Gymnastics

Uploaded by SMA on Feb 12, 2007

Gymnastics


These days sports are a big part of our lives. Although many sports are given more attention then others such as hockey, basketball, and soccer. These sports are usually shown on TV and can be played indoors and outdoors. One of the sports that we hardly ever hear or view is Gymnastics. Many people do not even consider gymnastics a sport. Gymnastics is the oldest sport and was first played in the Olympics. Even though people know about gymnastics, it isn’t as popular as it used to be when it first arrived. Gymnastics has been part of the games since ancient times. Ancient Romans used gymnastics as part of their military training. In the following paragraphs, I will be explaining the history and famous people, the types of competitions and the scoring and judging of gymnastics.

Firstly, gymnastics is the oldest sport has been around for over 2 thousands years. This sport was first introduced for military training and later on recognized as a sport. It is one of the oldest games to be part of the Olympics. The sport traces its origin from Greece, to Roman ceremonies and to today’s modern days. It was introduced to the United States in the mid 1800’s. In 1896 gymnastics came into the Olympics. The sport we all know and loved was in its first scale debut. The World Championship gymnastics emerged in the early 1900s, and it is still held to this very day. In gymnastics there are many people who accomplish above the line. Such as Mary Lou Retton, the first women to gain a gymnastic Gold medal in all of United States. Another, famous gymnast is Larissa Semyonovna Latynina, the first woman to win more Olympic tittles then any sport.

Secondly, there are five disciplines in Gymnastics. These disciplines are women's pair, men's pair, mixed pair, women's trio, and men's four. Each pair or group performs routines that include tumbling skills, partner balances, and tempo skills. Balance skills highlight the gymnast’s strength and flexibility through pyramids and static positions of the top. Tempo skills involve somersaulting and twisting with landings on the floor or catches by a bottom partner. Gymnastics events are separated in to two groups, men’s and woman’s gymnastics. In the men’s gymnastics, the event includes floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel...