotton are the piece she pulls on over her leotard the moment class ends - the adjustable drawstring exists so she can do that herself without help.
Every one of these runs 4-16 only. If you are shopping for an older sister or for yourself, this is not the store for it, and it is better to know that before you fill a basket.
Training Kit vs Competition Kit at Gezira, Heliopolis, Wadi Degla and Smouha
Egyptian clubs are not uniform in what they ask for, and the gap between a training session and a competition is wider than most new parents expect.
For ordinary training, the common pattern across the big Cairo and Alexandria clubs - Gezira, Heliopolis, Wadi Degla, Smouha - is that any plain fitted leotard or gymnastics set is acceptable, colour is the girl's choice, and the only real rules concern hair and jewellery. Some coaches ask the youngest groups to wear something plain so they can see body position without a busy print distracting the eye; others do not care at all. Ask at the first session rather than guessing.
Competition is a different matter. Once a girl is entered into a club or federation event, the leotard is usually specified by the club: one agreed design, often with the club crest, bought or ordered through the club itself. You do not choose it, and buying a leotard in advance hoping it will be accepted is how families end up with an expensive garment that never leaves the drawer. The sensible sequence is to buy training kit now and wait for the club to tell you what competition requires.
In between there are internal displays and end-of-term shows, and those usually sit closer to training rules with one addition: the coach wants the group to look coordinated. A matched set in a single colour is easy to organise across eight girls. This is where a metallic set in Silver or Black, bought by several families at once, tends to do well.
Coverage and Modesty for Egyptian Families: Leggings, Sleeves and Layering
A classic leotard is sleeveless and cut high on the leg, and for a lot of Egyptian families that is simply not the kit they want their daughter training in - particularly once she is nine or ten and in a mixed hall. The good news is that this is a solved problem, and solving it does not mean compromising on how she moves.
The standard approach is a leotard worn over leggings. Full-length fitted leggings under the leotard keep the leg covered while preserving the clean line a coach needs, and because the leggings are themselves fitted there is no loose fabric to catch on apparatus. This is far better than the instinctive alternative of a longer, looser garment, which reintroduces every problem the leotard was solving. Our guide to modest activewear for girls goes through the full set of options in more detail, and the girls' sports leggings guide covers what to look for in the leggings themselves.
For the arms and shoulders, a fitted sleeved top worn under the leotard is the usual answer. It needs to be close-cut and thin, not a cotton t-shirt, or it bunches at the armpit the first time she goes overhead. The three-piece set is worth a second look here too: a crop top and leggings worn together cover more than a leotard does on its own, and some families find that combination easier than layering.
Whatever route you take, test it at home before the first session. Have her do a bridge, a split and a handstand against a wall. If anything shifts, rides up or needs adjusting, it will do the same in class.
Fit that Survives a Split, a Bridge and a Back Walkover
Sizing a leotard is harder than sizing most children's clothes, because the garment has to fit along a diagonal - shoulder to opposite hip - and children do not grow evenly along that line. A girl who is tall for her age will often need the next size up in a leotard before she needs it in leggings.
The test that matters is the overhead test. Put the leotard on her and have her raise both arms straight above her head. If the shoulder straps lift off her shoulders, or the leg openings cut up into her hip, it is too short in the body regardless of what the label says. If the fabric puckers across her chest or sags at the lower back, it is too long. A correctly sized leotard stays exactly where it was when her arms go up.
The second test is the fold test. Have her sit and fold forward over straight legs. Fabric should stay smooth across the back. If it gathers into ridges, the body length is too generous and those ridges will sit under a leotard strap or against a bar.
Anja's sizing runs in two-year bands - 4-6, 6-8, 8-10, 10-12, 12-14 and 14-16 Years - across the gymnastics pieces, which means there is usually an overlap option if she sits between bands. Resist the urge to buy up a band for growing room. A leotard one size too big does not grow into her; it slides, and it undoes the reason you bought it. The kids sportswear size guide explains how to measure properly if you want to check before ordering.
Hair, Jewellery and Nails: The Rules Coaches Actually Enforce
These are the rules that get a girl pulled out of a session, and they are the ones nobody mentions when you sign up.
Hair has to be fully secured and off the neck. A ponytail is not enough once she is inverted - it swings into her face in a handstand and gets trapped under her hands in a bridge. A bun, braided and pinned flat, is what coaches want. Avoid hard clips, metal grips and anything with a rigid edge: she will land on it. Soft fabric scrunchies and covered elastics only.
Jewellery comes off entirely. Earrings, including small studs, are a genuine hazard on bars and in any spotted element where the coach's hand passes near her head. Necklaces, bracelets and rings go in the bag, not on her. Most clubs will not let her onto the floor otherwise, and a girl who has just had her ears pierced may need to wait before she can train.
Nails stay short. Long nails on bars are painful for her and a scratch risk for whoever spots her. Nail polish is a personal choice at training and often banned at competition.
Socks and footwear vary by club. Most Egyptian gymnastics halls train barefoot on the floor and on beam, which means feet need to be clean and nails trimmed there too. Some ask for gymnastics slippers on vault. Ask before buying anything.
What to Wear under a Leotard
Nothing, for the youngest group. A leotard is designed to be worn directly against the skin, and ordinary underwear underneath will show at the leg line, bunch under the elastic and chafe during a long session. For girls up to around eight or nine this is uncontroversial and it is what coaches assume.
From roughly nine or ten upwards it becomes a conversation, and the practical answer is seamless fitted underwear that sits well inside the leg line of the leotard, or leggings worn under the leotard so that the question does not arise. For older girls in the 12-16 range, a fitted sports crop top under the leotard is standard and a guide to gym wear for teen girls covers how that changes through those years.
