You Asked: How Do I Find Hoopers Near Me? We've Got Answers!

So now that you've fallen in love with hooping, you'd like to share that joy with others, right? Our Facebook Inbox often gets messages from hoopers like you looking to connect with other hoopers in their area. So here are our top tips for finding hoop buddies in your neighborhood!   1. Find a Hoopnotica Instructor Near You To get "linked in" to the hooping circuit in your area, start by finding a Hoopnotica class near you. Going to class will not only give you the opportunity to learn new moves but will be the perfect opportunity to meet other hoopers in your area. Start connecting with other hoopers today by searching for a teacher/class in your area with the Find an Instructor function on our website! You can search by exact address or ZIP Code.   2. Search Facebook for a Local Hoop/Flow Group Molly Billinski, a recently-certified Hoopnotica Instructor and hooper-networking pro, suggests that conducting a simple Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr search for hoop groups in your area might be all that you need to do! Next time you're on Facebook, for example, simply search the Name of Your Town/City + Hooping or Hoopers and see what comes up under the "Pages" or "Groups" Category. You may be surprised to find that there is a group of hoopers in your area that you didn't know about!   3. Find/Start a Hoop Jam on MeetUp.com If you've never tried MeetUp.com, it's a great site for connecting with people in your area who share your interests whether it is biking, gardening, or owning a cat! MeetUp has been a great online resource for hoopers looking to connect and...you guessed it...meet up with other hoopers! Try going on MeetUp and searching key words like "Hoopers" and "Hoop Jam" and chances are there will be a listing near you!   4. Hoop in Public! "My hoop starts a conversation wherever I take it," Molly says. "If all else fails, get out there and hoop! Find a spot in a park or field, play some tunes, and hoop your heart out! You might not feel confident in yourself at first, but the spectacle that you are creating will draw lots of positive attention to you. You’ll find people coming up to you that you’ve never met before asking what you’re doing and wondering if they could try. (For this reason, it’s always good to have a couple extra hoops handy.) When people begin to notice that you’re at the same spot regularly, they’ll want to get involved. You have the power within you to share hooping. Spread your love and passion, it’s contagious!" And if you find that you have a knack for teaching people hoop moves, you may want to consider the following...   5. Become a Hoopnotica Certified Instructor Don't Dream It, Be It...and do what Hoopnotica Director of Teacher Development Jen Moore did in her hometown of Rochester, NY and what Molly did in Fleetwood, PA: get certified to Teach Hoopnotica and become a founding member of a thriving hooping community in your area! Molly says, "I'm not saying that there was no hooping community in my area before I began teaching classes, it just wasn't as accessible to me because I didn't know it was there!" As a newly certified HCI, Molly was able to fuse an existing group of hoopers in her area that she found through Facebook with the new hoopers she was creating through the Hoopnotica classes she offered to build the ultimate local hooping community: "It's really important to find a balance between having students and having hooper friends who also teach. It builds a larger community when everyone is working together to achieve the same goals, whether it's to have fun, build confidence, create flow, or even just to socialize with like-minded people."   Have you made friends through hooping? How have you met hoopers in your area?