What is Women's Artistic Gymnastics?
There are many different types of gymnastics, such as: women's artistic, men's artistic, acrobatic, rhythmic, trampoline, tumbling, and group. But women's artistic gymnastics is the most common type. Artistic gymnastics is a very fun yet competitive sport that is known and practiced around the whole world. People who take or participate in gymnastics are called gymnasts.
Women's artistic gymnastics consist of four events: the uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise, and vaulting table. On each one of these events gymnasts have a timed routine. Every competitive gymnast only gets one chance to perform each routine, except for vault. On vault the gymnast gets two chances and the judges awards them the highest score out of the two vaults.
Women's gymnastics includes children of all ages and ability. There are specific categories in gymnastics depending on a child's skill level, not age. There is recreational gymnastics which includes mom and me, preschool, kindergarten, beginner, advanced beginner, and intermediate. Compulsory gymnastics which consists of levels one through six. There also is optional gymnastics which is comprised of levels seven through ten. The unique thing about artistic gymnastics is it takes many different abilities to be a good gymnast. Gymnastics takes strength, flexibility, coordination, balance, speed, power, agility, endurance, control, etc. Not only does gymnastics take a great amount of physical ability, but also takes just as much mental and psychological strength as well.
Artistic gymnastics is different then any other sport. Gymnastics is not only a team sport but it is also an individual sport. A gymnastics team receive a team total of points based on the highest three scores on each event. Gymnasts also receive an individual score, this score consist of the total points each gymnast receives on all four events. This means gymnasts not only compete against different teams but against their very own teammates.