qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyui

opasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfgh
jklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvb
nmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwer
tyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopas
dfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzx
Project in MAPE
cvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmq
Gymnastics
wertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuio
pasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghj
klzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn
mqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwerty
uiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdf
ghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxc
vbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrty
uiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdf
ghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxc
History of Gymnastics

The word derives from the Greek (gymnastike), fem. of (gymnastikos), "fond of athletic exercises", from
(gymnasia), "exercise" and that from (gymnos), "naked", because athletes exercised and competed without clothing.
Gymnastics, which originated in ancient Greece as an Olympic game, is a competitive sport for men and women
involving the performance of exercises, some of which require the use of various apparatus. The gymnastics events
for men include rings, vaulting, floor exercise, horizontal bar, parallel bars, side horse, and combined exercises. The
gymnastics events for women include vaulting, balance beam, uneven parallel bars, floor exercise, rhythmic
gymnastics, and combined exercises. The Federation Internationale Gymnastique (FIG) was founded in 1881 to
govern international competitions and today gymnastics are one of the most popular Olympic events.

1908 Summer Olympics in London: Display of the British women's gymnastics team.

Exercises of the ancient Greeks at first consisted of athletic feats performed by each individual
according to his own notion, and were encouraged among the youth as combining amusement
with exercise. These exercises were at length reduced to a system which formed a prominent
feature in the state regulations for education. In fact, the period for gymnastics was equal to the
time spent on art and music combined. All Greek cities had a gymnasium, a courtyard for
jumping, running, and wrestling.
As the Roman Empire ascended, Greek gymnastics gave way to military training. The
Romans, for example, introduced the wooden horse. In 393 AD the Emperor
Theodosius abolished the Olympic Games, which by then had become corrupt and gymnastics,
along with other sports, declined. For centuries, gymnastics was all but forgotten.
In the fifteenth century, Girolamo Mercuriale from Forlì (Italy) wrote De Arte
Gymnastica, that brought together his study of the attitudes of the ancients toward diet, exercise
and hygiene, and the use of natural methods for the cure of disease. De Arte Gymnastica also
explained the principles of physical therapy and is considered the first book on sports medicine.
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Germany, two pioneer physical
educators – Johann Friedrich GutsMuths (1759–1839) and Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (1778–1852) –
created exercises for boys and young men on apparatus they had designed and that ultimately led
to what is considered modern gymnastics. In particular, Jahn crafted early models of
the horizontal bar, the parallel bars (from a horizontal ladder with the rungs removed), and
the vaulting horse.
 The Federation of International Gymnastics (FIG) was founded in Liege in 1881 By
the end of the nineteenth century, men's gymnastics competition was popular enough to be
included in the first "modern" Olympic Games in 1896. From then on until the early 1950s, both
national and international competitions involved a changing variety of exercises gathered under
the rubric gymnastics that would seem strange to today's audiences: synchronized team floor
calisthenics, rope climbing, high jumping, running, horizontal ladder, etc. During the 1920s,
women organized and participated in gymnastics events, and the first women's Olympic
competition – primitive, for it involved only synchronized calisthenics – was held at the 1928
Games in Amsterdam.
By 1954, Olympic Games apparatus and events for both men and women had been
standardized in modern format, and uniform grading structures (including a point system from 1
to 15) had been agreed upon. At this time, Soviet gymnasts astounded the world with highly
disciplined and difficult performances, setting a precedent that continues. The new medium of
television helped publicize and initiate a modern age of gymnastics. Both men's and women's
gymnastics now attract considerable international interest, and excellent gymnasts can be found
on every continent. Nadia Comăneci received the first perfect score, at the 1976 Summer
Olympics held in Montreal, Canada. She was coached in Romania by the Romanian coach,
(Hungarian ethnicity), Béla Károlyi. Comaneci scored four of her perfect tens on the uneven
bars, two on the balance beam and one in the floor exercise.  Even with Nadia's perfect scores,
the Romanians lost the gold medal to theSoviet Union. Nevertheless, Comaneci became an
Olympic icon.

