Gymnastics is a Big World!
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When you think about gymnastics, what comes to your mind? Do you imagine a graceful girl poised upon the balance beam? Or do you think about a powerful tumbler flipping across the floor? Those images come from the sport called Artistic Gymnastics. Did you know that gymnastics has many disciplines within the sport? During the 1940′s and 1950′s a gymnast would train in all the disciplines listed below. Now they are separate disciplines governed by USA Gymnastics in the U.S. of A. and the F.I.G. internationally. Let us explore what all these disciplines mean.
To Women’s Artistic Gymnastics
Men’s Artistic Gymnastics
Men’s Artistic Gymnastics is the foundation for all competitive gymnastics. Only the men competed in the Olympics during the ancient games, and men predominated in the beginning of the modern games. Women competed in some things early in modern Olympic history, but they did not really have a separate sport in the Olympics until 1956. Since then, the women’s sport have far surpassed the men in popularity. Therefore, it is important for us to remember our foundation by placing them first. The men have six events in which they compete. They are:
1. Men’s Floor Exercise
Men compete on the 40′ x 40′ spring floor. They have passes of front and back tumbling, balance skills, strength, and agilities often called “corners”. The first pass is considered their “mount”, and their last pass is considered their “dismount”.
2. The Pommel Horse
An exercise consists of double leg circles, single leg work, work on the horse and on the pommels.
3. The Vault Table
Vaulting consists of sprinting down a run way, hurdling onto the board, and springing over the Vault Table with the hands. For many years vaulting was over the long horse, which used the pommel horse without the pommels. This was changed a few years ago to the vault table due to the difficulty of the vaults.
4. Parallel Bars
The P-bars consist of swing to handstands and giants, in bar saltos, kips, presses and holds, mounts and dismounts, usually a salto.
5. Still Rings
Now called just Rings, since the Flying Rings has not been competed in almost half a century. Ring routines consist of swings to handstands, holds, presses, giants, saltos holding the rings and mounts and dismounts.
6. Horizontal Bar
Simply called High Bar. The routine consists of mounts, giants, pirouttes, release and catches, and dismounts of high flying saltos.
Women’s Artistic Gymnastics
1. Vault
The women have vaulted over the vault horse sideways for decades. Because of safety and new trends, the horse has been replaced by the vault table. The word “vault” means to jump by the use of the hands. So all skills require hand contact upon the table.
2. Uneven Parallel Bars
Also called the Asymmetric Bars, or just simply, the bars. Originally parallel bars with one bar raised, athletes would stand on the bar with their feet. Doris Fuchs Brause changed all that with her routine that introduced swing all the way through the routine. The bars used to be close together enabling wrap skills, from the high bar to the low bar, but was moved apart for the giant swings. Routines consist of mounts, circle skills, release and catches, giants, and dismounts.
3. Balance Beam
Or simply, the beam. It used to be laminated wood only. The beam was later covered and padded as tumbling increased. There is work on a spring beam, but such a beam is not used yet in competition. Routines consist of mounts, dance, tumbling, acrobatic skills, balances, presses, and dismounts.
4. Floor Exercise
The same 40 x 40 spring floor is used as the Men’s. Floor routines were actually done on hardwood floors at one time. Later, wrestling mats were used. Then they added carpets to the “wrestling mats”. The spring floor was introduced in the 1980′s for safety reasons. Routines consist of tumbling, dance, gym-acros, and floor ex moves.
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Rhythmic gymnastics became an Olympic sport in 1984. It is a sport that is ideal for women with extreme flexibility and grace. The sport uses hand props to dance with while performing acrobatic contortion moves as well. The props are tossed and caught as well as intricate patterns formed. Five props are used by a competitor: the Rope, the Hoop, the Ball, the Clubs and the Ribbon. Recently Rhythmics has included group competitions which enhance the beauty of the routines.
1. The Rope
A variety of patterns are made with the rope as the gymnast dances to music.
2. The Hoop
The gymnast can toss and catch the hoop, go in the hoop, and pass the hoop around her body.
3. The Ball
The ball can be tossed, rolled on the ground, bounced, and rolled on her body.
4. The Clubs
With only 2 clubs they come short of juggling in their routines. The clubs are tossed like baton twirlers while the gymnasts dances, the they are re-caught.
5. The Ribbon
Perhaps the most interesting prop to work with. Lovely patterns are made by the individual gymnast as well as in the groups.
Trampoline and Tumbling
The Trampoline was invented by George Nissan after he watched the Flying Trapeze artists finish their routine by dropping off and landing in the safety net below. Trampolining is also called Rebound Tumbling. The trampoline is every child’s favorite event, and many families own them in their own backyard. Trampolines come in many sizes, shapes and types of beds. Backyard trampolines usually have black solid beds. Collegiate tramps in the past had 1″ ribbon beds. Competitive trampolines have “hot” beds or string beds.
