Men's Artistic Gymnastics

HISTORY

Origin of Artistic Gymnastics
Gymnastics is one of the oldest Olympic sports, and was first practised at the ancient Olympic Games when the competitors performed a variety of events that could loosely be termed "gymnastics". These included wrestling and vaulting over bulls, according to illustrations seen on ancient clay pots. In fact, the name "gymnastics" is derived from the ancient Greek word "gumnos" which literally translated means naked. Because of this, women were excluded from the ancient Games, not just as competitors but also as spectators !
The sport in its modern form first evolved during the 19th century, when two styles of gymnastics were in conflict : the Swedish system (mainly freestyle group exercises) and the German system (using apparatus).
Large open air gymnasiums began to appear in Europe during the 19th century, resembling adventure playgrounds where gentlemen could impress their lady friends with a spot of rope-climbing. It was regarded as a great form of discipline by the army, and many military terms still exist today, such as "marching on" ans "saluting the judges". The international governing body for gymnastics, the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) was founded in 1881. There are currently 125 federations affiliated to the FIG.

Artistic Gymnastics Today
One of the most popular sports in the Olympic programme, gymnastics is also one of the most demanding. Widely practised around the world, it requires a unique combination of strength, flexibility, stamina, daring and artistry.

Artistic Gymnastics at the Olympic Games
Gymnastics has been a part of every Olympic Games, with women first competing in 1928 (large groups of women competed in 1908 ans 1912). In the early Olympiads of the modern era through 1948, the sport developed and broadened. Competitions were often held outdoors and apparatus had not yet been regulated. Indeed many federations had to bring their own springboards, pommel horses and so on !
Many disciplines no longer exist today, such as rope climbing, club swinging, group parallel bar exercises for men and, for women, team drill exercises with and without hand apparatus, exercises on the even parallel, bars, side horse, spring board vaulting / jumping and flying rings.
The team drill ensemble with hand apparatus, such as clubs, ribbons, balls and hoops, that were part of the women’s artistic gymnastic program through the 1956 Olympic Games, has since evolved separately into the current sport of Rhythmic Gymnastics. Today, mass team drills with and without hand apparatus, are to be seen in the FIG World Gymnaestrada event and "gymnastics for all" programs.
In 1936 the individual apparatus events for men consisted of free exercises (forerunner of "floor"), rings side (pommel) horse, parallel bars, horizontal bars and long horse, a similar apparatus program as compared to today. The women in 1936 competed individually, earning team points, showing both a compulsory and optional exercise on parallel bars, balance beam, side horse vault, as well as in 2 optional team drills – one free hand and one with hand apparatus. In 1948 the women even competed in a compulsory exercise on the rings !
The 1952 Olympics were the first in which the women were allowed to compete as individuals in the 4 apparatus program – vault, uneven bars, beam and floor.

COMPETITION

Competition Format
In Artistic Gymnastics, men and women compete separately with men competing on 6 apparatus: floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar. Women compete on 4 apparatus: vault, uneven bars, beam and floor.

There are four competition phases in the event:
· Qualifications: gymnasts compete as teams or individuals, the results determine the fields for the finals.
· Team finals: the top 8 teams from the qualifications compete for team medals.
· All-Around Finals: the top 32 gymnasts from the qualification compete on all apparatus for all-around medals.
- Apparatus Finals: the top 8 gymnasts on each apparatus from the qualification compete for apparatus medals.

Differences Between World Championships and Olympic Games
There is a restriction on entry for the Olympic Games. Only twelve teams plus a designated number of nations with individuals who qualified at the World Championships the previous year can participate.
At the World Championships, all FIG member federations are entitled to send either a team or individual gymnasts. At the Olympic Games, there are no reserve gymnasts; a pre-designated number of participants (98 men – 98 women) which greatly facilitates the organisation.
In short, the Olympic Games has fewer competitors than World Championships.