Equipments used in Gymnastics

Balance Beam
By Olympic standards, the balance beam is a long (16 feet 5 inches), thin (4 inch wide)
bar that is approximately 4 feet off the ground. Women gymnasts must perform graceful, flexible
movements on the balance beam while maintaining balance and rhythm.
Vault/Springboard
During the vault, the gymnast gains speed by sprinting down a runway and jumping on a
springboard, a piece of equipment that helps gymnasts spring into the air and gain height. After
bouncing off the springboard, the gymnast pushes off the vault and performs twists and turns in
the air before making an ideally perfect landing. The "horse" vault made way in 2001 in
international competition for the safer "table" vault. The two types of springboards are the soft
springboard and the hard springboard.
Pommel Horse
The pommel horse is the perfect piece of equipment to demonstrate a male athlete's
strength and balance. The horse is made of wood that is covered with foam and leather on the
outside. The rubber-covered pommels, or rings, are mounted on the horse to allow for a firm
grip. Only the gymnast's hands can touch the apparatus as he performs continuous, rhythmic
motions and scissor-like movements over all parts of the pommel horse.
Uneven Bars
This women's event consists of two parallel bars, with one higher (about 8 feet by
Olympic standards) than the other (about 5 feet 5 inches). The bars are made of fiberglass and
covered with a birchwood laminate. During the event, the gymnast swings back and forth
between the low and high bars while completing various release moves and handstand positions.
Parallel Bars
The parallel bars consist of two horizontal bars about 11 feet 6 inches in length. During
this men's event, gymnasts perform swinging movements between, above and below the bars.
This apparatus also tests a gymnast's arm strength and endurance.

High Bar
Also known as the horizontal bar, this men's apparatus consists of a high-tension stainless
steel bar about 7 feet 9 inches in length and 9 feet 2 inches above the ground. The bar is built to
absorb the pressure of powerful release and grab moves. The event consists of continuous swing
movements in both directions, release moves and a high, twisting dismount.

Rings
 Another men's apparatus is the rings. They are made of layers of wood attached to long
(about 9 feet 9 inches) stainless steel cables built to absorb shock. The routine consists of swing
and handstand positions that demonstrate a gymnast's strength.

Rope Climb
Generally, competitors climbed either a 6m (6.1m = 20 ft in USA) or an 8m (7.6m = 25 ft
in USA), 38mm (1.5") diameter natural fiber rope for speed, starting from a seated position on
the floor and using only the hands and arms. Kicking the legs in a kind of "stride" was normally
permitted. Many gymnasts can do this in the straddle or pike position, which eliminates the help
generated from the legs

Gymnastics Terminology

Although there is a whole lexicon of terminology associated with the world

of gymnastics, below are a few of the more popular terms that can be heard around
the gym.

 All-around: a gymnast that has routines for and performs in the entire events
specific to their gender: six for men and four for women. The all-around title is
the most precious victory in gymnastics.

 Block: a term for movement that comes from the powerful propulsion using
the shoulders off of a piece of equipment.

 Compulsory: the elements that are required for each piece of equipment
(apparatus) in a gymnastics event; these are determined by the International
Gymnastics Federation (FIG) or USA Gymnastics (USGA).
 Grips: specialized equipment meant to be worn on the hands; constructed of
leather, they are worn by both men and women, particularly when using any of
the bar equipment.

 Spotting: when a coach or instructor stands by a piece of equipment while a

gymnast is performing a new or difficult move to prevent them from injury.

Term Illustration Instruction

Arabesque Similar to a scale, except with the chest up

Bridge Holding the body in an arched-back position

Standing on hands; entire body should be in a straight

Handstand
line, from hands to toes
Hollow Body
Rounded back, shoulders at ears, tight hips
Position

Lounge Front leg bent, back leg straight

Pike Legs together, straight in front, body bent forward

A turn on a vertical axis, either on your feet or in a

Pirouette
handstand.

