We recorded each athlete's performance with a computer frame grabber and stored it on the computer's hard disk. We then displayed the video sequence and selected the field showing the moment of departure from the horse. We assumed the hip joint represented the gymnast's center of mass. We also recorded the peak height of the flight trajectory and the distance of the peak from the horse. Screen image of the analysis for a gymnast performing a Yurchenko vault.
Lines indicate digitized distances.
Circles show the digitized path of the gymnast's hip in consecutive frames. A timer is a gymnastics term for the crucial or fundamental portion of a gymnastics skill. The national coaching staff determined and prescribed the crucial aspects of each skill. The timer for the Yurchenko consisted of all parts of the vault except the final somersault and landing. The purpose of this compulsory vault was to encourage athletes to perform the early phases, from the run up to horse departure, with virtuosity.