Flag Taping Tips

Hey there flag friends, coaches and directors! Have you ever just wanted someone to go through the flag-taping process with you? Or have a video you could send straight to students so they could tape their flags on their own instead of you doing it all yourself?

You’re in luck! In the video below, Holly goes through all the steps of the flag taping process in an easy to follow format that you can send straight to your students (or view for yourself). If you want to see the steps in a written format, scroll past the video for a step-by-step guide.

Step 1: Clear all the tape off your pole (except the thirds- it’s good to keep it as a reference later on). Take the tips off and clear the tape off the tips as well.

Step 2: One third at a time, remove the old tape and tape on a new third- I like to make it thicker so you can feel it without looking. I recommend also adding third tapes to go underneath the silk-they are a great reference during training.

Step 3: Slide on the silk (make sure it’s facing the right way!). Tape the top of the silk to the pole. I usually set it so it’s a little further than the width of electrical tape down the pole- this helps the silk maintain it’s integrity when you put the rubber tip on. (Watch the video for an bonus tip on taping a silk with tabs attached).

Step 4: Making sure the sleeve (or tube) of the silk is laying straight, tape on the tab. You definitely want this secure- when I tape my tab, the electrical tape goes about an inch and a half up the silk, and about two inches on the pole.

Step 5: Put on your bolts and tips! I like to tape my bolts into the pole (so it’s harder to be noisy) before putting the rubber tips on. Another quieting option is putting a few circles of tape at the edge of the bolt. Each bolt brand and tip brand is different, so try experimenting with what you like.

Step 6: Tape the tips- I always like to do three parallel strips on the top of the tip because it feels neater, but some people do a criss-cross. Then, with the electrical tape taut, wrap around the tip (starting at the edge, going towards the pole). Always continue wrapping until you connect the tip tape with the silk and pole (or just the pole on the bottom). There are few things more dangerous in guard than a rogue tip going flying.

Step 7: Clean up your tape trash and enjoy spinning!