gymnastics artistic

HISTORY

The gymnastic system was mentioned in works by ancient authors, such as Homer, Aristotle and Plato. It included many disciplines, which would later become separate sports: swimming, race, wrestling, boxing, riding, etc.[1] and was also used for military training. In its present form gymnastics evolved in Germany and Bohemia in 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.[2] A German educator Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, who was known as the father of gymnastics,[3] invented several apparatus, including the horizontal bar and parallel bars which are used to this day. Two of the first gymnastics clubs were Turnvereins and Sokols.

In 1881 the International Gymnastics Federation was founded and remains the governing body of international gymnastics since then. It included only three countries and was called European Gymnastics Federation until 1921, when the first non-European countries joined the federation, and it was reorganized into its present form. Gymnastics was included into the program of the 1896 Summer Olympics, but women were allowed to participate in the Olympics only since 1928. World Championships, held since 1903 also remained for men only until 1934. Since that time two branches of artistic gymnastics have been developing—WAG and MAG—which, unlike men's and women's branches of many other sports, are much different in apparatus used at the major competitions, in techniques and concerns.

Women's artistic gymnastics (WAG)

Women's gymnastics entered the Olympics as a team event in 1928. At the twelfth (12th) gymnastics World Championships in

1950, WAG (as it is known today) was included. WAG introduced team competition, all-around and apparatus final events. Individual women were recognized in the all-around as early as the tenth (10th) World Championships in 1934. Two years after the full women's program (all-around and all four event finals) was introduced into the 1950 World Championships, it was introduced into the 1952 Helsinki Games, and this format has remained as such to this day.

The earliest champions in women's gymnastics tended to be in their 20s; most had studied ballet for years before entering the sport. Larisa Latynina, the first great Soviet gymnast, won her first Olympic all-around medal at the age of 22 and her second at 26; she became the 1958 World Champion while pregnant with her daughter. Czech gymnast Věra Čáslavská, who followed Latynina to become a two-time Olympic all around champion, was 22 before she started winning gold medals.

Home > Sports > Gymnastics Artistic > Equipment and HistoryShare Artistic Gymnastics Equipment and History    

EQUIPMENTS

STILL RINGTwo parallel rings 50cm apart, suspended from a cable and straps and held, one in each hand, for a series of exercises in men's artistic gymnastics particularly requiring stillness of the body; also called the "rings".

UNEVENBARS

An apparatus in women's artistic gymnastics with a top bar 2.4m above the floor and a lower bar 1.6m high, used for a continuous series of grip changes, releases, new grasps and other complex moves.

HIGHBARSA bar standing 2.75 metres high, used in men's artistic gymnastics; also called the "horizontal bar".Parallel bars (Artistic)

An apparatus consisting of two wooden rails on uprights, adjustable in height and used for swinging, vaulting and balancing exercises in men's artistic gymnastics.

Pommel horse

A solid apparatus 115 centimetres high with two handles, or pommels, on top that men in artistic gymnastics use for a series of manoeuvres defined by complex hand placements and body positions while holding themselves above the apparatus.

Plane

An imaginary surface where moves are performed, i.e. lateral, frontal, horizontal or diagonal.

Diagonal plane

An imaginary surface at less than a 90-degree angle to the floor, where moves are performed.

Horizontal plane

An imaginary surface, level with the ground, where moves are performed.

Lateral plane

An imaginary surface to the side of, and parallel to, the body, where moves are performed.

Safety platform

A large, thick mat that sits on the floor at each end of the trampoline to cushion the impact if anyone falls from the apparatus.

Vault

A solid apparatus similar to the pommel horse, but lacking handles, and used in men's and women's artistic gymnastics for a variety of handsprings from a running approach.

Beatboard

The springboard used in the men's and women's vault.