Girls Gymnast

Girl Gymnast

Many gymnasts start at a very young age. In the beginning a teacher will be training a child in coordination as well as making them familiar with some of the more basic equipment. In the beginning a young girl will become familiar with tumbling skills and then move on to different motor exercises to make the child familiar with their body. Once a solid body awareness foundation has been built the child will progress to learning actual gymnastics terms and skills. The average beginner to the actual gymnastics events such as balance beam, vaulting, and uneven bars will be anywhere from age 5 to 10. Students can and will learn outside of this age range but it can set them behind their peers if they are much older. Female gymnasts especially start at a young age because once they have gone through puberty and their bodies have developed they may have to retire because of the change in their bodies. Some believe that the constant training will delay growth through puberty and gymnasts have even been rumored to take drugs to block growth hormones. Drug use in gymnastics is not extremely well documented but it is good to know that it does exist just as with other sports.

Young Girl Gymnast

Girl gymnasts compete in a lower age range many times retiring from gymnastics around the age of 20 when their body hits puberty. This can cause stress because of the child’s desire to compete but also have a life. Some athletes are pressured from various sources to do well and this can lead the girl gymnast to seek ways to keep their body the right size. Recently the age of senior women gymnasts was raised to16 in order to encourage and reward those who stick with the sport through to physical maturity. The young age of female gymnasts is why many start at a very early. This is akin to dancers who also start at a young age.

Pictures Of Girl Gymnasts

A search of the Web will give someone a quick resource to find pictures of young gymnasts competing. Look for the websites of Olympic teams or local gymnastics teams from schools or local private studios. Various books about famous gymnasts will also have pictures of them competing. There are also instructional books about beginning gymnastics techniques that will have pictures of some basic moves and techniques. It is important to know that if an instructional book is sought that it would be best to consult a competent instructor as well.