While standing in a stretched, relevé position, with one

Pivot Turn foot in front of the other, keeping both feet in place, turn
your entire body pivoting on your toes

Standing on one foot, the other leg is bent, toes on the

Possé
knee

Relevé Standing on high toe

 Balancing on one foot with the other leg high in the air;
Scale
chest is down; can be done in a variety of positions

Split Position in which the legs are at 180 degrees

Straddle Both legs out to the side

Extending the body as long as possible; straight legs,

Stretch
straight arms
Legs bent, and bent at the hips; ideally bringing your
Tuck
chin to your chest and legs to your chest

Popular Gymnast

The "Queen of Gymnastics" Nadia Comaneci, the first US Olympic All-Around Gold
Medalist Mary Lou Retton are the most famous.

Born: Retired: 1981 (at age 20)

November 12, 1961 in Onesti, Romania Coaches:
Started Gymnastics: Bela & Martha Karolyi
1967 (at age six) Current Residence:
Norman, OK
Family:
Parents are Gheorghe, an auto mechanic, and Stephania Comaneci; husband is 1984
Olympic gymnast Bart Conner -- they have a son Dylan Paul Conner (born June 3, 2006)

Cool Skills She Performed:

Nadia Comaneci has two moves named after her on the uneven bars. One is a toe-on, half-turn to
a back flip dismount, while the other is a release move (a cast to straddle front flip) that is still
rated at a high difficulty level today. (It is an “E” on an A-G scale with “A” the easiest.)
Gymnastics Accomplishments:
* Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10.0 in the Olympics. She did it at
the 1976 Games, and then went on to score six more 10.0s and win three gold medals.
* Comaneci was also the first Romanian gymnast to win the all-around title at the Olympics,
and is the youngest ever all-around champion.
* In 1979 Comaneci became the first gymnast to win three all-around titles at the European
Championships.
* At the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Comaneci won her second Olympic gold medal on beam,
and took home another gold on floor and a silver medal in the all-around.

Gymnastics Results:
* 1981 University Games: 1st team; 1st all-around; 1st vault; 1st bars; 1st beam
* 1980 Olympic Games: 2nd team; 2nd all-around; 1st beam; 1st floor
* 1979 World Championships: 1st team
* 1979 European Championships: 1st all-around; 1st vault; 3rd beam; 1st floor
* 1978 World Championships: 2nd team; 2nd vault; 1st beam
* 1977 European Championships: 1st all-around; 3rd vault; 1st bars
* 1976 Olympic Games: 2nd team; 1st all-around; 1st bars; 1st beam; 3rd floor
* 1976 American Cup: 1st all-around
* 1976 Chunichi Cup: 1st all-around
* 1975 European Championships: 1st all-around; 1st vault; 1st bars; 1st beam; 2nd floor

Awards:
Comaneci was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1993, and has twice
(1984, 2004) received the Olympic Order, the most prestigious award given by the International
Olympic Committee. In 1999, ABC News and Ladies Home Journal named her as one of the 100
Most Important Women of the 20th Century.
Mary Lou Retton:

Dates: January 24, 1968 -

Known for: first American woman gymnast to win Olympic gold for the all-around event;
most Olympic medals of any athlete at the 1984 Olympics; warm style, enthusiastic personality,
pixie haircut; more muscular build than many women gymnasts

Country Represented: United States

Olympics:

* 1984, gymnastics, United States (USSR and many allied teams boycotted the 1984
Olympics)
* 1988 and later Olympics as a commentator

Also known as: America's Sweetheart

Height: 4'9"

Records:

* first US woman to win an Olympic gold medal in women's gymnastics all-around event
(August 3, 1984)
* most medals (five) of any athlete in the 1984 Olympics

Honors, Awards:

* 1984 - Sports Illustrated Sportswoman of the Year

* 1984 - Amateur Athlete of the Year, Associated Press
* U.S. Olympic Committee in 1984 created the Mary Lou Retton Award - athletic excellence
* 1993 - Most Popular Athlete in America, Associated Press
* 1995 - Flo Hyman Award, Women's Sports Foundation
* 1997 - International Gymnastics Hall of Fame

Education:

* gymnastics classes, West Virginia University

* coaching, Bela Karolyi
* high school: correspondence courses
* University of Texas at Austin, after retirement from gymnastics