Gymnastics E-Book

Lloyd Readhead

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 187

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

Crowood Sports Guides provide sound, practical advice that will make you a better sportsperson, whether you are learning the basic skills, discovering more advanced techniques or reviewing the fundamentals of your sport.Contents include: The rules and regulations that govern the sport and the roles and responsibilities of gymnasts, coaches and officials during an event. The technical skills in women's gymnastics [vaulting, asymmetric bars, balance beam and floor exercises] and men's gymnastics [floor exercises, pommel horse, rings, vaulting, parallel bars and horizontal bar]. Detailed 'key points' for the gymnstic skills and elements covered. The content and structure of the training regimes, together with the methods and techniques used to teach and perform some important core skills and a range of more advanced skills. The ways in which coaches develop the high levels of skill and physical fitness required by gymnasts. Psychology, nutrition, preventing under-performance, and injury prevention and treatment. As Gymnastics continues to grow in popularity, there are many opportunities to participate as a gymnast, coach, judge or official. This book will be of interest to gymnasts in general and in artistic gymnastics in particular. Covers the technical skills in women's and men's gymnastics and provides the 'key point's for the gymnastic skills and elements covered. Superbly illustrated with 106 colour photographs. Lloyd Readhead have over forty years' experience as a gymnastics coach and has represented Greath Britain in men's artistic gymnastics. Another title in the highly successful Crowood Sports Guides series.

Leseprobe

Copyright

First published in 2011 by The Crowood Press Ltd, Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book edition first published in 2013

© The Crowood Press Ltd 2011

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

ISBN 978 1 84797 537 9

Disclaimer Please note that the author and the publisher of this e-book do not accept any responsibility in any manner whatsoever for any damage or injury of any kind that may result from the practising, or applying, the principles, ideas, techniques and/or following the instructions/information described in this publication. Since the physical activities in this e-book may be too strenuous in nature for some readers to engage in safely, it is essential that a doctor be consulted before undertaking training. It is also essential that all training is supervised at all times by a qualified gymnastic instructor.

Acknowledgements The author and publisher would like to thank the following for their help in the production of this e-book. Alan Edwards, for the supply of photographs. Mark Young, for his assistance in collating the photographic images. British Gymnastics for the use of their gymnastics library and archives. The many gymnastic colleagues and friends who have helped the author to acquire the knowledge and experience to enable this e-book to be written.

Photographs © Alan Edwards Photography

CONTENTS

Title Page

Copyright

Preface

Part 1: Introduction to Artistic Gymnastics

The Origins of the Sport

Influences on the Development of Gymnastics

Key Landmarks in Gymnastics

The Structure of Gymnastics

Coaching and the Qualification Structure

Opportunities to Officiate

The Rules and Regulations of Gymnastics Competitions

The Regulations for Each Apparatus

Part 2: The Development of a Gymnast

The Gymnast Profile

Talent Identification and Development

The Development of the Talented Young Gymnast

Typical Training Regimes

Part 3: The Physical Preparation Programme

Flexibility Training

Strength Training

Endurance Training

Supplementary Fitness Training

Part 4: Technical Skills in Women’s Gymnastics

Vault

Asymmetric Bars

Balance Beam

Floor Exercise

Part 5: Technical Skills in Men’s Gymnastics

Floor Exercise

Pommel Horse

Rings

Vault

Parallel Bars

Horizontal Bar

Part 6: Sustaining Performance

The Role of the Coach and Coaching Styles

Sports Psychology

Nutrition and the Energy Systems

Preventing Under-Performance

Prevention and Treatment of Injuries

Glossary

Useful contacts

Index

PREFACE

Gymnastics continues to grow in popularity, and there are many opportunities to participate as a gymnast, coach, judge or official. Clubs, schools and sports centres provide for all ages and abilities ranging from pre-school classes through to world and Olympic performance levels.

There are a number of gymnastic disciplines, including men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, acrobatics, tumbling, trampoline, double mini trampoline, aerobics, team gymnastics, freestyle and general gymnastics; more recently cheerleading has also joined the gymnastics family.

