VAULT

The vault is an artistic gymnastics apparatus which gymnasts perform on,

as well as the skill performed using that apparatus. Vaulting is also the
action of performing a vault. Both male and female gymnasts perform the
vault. To perform a vault, the gymnast runs down a runway (the run),
which is usually padded or carpeted. They hurdle onto a springboard and
spring onto the vault with their hands. For vaults in the Yurchenko family,
the gymnast will put their hands onto a mat that is placed before the
springboard, round-off onto the board, and do a back handspring onto the
vault. The off-flight may be as simple as leaping over the apparatus or as
complicated as executing several twists and turns in the air. The gymnast
then lands on the mat on the other side of the apparatus. There are 5
different phases of vaulting: the run, the pre- flight, contact with the table,
the post flight and landing.

UNEVEN BARS

The Uneven Bars are also called Asymmetric Bars or simply ‘bars’ in
Women’s Artistic competition. They consist of two bars that run parallel to
each other but at different heights. Gymnasts mainly hang and swing
around the High Bar and Low Bar. Gymnasts will also jump or ‘release’
from one bar onto another as part of more advanced routines. The
Uneven Bars are made of two main parts; the frame and two bars. The
bars themselves are also called ‘rails’. Modern Uneven Bar rails are mostly
made from fibreglass with a wooden veneer. This differs from the Men’s
High Bar which is metal and made from steel. Some movements that the
gymnasts must use are: mounts, elementary skills, giants, transitions,
stalders, release moves, and dismounts.
BALANCE BEAMS

The balance beam is one of the events that comprise a total artistic
gymnastics program. In women’s gymnastics competition, the other
events are floor exercise, uneven bars, and the vault. In balance beam
competition, gymnasts perform routines on a four-inch wide solid beam.
They must present the same grace and execution one might expect if they
were performing on the floor. A balance beam routine may not exceed 90
seconds and must cover the entire length of the beam. Handsprings, back
handsprings, saltos, back saltos, turns, and split jumps are all gymnastics
skills that are common to beam routines. The key balance beam apparatus
is the beam itself. In the early days of women's artistic gymnastics, beam
was based more in dance than in tumbling. Routines even at the elite level
were composed with combinations of leaps, dance poses, handstands,
rolls and walkovers. In the 1960s, the most difficult acrobatic skill
performed by the average Olympic gymnast was a back handspring.

FLOOR

Floor exercise are a gymnastics event in which movements are performed

on the floor in an area 12 metres square. This area is covered by some
type of cloth or mat, usually with some cushioning. No other apparatus is
used. The type of exercise required is a series of movements combining
elements of flexibility, strength, jumps, holding of poses, and balance, as
well as other maneuvers. The whole routine must be performed with
rhythm and harmony, and the gymnast must move in different directions,
using a major portion of the allotted area. The exercise usually starts and
finishes with a series of tumbling movements, such as a handspring or a
cartwheel with a half-turn (roundoff), continuing with handsprings and
somersaults (in the air), either backward or forward.