Gymnastics.

Gymnastics. I INTRODUCTION Gymnastics, competitive sport that tests an athlete's strength, rhythm, balance, flexibility, and agility. There are three major forms of competitive gymnastics: artistic, rhythmic, and trampoline. Artistic and trampoline gymnastics are part of male and female competitions. Rhythmic gymnastics is open only to females. Artistic gymnastics consists of prescribed sets of events, such as the vault, which are scored separately by judges to determine individual winners. Rhythmic gymnastics consists of several events in which the gymnasts use objects such as balls and hoops while performing choreographed routines, which are scored separately and then added together to determine an overall winner. In the trampoline event, gymnasts bounce on a springboard device and are judged on the movements they perform while airborne. The international ruling body for gymnastics is the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (International Federation of Gymnastics). In the United States the governing body for the sport is USA Gymnastics. Gymnastics Canada Gymnastique governs the sport in Canada. The term gymnastics also refers to a system of physical exercises used for therapeutic or educational purposes. Therapeutic or remedial gymnastics is a series of selected exercises that help relieve physical discomfort or restore body function for disabled people. Educational gymnastics is a program that challenges students to master tactics involving strength, flexibility, and conditioning. II ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS Artistic gymnastics competition has been part of the modern Olympic Games since the Games began in 1896. Extensive television coverage helped the sport gain great popularity in the late 20th century. In Olympic competition, performance is scored on a ten-point scale, called a Code of Points, by four to six trained judges. A level of difficulty is figured into the overall score, which is then averaged after the individual high and low scores by the judges are eliminated. Scoring standards for each event are determined by the international governing body. After a judging controversy at the 2004 Olympic Games, the organizing bodies began to review the sport's scoring system. Officials announced a plan to overhaul the system in time for competitions held in 2006. In competitive gymnastics, teams consist of seven members. Six compete in each event, with the five highest scorers in the event counting toward the overall team score. Awards are given for both individual and team performance. A Men's Events Men typically compete in six different events in artistic gymnastics. The events are as follows: Floor exercise--a routine of dance-type movements with acrobatic skills, performed without apparatus on a mat about 12 m (40 ft) square. Pommel horse--a routine performed on a leather-covered apparatus, in the center of which are inserted two pommels, or handles, 40 to 45 cm (15.7 to 17.7 in) apart. The routine consists of a series of continuous swinging and circular motions with the torso and legs, executed as the athlete travels from one end of the horse to the other, using only his hands for support. Rings--a routine performed while grasping one wooden ring in each hand, with the rings suspended from straps and hung parallel to each other 2.75 m (9 ft) above the floor mat. The routine combines static positions with rapid movements designed to test strength and precision. Vault--a routine involving an apparatus, known as a horse, that measures 1.6 m (5.2 ft) long and 1.35 m (4.4 ft) high and has no pommels. The athlete runs toward the horse, approaching it lengthwise. He then takes off from a springboard, places both hands on the surface of the horse, then completes the flight with an acrobatic airborne maneuver and a controlled landing. Parallel bars--a routine performed on two flexible parallel rails 1.95 m (6.4 ft) above the ground and 42 to 52 cm (16.5 to 20.5 in) apart from each other. The routine is a series of swinging, balancing, and airborne moves. Horizontal bar--a routine performed on a single steel bar suspended 2.75 m (9 ft) above the floor mat. The routine requires continuous swinging motions around the bar with frequent changes in direction and in grip. In the dismount the athlete casts himself off the bar, soars through the air, and then makes a controlled landing. B Women's Events Women typically compete in four events in artistic gymnastics. The events are as follows: Vault--the routine is the same as in the men's event, except that the horse, similar in shape and size to that used by the men, is lowered to a height of 1.2 m (3.9 ft) and is approached from the side. Uneven bars--a routine performed on a set of two flexible bars a maximum of 1.435 m (4.7 ft) apart from each other at different heights. The upper bar is between 2.35 and 2.4 m (7.7 and 7.9 ft) from the floor; the lower bar, parallel to it, is between 1.4 and 1.6 m (4.6 and 5.2 ft) above the floor. The routine demands continuous swinging, releasing, and changing of direction over, under, and between the bars with a mount and dismount. Balance beam--a routine performed on a single beam 10 cm (4 in) wide, 5 m (16.4 ft) long, and 1.2 m (3.9 ft) off the ground. The routine consists of continuous tumbling moves, turns, jumps, and leaps. A mount and dismount are required. Floor exercise--a routine performed without apparatus on a floor mat the same size as the men's, about 12 m (40 ft) square. The routine is similar to the men's floor exercise except that it is performed to music. III RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS In rhythmic gymnastics, which became an Olympic sport in 1984, gymnasts compete on a mat about 12.5 m (41 ft) square. Using rope, a hoop, a ball, clubs, and a ribbon (in separate