This book will concentrate on men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics and will aim to provide a broad understanding of these two disciplines. It will also explain how young male and female gymnasts can develop through a safe and progressive training regime.

Gymnasts are regarded as being among the fittest of all sports participants and are respected by other sportsmen and women for this, as well as their commitment and dedication. Gymnastics requires many of the qualities that athletes strive for – a gymnast must be immensely strong, superbly flexible, artistic, graceful, skilful and courageous.

The allure of gymnastics comes from the amazing number of skills and complex combination of skills that can be learnt and performed in competition routines. These offer a continuing challenge and provide the ongoing excitement for the gymnast and coach. Unlike most other sports, in gymnastics new skills continue to be invented and the rules and apparatus evolve to stimulate new ideas and ensure that the sport does not stagnate.

The book will also describe and illustrate some of the core skills that are the foundation upon which the more advanced skills are built. Examples of current high performance skills will also be illustrated and the methods used to teach the skills described. The book should therefore be interesting for young male and female gymnasts, coaches, judges, pupils, students and parents of gymnasts.

Gymnastics must be taught in a safe and progressive manner in suitable facilities in order to facilitate learning and reduce the risk of injury. Gymnastics should only be performed in the presence of a suitably trained and qualified coach or coaches. This book is a broad guide to artistic gymnastics and is not intended to be a comprehensive training manual.

If you wish to be involved in gymnastics you should join a formally approved club or centre that uses fully qualified coaches. Details can be obtained from the national governing body for gymnastics for the particular country.

PART 1

INTRODUCTION TO ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS

The Origins of the Sport

Historians have claimed that the origins of gymnastics can be traced right back to the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, where physical exercises on various forms of apparatus were used to train the military personnel. The exercises were called ‘gymnastics’ and were practised in an open-air facility called a ‘gymnasium’.

Some time later the Greek gymnastic exercises were modified by Guts Muths to form the basis of the German physical education curriculum. This work was further developed by Ludwig Jahn (1778–1839), who designed basic apparatus such as pommel horse, rings, parallel bars and horizontal bar, on which the exercises were practised. This lead to the formation of gymnastics clubs (Turnvereine) in Germany and the term ‘German gymnastics’ was used to refer to this form of activity. A form of men’s gymnastics was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and from its origins in Europe the sport began to develop all around the world.

Skill and precision demonstrated by Beth Tweddle (GB) on asymmetric bars.

The first gymnastic clubs in the UK and USA were established in the 1850s. At this time the apparatus would include a pommel horse, which had a drooping end rather like a grazing horse; swinging rings; club swinging; a horizontal bar, which comprised a metal bar covered with a wooden veneer held in place by solid metal rods; and very basic floor matting, usually made from canvas covers filled with some form of coarse hair.

As more countries became involved in the sport in the early 1900s, the design of the apparatus improved and a new style of men’s gymnastics evolved to form the foundation of modern gymnastics. The term ‘Olympic gymnastics’ was extensively used to describe the competitive form of the sport.

A spectacular performance by Daniel Keatings (GB) on horizontal bar.

Women’s gymnastics gained its formal international recognition at the 1952 Olympic Games and gymnasts from the Soviet Union (USSR) dominated the sport for over a decade. The Japanese came to the forefront of men’s Olympic gymnastics in the 1960s, but the Soviet gymnasts gradually eroded the dominance of the Japanese.

A stylish Louis Smith (GB) on pommel horse.

In 1972 the gymnastic events at the Munich Olympics were extensively televised and the viewing audience for these events exceeded those of all the other sports. The emergence of Olga Korbut onto the world scene and the amazing performances of the other male and female gymnasts were watched by millions. The resultant boom in interest coincided with a period of growth in the building of sports centres and gymnastics facilities and together they provided the stimulus for massive growth in the sport.

At this important phase of development of the sport the more successful nations, such as the USSR, Japan, China and the Eastern European countries were employing full-time paid coaches to train the gymnasts. Many of the gymnasts were ‘professional’ gymnasts, who were able to train two to three times per day inside purpose-built facilities. This gave a massive advantage to these nations over those countries where gymnastics clubs were essentially volunteer, amateur organizations. Despite these disadvantages, gymnasts from the USA and Western European countries began to appear on the medal podiums.

