Gymnastics What is Gymnastics Gymnastics is a sport

Gymnastics

What is Gymnastics • Gymnastics is a sport that includes exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest, and abdominal muscle groups. Alertness, precision, daring, self-confidence, and self-discipline are mental traits that can also be developed through gymnastics. Gymnastics evolved from exercises used by the ancient Greeks that included skills for mounting and dismounting a horse and from circus performance skills.

The most common form of competitive gymnastics is artistic gymnastics, which consists of (for women) the events floor, vault, uneven bars and beam. For men, it consists of the events floor, vault, rings, pommel, parallel bars, and horizontal bar. The governing body for gymnastics through out the world is the Fédération Internationale de

Gymnastique (FIG). Eight sports are governed by the FIG, which include Gymnastics for All, Men's and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Trampoline (including Double Minitrampoline), Tumbling, acrobatic, and aerobic. Disciplines not currently recognized by FIG include wheel gymnastics, aesthetic group gymnastics, men's rhythmic gymnastics, Team. Gym, and mallakhamba.

Participants in gymnastics-related sports can include young children, recreational-level athletes, and competitive athletes at varying levels of skill, including world-class athletes.

Origin of Word Gymnastic • The word gymnastics derives from the common Greek adjective γυμνός (gymnos), by way of the related verb γυμνάζω (gymnazo), whose meaning is to "train naked", "train in gymnastic exercise", generally "to train, to exercise“. The verb had this meaning, because athletes in ancient times exercised and competed without clothing.

History • Gymnastics can be traced to exercise in ancient Greece - in Sparta and Athens. That exercise for that time was documented by Philostratus‘ work Gymnasticus. Exercise in the gymnasium in later dates prepared men for war. The original term for the practice of gymnastics is from the related verb γυμνάζω (gymnazo), which translates as "to exercise naked" because young men exercising trained without clothing. In ancient Greece, physical fitness was a highly valued attribute in both men and women. It wasn't until after the Romans conquered Greece in 146 BC that gymnastics became more formalized and used to train men in warfare.

History • Based on Philostratus' claim that gymnastics is a form of wisdom, comparable to philosophy, poetry, music, geometry, and astronomy, Athens combined this more physical training with the education of the mind. At the Palestra, a physical education training center, the discipline of educating the body and educating the mind were combined allowing for a form of gymnastics that was more aesthetic and individual and which left behind the form that focused on strictness, discipline, the emphasis on defeating records, and focus on strength.

History • Don Francisco Amorós y Ondeano, was born on February 19, 1770, in Valencia and died on August 8, 1848, in Paris. He was a Spanish colonel, and the first person to introduce educative gymnastic in France. • The German Friedrich Ludwig Jahn started the German gymnastics movement in 1811 with lead to the invention of the parallel bars, rings, high bar, the pommel horse and the vault horse.

History • The Federation of International Gymnastics (FIG) was founded in Liege in 1881. By the end of the nineteenth century, men's gymnastics competition was popular enough to be included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. • From then on until the early 1950 s, both national and international competitions involved a changing variety of exercises gathered under the rubric, gymnastics, that included, for example, synchronized team floor calisthenics, rope climbing, high jumping, running, and horizontal ladder. During the 1920 s, women organized and participated in gymnastics events. The first women's Olympic competition was limited, only involving synchronized calisthenics and track and field.

History • These games were held in 1928, in Amsterdam. By 1954, Olympic Games apparatus and events for both men and women had been standardized in modern format, and uniform grading structures (including a point system from 1 to 15) had been agreed upon. • At this time, Soviet gymnasts astounded the world with highly disciplined and difficult performances, setting a precedent that continues. Television has helped publicize and initiate a modern age of gymnastics. Both men's and women's gymnastics now attract considerable international interest, and excellent gymnasts can be found on every continent.

FIG Recognized Disciplines • Artistic gymnastics • Artistic Gymnastics is usually divided into Men's and Women's Gymnastics. Men compete on six events: Floor Exercise, Pommel Horse, Still Rings, Vault, Parallel Bars, and Horizontal Bar, while women compete on four: Vault, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam, and Floor Exercise. In some countries, women at one time competed on the rings, high bar, and parallel bars.

