Kristof Willerton

Women Gymnastics is a beautiful sport that consists of several different events vault, bars, beam, and floor. This sport can compete in collegiate, national, or local competitions. This sport is physically demanding as well as mentally. It has certain levels that are reached by having certain skills. Girls usually train at a club near their area and some dedicate their whole life to this sport. You can be any age to participate but it is strongly urged to start as young as possible. Some people do it for fun but others do it as a competitive sport.

Being a competitive gymnast involves many levels of training and exercise. Hard work and dedication will take you far in this sport. Gymnastics is a big commitment to be in and can be intense at times. The sport demands your whole body and one goes under intense training to make sure all muscle groups are trained and targeted. It can be costly depending on what club you are enrolled in and the gear you need to do the sport.

[[Category:]]Women Gymnastics Events

There are four events that you will need to train in any level you might in.

Vault

The vault is a stationery pommel horse that can be adjusted depending on your height. You run towards it at full speed till you get to the springboard. Once you are at the springboard you target both of your feet towards the center of the board, then your hands meet the pommel horse and you push off while doing a front flip and land on your feet. The skill you do on the fault and how you approach it depends on what level you are at. Some gymnasts do a series of turns in the air between pushing off the vault and landing on the floor. The runway is about 87 feet which are where the gymnasts run.

Uneven Bars

The uneven bars are set up by having a lower and higher bar parallel but at different heights. The lower bar is typically 4-5 feet off the ground and the high bar is 7-9 feet off the ground. This varies based on the gymnast's height. In order to perform at this event, you need grips and chalk. The grips go around your wrists and hands to help you stay on the bar while you do skills and the chalk is to help eliminate any sweat on your hands and grips. Depending on the level, the way one approaches the mount might be towards the high bar or the low bar. The hardest skills require you to somersault from one bar to another.

Balance Beam

Stockvault-gymnastics202353

The balance beam is a 4 inches wide, 16ft long, and 4 feet from the ground. Gymnasts mostly use their balance skills to complete about 2 minutes and 30 seconds routines. The stationary object can be the hardest to master due to its width of it. Gymnasts perform front tucks, backtuck,etc.. Usually, every somersault requires a blind landing. This means they can’t see the beam behind them so this is why they must trust themselves. The routines are composed of dance, turns, jumps, and flips.

Floor

Stockvault-gymnast202355

The floor event of gymnastics is done on a 12 by 12 meters the floor with springs underneath. The routine is choreographed to suit the gymnasts' abilities. It consists of choosing a track with no words, adding dance elements, tumbling passes, and jumps. Depending on the level, they need to meet a certain amount of skills to be scored correctly. The lower levels require 1-2 tumbling passes, higher levels require 3-4. There are lines around the whole floor to indicate the boundary. If a gymnast steps on or outside the line points can be deducted. It also adds a key element of performance. It is usually the most “fun” event because gymnasts get to showcase their smiles throughout the routine. The choice of music depends on the level, below levels all have the same music per level. Once you reach level 6, you get the luxury of choosing your own music.

Levels

The level of gymnastics varies from 1-10. Level 1-3 is the compulsory level where you learn the Foundation of gymnastics to excel in further levels. Levels 4-6 are the advanced level which is a competitive level. It is where you put all your skills to the test and keep learning new ones to advance to the next level. This is also the most common era where one can tell if this gymnast will go far in the sport. It is commonly known as the era where many gymnasts start dropping out of the sport. Levels 7-9 are the big leagues. The skills are not only difficult but can also be dangerous. This is why it is important to take training in lower levels seriously so that when you get to this era, you are prepared. Level 10 is also known as elite, gymnast at this level are trialing for college teams or the Olympics. It is the last level but it has so many skills that have a harder difficulty so gymnasts like challenging themselves by picking up new skills.

Competitions

This sport has many different types of competitions. Club gymnastics has local, state, national and international competitions. The one you go to depends on your club's budget. Usually, the lower levels focus on local and state competitions. Locals are usually held at school gymnasiums or other gymnastic clubs that host it. State competitions are done in stadiums or arenas that are well known. National ones are done in popular cities like New York. International ones can be held in any country, Costa Rica, Colombia, Germany, etc. There is also a collegiate world of gymnastics: college gymnastics. Well-known colleges scout girls to put on their team. However, this world of gymnastics is entirely different because they only compete against other college teams.

Training

In order to be good at any sport, you must train. Gymnasts usually have practice 4-6 days a week. The structure of the way they train varies from gym to gym but it usually is composed of the same thing. You begin with a warm-up which can include stretching and drills for skills. You also need to condition. Conditioning is the exercise done so gymnasts build strength and endurance. It can include lots of cardio and the exercise is adapted to the events. You then have apparatus training where you practice one each event what needs to be done. The methods and routines all are different for each level and each gym. Lastly, cool down can be doing skills below your level or foundation skills.

writer, Elizabeth Grimsley | Staff. "Gymnastics 101: What to know about scoring, rankings and more before the next GymDog meet". The Red and Black. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
"USA Gymnastics women Junior Olympic Program Overview". USA Gymnastics. USA Gymnastics. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
Apparatus Norms, International Gymnastics Federation, p.63. Retrieved 27 March 2007.
"Gymnastics". Encarta. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2006.