Ladies’s gymnastics is a marquee sport on the Summer time Olympics, however in any other case doesn’t get a lot consideration exterior a devoted group of followers.
I’m a kind of followers, in addition to a former (decidedly not Olympic-caliber) gymnast, and I’m right here that can assist you watch with a extra discerning eye. Do you wish to know what’s required on every equipment? Which abilities are hardest? How one can inform good routines from nice? You’re in the best place.
Right here, we’ll take a look at the ground train — beginning with the fundamentals after which shifting into technical particulars. Select a fast primer or go as deep as you need. We even have guides to the vault, the uneven bars and the steadiness beam.
Overview
An ordinary ground mat is about 40 ft by 40 ft, which makes the diagonal paths alongside which gymnasts tumble about 56 ft. It’s made of froth and carpeting, with springs that permit gymnasts to do tough abilities extra safely.
Each routine should embody:
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A flip with at the least a 360-degree twist
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A double again flip, with or with out twists
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Back and forth tumbling
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Two leaps or hops in succession, both immediately related or with operating steps in between. One of many two should contain a 180-degree cut up.
Ground routines, set to music of the gymnast’s selection (no lyrics allowed), final about 90 seconds and normally embody 4 tumbling passes. Gymnasts will typically do their most tough passes first.
Not like the vault, which is about pure energy, the ground train combines energy with artistry. In observe, some gymnasts put much less effort into their choreography, which might be little greater than a collection of poses nominally timed to the music, and judges can deduct for that.
However when a gymnast actually places on a efficiency, you’ll be able to inform. Look no additional than this routine from Brooklyn Moors of Canada.
What the gymnasts do
Every talent has a problem ranking from A by J. Gymnasts get credit score for his or her eight hardest abilities, of which at the least three should be acrobatic and three should be dance.
Backward tumbling
Backward tumbling passes begin with a roundoff (principally a robust cartwheel by which each ft land without delay), virtually at all times adopted by a again handspring to construct momentum for the primary talent.
The commonest passes fall into just a few classes:
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Double backs, quick for double again flips. Flips might be completed in three positions — tuck, with knees bent; pike, with legs straight and hips bent; or format, with the physique straight — however in gymnastics parlance, “double again” refers back to the tucked model. The others are specified as “double pike” and “double format.”
You’ll be able to count on to see plain double backs (D); full-twisting double backs (E); double-twisting double backs, a.okay.a. double-doubles (H, named for Daniela Silivas); and a triple-twisting double again, a.okay.a. triple-double (J, named for Simone Biles). Full-twisting double backs might be full-ins (when the twist happens within the first flip), full-outs (twist within the second flip) or half-in-half-outs, however they’re all the identical for scoring functions.
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Double pikes, which embody the plain double pike (D) and the full-twisting double pike (E).
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Double layouts, which embody the double format (F); the half-twisting double format, or Biles (G, named for Simone Biles); the full-twisting double format (H); and the double-twisting double format, or Moors (I, named for Victoria Moors). Jade Carey of the USA has been coaching an astonishingly tough triple-twisting double format, which might be named for her if she does it efficiently in Tokyo.
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Twists, which discuss with a single again format with one to three.5 twists. Those you’ll typically see as stand-alone tumbling passes — versus a part of mixture passes, which we’ll get to later — are double twists (C), two and a half twists (D, typically adopted instantly by a entrance flip), triple twists (E, typically known as triple fulls) and sometimes three and a half twists (F).
Ahead tumbling
Gymnasts are likely to favor backward tumbling as a result of it’s simpler to generate momentum from a roundoff and again handspring than from a entrance handspring. Some excel at ahead tumbling, although.
Passes embody:
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The double entrance (E, tucked until in any other case specified), half-twisting double entrance (F, named for Lilia Podkopayeva) and piked double entrance (F, named for Brenna Dowell).
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The double Arabian (E), a double entrance by which the gymnast begins out as if she’s doing a again flip however instantly does a half twist. It’s extra in style than the common double entrance as a result of it’s value the identical however lets the gymnast construct momentum with a roundoff and again handspring. A small handful of gymnasts do a piked double Arabian, or Dos Santos (F, named for Daiane Dos Santos).
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Entrance twists, similar to a entrance double full (D).
Mixture passes
Gymnasts can enhance their problem rating by doing two abilities in a single tumbling go, both immediately or not directly related.
Direct connections are carried out in fast succession. Oblique connections are carried out with a roundoff, handspring or each in between and are described as Ability 1 “by to” Ability 2.