Rules for Competition
All gymnasts compete in the Qualification competition as part of a team or as individuals. The results of this competition are used to qualify gymnasts for the finals.
The Team Final is made up of the top 8 male and female teams (OG = 6) based on the results of the qualification round, who compete again on all apparatus. The team with the highest combined score claims the Team title.
The 24 men and 24 women with the highest All-Around qualification results (total score of all apparatus) limited to a maximum of 2 per national federation, participate in the All-Around Finals. The All-Around is considered by some to be the premium event in Artistic Gymnastics.
Finally, the top 8 individual gymnasts who placed highest on each apparatus in the qualification round compete for the apparatus titles, with a maximum of 2 gymnasts per national federation.
Artistic Gymnastics is a sport which is being judged, with a “Chair” (head judge) and a panel of 8 judges presiding on each apparatus. The 8 judges are split into two panels. The “A” panel (2 judges) calculates the “Start Value” which is the maximum score a gymnast can obtain based on the contents of the routine (difficulty) he/she just performed. The “B” panel (6 judges) determines the deductions based on the execution of the routine.

Tie-break Rules and Procedures
Tie-break rules exist to determine which individual gymnasts or teams advance to the finals in the case of ties for the last qualification place. If ties cannot be broken, larger Final fields are possible. New tie breaking rules have been formulated to reduce the incidence of ties for apparatus medals.

Penalties and Disqualification
Penalties can be imposed on either an individual gymnast or on a team as a whole depending on the infringement. Individual penalties can include, for example, going out of bounds on floor or exceeding a time limit for a routine. These types of penalties are deducted from the gymnasts score for the apparatus.
More general penalties would include wearing incorrect attire and would be deducted from the gymnast’s All-Around total score for the day or from the apparatus score, where first noticed, for gymnasts not competing in the All-Around.

Protests
A written application to the Superior (Competition) Jury through the Delegation Leader is permitted in cases of unforeseen or rare circumstances.

APPARATUS

FLOOR (FX)
The floor measures 12 x 12 metres, with an additional safety border of 1 metre. The performance area must have a surface elasticity to allow for power during take-offs and softness for landing. The cover material must not cause skin burns.
The gymnast’s floor exercise should include movements which demonstrate strength, flexibility and balance. Each routine must combine movements such as somersaults, twists and leaps. The whole floor area should be used and the routine should have a personal touch of expression and execution. The maximum time is 70 seconds.

POMMEL HORSE (PH)
Height: 1.15 meters. Length at the top: 1.60 m. Witdh 35 cm. Distance between pommels: 40 to 45 cm. Pommels are 12 cm high.
The pommel horse routine should be a smooth continuous chain of circular and pendulum type swings, double leg circles, scissor movements and undercuts using all parts of the horse.

(STILL) RINGS (SR)
Height: 2.80 m from the floor. They are 50 cm from each others and have 18 cm diameter.
Ring routines should include a variety of movements demonstrating strength, support and balance. The gymnast should perform a series of swings and holds with both forward and backward elements and the routine should finish with an acrobatic dismount.

VAULT (VT)
Vaulting Table: 1.35 meter high. 1;20 m long. 0.95 m wide. Approach run of 25 metres.
Each vault has a value according to its difficulty. The vault should demonstrate clean and powerful movements combining height and length with one or more rotations and finish in a controlled landing. Marks are also awarded for the control of the body and the landing position.

PARALLEL BARS (PB)
Height: 2 m from the floor. 3.5 m long. 42 to 52 cm from each others.
Like the rings, the parallel bars require a combination of swinging movements with strength or hold elements. The gymnasts should travel along and work both above and below the bars. The exercise should be predominantly swinging.

HORIZONTAL (HIGH) BAR (HB)
Height: 2,8 m from the floor. 2.4 m long. 28 mm diameter.
The gymnast should perform continuous clean swinging movements and must not touch the bar with his body. He is required to demonstrate changes of grip, swinging movements both forward and backward, plus release and regrasp of the bar. Dismounts are an important part of the total routine and are usually acrobatic and spectacular.

(N.B. The height of all the apparatus are measured from the floor. The measurment includes the 20 cm of basic landing mats.)

From the Federation of International Gymnastics.