History of Gymnastics and Tumbling

Gymnastics, that fine art of flipping, jumping and cavorting across mats and through the air, is rooted in antiquity. The lineage of tumbling and gymnastics can be traced as a spectator and participant event all the way back to the ancient Olympics, although organized events among Asian cultures are said to have taken place long before then. Our modern Olympic version only began to take shape in more recent times.

  1. History

    • Competitive gymnastics received a boost as a U.S. sport in the mid- 1830s, thanks largely to foreign influence, although a governing body wasn't started until 1883, when the Amateur Athletics Union opened its doors. The AAU pushed for clubs to host championship meets, and by the1996 Olympics 13 years later a handful of nations had ongoing programs. Germany cleaned the house in men's events like the pommel horse and vault, inciting other nations to bolster their programs. By the first world championship seven years later, more European involvement led to an agreement about which events to include in the championships, events inherently different from today's events. Co-ed team events were allowed, but not until the late 1920s could women compete separately. By the early 1950s, an agreement among the sport's international and domestic governing bodies solidified the accepted events for both men and women and approved the usage of the one-through-ten point award system. In recent years, the advent of "power" tumbling (floor routines consisting mainly of successive flips and handsprings) has gained popularity.

    Types

    • In ancient times, participants worked with what they had; luckily, vaulting over a bull from yesteryear has now been replaced with the pommel horse. Besides the horse, men's judged events are now the rings, parallel bars, vaulting, high bar and floor exercises. Popular women's events include the uneven bars, vaulting, balance beam and floor exercises. Competitive rhythmic gymnastics (a combination of light floor gymnastics with dance) is open only to women athletes, despite a growing men's program.

    Features

    • While both sexes begin their gymnastics training at a young age, championship athletes vary in ages. Women's ages range from mid-to- late teens, while men are usually barely into their twenties. Gymnastics schools and camps scour their classes for gifted child athletes, and upon consent and encouragement, the children begin a fairly rigorous total body training regimen. Mastering the necessary skills to compete in the events takes years of discipline, and skills are taught successively by their assigned letter grade of difficulty. The scale runs alphabetically, with "A" considered an easily mastered skill and "E" being the most difficult.

    Geography

    • Several countries run successful national programs that bring home medals in both the Olympics and world championships. Historically, the northern Europeans have dominated, although the U.S. and Asian nations have had a string of win-filled showings, most recently at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Not without its fair share of controversy, over the years certain programs and teams have come under close scrutiny by the sports community for performance enhancing drug use and allowing ineligible athletes to participate.

    Significance

    • The emergence of U.S. stars and Olympic medal winners such as Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin invites young athletes to take an interest in gymnastics, not only to continue the growth of the national program but to encourage exercise in the younger population. As of May 2009, a joint venture between USA gymnastics and Tyson Foods has resulted in a hands-on program called the Tyson Fitness Challenge that touts the benefits of exercise in a fun and educational manner.