Welcome to the sport of gymnastics

4/2/2015
By: Crystal Hinnebusch

Gymnastics is one of the most difficult sports. It requires the athlete to have physical strength, flexibility, power, agility, determination and control to name a few. Even though gymnastics has all these important characteristics, any individual can participate in this sport. In many gyms throughout the United States, preschool, recreational, tumbling and team/competitive classes are available.

Preschool classes are to help children ages 3-6 develop physically and emotionally. For example, it helps them stay active and encourages a healthy lifestyle. In addition, gymnastics is also used for children who are physically or mentally disabled to give them the opportunity to be around other children his/her own age. For the younger children, ages 1-3, a parent is allowed to go into the gym with the child and help him/her through the class.

The next step above the preschool classes are the recreational classes. If children just want to have fun, be active and do gymnastics, these are the classes for them. Usually, these classes are one hour per week. They have instructors who are able to work with them and teach them basic gymnastics skills. Students who sign up for a recreational class use the Olympic gymnastics events (vault, bars, beam and floor exercise).

For those who are interested in tumbling classes, this class is specifically designed for them. The duration for this class is the same as a recreational class; however, they focus on trampoline, tumble track and floor time. Because they do not do bars and balance beam, they get more time to focus on their tumbling skills.

Those who are interested in taking their gymnastics to the next level may chose to do competitive gymnastics. These gymnasts compete levels 2-10. The gymnasts you see on television are elite gymnasts, which is above level 10. The lower levels practice two or three days a week for a few hours at a time. Once a gymnast gets into the higher levels, he/she might practice multiple hours a day and six or seven days a week.

This is a little bit of background for the sport of gymnastics. Check back soon for additional information.


Image: http://www.wilkeysgymnastics.com/gymnastics.jpg