#olympics2016

Court Dimensions

They perform routines in 12 x 12 meter areas, accompanied by music (recorded or played by musician(s)).

Equipment

Hoop

A hoop may be made of plastic or wood, provided that it retains its shape during the routine. The hoop is chosen based on the gymnast's size and should not extend beyond the hip bone when placed standing up on the floor. The interior diameter is from 51 to 90 cm and the hoop must weigh a minimum of 300g. Children and hope divisions, a minimum of 225 grams.

The hoop may be of natural color or be partially or fully covered by one or several colors, and it may be covered with adhesive tape either of the same or different color as the hoop. Fundamental requirements of a hoop routine include rotation around the hand or body and rolling, as well as swings, circles, throws, and passes through and over the hoop.

Ball

It is made of either rubber or synthetic material (pliable plastic) provided it possesses the same elasticity as rubber. Senior and junior gymnasts is 18 to 20 cm in diameter and must have a minimum weight of 400g. The ball can be of any color. The ball should rest in the gymnast's hand and not rest against the wrist or be able to be grasped. Fundamental elements of a ball routine include throwing, bouncing or rolling. The gymnast must use both hands and work on the whole floor area whilst showing continuous flowing movement. The ball is to emphasize the gymnasts flowing lines and body difficulty. Before 2013, flexibility and waves were the Compulsory Body Movement Groups (dominant in the exercise).

Clubs

Senior and junior clubs must weight a minimum of 150 grams per club. Children's and hope age division's minimum weight should be 75 grams per club. Multi-piece clubs are the most popular clubs. The club is built along an internal rod, providing a base on which a handle made of polyolefin plastic is wrapped, providing an airspace between it and the internal rod. This airspace provides flex and cushioning impact, making the club softer on the hands. Foam ends and knobs further cushion the club. Multi-piece clubs are made in both a thin European style or larger bodied American style and in various lengths, generally ranging from 19 to 21 inches (480 to 530 millimetres). The handles and bodies are typically wrapped with decorative plastics and tapes. Clubs are thrown from alternate hands; each passes underneath the other clubs and is caught in the opposite hand to the one from which it was thrown. At its simplest, each club rotates once per throw, the handle moving down and away from the throwing hand at first. However, double and triple spins are frequently performed, allowing the club to be thrown higher for more advanced patterns and to allow tricks such as 360s (channes) to be performed underneath. Before 2013, balances were the Compulsory Body Movement Groups (dominant in the exercise).

Ribbon

It is made of satin or another similar material cloth of any color; it may be multi-colored and have designs on it. The ribbon itself must be at least 35 g (1.2 oz), 4–6 cm (1.6–2.4") in width and have a minimum length of 6m (20') for seniors and 5m (16.25') for juniors. The ribbon must be in one piece. The end that is attached to the stick is doubled for a maximum length of 1m (3'). This is stitched down both sides. At the top, a very thin reinforcement or rows of machine stitching for a maximum length of 5 cm is authorized. This extremity may end in a strap, or have an eyelet (a small hole, edged with a buttonhole stitch or metal circle), to permit attaching the ribbon. The ribbon is fixed to the stick by means of a supple attachment such as thread, nylon cord, or a series of articulated rings. The attachment has a maximum length of 7 cm (2.8"), not counting the strap or metal ring at the end of the stick where it will be fastened. Compulsory elements for the ribbon include flicks, circles, snakes and spirals, and throws. It requires a high degree of co-ordination to form the spirals and circles as any knots which may accidentally form in the ribbon are penalized. During a ribbon routine, large, smooth and flowing movements are looked for. The ribbon may not stop moving or else points are taken off. Before 2013, pivots were the Compulsory Body Movement Groups (dominant in the exercise).

Basic Skills

Rhythmic gymnastics routines also combines’ ballet, body skills and creative movements with music, while working with ribbons, balls, hoops, ropes and clubs in a choreographed dance-and-tumble routine. 

Rules of the Game

Current Code of Points

In the current Code of Points (2017–2020), the final score of a routine is the sum of the difficulty score and execution score. Penalties incurred will also be deducted from the final score. The difficulty score is open-ended with no maximum score, while the execution score has a starting value of 10 points. There are also penalties, which are realized by subtracting points from the final note for certain specified mistakes made by the gymnast.

Difficulty 

consists of body difficulties (jumps, balances and rotations), dynamic elements with rotation (commonly known as risks) and dance step combinations (for individuals gymnasts and groups), and apparatus difficulties (only for individuals gymnasts) and exchange and collaborations (only for groups). The difficulty score is evaluated during the routine without a pre-made difficulty sheet, unlike with previous Codes. Each difficulty component has an assigned value, which accumulate throughout the routine, resulting in the final difficulty score.

Execution 

is the degree to which the gymnast performs with aesthetic and technical perfection. The execution score is composed of artistic faults and technical faults. In the first, the unity and character of the composition, harmony with the music, body expression and the variety in the use of space and apparatus elements, among others are valued; on the other hand, the technical handling of the apparatus (like catching the ball with one hand and not two, not losing the apparatus, etc.) and technical aspects of body movements (like touching the head with the foot during a ring form, not falling, etc.) are valued. Errors regarding the perfect model of conduct accumulate and are assigned specific penalty values, which ultimately are subtracted from the starting value (an execution score of 10 represents a perfect execution equal to the model, without any error).