• In 2006, FIG introduced a new point system for Artistic gymnastics in which scores are no longer limited to 10 points. The system is used in the US for elite level competition. Unlike the old code of points, there are two separate scores, an execution score and a difficulty score. In the previous system, the execution score was the only score. It was and still is out of 10. 00, except for short exercises. During the gymnast's performance, the judges deduct this score only. A fall, on or off the event, is a 1. 00 deduction, in elite level gymnastics.

• The introduction of the difficulty score is a significant change. The gymnast's difficulty score is based on what elements they perform and is subject to change if they do not perform or complete all the skills, or they do not connect a skill meant to be connected to another. Connection bonuses are where deviation happens most common between the intended and actual difficulty scores, as it can be difficult to connect multiple flight elements. It is very hard to connect skills if the first skill is not performed correctly. The new code of points allows the gymnasts to gain higher scores based on the difficulty of the skills they perform as well as their execution. There is no maximum score for difficulty, as it can keep increasing as the difficulty of the skills increase.

Artistic Events for Women • • Vault Uneven bars Balance beam Floor

Scoring Women events of Artistic Gymnastics • Scoring for both Junior Olympic and NCAA level gymnastics uses a 10. 0 scale. Levels below Level 9 start from a 10. 0 automatically if all requirements for an event are met. Levels 9 and 10, and NCAA gymnastics all start below a 10. 0, and require gymnastics to acquire bonus points through connections and skills to increase their start value to a 10. 0. During a routine, deductions will be made by the judges for flaws in the form of technique of a skill. For example, steps on landings or flexed feet can range from. 05 -. 1 off, depending on the severity of the mistake.

Artistic Events for Men • • • Floor Pommel Horse Still Rings Vault Parallel Bars Horizontal bar

Rhythmic Gymnastics • According to FIG rules, only women compete in rhythmic gymnastics. This is a sport that combines elements of ballet, gymnastics, dance, and apparatus manipulation. The sport involves the performance of five separate routines with the use of five apparatus; ball, ribbon, hoop, clubs, rope—on a floor area, with a much greater emphasis on the aesthetic rather than the acrobatic. There also group routines consisting of 5 gymnasts and 5 apparatuses of their choice. Rhythmic routines are scored out of a possible 30 points; the score for artistry (choreography and music) is averaged with the score for difficulty of the moves and then added to the score for execution.

• International competitions are split between Juniors, under sixteen by their year of birth; and Seniors, for women sixteen and over again by their year of birth. Gymnasts in Russia and Europe typically start training at a very young age and those at their peak are typically in their late teens (15– 19) or early twenties. The largest events in the sport are the Olympic Games, World Championships, European Championships, World Cup and Grand-Prix Series. The first World Championships were held in 1963 with its first appearance at the Olympics in 1984.

Rhythmic Gymnastics Apparatus • • • Ball Hoop Ribbon Clubs Rops

Trampolining • Trampolining and tumbling consists of four events, individual and synchronized trampoline, double mini trampoline, and tumbling (also known as power tumbling or rod floor). Since 2000, individual trampoline has been included in the Olympic Games. The first World Championships were held in 1964.

• Individual trampoline Ø Individual routines in trampolining involve a build-up phase during which the gymnast jumps repeatedly to achieve height, followed by a sequence of ten bounces without pause during which the gymnast performs a sequence of aerial skills. • Synchronized trampoline Ø Synchronized trampoline is similar except that both competitors must perform the routine together and marks are awarded for synchronization as well as the form and difficulty of the moves.

• Double-mini trampoline Ø Double mini trampoline involves a smaller trampoline with a run-up, two scoring moves are performed per routine. Moves cannot be repeated in the same order on the double-mini during a competition. Skills can be repeated if a skill is competed as a mounter in one routine and a dismount in another. The scores are marked in a similar manner to individual trampoline.

Tumbling • In Tumbling, athletes perform an explosive series of flips and twists down a sprung tumbling track. Scoring is similar to trampolining. • Tumbling was originally contested as one of the events in Men's Artistic Gymnastics at the 1932 Summer Olympics, and in 1955 and 1959 at the Pan American Games. • From 1974 to 1998 it was included as an event for both genders at the Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships. • The event has also been contested since 1976 at the Trampoline and Tumbling World Championships.

• Tumbling is competed along a 25 metre sprung tack with a 10 metre run up. A tumbling pass or run is a combination of 8 skills, with an entry skill, normally a round-off, to whips and into an end skill. Usually the end skill is the hardest skill of the pass. • At the highest level, gymnasts with perform transitions skills, these are skills which are not whips, instead they are double or triple somersaults normally competed at the end of the run, now competed in the middle of the run connected before and after by either a whip or a flick.

