Women's Gymnastics

Women Gymnastics

Vaulting is an event in women’s gymnastics. In vaulting, the gymnast springs down a runway that is 25 meters long. She then jumps onto a springboard and then onto the vault while keeping her body in a straight position. She touches the vault with her hands and then blocks off of it. Beginner women gymnasts often block off in an upright position while more experienced female gymnasts will block off by starting in a handstand position and then springing to their feet. The dismount often includes single or multiple twists and salts. In 2001 the traditional vault was updated and replaced with a new one called a tongue or a table. The new vault equipment is more stable and less dangerous than the original equipment. It now gives gymnasts a larger surface to block off of.

Uneven bars sis another event in women’s gymnastics. Uneven bars involves maneuvering on two different bars at different heights. The height is fixed, but the width of the bars can vary. Leather grips are often worn to provide better grip and safety for the hands.

Women's Gymnastics Floor

The event in gymnastics that is most related to women’s gymnastics is the floor event. The floor event in women’s gymnastics is a choreographed exercise that is seventy to ninety seconds long. It is performed to instrumental music that does not have vocals. The choreographed routine can be made up of a series of jumps and tumbling passes with some dance elements incorporated. Acrobatic skills and turns may also be incorporated into the routine. The floor event can is performed on a carpeted 12 meter by 12 meter spring floor. The gymnast must include three to four tumbling passes that contain three or more tricks.

Women's Olympic Gymnastics

One of the events that occurs in women’s Olympic gymnastics is the balance beam. On the balance beam, the female gymnast performs a choreographed routine set to music that is sixty to eighty seconds in length. The choreographed routine can consist of leaps, turns, acrobatic skills, and dance elements. The routine is performed on a padded spring beam. Standards for the spring apparatus as set by the International Gymnastics Federation state that the spring beam must be 125 centimeters tall, 500 centimeters long, and 10 centimeters wide. Skills necessary for this event are flexibility, balance and strength.

Judging for women’s gymnastics Olympic events is done on a 10 scale. As the scores get higher, decisions often come down to the decimal level, with factors such as combinations and skill level becoming the most important.