events), they perform choreographed movements set to music. Some acrobatic movements are permitted, but no flight elements, such as flips and handsprings, are allowed. Each competitor is judged on composition, or on the difficulty of what she does, and execution, or how well she does it. The goal is to work harmoniously with the equipment to perform a graceful and error-free routine. There are also two team events in which five competitors perform together. At the highest international levels, rhythmic gymnastics is judged on a 30-point scale rather than with the traditional 10-point scoring system. IV TRAMPOLINE Trampoline first appeared in the Olympics as a medal sport at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia, with a men's individual event and a women's individual event. Contestants bounce up and down while performing somersaults, twists, and other movements. Athletes can bounce up to 9 m (30 ft) high, and some gymnasts are able to stay in the air for up to two seconds. In the Olympics the trampoline event has seven judges. Two of them determine the level of difficulty of each routine. The five other judges evaluate the athlete's execution of the routine. V HISTORY The first gymnasts were acrobats who performed in ancient Egypt. In the 2nd millennium BC, men and women of Crete (Kríti) during the age of Minoan culture developed the art of bull leaping. In bull leaping the performer would run toward a charging bull, grab its horns, and, upon being tossed into the air, execute various midair stunts before landing on the bull's back, then dismount with a flip. In ancient Greece, three distinct programs of gymnastic exercise were developed: one for the maintenance of good physical condition, another for military training, and a third as part of the conditioning regimen for athletes. The early Greek teachers of physical fitness were the first to design systems of physical activity for both athletes and for the general citizenry. Such programs, which included gymnastics, were considered central to the formal education of children. The Greeks believed that the unity of mind and body could only be realized through participation in physical exercises. Gymnastic systems designed to give strength for military combat were also used extensively by the Romans. In the early 1800s a form of gymnastics developed in Germany as a defined set of skills performed both with and without specific kinds of apparatus. German educator Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, known as the father of gymnastics, planned exercises using pieces of stationary apparatus to develop self-discipline and physical strength. The Swedish system, devised by gymnast Pehr Henrik Ling, emphasized, on the other hand, rhythm and coordination through routines practiced with hoops, clubs, and small balls. German and Swedish immigrants to North America in the 19th century brought their commitment to gymnastics with them. The Germans set up gymnastics clubs, or Turnvereins, where families could participate together. A compromise between the German and Swedish system was introduced into school physical education programs in the United States by the end of the 19th century. European gymnastics did not, however, generally appeal to American and Canadian children. The predominantly English cultural heritage in these countries created an atmosphere in which games were preferred to the rote patterns of exercise. A Popularity Gymnastics did not achieve widespread popularity in North America until the 1970s, when gymnasts at the Olympics captured the public's imagination. The two most prominent athletes who brought about this change were Olga Korbut of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), who won three gold medals at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, West Germany; and Nadia Comaneci of Romania, who won three gold medals at the 1976 Olympics in Montréal, Québec, Canada, and another at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, California, Mary Lou Retton of the United States won five medals, including the all-around gold medal. Vitaly Scherbo of the Unified Team (the designation under which athletes of the former USSR competed in 1992) won an unprecedented six gold medals at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, while American Shannon Miller won five medals in the women's competition. The United States women's team won the overall team gold for the first time at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, highlighted by Kerri Strug's courageous vault on an injured ankle. Alexei Nemov of Russia won four gold medals over two Olympics and 12 medals overall, six in 1996 and six more at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. B Recent Developments At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, Carly Patterson of the United States won three medals, including the women's all-around individual title. Romania's Catalina Ponor led her team to the all-around gold medal with victories in both the balance beam and the floor exercise. In the men's competition Japan won the team gold medal, with the United States finishing second. A controversy broke out at the 2004 Games after American Paul Hamm captured the men's all-around individual gold medal. After the medals were awarded, Olympic officials discovered a scoring error indicating that bronze medalist Yang Tae Yung of South Korea was the rightful winner. Korean coaches appealed the results after the competition ended, but the appeal was ruled to be too late. Although the decision was later upheld by an international arbitration body, allowing Hamm to keep his medal, the episode overshadowed the Olympic performances and sparked a movement to reform the sport's complicated scoring system. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.