Common Types of skills in Tumbling • • • Round off End Skill Flick Whip Double Somersault Triple Somersault Twisting Somersault Combination Somersault Transition Skills

Acrobatic Gymnastics • Acrobatic gymnastics (formerly Sport Acrobatics), often referred to as acro if involved with the sport, acrobatic sports or simply sports acro, is a group gymnastic discipline for both men and women. Acrobats in groups of two, three and four perform routines with the heads, hands and feet of their partners. They may, subject to regulations (e. g. no lyrics), pick their own music. • There are four international age categories: 11 -16, 12 -18, 13 -19, and Senior (15+), which are used in the World Championships and many other events around the world, including the European Championships and the World Games. • All levels require a balance and dynamic routine; 12 -18, 13 -19, and Seniors are also required to perform a final (combined) routine. • Currently, acrobatic gymnastics score is marked out of 30. 00 for juniors, and can be higher at Senior FIG level based on difficulty:

• Difficulty - An open score, which is the sum of the difficulty values of elements (valued from the tables of difficulties) successfully performed in an exercise, divided by 100. This score is unlimited in senior competitions. • Execution - Judges give a score out of 10. 00 for technical performance (how well the skills are executed), which is then doubled to emphasize its importance. • Artistic - Judges give a score out of 10. 00 for artistry (the overall performance of the routine, namely choreography)

• • here are five competitive event categories: Women's Pairs Mixed Pairs Men's Pairs Women's Groups (3 Woman) Men's Groups (4 Men) The World Championships have been held since 1974.

Aerobic Gymnastics • Aerobic gymnastics (formally Sport Aerobics) involves the performance of routines by individuals, pairs, trios, groups with 5 people, and aerobic dance and aerobic step(8 people). Strength, flexibility, and aerobic fitness rather than acrobatic or balance skills are emphasized. Routines are performed for all individuals on a 7 x 7 m floor and also for 12– 14 and 15 -17 trios and mixed pairs. From 2009, all senior trios and mixed pairs were required to be on the larger floor (10 x 10 m), all groups also perform on this floor. Routines generally last 60– 90 seconds depending on age of participant and routine category. The World Championships have been held since 1995.

• The events consist of: Ø Individual Women Ø Individual Men Ø Mixed Pairs Ø Trios Ø Groups Ø Dance Ø Step

The FIG Code of Points • entire gymnastics scoring system were completely overhauled. The change stemmed from the judging controversy at 2004 Olympics in Athens, which brought the reliability and objectivity of the scoring system into question, and arguments that execution had been sacrificed for difficulty in artistic gymnastics. • It follows a similarly radical scoring change in figure skating that also was prompted by irregularities in judging at major events.

• Since its inception in major events in 2006, the Code has faced strong opposition from many prominent coaches, athletes and judges. Proponents of the new system believe it is a necessary step in advancing gymnastics, promoting difficult skills and increasing judging objective. Opponents feel that people outside the gymnastics community will not understand the scoring and will lose interest in the sport, and that, without emphasising artistry, the essence of gymnastics will change. • Many opponents of the new scoring system feel that this system, in essence, chooses the winners before competition ever begins. Competitors no longer compete on the same level. Each contestant begins with a unique start value; therefore, contestants assigned a lower start value or difficulty rating are knocked out of the winner's circle before the competition begins. They may compete, but they cannot win. A competitor with a higher difficulty rating will begin competition with a higher combined base score.

• There has been dissent over the fact that the new Code effectively abolishes the "perfect 10" score, for many years one of the hallmarks of gymnastics. There has also been concern that the new Code strongly favors extreme difficulty over form, execution and consistency. • At the 2006 World Championships, for instance, Vanessa Ferrari of Italy was able to controversially win the women's all-around title despite a fall on the balance beam, in part by picking up extrapoints from performing more high-difficulty skills on floor exercise. [ • The 2006 report of the FIG's Athletes' Commission, drafted after a review and discussion of the year's events noted several areas of concern including numerous inconsistencies in judging and evaluation of skills and routines.