Tumbling used to be apart of Artistic Gymnastics competition as a separate event. When it was removed as an event during the 1960′s, coaches incorporated it into floor routines. Prior to that time, a man’s floor exercise was a rhythmic routine. Abbie Grossfeld had a beautiful floor routine that was leading the way in masculine movement. Likewise the women also had beautiful routines that was forming a unique performance event. But all that changed when tumbling was included in the floor exercise.
Platform Tumbling developed later on its own and was a part of both the International Federation of Sports Acrobatics (IFSA) and the International Federation of Tumbling and Trampoline (FIT). Both organizations are dissolved and merged with the International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG).
Competitive Trampoline and Tumbling has these 7 events: Men’s Platform Tumbling; Women’s Platform Tumbling; the Double Min-Tramp; Men’s Trampolining; Women’s Trampolining; Men’s Synchronized Trampolining; and Women’s Synchronized Trampolining.
1 and 2. Men’s & Women’s Platform Tumbling
The original platforms made in the 1980′s were made of snow ski’s cut on the ends. Later the platforms were made of fiberglass rods. The platform allows for 100′ of tumbling run, pass, and landings. Tumblers compete in straight passes, twisting passes, and combined passes. Years ago tumbling was front pass, back pass, and mixed passes, but this has passed away and is seen only in Artistic Gymnastics.
3. The Double-Mini Trampoline
This event is similar to Vaulting in Artistic Gymnastics. The gymnast runs and jumps onto the inclined portion of the trampoline to somersault and land onto the flat portion, followed by another salto on then off to the ground.
4 -7 The Trampoline
Men and women compete individually and synchronized with 2 trampolines side by side. They are allowed to take as many bounces as they need (within 1 minute) before begining their routine.
Routines consist of 10 skills and must connect.
Acrobatic Gymnastics
Acrobatic Gymnastics (formerly called Sports Acrobatics) is a growing sport in the United States, largely due to its merger with the USAG. Routines are performed on the 40 x 40 spring floor to music like a floor exercise, but uses 2 or more partners in the routine. The sport is a true gymnastics discipline using the gymnastics elements of dance, individual acrobatic agilities, presses, balances, and strengths; along with tumbling and partner stunts of balance and dynamic skills (formerly called tempo). Acrobatic Gymnastics has hosted World Cups for many decades, but is still not an Olympic Event, although it has been exhibited at several past Olympiads.
The events within the discipline of Acrobatic Gymnastics are divided by gender and numbers. There are 5 events competed: Women’s Pair, Men’s Pair, Mixed Pair, Women’s Group (formerly Trio) and Men’s Group (formerly called Quad or Four). Elites have 3 routines they compete: a Balance Routine, a Dynamic (formerly Tempo) Routine, and a Combined Routine. In the USAG JO program the lower levels (L4-L7) compete only one routine: Combined. That means elements of balance such as a hand-to-hand, and dynamic such as a foot pitch back flip, are in the routine. Upper levels (L8- L10) have 2 routines: a Balance and a Dynamic.
1. Women’s Pair
By far the most common event since it is easier to get two girls to work together. There are height, mass and maturity deductions if the partners are too far apart in size. The tops are usually younger than the bases. Years ago they were called topmounters and understanders. That expression is rarely heard today.
2. Men’s Pair
Getting two men to work together is harder so this event usually only has a few in number that compete. When two men do work together they often develop long time friendships.
3. Mixed Pair
This is much more common than Men’s Pair, especially at the upper levels. The Mixed Pair can be very beautiful and draws upon ballet’s Adagio and Pas de Deux. A great Mixed Pair has a man that can
dance as well as the woman.
4. Women’s Group
The group events are the most popular events in Acrobatic Gymnastics. The Women’s Group is the second largest event in terms of getting competitors to perform. Pyramids and group dynamic elements such as basket tosses are crowd pleasers.
5. Men’s Group
This is the most exciting event of all and the audience always loves the event. Regrettably, it is just as hard to get four men to work together as it is to get two men to work together. Although it is a little easier since boys don’t feel as uncomfortable in a a group as they do with just one other male. At one time the Men’s Group Balance was only a pyramid, sometimes four high, without music. That has changed and now the Balance routine also is performed to music.
Group Gymnastics
Group Gymnastics, also called General Gymnastics, has its spirit in theater. For many years the Gymnaestrada has been held as an international extravaganza of gymnastics show, of which Group Gymnastics is it child. There are 3 main events: Team Gymnastics which has two events of: Group Jump and Group Floor, and Performance Gymnastics. Group Jump uses apparatus, such as vaulting, mini tramps, and tumbling. Group Floor uses props, acrobatics, tumbling, and pyramids. Performance Gymnastics has no rules and is pure theater.
