Why Gymnastics

Partners in activity and development

Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) is a movement to improve the quality of sport and physical activity in Canada. CS4L links sport, education, recreation and health and aligns community, provincial and national programming.

The seven stage Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model features a training, competition and recovery pathway guiding an individual’s experience in sport and physical activity from infancy through all phases of adulthood. CS4L, with LTAD, represents a paradigm shift in the way Canadians lead and deliver sport and physical activity in Canada (CS4L).

Active for Life is the place where parents go to learn about activities for kids. Physical education leads to physical literacy, which is critical for child development. Physical literacy also gives active kids the best chance to someday compete in high-performance sport.

Kids activities are organized here by age and gender, so parents can find fun and engaging ways of making sure their children get the recommended daily amount of physical activity. Activities for toddlers are aimed at the development of fundamental movement skills, while activities for children build on the fundamentals to establish more complex sport skills that can be used to play any number of sports and activities.

Exercises for kids enhance their physical development. In the early stages of child growth, early childhood development is dependent on appropriate exercises for children. Because kids play is good for kids health.

Gymnastics BC is now part of the ParticiPaction Network! Visit their website to find more information on tips to help you get moving as well as the latest news and research about physical activity.

Vault

The vault features a runway, a springboard, the vault table and the landing area. The vault table is about four feet tall. Competitors sprint to the springboard, launch off of it, push off the vault table and perform various aerial maneuvers. Judging is based on form, body alignment, repulsion, height, distance and the number and difficulty of the twists and saltos. The more elaborate the body movement, the higher the difficulty value is for the vault. As in other events, gymnasts want to “stick” their landing and avoid taking extra steps. Shannon Miller, a seven-time Olympic medalist, summed up her mental approach to the vault in an interview with Gymnastike: “Power down the runway, stick the landing, that’s all you have to do.”

Floor Exercise

Competitors in the floor exercise choreograph their routines to music. A good floor exercise blends dance elements and tumbling. “The gymnastics elements should flow freely into each other while the leaps cover impressive distances and the pirouettes and turns add excitement to the routine,” says the USA Gymnastics website. “There are several special requirements, such as leaps and turns, and the trend is to have four tumbling passes.”

Balance Beam

The balance beam stands about four feet off the ground in this women’s event. The beam is just four inches wide. Gymnasts must execute a variety of difficult maneuvers as if they were performing on the floor. While beginners may be tentative on the beam, world-class gymnasts confidently attack it with their routines. “I was intimidated by everything, except being on the balance beam,” Miller told the Celebrity Baby Scoop website. “Sometimes, you have to almost trick yourself into being self confident. I learned to fake confidence once I walked onto the floor mat in a competition and realized later that I actually felt more confident.”

Uneven Bars

The low bar is set about 5.4 feet off the ground for this women’s event. The high bar is about eight feet high. The bars are approximately six feet apart. USA Gymnastics explains that “the entire routine should flow from one movement to the next without pauses, extra swings or additional supports. The most daring parts of the routine are often in the high-flying release moves and dismounts. Release moves can go from low bar to high bar, from high bar to low bar, or from releasing one bar and regrasping the same bar.”

Pommel Horse

This apparatus stands about 3.8 feet high for this men’s event. It demands tremendous strength, as USA Gymnastics explains: “Pommel horse routines consist of continuous circular movements interrupted only by the required scissors elements. Swinging through a handstand position, with or without turns, is allowed. The hands are the only part of the body that should touch the apparatus and the entire exercise should flow with steady, controlled rhythm.”

Parallel Bars

The parallel bars are about 6.4 feet high. Gymnasts must execute a variety of swings in a successful parallel bars routine. “The most difficult skills require the gymnast to lose sight of the bars for a moment, such as a double front or back salto,” explains USA Gymnastics. This men’s event is physically demanding; Olympic medalist Paul Hamm broke his hand performing it. “It’s just something you can’t ever totally avoid,” he told Inside Gymnastics Magazine. “You’re putting yourself out there and, in those situations, you can be injured. It’s something that can happen at any moment. I’ve seen it happen. I’ve seen it happen to me.”

Still Rings

The still rings hang from a tower that’s about 19 feet tall. The rings hang on cables that are nearly 10 feet long. The cables are slightly less than 20 inches apart. This men’s event demands tremendous strength, since competitors must keep the rings still and under control as they finish maneuvers. To get top scores, gymnasts must keep their bodies straight and their arms strong, with no shaking.

Horizontal Bar

The horizontal bar stands about nine feet tall for this men’s event. It is known for its high-flying dismounts that allow a very small margin of error. “Release moves are performed 12 to 15 feet over the bar, which requires a fearless and aggressive effort,” notes USA Gymnastics. Gymnasts “must maintain form throughout the release move and while catching the bar, which is usually a matter of just inches. The world’s best will have several release moves, no execution errors and a big dismount with a perfect, stuck landing.”