Gymnastics Events
Women compete in four events in artistic gymnastics and men compete in six. The women compete in bars, beam, floor, and vault and the men compete in parallel bars, high bar, pommel horse, vault, floor, and still rings. Both the men and the women compete in vault and floor. Men do much more difficult vaults than the women and women are not allowed to do roll-outs on floor while the men are. A roll-out is when a gymnast is doing a tumbling pass but instead of landing on their feet, they roll out of it. Also, women compete to music on floor while the men don’t and men are required to do a strength skill on floor while the women aren’t. A strength skill is like something you would see the do on the pommel horse or a handstand hold with their arms farther apart which is very difficult.
Women’s vault was first used for Roman soldiers to learn how to mount and dismount horses quickly.. They were set horizontally for women and vertical for men. The runway is about 80 feet long. The vaulting table is about 4 feet long and 3 feet wide. Vault is the shortest event but certainly not the easiest. Can you imagine getting a bunch of power from a really fast run then completely stopping and trying not to take any steps? It’s incredible!
One of the bars for women’s uneven bars is about 7.5 feet high and the other is about 5 feet high. Most gymnasts wear grips that help them hold on to the bar. Grips also protects gymnasts’ hands from getting blisters and rips but some gymnasts do not wear grips. A bar routine is shorter than beam or floor but longer than vault.
Women’s balance beam is the most challenging event according to most gymnasts because the beam is about 4 feet tall and only 4 inches wide. A beam routine lasts about 70 to 90 seconds. To be good at beam, a gymnast must be very balanced and poised. Some gymnasts take ballet to improve their balance and to become more poised.
Women’s floor exercise is set to music that matches the personality of the gymnast performing. Dance moves in the routine go along with the chosen music. A floor routine lasts about 70 to 90 seconds.
