Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a sport which involves doing exercises which need strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. This may include running, jumping, tumbling, somersaulting, flipping and balancing. Mental skills are also involved such as confidence, diet control and focus.  

In women's gymnastics, there are four activities: floor, uneven bars, balance beam, and vault.  In men's gymnastics, there are six activities: floor exercise, parallel bars, high bar, pommel horse, vault, and rings.

Gymnastics is a Summer Olympic sport. It began as a form of exercise in ancient Greece.  It was one of the first sports in the Ancient Olympic Games.

 Forms of gymnastics 
There are several forms of gymnastics, including rhythmic gymnastics, artistic gymnastics, acrobatics, trampolining, and wheel gymnastics and no handed gymnastics. In artistic gymnastics, gymnasts perform short routines using different pieces of equipment.  Acrobatics involves showing balance and performing flips on the floor or in the air.  In trampolining, gymnasts do routines using only the trampoline.  Wheel gymnasts exercise in a large wheel called a German wheel. 


In rhythmic gymnastics, gymnasts perform with ribbons, rope, ball, hoop and clubs.  Usually, only females do rhythmic gymnastics because they are more flexible than males.

 Other websites   

 FM Gymnastics - a list of Techniques and free animated comic tutorials for Floor Gymnastics.

 Websites of the federations 

Federation Internationale de Gymnastique
  Gimnasia Argentina
  Gymnastics Australia 
  Brazilian Gymnastics Federation
  Gymnastics Canada 
  Chinese Gymnastics Association 
  Fédération Française de Gymnastique
  Federazione Ginnastica d'Italia
  Japan Gymnastic Association 
  Mexican Gymnastics Federation 
  Romanian Gymnastics Federation 
  Russian Gymnastics Federation
  British Gymnastics
  USA Gymnastics