Every mixture earns a 0.1 or 0.2 bonus relying on the issue of the abilities concerned and whether or not the connection is direct or oblique. For instance, a direct connection of two C-rated abilities (like a one-and-a-half twist + entrance full) is value 0.1, and an oblique connection of a C talent and an E talent (like a one-and-a-half twist by to double Arabian) is value 0.2.
Turns
Ground routines aren’t required to incorporate pirouettes, however you’ll nonetheless see a lot of them, differing by leg place and variety of rotations. Gymnasts can earn a 0.1 problem bonus for connecting two turns.
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The best pirouettes are completed with the nonsupporting leg bent, and if somebody mentions a “flip” with no additional specification, it’s in all probability that sort. Full turns and double turns are too easy to be beneficial on the Olympic stage, however some gymnasts do triple turns (C) or, not often, quadruple turns (E, named for Elena Gómez).
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L turns are completed with the nonsupporting leg horizontal, forming a 90-degree angle with the supporting leg. The commonest is a double L flip (D).
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Y turns are completed with the nonsupporting leg vertical, forming a 180-degree cut up with the supporting leg. Double Y turns (D, named for Chellsie Memmel) are widespread; triple Y turns (E, named for Aliya Mustafina) much less so.
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these ugly, wobbly activates beam the place the gymnast spins in a squatting place with one leg prolonged to the aspect? They’re on ground too. The double wolf flip is a D and the triple wolf flip, named for Lauren Mitchell, is an E. No person likes them. All people does them anyway.
Jumps and leaps
Leaps take off from one foot and journey ahead, whereas jumps take off from each ft and transfer solely up and down. Leaps are extra widespread as a result of they typically have larger problem values, and routines have to incorporate a collection of at the least two.
Widespread leaps embody the full-twisting cut up leap (C, typically known as a tour jeté half), swap leap (B, like a cut up leap besides the gymnast switches the route of her legs in midair) and swap ring leap (C, a swap leap with the rear leg bent upward, again arched and head thrown again).
Jumps typically come into play on the finish of tumbling passes, as a result of gymnasts can earn a 0.1 problem bonus for doing a soar instantly after touchdown a go.
Choreography
Some gymnasts work acrobatics or break-dancing strikes into their choreography — like, for instance, Claudia Fragapane of Britain from roughly 0:53 to 1:10 on this routine. This doesn’t depend towards the issue rating; it’s there for the artistry and efficiency worth.
How they’re scored
Gymnasts’ ultimate marks are the sum of a “D rating” (problem) and an “E rating” (execution).
Problem
The D rating has three parts.
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Composition necessities: Every of the 4 necessities — a flip with at the least a full twist, a double backflip with or with out twists, each from side to side tumbling, and at the least two leaps in succession — is value 0.5.
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Ability values: Gymnasts obtain credit score for the issue of their eight hardest abilities, with an A-rated talent value 0.1, a B-rated talent value 0.2 and so forth.
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Connection bonus: Gymnasts earn 0.1 or 0.2 for connecting abilities collectively. Formulation listed within the Code of Factors point out the quantity of bonus primarily based on the character and problem worth of the abilities. For example, a C-rated acrobatic (tumbling) talent related on to a D-rated acrobatic talent is value 0.2 past the worth of the abilities themselves, and an E-rated acrobatic talent related to an A-rated soar is value 0.1.
Expertise might be downgraded if gymnasts don’t full them correctly. For example, if a gymnast makes an attempt a triple twist however solely completes 2.75 rotations, the judges might credit score solely the issue of a two-and-a-half twist.
Execution
The execution rating begins at 10, and judges take deductions starting from 0.1 for flexed ft in a leap to 1.0 for a fall.
As a result of there are such a lot of attainable deductions — landings, physique place within the air, management in pirouettes, the admittedly subjective measure of inadequate artistry — and since small deductions add up rapidly, it’s regular for even a wonderful ground routine to obtain an execution rating within the eights.
Gymnasts additionally obtain “impartial” deductions — subtracted from the sum of the D and E rating — in the event that they go exterior the 40-by-40-foot bounds of the ground, as marked by strains or a change in colour. (The strains themselves are in bounds.) One foot out of bounds is a 0.1 deduction, and each ft out is a 0.3 deduction.
If you wish to see what you’ll be able to count on from the most effective on the earth, the 2016 Olympic medalists on ground had been Simone Biles of the USA, Aly Raisman of the USA and Amy Tinkler of Britain.