• However, the leadership of the FIG remains committed to the new Code. While small revisions have been made to the Code, there is currently no indication that it will be significantly altered or that there will be a return to the old Code or 10. 0 scoring system. • The current Code of Points covers the years 2017 to 2020. Following past editions, there is no top score of 10. 0, nor is there an upper limit of the difficulty score. • Official men's skills are rated from A to H and women's skills from A to J.

Judging and Score Tabulation • Two panels of judges score every single routine, evaluating different aspects of the performance. The final mark is the combined total of these two scores. • The D-score (or difficulty score) evaluates the content of the exercise on 3 criteria: difficulty value (DV), composition requirements (CR) and connection value (CV). Ø DV: The difficulty value of the eight highest value elements of the routine, including the dismount, are added together. Elements are ranked depending on their difficulty; for example on beam, a back layout salto to two feet is given a difficulty of E, and a back layout salto with a full twist is given a difficulty of G. For a G skill a gymnast earns 0. 7; for an E, he or she earns 0. 5 points.

Ø CR: Gymnasts must demonstrate skills from four required Element Groups on each apparatus. A gymnast may use skills to fulfill the DV and the CR simultaneously. For each CR presented, 0. 5 points are awarded. A maximum score of 2. 00 points may be earned here. From 2008 -2016, there were five different Element Groups for each apparatus, allowing a gymnast to earn up to 2. 5 points. In the 2017 Code of Points, it was reduced down to four. Ø CV: Extra points are given for connections of two or more elements of specific value, with 0. 1 or 0. 2 points apiece up to a maximum of 0. 4 in total for connection

• Although the D-score (or A) judging panel does not take deductions, they may decide not to give gymnasts DV or CR points for elements that are performed with falls or performed incorrectly. A gymnast may also lose CV credit if there are extra steps or pauses between skills that are meant to be connected. • The D-score is open-ended; in theory a gymnast could obtain unlimited points by performing connected skills although this was made harder in the 2009 -2012 revision of the code when the number of elements that counted towards the D-score was lowered. • The E-score (or Execution score) evaluates the performance: the execution and artistry of the routine.

Ø The base score is 10. 0 for all routines. E-score (or B) judging panel do not add to this, but rather, take away points for errors in form, artistry, execution, technique and routine composition. There is a 1. 0 mark deduction for falling off an apparatus. Errors are judged to be small, medium or large and respective 0. 1, 0. 3 and 0. 5 deductions are applied. • The D-score and E-score added together for the gymnast's final mark. • This judging system applies to all WAG and MAG events except vault. Vault scoring is somewhat different:

• Every vault has been assigned a specific points value in the Code. The D-score is simply this value. Every gymnast performing the same vault will receive the same number of points. • The E-score is the most important on this apparatus. Judges on this panel work from a 10. 0 base mark and deduct form, technique, execution and landing.

• As with other apparatus, the D-score and Escore added together for the gymnast's final mark. • There are several acts that completely invalidate the vault and result in a score of 0. These include receiving spotting (assistance) from a coach, going before the signal and not using the U-shaped safety mat for Yurchenkostyle vaults.

Pre-2006 Code • Skills: Every acrobatic and dance element was awarded a specific difficulty rating, ranging from A (easiest) to “Super E” (hardest) in the Table of Elements. A gymnast earned bonus points by performing difficult skills alone or in combination. • Required elements: Routine composition was decided by the gymnast and his or her coaches, however, on every apparatus except vault there was a list of required elements (similar to the EGR in the new Code) that had to be performed during the routine. Examples of required elements included 360 degree turns on balance beam and a backwards salto (somersault) on floor exercise.

• Base score: The base score was the default Start Value of the routine, provided the gymnast fulfilled all required elements. This changed over the years and tended to lower as the codes went on. For instance, for the 1992 -1996 code, a base score of 9. 4 was awarded if all of the basic elements were fulfilled. For the 1996 -2000 code, the base score was a 9. 0. Finally, a base score of 8. 8 was awarded for the 2000 -2004 Olympic years. Before the new code, the base score again dropped to an 8. 6 but this was not adopted for a very long time (only 2005 -2006).

• Start Value: The Start Value (SV) of each routine was determined by adding the base score to the bonus points earned from performing difficult elements and combinations. Ideally, a gymnast wanted to have an SV as close to 10. 0 as possible. • On vault, every vault was assigned a specific Start Value in the Code. • The score was determined by subtracting any deductions for poor form, execution, steps, falls or other infractions from the SV.