Artistic Gymnastics

The cornerstone of the gymnastics movement was laid by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (1778-1852), who is still known today as "Turnvater Jahn". The ideas of the "German art of gymnastics" demonstrated by Jahn and his gymnasts on the gymnastics ground in Hasenheide have remained valid in gymnastics to this day, as have many designations of Jahn's gymnastics language. Many followed his example, gymnastics clubs were founded and finally the German Gymnastics Association. Gymnastics eventually developed into apparatus gymnastics as a world sport.

In apparatus gymnastics, special gymnastics elements are combined into exercises on gymnastics apparatus. The apparatus used in a competition are (listed here in Olympic order) floor, pommel horse, rings, vaulting table, parallel bars, high bar (for men) and vaulting table, uneven bars, balance beam and floor (for women). The exercises performed on gymnastics equipment must also be completed in combination according to specified criteria (technique and posture).

In competitive and high-performance sports there are team competitions, individual all-around competitions and competitions on each individual device. At the Olympic Games and at the World and European Championships, titles and medals are awarded in a total of 14 disciplines.

In apparatus gymnastics there are compulsory and freestyle competitions.

Duty
In the compulsory exercise, the gymnast must show a specified sequence of elements (so-called P-exercises). The P exercises are divided into an A variant for mass sport and a B variant for competitive youngsters. In the P-exercises variant A, exercises of difficulty levels P1 to P9 are offered on all devices (except rings no P1 and P2), whereby the initial value is made up of A and B grades (number of the exercise plus 10 points, P7a = 17 points).

Freestyle
In addition to the compulsory spa exercises are gymnastics. These exercises are put together by the gymnasts according to specific requirements. The initial value of the exercise is made up of A and B grades, with the A grade evaluating the difficulty of the exercise and the B grade evaluating the execution.

The gymnastics equipment listed in detail in the men's competition according to Olympic order:

floor exercise
In floor exercises, a combination of acrobatic rows (turnovers and somersaults), connecting parts and gymnastic elements must be performed in a harmonious rhythm as an alternation of fast and slow passages. A floor routine may last between 50 and 70 seconds.

The competition area is 12 x 12 m and consists of a slightly springy substructure with deck runners lying on it. During the freestyle, the entire area must be actuated.

pommel horse (also pommel horse)
The pommel horse gymnastics device is the discipline in classical men's apparatus gymnastics. The horse's body is 160 cm long, 115 cm high and 35 cm wide and has two handles (pommels). During the free skate, the gymnast must perform all three pieces of apparatus (middle, both ends). The exercise should be done with continuous circular movements of both legs, which are only interrupted by the required scissors elements as a transition between the circular movements and the pendulum.

Rings
Ring gymnastics is exclusively a discipline in men's apparatus gymnastics. The rings are rotatably attached to a 5.75 m high frame and hang on wire ropes at a distance of 50 cm. The wooden rings have an inner diameter of 18 cm and a thickness of 28 mm. The exercises on the rings should consist of a balanced ratio of swing and holding parts. At least two handstands (one from the forward swing, one from the back swing) must be included.

jump
The jump, until 2001 on the jumping horse, is now performed on the vaulting table.The vaulting table is 95cm wide and 120cm long. The height for men is 135 cm and for women 125 cm.

The task is, after jumping from a springboard with a maximum run-up of 25 m, to cross the table in certain given shapes. The impression of the device must be made with both hands.

The women are allowed to present their jump twice in the all-around, of which only the better rated jump is included in the all-around evaluation. The men only have one try in the all-around. In the respective apparatus finals, both women and men have to show two jumps from different jump groups (e.g. rollovers or wheel turns), the scores of which are then averaged.

ingots
Only men do gymnastics on parallel bars. The two parallel bars are 3.50 m long and 1.95 m high. The exercises are dominated by swing and flight elements. You may not stop more than three times during the exercises.

high bar
The horizontal bar is a 2.40 m long horizontal bar with a diameter of 2.9 cm. In competitions, the height is 2.55 m from the top edge of the mat. The stretching bar that is common today is held with tensioning ropes, which makes it elastic. It belongs to men's gymnastics equipment. It has been Olympic since 1896. Typical exercises on the horizontal bar are rim swings, giant rims or counter straddle.

For female competitions, the following four apparatuses are common according to Olympic order:

jump see men

uneven bars
Around 1934 the uneven bars were developed for women's gymnastics. In contrast to parallel bars, the bars on uneven bars are of different heights. The artistic gymnastics apparatus has a height of 166 cm for the lower and 246 cm for the higher of the two bars, measured from the ground including 20 cm mats. Uneven bars have been an Olympic discipline since the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.

balance beam
The balance beam is a wooden beam 5 m long and 10 cm wide, which is on supports up to 1.2 m above the ground. Balance beam gymnastics has been an Olympic discipline since 1936. On the balance beam, creative ability in the gymnastics performance and at the same time balance exercises (body control) are required. Typical gymnastics exercises on the balance beam are jumps, holds, flips forwards and backwards and turns. In particular, flick-flack, somersaults forwards and backwards, roundabouts and handstand turns are part of the repertoire of modern exercises on the balance beam.

floor exercise see men