Artistic gymnastics

What is it? Where and when gym born?

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What is it?Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines (ranging from approximately 30 to 90 seconds) on different apparatus, with less time for vaulting.

The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates all aspects of international elite competition. Within individual countries, gymnastics is regulated by national federations.

Artistic gymnastics is a popular spectator sport at the Summer Olympic Games and in other competitive environments

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Where and when gym born?The gymnastic system was mentioned in works by ancient authors, such as Homer, Aristotle, and Plato. It included many disciplines that would later become separate sports, as swimming, racing, wrestling, boxing, and riding, and was also used for military training. In its present form, gymnastics evolved in Bohemia and what is now Germany at the beginning of the 19th century, and the term "artistic gymnastics" was introduced at the same time to distinguish free styles from the ones used by the military.The German educator Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, who was known as the father of gymnastics, invented several apparatus, including the horizontal bar and parallel bars, which are used to this day.

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Vault

Floor exercise

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Vault

Vault is one of two events in artistic gymnastics that both men and women perform. 

It's an explosive, exciting event, with very little margin for error. Though a vault is over in a matter of seconds, it has equal weight to the other events in which a gymnast competes.

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Vault

All gymnasts vault over a piece of apparatus called the table, a slightly-inclined, metal piece of equipment with a padded and springy cover.

For men it is set at a height of 135 cm, while for women it is at a height of 125 cm. Therefore, it's sometimes still referred to as the vaulting horse. The relatively new vaulting table is designed to be safer for gymnasts because of its large push-off area.

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Floor exercise

The final event in gymnastics is the floor exercise. It’s many people’s favorite because it combines the dynamic side of the sport with artistry and dance. In a floor routine, gymnasts perform tumbling passes that include acrobatic skills as well as dance combinations and choreography.

No floor routine can exceed one minute and 30 seconds and every second that the gymnast goes over the time limit is a deduction. All routines must also be at least 30 seconds long. And as always, like the other three events, each exercise starts and ends with a salute to the judge.

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Uneven bars

Balance beam

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Balance beam

The balance beam is often regarded as the most difficult event in women’s gymnastics any level of competition. The beam is a small, thin beam which is typically raised from the floor on a leg or stand at both ends. Beams are usually made of leather like material.

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Uneven bars

The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. It is made of a steel frame. The bars are made of fiberglass with wood coating, or less commonly wood. The bars are placed at different heights and widths, allowing the gymnast to jump from bar to bar.

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Pommel horse Still rings

High barParallel bars

Pommel horse

A typical pommel horse exercise involves both single leg and double leg work. Single leg skills are generally found in the form of scissors, an element often done on the pommels. Double leg work however, is the main staple of this event. The gymnast swings both legs in a circular motion (clockwise or counterclockwise depending on preference) and performs such skills on all parts of the apparatus. To make the exercise more challenging, gymnasts will often include variations on a typical circling skill by turning (moores and spindles) or by straddling their legs (flairs). Routines end when the gymnast performs a dismount, either by swinging his body over the horse, or landing after a handstand.

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Still rings

The still rings are suspended on wire cable from a point 5.8 meters off the floor and adjusted in height so the gymnast has room to hang freely and swing. He must perform a routine demonstrating balance, strength, power, and dynamic motion while preventing the rings themselves from swinging. At least one static strength move is required, but some gymnasts may include two or three. Most routines begin with a difficult mount and conclude with a difficult dismount.

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High bar

A 2.4 cm thick steel bar raised 2.5 m above the landing area is all the gymnast has to hold onto as he performs giants (revolutions around the bar), release skills, twists, and changes of direction. By using the momentum from giants, enough height can be achieved for spectacular dismounts, such as a triple-back salto. Leather grips are usually used to help maintain a grip on the bar.

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Parallel bars

Competition set parallel bars are 195 cm high and 350 cm long. Width can be adjusted to the preference of the gymnast. Typically close to the length from the elboe to the tip of the fingers. A routine will be constructed of primarily swing and flight elements, with strength elements commonly included. A routine must include a swing element above the bars, a swing element below the bars and a skill that involves releasing and regrasping both bars.

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