It has been quiet on hooping.org. One of the reasons is that there generally isn't as much hooping going on during the winter as in the warmer months. That's unless you have a winter hoop space!

The Bay Area Hoopers for the third time this year are renting the main room at CELLspace for hooping on Sunday afternoons during the cold months. I am reminded that although it's great to be hooping on the grass outdoors, the indoor winter hooping has its perks too.

1. Mirrors: An indoor space might have tall mirrors all around, for instance if you rent a dance studio. The mirrors make some tricks easier to learn because you can see what you are doing and where the hoop is. And of course they are also great feedback if you have aspirations to perform - you can see what you look like when you're hooping.
2. Even floors: If you are hooping indoors, you are most likely hooping on even floors. The grass at the park on the other hand is not so even. Some tricks are much easier to practice on an even floor, such as the Up-From-the-Floor trick, where the hoop is lying on the ground and over one of your feet, and you try to bring the hoop up to your knees without any hands. I'm sure there are other tricks that are facilitated by an even, solid floor.
3. Better sound system: Chances are that if you are indoors there is a better sound system readily available. Or, even if the sound system is not better than the one you use outdoors, it is easier to maintain because you won't have to carry, assemble and disassemble it every time. Since you're in a confined space, the sound is definitely louder, and loud music always has a positive effect on your level of amusement while hooping.
4. Community building: Through indoor hooping I find that hoopers develop a stronger sense of commitment to their practice. There is often a donation involved to go towards the indoor hoop space rental, so maybe people are trying to get more bang for their buck and sticking around for the whole session instead of just dropping in. All I know is that after the winter there is often a stronger sense of who really wants to be a part of the hooping movement and who doesn't.
5. Hibernation effect: There is this energy that starts collecting and growing as you hibernate, i.e. hoop indoors, week after week. When hoopers hit the outdoors again after this period of hibernation and incubation, they often have a stronger desire to show others what they can do and what hooping can do for them. It's like coming out of the cocoon and emerging a butterfly with a hoop.

With these things in mind, I hope that many of you find yourselves hooping this winter.