Gymnastics

Gymnastics By:Madelynn R

Gymnastics is a series of high flying flips, twists, and turns. But, as easy as backflips might look, it takes dedication, passion, and a lot of strength to just master the basics of this sport.

Gymnastics is made up of four events for women's gymnastics,six for men. The events include: for women,vault, floor, bars, and beam. Men's events are, high bar, pommel horse, still rings, floor, vault and parallel bars. Here is my best description of each event:

Floor Exercise (women)

Women's floor excersise is a half and half event;meaning it is half choreography, half tumbling. Presentation is a huge part and gymnasts usually present their routines with a huge smile.

Floor Exercise(men)

Men's floor exercise is mostly tumbling with very little choreography, however they do have simple turns.

Vault(men and women) Although vaults differ slightly by gender, the concept is the same. You sprint, jump, and fly over the table.

Uneven Bars(women) On uneven bars, there are lots of skills to learn. Jumps, flips, releases, and swinging around the bar while trying hard not to look down. Beam Beam is a complex event of jumps, turns, grace, and tumbling. Try to put all those together at the same time, it's not as easy as it might sound! Still Rings: The still rings are an event that requires lots of upper body strength. Like beam, it isn't as easy as it looks. Parallel Bars: Parallel Bars is an event involving flips, twists, pirouettes and more. It takes a lot more strength than it might look to be able to flip like this.

Pommel Horse: The pommel horse is when you swing around the horse itself. It is not as easy as it looks, but it doesn't look to easy. The average practice for a Level five women's competitive gymnast includes:
 * 10 minute run
 * 30 minutes of strengthening
 * 10 minutes of stretching
 * 2-3 events for 45 minutes each
 * and another 10 minutes of stretching

Success isn't easy in this demanding sport, but it can be accomplished. Doubt me? Ask others. Try google searching Nastia Liukin or Shawn Johnson. They are examples of success in this very difficult, demanding, yet thrilling sport.