Up to 1970 the sport of Olympic gymnastics was predominantly for adult participants. Around this time ‘talent identification and development programmes’ were designed and introduced, along with training and event programmes for young gymnasts. This provided greater access to the sport and laid the foundation for more advanced and complex exercises at all levels of the sport.

Gradually more purpose-designed and dedicated gymnastics facilities were constructed and more opportunities to become full-time paid coaches were created in the Western world. The injection of state funding into gymnastic programmes in these countries led to a more level playing field and a wider range of countries are now winning world and Olympic medals in what is now called ‘artistic gymnastics’.

This point may be underlined by the successes of gymnasts from the USA, who have won numerous medals at world and Olympic events. Some of best known are Kurt Thomas, Bart Conner, Paul Hann, Mary Lou Retton, Dominique Dawes and Nastia Liukin. Both Canada and Australia have contended for medals but more recently the greatest surge from an English-speaking country has perhaps come from Great Britain. Beth Tweddle became Britain’s first gold medal winner by becoming world champion on asymmetric bars in 2006. This was followed by a gold medal on the floor exercise at the 2009 world championships. Louis Smith won a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Daniel Keatings became Great Britain’s first ever European junior all-around champion just ahead of his team mate Daniel Purvis, who took the silver medal. Keatings then exceeded all expectations with a brilliant silver medal in the senior men’s all-around world championship in 2009.

The History of Gymnastics at the Olympic Games

The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896. Men’s gymnastics was one of seven sports included in the programme, and the first men’s Olympic champion was Alfred Flatow from Germany. The men’s gymnastics programme has been present in every Olympic Games since.

A form of women’s gymnastics, including swinging rings, was introduced into the Olympic programme in 1928 but it was not until the 1952 Helsinki Games that the women’s all-around four-piece event was introduced. The Olympic champion was Maria Gorokhouskia from the USSR.

There have been some amazing achievements at the Olympic Games. For example, the USSR held the women’s team title for eight consecutive years from1952, while the men’s team from Japan won the Olympic title at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1960 to 1976. Vitali Scherbo (Belarus) holds the record for the highest number of gold medals at one Olympic Games. He claimed six gold medals at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Both men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics events are included in the current Olympic Games programme and medals are awarded for the: men’s team and women’s team; men’s and women’s all-around (AA); and individual apparatus championships on vault, asymmetric bars, beam and floor exercise for women, and floor exercise, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar for the men. Gymnastics enjoys one of the largest television audiences of all the Olympic sports and tickets for gymnastic events at the games are frequently the first to be sold out.

Former Olympic champion Svetlana Khorkina from Russia.

Olympic champion Jang Wei of China.

Influences on the Development of Gymnastics

The modern form of artistic gymnastics has evolved over many years, and the main influences on the gradual increase in skill difficulty have been:

Improvements in apparatus design, culminating in the modern sprung and carpeted floor area, sprung top vaulting table, dynamic springboards, fibreglass asymmetric bars and sprung steel horizontal bar. The much improved specification for landing surfaces has also added improved safety.The impact of sports science on coaching and training regimes, leading to incredible levels of strength and fitness in the gymnasts. Knowledge gained in biomechanics, exercise physiology, sports psychology and planning is used to design the training programmes in gymnastics.The evolution of the modern dedicatedgymnastic training facility. Gyms now have pitted landing areas, better landing modules, multiple sets of each apparatus, and training aids such as trampolines sunk into the gym floor.

A typical modern gymnastics training facility.

Key Landmarks in Gymnastics

The world governing body for gymnastics is the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). The FIG has traditionally reviewed its rules and regulations every four years at the conclusion of each Olympic cycle. This allows the leading experts to keep the rules in line with recent developments in performance and to ensure that new trends are accommodated or regulated.

Any new element which is performed at a major event may be named after the gymnast who first performed the skill. For example the Tkatchev is named after Alexander Tkatchev, who was the first to perform this skill on the horizontal bar. The FIG will also attach a difficulty rating to the new skill.

