CHAPTER 2

EQUIPMENT IN GYMNASTICS
History of Gymnastics Equipment
The sport has its origins in ancient Greece, where young men
underwent intense physical and mental training for warfare. The word stems
from the Greek word gymnos, or “naked,”—appropriate, since the youths
trained in the nude, performing floor exercises, lifting weights, and racing one
another. (How ancient Greeks mixed naked sports with pagan partying.)

For the Greeks, exercise and learning went hand in hand. According to
sports historian R. Scott Kretchmar, the gyms where Greek youths trained
served as “hubs for scholarship and discovery”—community centers where
young people were educated in the physical and intellectual arts. Fourth-
century-B.C. Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote that “the education of the
body must precede that of the mind.”
 EQUIPMENT IN
GYMNASTICS
 Still Ring  Beat Board
 Bars  Ball
 Pommel Horse  Hoop
 Plane  Ribbon
 Safety Platform  Clubs
 Vault
 I. Still Ring
Still Rings, also called still rings, gymnastics apparatus consisting of two small circles
that are suspended by straps from an overhead support and grasped by the gymnast while
performing various exercises. They were invented in the early 19th century by the German
Friedrich Jahn, known as the father of gymnastics. Competition on the rings requires the
most strength of any gymnastics event, although since the 1960s the trend in this
exclusively male competition has been toward a style of performance that emphasizes
swinging, somewhat diminishing the demand of strength. The rings have been part of the
gymnastics program in the Olympic Games since its modern revival in 1896.
Made of wood or metal, the rings are 28 mm (1.1 inches) thick and have an inside
diameter of 18 cm (7.1 inches). They are suspended by straps mounted 5.75 meters (18.8
feet) above the floor, the rings themselves hanging 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) above the floor
and 50 cm (19.7 inches) apart.
 Competitive exercise on the rings must be performed with the rings in a
stationary position (without swinging or pendulum movement of the rings). It
combines swinging movements of the body, strength, and holding of positions.
There must be at least two handstands in an exercise, one attained by strength
and the other utilizing swing. Typical strength movements on the rings include
the cross, or iron cross (holding the body vertical with the arms fully stretched
sideways), and the lever (hanging with straight arms with the body stretched
out horizontally).
II. Bars

Bars are used by both men and women in competitive

gymnastics. Men compete on the parallel bars and the
horizontal bar, while women compete on the uneven bars.
Invented in Germany in the 1800s, the parallel bars were
originally fixed wooden rails set in the ground. Introduced
at the 1934 World Championships, but not considered an
entirely separate apparatus until 1954, women’s uneven
bars evolved from men’s parallel bars. Today, all three bar
events use flexible, adjustable rails that absorb shock and
provide bounce for the gymnasts.
Uneven Bars
Uneven parallel bars, also called asymmetrical parallel bars, gymnastics
apparatus developed in the 1930s and used in women’s competition. The length
and construction are the same as for the parallel bars used in men’s gymnastics.
The top bar is 2.4 meters (7.8 feet) above the floor, while the lower bar is 1.65
meters (5.4 feet) high. The apparatus was first used in international competition
at the 1936 Olympic Games. It allows a great variety of movements, although
hanging and swinging exercises predominate. The performer strives for
smoothness and equal use of both bars in her routine
Horizontal Bar
Horizontal Bar, also called high bar, gymnastics apparatus introduced in the early 19th century by
the German Friedrich Jahn, usually considered the father of gymnastics. It is a polished steel bar 2.8 cm
(1.1 inches) in diameter, 2.4 meters (7.8 feet) long, and raised about 2.8 meters (9.1 feet) from the
floor.
Competitors (men only) generally wear hand protectors and go through a routine that lasts from 15
to 30 seconds. Exercises include upstarts (by which the gymnast swings himself from a hang to a
support above the bar); giant circles (rotating around the bar from a handstand position with the arms
fully extended) with inverted or dislocated grips and changes of direction; vaulting over the bar,
releasing the grip, and regrasping the bar; movements requiring turns and changes of the position of
the body and the releasing and regrasping of the bar; and finishes with straddles over the bar or
forward and backward somersaults from the bar.
The horizontal bar has been an Olympic event in
gymnastics since the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