Penalties 

are taken by the time, line, and coordinator judges. Possible penalties include:

The gymnast leaving the floor area

The apparatus leaving the floor area

The exercise being longer or shorter than the acceptable length of time (1'15" to 1'30" is the required length for individual, and 2'15" to 2'30" is the required length for group)

Failure to end the exercise at the exact moment the accompanying music ends

Music not conforming to the regulations

Dress of the gymnast not conforming to the regulations

Communication with the coach during the execution of the exercise

Verbal communication between group gymnasts during the exercise

Grabbing a new apparatus from the side of the floor

Musical introduction without movement longer than 4 seconds

Failure to have working .mp3 file/cd or low/bad quality of file/cd can result in penalty.

Officiating the Sport

Meet Referee

A person to whom reference is made, especially for an opinion, information, or a decision. the umpire or judge in any of various sports, especially football and boxing, responsible for ensuring fair play according to the rules. a person who is willing to testify to the character or capabilities of someone.

Head Judge

Ensure that the competitions are run safely and fairly.

Timers

Keeps track of the time elapsed by the performers.

Technical and Tactical Skills

Handstand

The handstand is arguably the single most important skill and position in the sport of gymnastics. It’s the building block for essential skills on each of the four events. Being able to do a perfect handstand is one skill you should learn to master. The handstand is used in most tumbling skills — walkovers and handsprings.

Cast

Casting is the most basic bar element, and learning how to cast well early on will help you learn so many other skills. Body position in the cast is a hollow body shape. The hollow body shape is similar to the shape you have in a perfect handstand other than the fact that your back is slightly rounded with your stomach pulled towards your spine. You will eventually be casting to handstand, so the higher you can cast with a nice tight body position the better. You want your legs to be together and straight, your stomach pulled in, your back rounded and your eyes looking at the bar.

Splits

Mastering your side and middle splits will help you execute other skills that use that same shape as well. And your splits are easy to practice at home. The split “shape” is everywhere in gymnastics — split leaps, jumps, switch leaps, in the middle of back walkovers, etc. The better you can do your splits on the ground, the better you will be able to do them in the middle of a skill. You should be able to do a split on your left leg, your right leg and a middle split with your legs straight and all the way to the ground.

Handspring on Vault

The handspring on vault is the basic skill that all upper level vaults are based off of. It will be hard to succeed at Yurchenkos or twisting vaults if you haven’t figured out the mechanics of the handspring vault. To do a great handspring on vault you need to run fast, jump hard “punch” off the spring board, fly through the air and hit a perfect handstand on top of the vault table, block using your shoulders off the top of the vault and land on your feet.

Back Handspring

A back handspring is an important gymnastics skill to master because it is the basic skill used in back tumbling on floor and beam. It will be hard for you to connect upper level skills (like layouts, full-twists, back tucks and double backs) to a roundoff back handspring if you can’t do a proper back handspring. The roundoff and the back handspring are both crucial for providing power to whatever comes after it.

 Round-off

A roundoff is just as important as a back handspring to master for tumbling on floor. The roundoff gives power just like the back handspring does to the tumbling pass.

Turn on 1 Foot

The turn on 1 foot is a skill that doesn’t go away. It is required in every floor and beam routine gymnastics levels 4-10. So you might as well master this basic gymnastics skill right away.

Split Leap

The split leap is another skill that is required in every floor and beam routine levels 4-10. To have a perfect split leap you want to be able to do your perfect split position in the air as high as you can off the ground. You also want your split to be even — both legs should be the same distance from the ground.

Analysis

The Russian duo of Kudryavtseva and Mamun entered the final as the two favorites for the gold, and they both got their routines off to a good start. Mamun scored 19.050 on the hoops, and her compatriot did even better, opting for a slightly higher difficulty to take the lead.

Melitina Staniouta of Belarus came closest to the two favourites with a solid routine and an 18.200 score until Rizatdinova got her turn. She too managed an 18.200, as her execution was far from perfect.

Mamun was expected to dominate the ball routine and opted for a high difficulty, a 9.650, but her execution wasn't as perfect as we've grown accustomed to. Her final score of 19.150 left her in second place, as Kudryavtseva put together a stunning routine for a score of 19.250.

Mamun rounded off her performance with a 19.233 in the ribbon apparatus, all but guaranteeing the gold medal with a final score of 76.483. Kudryavtseva salvaged silver with a 19.250, and Rizatdinova grabbed bronze with a score of 18.843.

Video Link: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaxT2vguGXQ

References:

Elements Gymnastics Academy. (n.d.). Rhythmic. Retrieved from egagymnastics: http://egagymnastics.co.uk/rhythmic/

GymnasticsHQ. (2013, April 7). 9 BASIC GYMNASTICS SKILLS YOU SHOULD MASTER. Retrieved from GymnasticsHQ.com: https://gymnasticshq.com/9-basic-gymnastics-skills-you-should-master/