What does not work: anything with a visible seam across the hip, anything cotton and thick, and anything with a clasp or hook that will press into her back when she lies on the mat.
Winter Layering for a Cold Gymnastics Hall
Egyptian sports halls in January are colder than people expect, and a girl standing in a sleeveless leotard waiting for her turn on beam cools down fast. Cold muscles are where injuries come from, so this is worth getting right.
Layer for the waiting, not for the tumbling. She trains in the leotard and strips back to it when she is moving; everything else goes on between turns. Full-length fitted leggings under the leotard are the base layer - they stay on through the whole session and do not need removing. Over the top, a fitted long-sleeve performance top she can pull off in one movement works better than anything with a zip she has to negotiate.
For the walk in and the warm-up, the drawstring shorts and a short-sleeve or cap-sleeve top from the t-shirts collection over the leotard let her arrive dressed and get to work without a change. Keep a dry top in the bag for the journey home: a sweaty leotard under outdoor clothes in a cold car is how a child gets ill, and the fabric question behind this is covered in cotton versus dri-fit for kids' sportswear.
How Many Sets a Twice-a-Week Gymnast Needs
Two leotards is the honest answer for a girl training twice a week, and three if the sessions are back to back or you cannot reliably wash between them.
The arithmetic is simple. A leotard worn for ninety minutes of gymnastics is wet. It needs to be washed, and because stretch fabric should not go in a hot wash or a dryer, it needs time to air dry - which in an Egyptian winter flat can mean overnight or longer. One leotard means washing it the moment she gets home and hoping. Two means one is always dry. Three means a forgotten wash is not a crisis.
Around that, plan on two pairs of leggings if she wears them under the leotard, since those get the same treatment, and three or four tops across the week for warm-ups and the journey. One pair of cotton shorts is enough - they go over the leotard on the way out and do not get soaked.
Replacement is driven by fit, not wear. Stretch Lycra holds up well; children grow. Expect to resize roughly once a year through the primary years and more often during a growth spurt. Washing properly extends the life of all of it considerably, and how to wash activewear without ruining it is worth ten minutes before the first load.
Leotard vs Gymnastics Set: A Side-by-Side Comparison
| Consideration | Girls Gymnastics Leotard | Girls Metallic Gymnastics Set |
|---|---|---|
| Pieces | One-piece | Three pieces: crop top, shorts, leggings |
| Colours available | Blue-Pink, Blue, Multicolor, Dark Blue | Pink, Silver, Black |
| Sizes | 4-6 to 14-16 Years | 4-6 to 14-16 Years |
| Fabric | Stretch Lycra, four-way stretch | Stretch Lycra, matched stretch across all three pieces |
| Coverage out of the box | Sleeveless, high leg - add leggings for more coverage | Crop top plus leggings covers more without layering |
| Hot hall | Wear as is | Crop top and shorts only |
| Cold hall | Layer leggings and a long-sleeve top | Add the leggings from the set |
| Wear outside class | No | Yes - pieces work separately |
| Best for | Clubs that specify a leotard; a clean competition-style look | Clubs that allow either; girls not yet comfortable in a leotard |
The Gymnastics Kit Bag Checklist
- Two leotards or gymnastics sets in her current size band, so one is always dry
- Fitted full-length leggings if she trains with her legs covered
- A fitted long-sleeve or sleeveless performance top for layering between turns
- Cotton drawstring shorts to pull on over the leotard after class
- A dry top and leggings for the journey home
- Hair kit: covered elastics, soft scrunchies, bobby pins and a brush - no hard clips
- A small zip pouch for earrings and any other jewellery that comes off at the door
- Nail clippers, because long nails on bars are a problem for her and whoever spots her
- A labelled water bottle she can open herself
- Plasters and a roll of tape for hands, once she is on bars regularly
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Anja Sell Gymnastics Leotards in Adult Sizes?
No. Anja makes sportswear for girls aged 4 to 16 only, and every gymnastics piece in the range runs from 4-6 Years up to 14-16 Years. There is no adult, women's or men's line, so a mother training alongside her daughter will not find her size here. The 14-16 Years band is the largest size available in the leotard and in the metallic set.
Can She Wear Leggings under a Gymnastics Leotard?
Yes, and it is the most common way Egyptian families handle coverage. Fitted full-length leggings under the leotard keep the leg covered while leaving the coach the clean body line she needs to see. Because the leggings are fitted rather than loose, there is nothing to catch on bars or beam. Clubs are generally comfortable with this at training; competition kit is specified by the club.
What Size Gymnastics Leotard Should an Eight-Year-Old Wear?
Start with the 8-10 Years band, then test it rather than trusting the label. Have her raise both arms overhead: if the straps lift off her shoulders or the leg openings cut into her hip, the body is too short and she needs the next band. Girls who are tall for their age often need to move up a band in a leotard before they do in leggings. Do not buy a size up for growing room - a loose leotard slides and defeats the purpose.
What Does a Gymnastics Club in Egypt Require for Training?
For ordinary training, the broad pattern at clubs like Gezira, Heliopolis, Wadi Degla and Smouha is that a plain fitted leotard or a fitted gymnastics set is acceptable and colour is up to the girl. The rules that are enforced are hair fully secured in a pinned bun, all jewellery removed including small studs, and short nails. Competition leotards are usually specified and supplied through the club, so wait to be told rather than buying ahead.
How Many Gymnastics Leotards Does a Girl Training Twice a Week Need?
Two as a minimum, three if sessions fall on consecutive days. A leotard is wet after a session and stretch fabric should air dry rather than go through a dryer, which can take overnight in winter. Two means one is always ready. Add two pairs of leggings if she layers, and one pair of cotton shorts to pull on afterwards.