Parallel bar
Parallel bar ,gymnastics apparatus invented in the early 19th century by the German
Friedrich Jahn, usually considered the father of gymnastics. It is especially useful in
improving upper-body strength. The two bars, made of wood, are oval in cross section, 5
cm (2 inches) thick, 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) long, 2 meters (6.5 feet) high, and 42 cm (16.5
inches) apart. Height and width of the bars are usually adjustable.
In gymnastics competition on the parallel bars, performed by men only, movements
combine swings, flight elements, strength, and balance, although swings and vaults must
predominate. Movements below the bars and the release and regrasping of the bars are
also required. See also uneven parallel bars.
The parallel bars have been part of the Olympic program for gymnastics since the first
modern Games in 1896.
Parallel Bars
 III. Pommel Horse
The pommel horse event is part of the men’s competition in the modern Olympic Games. The
gymnast supports himself with his hands by holding the pommels over the horse and performs
movements with his trunk and legs, such as single or double leg circles and crosses of the legs
(scissors), without stops. These are combined with turns and changes of the hands’ grasp to the
forward part of the horse (neck), the center (saddle), and the rear (croup). It is necessary to vary
the movements and also to perform them both to the left (clockwise) and to the right
The apparatus stems from a wooden horse introduced by the Romans and used to teach
mounting and dismounting. They added it to the ancient Olympic Games. The basic modern
exercises were developed in the early 19th century by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, founder of the
German turnverein.
Pommel Horse
IV. Plane
An imaginary surface where moves are performed, i.e. lateral,
frontal, horizontal or diagonal.

Diagonal Plane

An imaginary surface at less than a 90- degree angle to the

floor, where moves are performed.
Horizontal Plane
An imaginary surface, level with the ground, where moves are
performed. Lateral Plane
An imaginary surface to the side of, and parallel to, the body,
where moves are performed.
V. Safety Platform
Safe Gymnastics Gear
What gear is needed depends on the event (uneven bars, floor routine, balance beam, etc). Safety items
include:

Wrist straps, guards, and grips. Male gymnasts use these on the still rings, high bar, and parallel
bars and female gymnasts wear them on the uneven bars. They improve a gymnast's hold on the
apparatus and prevent blisters on the hands. Most grips consist of a piece of leather attached to a wrist
strap. Other options include wrapping the hands in sports tape or gauze. Gymnasts, especially beginners,
should use grips, tape, or gauze to protect their hands from blistering and tearing.
Footwear. Shoes for doing the vault usually have a reinforced toe to help absorb the pressure of landing.
Some gymnasts wear gymnastic shoes with rubber soles to protect against slipping while on the balance
beam.

Spotting belts. Spotting belts hook into cables that are attached to the ceiling. They support
gymnasts while they are learning a new move or practicing something difficult.
VI. Vaulting
Vaulting , gymnastics exercise in which the athlete leaps over a form that was originally intended to mimic a horse. At one time the 
pommel horse (side horse) was used in the vaulting exercise, with the pommels (handles) removed. Later a cylindrical form made especially
for vaulting was used. The sanctioning body for gymnastic sport, the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), decreed in 2001 that a
vaulting table would replace the horse. With its curved front, the vaulting table was designed for the greater safety of the gymnast In men’s
vaulting the horse was placed lengthwise, and the vaulting table is placed in that same position whether for men or for women. For men the height of the
apparatus is 1.35 metres (4.43 feet) measured from the floor.
VII. Reuther board
A Reuther board (also called a beat board), a special type of
springboard developed in Germany, is placed in front of the near end
of the apparatus.
VIII. Ball
The ball is an apparatus used in rhythm gymnastics. It is made of either
rubber or synthetic material (pliable plastic) provided it possesses the same
elasticity as rubber. It is 18 to 20 centimeters ( 7.1 to 7.9 in) in diameter and
must have a minimum weight of 400 grams ( 14 oz). The ball can be of any
colour. The ball should rest in the gymnasts hand and not rest against the
wrist or be able to be grasped.
Fundamental elements of a ball routine include throwing, bouncing or
rolling. The gymnast must use both hands and work on the whole floor area
whilst showing continuous flowing movement.
The ball is sometimes placed on their back while the gymnast does a
skill such as a walk over.
IV. Hoop
A hoop is an apparatus in rhythm gymnastics and may be made of tape
plastic or wood, provided that it retains its shape during the routine. The
interior diameter is from 51to 90 cm, and the hoop must weigh a minimum
of 300g. The hoop may be of a natural colour or be partially of fully covered
by one or several colours, and it may be covered with adhesive tape either
of the same or different colour as the hoop.

Fundamental requirements of a hoop routine include rotation around

the hand or body and rolling, as well as swings, circles, throws, and passes
through and over the hoop.

Many of the techniques of rhythm gymnastics have been adopted by the

modern hooping community.
X. Ribbon
A ribbon is an apparatus
composed of a handle (called
“stick”), ribbon , and attachment,
used during a floor performance.
XI. Clubs
The club are another piece
of equipment that rhythm
gymnast used. The clubs look
similar top bowling pins or
bottles. They are made of wood
or plastic. Gymnast use the
clubs to do circles, throws,
swings, plus tapping.
 Prepared by:
Patricio, Trixia Mae S.
Pante, Resie S.
Pabloreña, John Lloyd
Ortiz, Mary Joy P.
Nava, Menard
Niegos, Kris Kaye
Moya, Angela Pauline
Marcos,
Manuel, Rico
Miña, Emannuel
Jacobe, Froilan
Guzman,Juvan