Team : Men/Women

Individual all-around : Men/Women

Individual apparatus finals :
Men(Floor exercise, Pommel horse, Rings, Vault, Parallel bars, Horizontal bar)
Women(Vault, Uneven bars, Balance beam, Floor exercise)

< Men’s artistic gymnastics >

 

▶ Floor exercise

The floor exercise takes place on a 12 m x 12 m spring floor upon which gymnasts demonstrate strength, balance and flexibility through acrobatic elements and handstands in a harmonious rhythmic exercise that utilizes the entire floor area and lasts up to 70 seconds.

Higher scores are attained by successfully executing a series of difficult acrobatic skills with higher values while minimizing deductions.

Gymnasts must take particular care in minimizing line deductions, as 0.1 point is deducted for stepping outside of the lines with one hand or foot, 0.5 point is taken off for landing outside the boundary, and the gymnast receives no points for difficulty when starting a pass from outside the lines.

 

▶ Pommel horse

Pommel horses stand 105 cm high, 160 cm long and 35 cm wide and have two pommels placed on the top of the horse. The gymnast performs single leg and double leg skills in multiple variations of swings and circles on all parts of the apparatus.

All elements must be executed with swing, and the gymnast should not pause or stop at any time on the apparatus – i.e. strength and hold elements should not be part of the pommel horse routine.

Scores are higher when the gymnast accurately performs may high-difficulty skills in a rhythmic manner with good form where the body is kept straight during the entire routine.

 

▶ Rings

Routines on rings are performed on two rings with an inner diameter of 18 cm that are attached to cables that are 550 cm in length, and consist of swing, strength and hold elements in roughly equal portions, which gymnasts execute in a hang position through to either a support position or the handstand position while mostly keeping their arms straight.

In contemporary gymnastics, transitions between swing and strength elements are particularly important. The cables should not be swung or crossed during the exercise.

Higher scores can be attained when gymnasts earn higher connection points for consecutively performing higher difficulty (D or higher) strength elements that are assigned higher point values, and deductions should be minimized by maintaining accurate body positions for at least two seconds for strength and hold elements.

 

▶ Vault

Vaults are performed on vaulting tables that are 120 cm long, 95 cm wide and 135 cm high. Gymnasts run down a runway to take off from both feet onto the springboard (or to round-off onto the springboard) and then use one or both hands to push off the vaulting table and perform single or multiple turns around either axis of the body before landing on the other side of the table.

Gymnasts must start their run at a distance no farther than 25 m from the vaulting table, and each vault is given a unique difficulty value that ranges from 4.5 to 7.0 points.

Except in vault finals and in qualification for vault finals when the gymnast must show vaults from different vault groups or different flight phases, gymnasts must perform only one vault.

Higher scores are given for higher value vaults, where the final score is impacted by the height attained in flight and the accuracy of the landing which should happen safely inside the 1 m x 1.5 m landing area.

 

▶ Parallel bars

Parallel bars consist of two bars running parallel at the same height that are 180 cm high and 350 cm long with an egg-shaped cross section that has a diameter of 5 cm. Contemporary parallel bar exercises consist of swing and flight elements chosen from all available element groups.

The full potential of the apparatus must be reflected in the exercise by performing continuous transitions through various hang and support positions. Higher scores can be attained by attempting higher value high-difficulty elements, while deductions for low clearance, over- or under-rotation and stepping or hand adjustments in handstand positions should be minimized.

 

▶ Horizontal bar

The horizontal bar stands at a height of 260 cm and consists of a bar that is 2.8 cm in diameter. The exercise must consist mostly of swings without stops or pauses, where contemporary horizontal bar exercises will consist of dynamic presentations in which swings, turns and flight elements are fluidly connected. A variety of hand grips will be used to perform such elements both near to and far from the bar so as to utilize the apparatus to its fullest potential.