Notable Landmarks in Artistic Gymnastics

1896 – Men’s artistic gymnastics included in the first modern Olympics, held in Athens.

1903 –World Gymnastics Championships created with just four teams competing in the inaugural tournament.

1948 – The ‘Stalder Circle’, a skill that is still extensively used on horizontal bar and asymmetric bars, first performed by the Swiss gymnast Joseph Stalder.

1952 – Women’s artistic gymnastics all-around championship included for the first time in the Helsinki Olympic Games.

1964 – Sergei Diamidov demonstrates an innovative full turn around one arm into the handstand position on Parallel Bars. The Diamidov element is still popular in men’s gymnastics.

A Stalder circle being performed by Kohei Uchimura (Japan).

1970 – Mitsuo Tsukahara (Japan) performs a round-off tucked back somersault over the vaulting horse. The Tsukahara vault is now frequently performed in the straight position by both male and female gymnasts.

1972 – The shape of the asymmetric bars altered to become round, and they are now manufactured from fibreglass to provide much greater flexibility. Around this time the FIG also introduces important modifications in the sprung floor area and competition landing modules.

1972–75 – Pommel horse exercises changed significantly. Zoltan Magyar invents a forward travel facing along the horse (the Magyar), which is then performed in a backwards direction by Janos Sivado (the Sivado Travel). Kurt Thomas from the USA performs a splits position during the circle and this spectacular and elegant skill is named the ‘Thomas Flair’.

1976 – Jorge Roche (Cuba) adds a one-and-a-half front somersault to his handspring vault and the ‘Roche Vault’ is added to the list of vaults. A new trend is established on the horizontal bar when three new ‘release and re-catch’ elements are performed at the European Championships in Vilnius. These were the Tkatchev (Alexander Tkatchev, USSR), the Gienger salto (Eberhard Gienger, Germany) and the Deltchev, performed by Stoyan Deltchev (Bulgaria).

Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci takes the world by storm, performing superbly at the Olympics to amass a string of perfect 10s.

1983 – Female gymnast Natalia Yurchenko (USSR) competes with a vault that includes a round-off and backward take-off from the springboard followed by a backward somersault from the hands. This inspires a new range of imaginative vaults called the Yurchenko.

The Tkatchev release and re-catch element.

Rebecca Bross (USA) mid-flight during a release and re-catch on A-bars.

1986 – The improvement in the construction of the sprung floor area allows Valeri Liukin (USSR) to perform the first triple tucked back somersault in the floor exercise. Valeri is the father of Olympic champion Nastia Liukin and is now a coach to the USA women’s team.

1997 – The global trend towards younger female gymnasts becomes a real concern, and in order to protect young participants from overuse injury the FIG changes the minimum age for major events to 13 years (junior) and 16 (senior). This has the desired effect and it is now common to see mature females such as the Beth Tweddle and Svetlana Khorkina competing at the highest levels. Svetlana famously won three consecutive women’s artistic world championship allaround titles.

The technique used in the Yurchenko vault.

Becky Downie (GB) powering off the vault during a Yurchenko vault.

The FIG drops the compulsory exercises from the international programme. Prior to 1997, gymnasts competing at world and Olympic championships had to compete with both compulsory and voluntary exercises on each apparatus. This format certainly identified the best all-around gymnasts but it was a lengthy and demanding programme. It was felt that this format discriminated against gymnasts from developing countries who were not in full-time training. It was also noted that the compulsory event was not popular with the spectators or television producers, so the FIG therefore took the bold decision to drop the compulsory exercises.

Three times world champion – Svetlana Khorkina from Russia.

2002 – The FIG ‘World Age Group Programme’ for gymnastics launched. This initiative determines the most appropriate time to learn particular skills based on the age and maturity of the child. At the same time the FIG coaching academy is launched to standardize training and raise the quality of coaching throughout the world. The British Gymnastics Coach Education programme is recognized as one of the most advanced and successful programmes and BG is selected to host the first ever Level 3 World Academy course.

