When you think dangerous sports, generally football, rugby, and other high contact sports come to mind. However, many think of gymnastics as athletes that do gymnastics are performing difficult acrobatic maneuvers often high in the air, meaning they have greater risk for injury. So with it being a dangerous sport, why is it that most consider it a sport for women? Let’s take a closer look at gymnastics, it is not just for the little girls (even if those that you see doing gymnastic usually are smaller females).
What is gymnastics?
Gymnastics is a sport, though unlike most team sports. It involves the performance of sequences of movements requiring physical strength, flexibility, and kinesthetic awareness. For example, handsprings, forward rolls, arials and tucks, are all movements performed during gymnastics.
Where did gymnastics come from?
While many of us only know much about gymnastics because it is an event in the Olympics, and we do not stay up on it much other than that, it is nothing new. Gymnastic dates back to the ancient Greeks, and a number of other source. The fitness and beauty practices of the Greeks, teemed up with the skills to mount and dismount horses, and all mixed with a little bit of circus performance, and wha la, you’ve got gymnastics. The name itself came from the gymnasium in which the sport was most often practiced (generally by men, though now it is thought of as more of a woman’s sport).
What exactly do gymnasts do?
Well, to be straightforward, there are a variety of different types of gymnastics, however, let’s just stick with the commonly known types, or in other words, the types of gymnastics done in the Olympics and other world events:
For the women, the following events are performed in competition:
The Vault. So what is this? Basically gymnasts sprint down a 25 meter (about 82 feet) runway, towards a stationary object ( a springboard and the vaulting apparatus) They then try to keep their bodies in a straight position, touch the vaulting apparatus, referred to as the horse, with only their hands, and then do twists and flips etc. off of it.
The Uneven Bars. This is just what it sounds like, two bars spaced apart at uneven heights. Gymnasts perform swinging, circling, transitional, and release moves, as well as handstands on these two bars.
The Balance Beam. This is a beam that is 4 ft high, 16 ft long, and 4 inches wide, on which a gymnast performs a choreographed routine from 50 to 90 seconds in length consisting of leaps, acrobatic skills, turns and dance elements
The Floor. With this event gymnasts perform a choreographed exercise 60 to 120 seconds long to instrumental music. However, they aren’t just dancing, they perform on a carpet sprung floor 40 ft by 40 ft, and do tumbling passes, a series of jumps, there are dance elements, as well as acrobatic skills, and turns.
Men’s events are different from the women’s, but have similarities:
The Floor. The floor for the men is also a carpeted area, 12m x 12m, usually sprung or foamed. However, unlike women the men perform their series of tumbling passes along with flexibility, strength, and balance tests, they do not have dance moves, etc. Their routines are shorter (50-70 seconds), and are performed without music.
The Pommel Horse. On the pommel horse men perform circular movements around the horse with their legs while allowing only their hands to actually touch it. It is much more difficult than it sounds.
The Rings: Basically the way this works is you have two rings about 8 feet off the ground, and the gymnast uses his strength and flexibility to swing himself on these rings while preventing the rings themselves from swinging.
The Vault. This is done in basically an identical fashion as the women do.
The Parallel Bars. In this event the male gymnasts hold themselves on two bars about a shoulder’s width apart and about 6½ feet high while performing a series of swings and balances.
The High Bar. This is a 1-inch thick steel bar 8 feet in the air. The gymnast holds onto this bar as he shows swings, release skills, twists, and even a change of direction and finishes with flighted dismount.
As you can see there is more to gymnastics than may appear. In fact it is not a sissy sport, or a sport only for weak little girls. All of the events require great strength, balance, skill, and coordination.all qualities required in other sports.