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This year, we will get to watch the XXIX Olympiad. The games open on August 8, 2008 and will run through August 24 in Beijing, China.

One of the Summer Olympic categories that I love most is gymnastics. When I was little, I forgot about my regular hobbies for a couple of weeks every four summers, and I insisted that I would someday become a gymnast.

Now, I’m much too old—and probably too tall—to consider a career in gymnastics. But, I’m still excited that the Summer Olympics are coming up. And, with the games approaching, I thought I’d do a brief history on rhythmic gymnastics, which is very similar to dance in several ways.


Gymnastics in the Olympics


Rieko Matsunaga - 2000 Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastics - From http://www.olympic.orgRhythmic gymnastics became an Olympic sport in the 1984. Rhythmic gymnastics joined what is now known as “artistic gymnastics,” and in 1999, trampoline gymnastics joined the list of Olympic sports.

Gymnastics has been an Olympic sport since the games began in ancient Greece. But originally, gymnastics dealt with arts that would serve soldiers in battle. And, only men were allowed to compete, not only in gymnastics, but in all of the games.


Early “Gymnastics”
Historically, gymnastic training has been tied to military training. Several important figures helped change gymnastics from a military exercise into a more modern form of physical training.

Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths (1759-1839) of Germany, Franz Nachtegall (1777-1847) of Denmark, Pehr Henrik Ling (1776-1893), and Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (1778-1852) of Germany were all important figures in developing modern systems of physical training. These men made gymnastics training available to more people, and they also tried to standardize gymnastics training in schools.

Another important figure in the history of gymnastics is Adolf Spiess (1810-1858) of Germany, who began a system of “free exercises” in schools. These exercises were done according to certain rhythms, combining music and movement (Leonard 56-57).



Modern Rhythmic Gymnastics
What we know today as rhythmic gymnastics was most influenced by the work of Emile Jaques-Dalcroze in


alina Kabaeva - Sydney 2000 - http://www.olympic.orgthe 1890s. Dalcroze was a composer and music educator at Switzerland’s Conservatoire de Musique de Genève, and he wanted to teach his students to understand music by understanding movement.

At first, Dalcroze’s methods included just walking and marching. Then, his students began to use breathing, lunging, pulling a partner, carrying an imaginary object, and jumping as ways to express sound. By trying to understand music through movement, they were able to work through musical problems.

Dalcroze’s methods began to catch on, even outside of music education. In 1910, he began teaching his methods of music education at the Bildungsanstalt Jaques-Dalcroze at at Hellerau near Dresden, Germany. At this school, students learned rhythmic gymnastics, advanced music-movement study called “plastique,” keyboard improvisation, music theory and practice, anatomy, Swedish gymnastics, and dance. Many musicians, dancers, actors, and writers have learned from Dalcroze’s methods.


Rhythmic Gymnastics Gets Competitive
Even while Dalcroze was still teaching, people were already practicing rhythmic gymnastics, and they began making some changes. Around 1900, elements of Finnish dance were added to rhythmic gymnastics.

Also around 1900, Ernest Idla of Estonia created a scoring system for rhythmic gymnastics. His system assigned degrees of difficulty to movements, and it formed the basis of the scoring system we use today.

With a scoring system in place, rhythmic gymnastics became a competitive sport. After World War II, Idla’s scoring system was expanded, and competitions throughout Europe began using it.



The First Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships
The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) formed when non-European countries wanted to join the The European Federation of Gymnastics. The FIG realized the popularity of rhythmic gymnastics in the mid-20th century, and in 1962, the FIG recognized rhythmic gymnastics as an official discipline.



http://www.olympic.orgThroughout much of the 1900s, rhythmic gymnastics was called “modern gymnastics.” In Canada, the sport’s governing body was originally known as the Canadian Modern Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation. In 1981, they removed the word “modern,” and became simply the Canadian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation.

A Finnish-Canadian athletic club introduced rhythmic gymnastics to North America in 1906. But, the United States didn’t really embrace rhythmic gymnastics until after the 1960s when Americans had the chance to see touring gymnasts perform the sport.

The first Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships event was held in 1964. 28 European gymnasts competed. In 1973, American rhythmic gymnasts joined the Europeans in the world championships. Finally, in 1984 rhythmic gymnastics became an Olympic sport, and gymnasts competed in the Olympiad XXIII in Los Angeles, California, USA.