2004 – A new Judging Code of Points is introduced. Scores above ten points can now be awarded and it is possible to set world best scores in each event. Typically scores of around 15.00 to 16.00 points are awarded for top-class performances on each apparatus. The Judging Code of Points will continue to evolve with frequent small changes being made to incorporate new advances and to ensure that the sport does not stagnate.

The Structure of Gymnastics

The sport of gymnastics is popular throughout the world and the rules established by the FIG, the highest authority, are usually cascaded downwards and customized to suit the needs of the particular local body. Typical areas of responsibility are shown below.

The World Governing Body for Gymnastics

The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) is based in Switzerland and serves to govern all aspects of the sport at international level. The elected international representatives serve on committees that each have a specific role, deciding on matters such as:

Technical regulations for each discipline of the sport, including competition rules and judging criteria (The Judging Code of Points)Apparatus dimensions and design specificationsCodes of conduct and practice for gymnasts, coaches, judges and officialsThe health and welfare of the gymnastsRegulations for the control of banned drugsThe organization of major events such as the world and Olympic championships, and grand prix events.

The FIG accepts membership from recognized national governing bodies (NGBs) and each member agrees to accept and implement the FIG rules and regulations.

Continental Gymnastic Federations

Continental gymnastic federations such as the Americas, Austral-Asia and the European Gymnastic Federation often organize continental competitions and training events for gymnasts and coaches. Other geographical areas may also form suitable federations to aid the development of countries in that region, for example the South East Asia Gymnastics Confederation.

National Governing Bodies

Each country may have a formally recognized national governing body (NGB), which may apply for membership to the FIG. In the United Kingdom British Gymnastics (BG) is the body recognized by the FIG with regard to entry into the major events and the overall governance of the sport in Great Britain.

The national governing body will organize national championships for all disciplines of the sport, bestowing the title of national champion on the winner. Competitors for world, Olympic and other major championships will be selected by the NGB officials and the gymnasts will represent the FIG-recognized NGB at these events.

The NGB will usually provide training and competition opportunities through national squads and national age group competitions.

The regulations for national events are normally based upon the FIG rules at senior level but customized versions of the rules are used for the various younger age groups. The NGB may also take the lead on the training and qualification of coaches, judges and officials in their domain.

The NGB may have a network of regional/state associations or federations, each with its own governing body, whose functions are similar to and intrinsically linked with the role of the NGB.

School-based gymnastics is often looked after by a separate but affiliated body. For example, in the UK the British Schools Gymnastics Association organizes gymnastic events on behalf of schools.

Coaching and the Qualification Structure

Coaching in gymnastics is a highly technical and demanding role but can be hugely satisfying no matter at what level you are coaching. It is important that all coaches form their own coaching philosophy to ensure that they are coaching in the correct way and for the right reasons. This philosophy should be based on the coach’s personal motivation to coach and should be influenced by their own values and beliefs as well as general good practice within the sport. The coach must ensure their coaching is always participant-centred and that they do not exploit the talents of the gymnasts merely to satisfy their own ego. The coach’s aim should be to give the gymnasts the best possible opportunity to achieve their optimum level of performance while remembering that the gymnast’s safety is paramount. It is also recommended that the coach regularly reflects on their coaching philosophy and frequently evaluates their coaching performance. This will ensure that the coach is delivering to the best of their ability and with the right motivation.

The attributes of a successful coach include dedication, commitment, ability to communicate, a desire to help others improve their performance, reliability and a good knowledge of the sport. The coach must also develop soft people skills and must be able to motivate and manage the gymnasts and other people who may be involved in the coaching programme.

It is not necessary for potential coaches to have been former gymnasts, and there are a number of instances where people without any personal gymnastic performance experience have become very good coaches. Former gymnasts will undoubtedly have a great deal of useful knowledge and understanding of the sport but may not necessarily be natural coaches. Some coaches have a natural gift for coaching but even the most talented coaches need to develop a wide range of skills and knowledge to become successful.

Potential coaches usually have to attend a recognized training course at the appropriate level and then pass an assessment to be accredited with the qualification. On the training course the coach will receive tuition on topics such as: