Gymnastics is fun. And it's one of the best activities around for contributing to a person's overall development. Flexibility, strength and coordination grow in leaps and bounds. So does confidence, creativity, and self-esteem. And with disciplines as diverse as artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, tumbling, trampoline and sport aerobics - there's something for everybody!
GENERAL GYMNASTICS
Recreational gymnastics is a sport for everyone.
It allows participants to explore various forms of movement in a fun and creative way. And because general gymnastics is non-competitive, it's not the winning, but taking part that provides so much pleasure for so many participants. It's also a wonderful 'foundation sport', because it provides a strong basis for participation and success in other sports.
“Fun Fact: Canadian Silken Laumann credits her participation in gymnastics as a child with giving her the confidence and self-discipline to become a World Champion rower.”
ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS
The most popular discipline in the gymnastics family, men's and women's artistic gymnastics beautifully combines creativity with technical skill. At the competitive women's level, four events are central to this discipline.
Vault Vaulting requires tremendous speed and strength down the runway.
Uneven Bars Strength, precision, coordination - even courage are required.
Balance Beam Leaps, turns and flips are performed on a 10 cm wide stage!
Floor Exercise Gravity-challenging tumbling - to musical accompaniment.
Men's Artistic Gymnastics is made up of six demanding apparatus, including floor exercise and vault (see above).
Pommel Horse Superhuman strength and amazing coordination are key.
Still Rings Handstands, multiple flips and twists without moving the rings.
Parallel Bars This event is all about strength and flexibility.
Horizontal Bars The dismount involves twisting or somersaults and is always cool to watch.
“Fast Factoid: Men's Artistic Gymnastics has been called the original extreme sport because it pushes the body to the edge of its biomechanical possibilities.”
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Rhythmic gymnastics just might be the most beautiful of all competitive sports. Female competitors use small pieces of hand apparatus - rope, hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon as an extension of their bodies. Routines are always accompanied by music.
Group Competition Five athletes work as one in the group competition. Using one of the hand apparatus, or a combination of two, such as ribbons and hoops, they perform intricate compositions involving high-flying throws. Working as a harmonious unit, the results are usually breathtaking.
Some people ask, is rhythmic gymnastics dance? Is it art? Is it sport? It is actually a combination of all three worlds, which is perfect for a sport that focuses on self-expression. In 1984, rhythmic gymnastics achieved full Olympic status at the games in Los Angeles.
“Fun Fact:
The first-ever Olympic Gold Medal in rhythmic gymnastics was won by Canada's Lori Fung.”
Trampoline and Tumbling
Trampoline is the newest Olympic sport. It requires super leg strength, endurance and phenomenal air sense. It actually helps to have some 'daredevil' in you when you're flying through the air performing somersaults and twists with grace and agility.
Synchronized Trampoline In this variation on the sport, two competitors perform the same routine at the same time on two separate trampolines, as a mirror image of each other.
“Fun Fact: The best trampolinists in the world jump over 30 feet straight up in the air.”
Tumbling combines the excitement of artistic gymnastics with the technical skills of trampoline. Tumblers perform on a special tumbling strip with a built-in 'spring' that acts like a launching pad. The athletes can propel themselves high in the air and perform breathtaking aerial moves such as triple twisting double saltos and full twisting triple backs - you have to see it to believe it!
“Fun Fact: The incredible pace and gravity-defying acrobatics make tumbling one of the most enjoyable disciplines to experience.”
Sports Aerobics
Also known as competitive aerobics, this event combines aerobic choreography with elements of gymnastics. Sports aerobics appeals to dancers, fitness enthusiasts and gymnasts alike.
Competition Athletes perform a two-minute floor routine accompanied by music. The routine must demonstrate elements of dynamic and static strength, flexibility, balance and the ability to perform high-flying jumps. Competitors must also include combinations from the list of seven basic aerobic steps: knee lift, kick, jacks, lunge, march, jog and skip.
Performance Athletes perform as individuals, mixed pairs, trios or as a group of six. Crowd-pleasing elements like creativity and expression are an important element of performance. What really gets the crowd pumped is the intricate 'lifts' performed in the pairs, trio and group competitions.
“Fun Fact:
In sports aerobics, judges evaluate each athlete on their ability to combine perfectly executed elements of difficulty with artistic flair.”
Karen Leaps to Silver!
The scene was the Olympic Games in Athens and all eyes were on 23-year-old Karen Cockburn as she was set to perform her routine on the trampoline. As an 8-time Canadian champion and defending world champion, Karen was used to the pressure. Performing the most difficult routine in the competition, she achieved an amazing height on the trampoline, managing to stay in the centre box target. Her Olympian effort rewarded Karen with a silver medal! Karen adds her silver medal to the bronze she won in the 2000 Games in Sydney, the year trampoline made its Olympic debut. Perhaps after the 2008 Games in Beijing, Karen will have an Olympic medal of every colour!
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
It all started about 2500 years ago in Ancient Greece. The Greeks were the first to use gymnastics for fitness and sport. The Romans then developed gymnastics into a more formal sport and used 'gymnasiums' to physically prepare their legions for warfare. Fast-forward a couple of millennia to 1896 when the first Olympic Games showcased men's gymnastics. Later, at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, women's gymnastics were introduced. Momentous Olympic performances by Olga Korbut in 1972 and Nadia Comaneci in 1976 drew worldwide attention to gymnastics and helped make it the popular sport it is today.
Find Out More About GYMNASTICS
Gymnastics Ontario
1185 Eglinton Ave. East, Suite 504 North York, ON M3C 3C6 416-426-7095 http://www.ogf.com
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