When we say or think Gymnastics, our mind conjures up pictures of highly flexible men and women running and jumping over beams. Yes, the image is accurate, but it is not complete. Gymnastics is one activity that can be divided into seven fields. The one we mostly imagine is just a part of it. It is called artistic gymnastics, and it is the most well known around the world due to various competitions like the Olympics. There are other forms of the sport too and each as complex as the other. Every type of gymnastics requires:
1. Grace
2. Power
3. Agility
4. Flexibility
5. Coordination
6. Physical Strength
7. Balance And Control
This article will explain three kinds of the sports form – rhythmic gymnastics, artistic gymnastics and aerobic gymnastics.
• Rhythmic gymnastics is played by only women. They compete in a performance that has aspects of gymnastics and ballet combined into it. It is basically a combination of dance exercises and gymnastic moves that are performed to music. Five routines are included in each performance. The sport can be done with gymnastic apparatus or without it. When used, the type of apparatus that can be incorporated is one of the following:
o ball
o hoop
o clubs
o rope
o ribbon
Rhythmic Gymnastics can also be performed in groups that are made of 2 to 6 women. A group is allowed to operate with maximum two apparatus of their preference.
• As mentioned above, artistic gymnastics is the most popular form as it is the most practiced sport in this field. This variety of gymnastics makes use of different gymnastic apparatus and the floor for varied exercises. Both men and women can do artistic gymnastics. For men, there are 6 events:
o Vault
o High Bar
o Still Rings
o Parallel Bars
o Floor Exercise
o Pommel Horse
When it comes to women’s artistic gymnastics there are just four events:
o Vault
o Uneven Bars
o Balance Beam
o Floor Exercise
• The last type of gymnastics to be discussed in this write-up is the aerobic gymnastics. It is alternatively called as sports aerobics. The routines in this kind can be performed by:
o Single gymnast
o A pair
o A trio
o Group of gymnasts (max pax 6)
This variety differs from other types because it does not focus on balance skill or acrobats. The test is on the strength, aerobic fitness and flexibility of the gymnast. No apparatus is used in aerobic gymnastics. Only the floor is made use of to perform the routines that can last for as less as 1 minute to up to 90 seconds.
There are some other varieties of the sport too, but each emphasizes the grace of the performer. The more graceful a gymnast is, the better their evaluation score. When it comes to scoring, there are four judges that use a scale of 0 to 10. The lowest and highest score in each performance is not considered in gymnastics.