Equipment
Five types of hand apparatus are used in rhythmic gymnastics.



ball-www.olympic.orgThe ball must be made of rubber or soft plastic. Its diameter is from 18cm to 20cm (or from about 7.08 inches to 7.87 inches). And, it must weigh at least 400g (or 0.88 pounds).

















clubs-www.olympic.orgThe Clubs are shaped like slender tenpin bowling pins, and they are used in pairs. Each club has a wide end (the body), a tapering middle section (the neck), and usually a ball on the end (the head) that has a maximum diameter of 30mm (or about 1.18 inches). Each club is 40cm to 50cm (about 15.74 inches to 19.68 inches) long and is made of wood or plastic. Each club must weigh at least 150 grams (or 0.33 pounds).











hoop-www.olympic.orgThe Hoop may be made of wood or plastic. The inner diameter of the hoop must be 80cm to 90cm (or about 31.49 inches to 35.43 inches). It must weigh at least 300 grams (or about 0.66 pounds). When the hoop is used in a routine, the performance must include at least three leaps.














ribbon-www.olympic.org
The ribbon is a single 7m (or about 22.96 feet) strip of ribbon that is made of satin or a similar material. One metre (about 3.28 feet) of its length is folded and doubled so it may be attached by a cord to a stick. The stick must be 50cm to 60cm long (about 19.68 inches to 23.62 inches), and the gymnast holds the stick to control the ribbon. When the ribbon is used in a routine, it must stay in perpetual, fluid motion.









rope-wwwolympicorg1The rope is made from hemp or a similar material. The rope, unlike the ribbon, has no set length. Instead, its length is relative to the height of the gymnast. When the rope is used, the routine must include at least three leaps.


Rules of Rhythmic Gymnastics
Two Ways to Compete

Rhythmic gymnastics can be performed as an individual event or as a team event. The rules for each event are slightly different.

For all events, a gymnast performs on 13-metre-square floor area (about 42.65 square feet). A gymnast must use the entire area. And, a gymnast must keep the apparatus in constant motion, not favoring one hand over the other.

Individual Competition
In an individual rhythmic gymnastic event, the gymnast’s routine must be between 60 seconds and 90


Yulia Barsukova of Russia, 2000 Olympics (AP Photo/ Victoria Arocho)seconds long. The gymnast performs only one routine. According to Olympic rules, in an individual event the gymnast must use four of the five hand apparatus.

Group Competition
During group rhythmic gymnastics events, five gymnasts participate in each routine. They will perform two routines, using a different type of apparatus in each routine. In a group routine, gymnasts must exchange whatever apparatus is being used.



Scoring Rhythmic Gymnastics
Rhythmic gymnastics scoring is done by two panels of judges. One panel scores on execution, and the other panel scores on composition. The execution score begins at 10.0, and points are deducted for technical faults. The composition score has a maximum of 20.0 points, 10.0 for artistic quality and 10.0 for difficulty. The difficulty score begins at 0.0 and increases as the gymnast executes movements that require a high level of skill.

Rhythmic gymnastics emphasizes graceful movement and the smooth, fluid handling of each apparatus. Routines are usually performed to piano music that will accommodate this type of movement.

In rhythmic gymnastics, judges will deduct points for quick, abrupt movements that contrast with the music’s natural flow. Flexibility, choreography, control, uniqueness, proper technique, and effective use of space are all elements that judges look for when scoring a rhythmic gymnastics routine.

Men in Rhythmic Gymnastics
One important difference between Olympic rhythmic gymnastics and other forms of Olympic gymnastics is that in rhythmic gymnastics, men are not allowed to compete.

Throughout the world, many competitions allow men to perform in rhythmic gymnastics. But, the International Olympic Committee has not yet allowed men into the sport. You can see examples of men’s rhythmic gymnastics by visiting this site.

Rhythmic Gymnastics and Dance


Italy in 2000 Sydney Olympic Games - http://www.olympic.orgA number of qualities make rhythmic gymnastics and dance very similar.

Even when it was being created, rhythmic gymnastics was used as a way to meaningfully combine music and motion. In a similar way, dance very often combines music and motion to give meaning or tell a story.

In its technique, rhythmic gymnastics is sometimes very much like dance. In fact, many routines borrow techniques from classical ballet, including pirouettes, arabesques, jetés, and attitudes. Also, ballet’s emphasis on choreography is also seen in rhythmic gymnastics.

Finally, the importance of balance, flexibility, posture, and control makes rhythmic gymnastics similar to ballet and other genres of dance.