The highly popular event of Artistic Gymnastics draws huge crowds from all over the world. Artistic Gymnastics will be held at the state-of-the-art North Greenwich Arena, situated on the River Thames, during the London 2012 Olympic Games. It will kick start on Saturday July 28 and culminate on Tuesday August 7 and a total of 196 (98 men, 98 women) will be competing to score on their strength, skill, great flexibility and flawless balance for 14 medal events. It was first introduced at Athens Olympics 1896, but the word 'Artistic Gymnastics' came into existence in the 19th century. During the initial 32 years, only men competed in the sport and it was not until 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, that women made an entry into the competition. During 1924 Games in Paris, a solid foundation for today's Artistic Gymnastics Olympics was laid when the men's apparatus individual and team competitions were hosted.
Artistic Gymnastics Rules And Regulations
A game that warrants a perfect symmetry between mind and body, Artistic Gymnastics is all about strength, balance, flexibility and more. Read on to know more about its rules and regulations.
Artistic Gymnastics
- All gymnasts must be at least 16 years old
- The old scoring system of Perfect 10 has been abolished to create room for more open marking system
- There are no mixed events — men and women competitions are held separately
- Final scores are based on difficulty of the routine and the execution
- The difficulty (“D”) score begins at 0.0 and is marked up with every difficult skill performed
- The execution (“E”) is scored at a 10.0, and the judges deduct for errors in performance
- The deductions are:
Minor error = 0.1, Serious errors = 0.4 to 1.0 - Gymnast falls off a piece of apparatus = 0.5
- All gymnasts are given only one attempt on each apparatus
- Only if the gymnast has been interrupted by an external factor can he/she be allowed another chance
- Gymnasts are permitted to wear bandages or leather grips that will help increase friction on the apparatus
- While totaling, the highest and lowest marks are not considered, but an average score is calculated from the rest.
Artistic Gymnastics History
Gymnastics is probably one of the oldest Olympic sports that we have today. Early gymnastics included wrestling and vaulting over bulls. The modern form of this sport evolved during the 19th century. Artistic gymnastics is one of the few sports that have been contested at every Olympic Games since 1896. Initially, women were barred from participating or even viewing the sport. However, women made their way into the sport in 1928 Olympics and ever since has been one of the mainstays of this event.
Gymnastics is probably one of the oldest Olympic sports that we have today. Early gymnastics included wrestling and vaulting over bulls. The modern form of this sport evolved during the 19th century. Artistic gymnastics is one of the few sports that have been contested at every Olympic Games since 1896. Initially, women were barred from participating or even viewing the sport. However, women made their way into the sport in 1928 Olympics and ever since has been one of the mainstays of this event.