Rhythmic Gymnastics

Rhythmic gymnastics took a while to gain traction as a respected sport. That said, the seeds were planted hundreds of years ago. The basis of the idea back then is similar to what it is today, which was that someone should be able to express themselves through movement, and that movement should be recognized and appreciated as sport.

This idea was first thought of, or at least first publicized, in the late 1700s by I.G. Noverre. He didn’t have an opportunity to take it to the level he would have liked, but did create enough momentum for Francois Delsarte and R. Bode to gain even more traction in the mid 1800s. In 1837, Catherine Beecher also founded the Western Female Institute in Ohio. Her entire concept and slogan was ‘grace without dancing.’ It was a slogan that caught on much more than she possibly could have imagined.

Women from all over began to exercise to music. A few decades later, the Swedish School of Rhythmic Gymnastics continued the momentum of the idea of rhythmic gymnastics. Finally, competitions for rhythmic gymnastics were held in the Soviet Union in the 1940s. In 1961, the Federation International of Gymnastics recognized the sport in 1961. It only took two more years for a World Championship to be held in Budapest. In 1984, it became a part of the Summer Olympics. Lori Fung, a Canadian, was the first to win a gold medal. Group competitions were introduced in the 1996 games in Atlanta.

Rhythmic gymnastics is usually only performed by women, but it is growing amongst men in certain countries. The sport is a combination of ballet, gymnastics, theatrical dance, and apparatus manipulation. It can be performed by one, two, three, four, or five people, but is often five. The objective is to manipulate one or two items. These items can be a ball, a ribbon, clubs, a rope, or a hoop.

Scoring for rhythmic gymnastics is based on points and is determined by a judge’s panel. The scoring can be based on artistic effect, apparatus handling, flexibility, leaps, balances, and pivots. While the Federation International of Gymnastics changed the scoring system several times in the 2000s in an effort to get away from subjectivity and more toward the technical aspect, it’s highly unlikely that that will change the judges’ minds away from the performances they like best anyway. But it is a step in the right direction. The scoring system is on a thirty point scale (formerly a ten point scale).

There are really three aspects to focus on when training for rhythmic gymnastic competitions, which are artistic, execution, and technical. If you stick to focusing on these three factors, you will increase your chances of success.

When it comes to rhythmic gymnastics, most competitors pique in their late teens and early twenties. This is because in most cases they have been training most of their lives and this is your body’s ideal age for gymnastics. If you started late, don’t worry. Hard work can allow you to catch up. If you have a child who might be interested in gymnastics and you haven’t started them out yet, you should really consider getting a move on.

International competitions are split into two age groups, which are junior and senior. Junior is under sixteen and senior is sixteen and over. The three biggest competitions in rhythmic gymnastics are the Olympic Games, the World Championships, and the Grand-Prix.

The biggest difference between rhythmic gymnastics and other forms of gymnastics is that you have an opportunity to be a little bit more free. This is in regards to the way you move your body and the amount of space available. If you have a creative mind, enjoy dance and/or body movement, and like to express yourself, then this will probably be the best gymnastic option for you. If you think you might be interested, you can at least give it a try. If it doesn’t work out, then you can simply move on to another form.