Rhythmic Gymnastics
Author：tercal From： Updated：2007-11-29
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Sydney, 28 September 2000. Rieko Matsunaga of Japan during the rhythmic gymnastics in Pavilion 3 of the Sydney Showground on Day 13 of the Games. Credit: Getty Images/Gary M Prior
A perfect fusion of athletics and aesthetics, gymnastics ranks among the defining sports of the Olympic Games.
When rhythmic gymnastics first caught the attention of the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) in the middle of the 20th century, its devotees were calling it "modern gymnastics". Yet its hazy history can clearly be traced to at least the last century.
Discipline's origin
When rhythmic gymnastics first caught the attention of the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) in the middle of the 20th century, its devotees were calling it "modern gymnastics". Yet its hazy history can clearly be traced to at least the last century.
In the 1800s rhythmic gymnastics operated under the guise of group gymnastics, and included a trace of elementary choreography. It grew slowly until the first experimental competitions appeared in Eastern Europe in the 1930s, but, by the time the FIG became interested, its complex floor routines had captured the attention of a wide circle of female gymnasts.
Rhythmic gymnastics requires balletic grace and incorporates many positions and leaps derived from classical ballet, including pliés, jetés, attitudes and arabesques. However, it also grew out of the German system of emphasising apparatus work for muscle development, combined with the Swedish system of free exercise for developing rhythm.
The FIG recognised rhythmic gymnastics as an official discipline in 1962 and, a year later, Budapest officials organised an international tournament. In 1964 the tournament was officially declared the first Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships. Ludmila Savinkova of the Soviet Union became the first world champion, partly because the field included a total of only 28 gymnasts from 10 European countries.
The numbers swelled quickly though, as interest spread to other parts of the world. Gymnasts from the United States first appeared at the championships in 1973, and rhythmic gymnastics slowly emerged from the shadow of the long-established artistic discipline.
Olympic history
The rhythmic individual all-around competition was introduced into the Olympic Games in 1984, with Lori Fung winning gold for Canada. During the Sydney 2000 Games, the Russian Federation took home the gold in both the group all-round competition and the individual all-round competition.
Competition area
In principle, the hall must have the following minimum seating for Spectators, for Rhythmic Gymnastics is 4.000.
The temperature of the hall must be at least 20°C w hen in use and the lighting should be at a standard of at least 1500 lux but not designed in a manner to dazzle the gymnasts.
There must be effective and visible separation of the competition area and the accommodation for spectators.
Suitable and sufficient accommodation must be available in the immediate vicinity of the hall, and linked to it, to provide a "warming up" area with access reserved to participants only.
For Rhythmic Gymnastics the hall must have a minimum height of 8 metres (10 to 12 m preferably). Working surfaces of 13 m by 13 m (exterior of the line) are compulsory and a safety zone (also carpeted) of 50 cm width at the minimum must be provided along the edge of the floor area.
The working surface must correspond to FIG standards. The safety distance between the working surface and the spectators must be at least 4 metres.
The number and arrangement of Competition Halls and working surfaces shall be laid down by agreement between the TC RG and the Organising Committee of the Competition.
The organiser must nominate the chosen brand of equipment at least six months prior to the competition and inform the FIG Secretary General of this decision.
For Acrobatic Gymnastics the competition hall must have a minimum height of 8 metres (10 to 12 m preferably). The length must be minimum 45 metres and the width 30 metres.
The hall must be equipped at minimum with
- a spring gymnastic type floor (identical to an Artistic Gymnastics floor) of 12 by 12 metres square working surface (incl. boundary lines)
- landing mats with a thickness of minimum 20cm to maximum 50 cm for the Men's Group Balance Exercise
- sufficient tables and chairs for all the various juries as requested by the President of the TC ACRO.
The floor (identical to an Artistic Gymnastics floor) and the landing mats must have been tested in one of the official FIG testing institutes, and conform to the FIG Apparatus Norms. It must be approved by the Executive Committee.
Apparatus and
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