Explaining Gymnastics

For a lot of people "Gym" was something to be endured at school, with a gym master or mistress doing their best to try and make sure that Davies from 3c could at least perform a forward roll without injuring himself. However, with the advent of a televised Olympic Games and the opportunity to watch some outstadning performances from Russian and Chinese gymnasts, more children have been encouraged to take up the sport of Gymnastics outside school. Gym clubs have sprung up all around the country and many have waiting lists. 

For the casual observer, the sport of gymnastics can seem very strange - what, for instance, is Rhythmic Gymnastics, and how does Artistic gymnatics differ from Tumbling? For the uninitiated, here is a brief guide. Gymnastics is split into several disciplines within the sport and a short description of each discipline can be found below.

The Disciplines

Men's Artistic Gymnastics comprises moves performed on floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bar. Women's Artistic gymnastic moves are performed on a variety of different specialist apparatus - vault, asymmetric bars, beam and floor. 

Trampoline Gymnastics is an exciting sport consists of jumps with somersaults and twists in the air performed on a trampoline. In the discipline of Tumbling, gymnasts perform high speed combinations of jumps, somersaults and twists in a straight line on a specially sprung floor.

Rhythmic Gymnastics is an all female sport using rope, hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon integrated into a routine combining dance and gymnastics, whilst Sports Aerobics is a form of gymnastics closely related to dance and aerobic fitness exercises which can be performed by both males and females. Acrobatic Gymnastics are performed to music with either pairs, trios or fours doing balance, acrobatics and tumbling.

Team Gym is a competitive form of general gymnastics for teams of 6 to 12 gymnasts competing on floor, trampette and the tumbling tacrk.

General Gymnastics embodies all forms of gymnastics and is mainly non-competitive whilst offering opportunities to take part in displays and festivals. Disability Gymnastics are specially adapted activities in all forms of gymnastic disciplines to enable those with disabilities to take part.