Scores will be higher for higher value high-difficulty elements, while connection points will be granted for direct transitions from on bar to flight elements or from flight elements directly into another flight element. Spectacular aerial releases and dynamic giant swings should also be part of the execution.

 

 

< Women’s artistic gymnastics >

 

▶ Vault

The vault is performed on a vaulting table that is 125 cm high. Gymnasts take off from the springboard with two feet and then perform the vault after pushing off the vaulting table with both hands. Not more than one element is allowed before take-off from the board.

Unlike in other events, rules on scoring assign start values for vaults that range from 2.40 to 7.10, and gymnasts choose their vault and flash their intended vault number to the judges before executing their vault. In the team final and all-around competitions, one vault must be performed, while gymnasts who wish to qualify for the apparatus final must perform two vaults with different second flight stages.

The average score of both vaults is taken as the final score in the apparatus final.

Higher scores can be attained by attempting difficult vaults with higher values, while vaults should be performed in a dynamic manner with accurate turns and flips.

Scores are also influenced by the accuracy of the landing within the landing zone.

 

▶ Uneven bars

The uneven bars consist of one bar at a height of 250 cm and another parallel bar at 170 cm, upon which gymnasts execute handstands and swings without pauses and travel between the two bars with flight, turn and swing elements.

Higher scores can be attained through the accurate execution of and connection of difficult elements.

Recent trends emphasize rhythm and connections, along with the introduction of skills used in men’s horizontal bar exercises. Difficult skills with higher values should be attempted in order to attain higher scores, while deductions for low clearance, over- or under-rotation and stepping or hand adjustments in handstand positions should be minimized.

 

▶ Balance beam

Balance beam exercises are performed on a beam that is 125 cm high, 500 cm long and 10 cm wide. Exercises must not exceed 90 seconds in length, and a deduction of 0.1 point is taken if the exercise is longer than 90 seconds, while 0.3 point is deducted after two seconds. Exercises that are shorter than 30 seconds receive a 0.5 point deduction.

Flight elements, turns, jumps and movements close to the beam are executed in all directions of the balance beam, where the execution of elements with higher point values will lead to a better score.

The rhythm and tempo must sometimes be lively and sometimes be slow in a mostly dynamic and fluid performance.

 

▶ Floor exercise

Floor exercises are performed on 12 m x 12 m spring floors within a time limit of 90 seconds. Women’s floor exercises are performed to music that does not have any lyrics and consist of flight elements, dance elements, turns and jumps.

As an event that enables gymnasts to express beauty through their performance, the exercise should fully utilize the floor area by introducing changes in the direction of movement, incorporate dynamic change in tempo in accordance with the music, and harmoniously correlate the music and the movements.

Higher scores can be attained by connecting high-difficulty acrobatic elements and by minimizing any deductions on the execution.

Gymnasts must take particular care in minimizing line deductions, as 0.1 point is deducted for stepping outside of the lines with one hand or foot, 0.5 point is taken off for landing outside the boundary, and the gymnast receives no points for difficulty when starting a pass from outside the lines.

 

 

※ Order of events

Men: Floor exercise à pommel horse à rings à vault à parallel bars à horizontal bar

Women: Vault à uneven bars à balance beam à floor exercise

The graceful strength and skills displayed by Olympic gymnasts have excited spectators ever since the sport was practiced at the ancient Olympic Games in Greece, back when people would go to ‘gymnasiums’ to strengthen their bodies and minds and participate in cultural activities involving philosophy and music.

The term ‘artistic gymnastics’ emerged in the early 1800s to distinguish free-style gymnastics from techniques used in military training. Gymnastics competitions started to flourish in European schools and athletics clubs, where club swinging, rock lifting and even swimming appeared in 1922 as early gymnastics events. The modern form of gymnastics that we recognize today developed between 1986 and 1924.

Stadium 

– New Construction Sports Complex

 

Training 

– Gwangju Physical Education High School Gymnasium