In the modern world, rhythmic gymnastics is recognized as the most charming sport, but at the same time one of the most difficult, since performances involve the use of various objects, all movements are played to music, and even with the addition of various dance exercises.
About the sport
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport that combines beauty and grace, femininity and elegance. A professional gymnast is a fragile girl who performs miracles on the mat: throws and catches objects, performs the most difficult elements for flexibility and stretching, striking the audience .
Usually, innate flexibility, stretching, high push, slender figure, good coordination of movements. But even if a gymnast does not have all these qualities, almost everything can be achieved through hard training, in the hands of a good coach.
However, to become a champion, you need to have not only natural abilities, but also a strong character that helps to overcome difficulties on the way to the coveted medals.
Rhythmic gymnastics is an Olympic sport
Combining ballet, dance and acrobatics. Athletes are expressive in their movements, they can perfectly control their body. To express feelings and emotions in demonstration performances, a ball, ribbon, hoop, maces, rope can be used. Over the years, the arsenal was replenished with scarves, fans, pennants and flags.
Gymnasts perform exercises with a rope, hoop, ball, maces and ribbon on a 13×13 meter carpet to music, the time of which should not exceed one and a half minutes. During the exercise, the gymnast must move to the beat of the music and not go beyond the carpet. All exercises are accompanied by musical accompaniment. There are two types of exercises – individual (personal) and group.
In group exercises, five gymnasts perform on the carpet at the same time and one gymnast is a substitute. Usually, according to the Olympic program, you need to perform two exercises. In a group exercise, gymnasts are required to perform not only technical elements, as in the individual all-around, but also the transfer of objects, as well as elements of complex acrobatics. Therefore, the exercise looks very interesting and dynamic.
Both group exercises and individual exercises are evaluated by a panel of judges, which consists of 4 teams responsible for assessing the complexity of the elements, the complexity of the work of objects, composition and performance technique. There is also a referee who monitors whether the gymnast has left the area and whether she finished the exercise exactly with the music.
With what objects do gymnasts perform movements?
Hoop. This device weighs about 300 grams and has a diameter of eighty centimeters. Made from plastic.
Ball. Its diameter is about twenty centimeters, but the weight is quite large – at least 400 grams. The ball is made of plastic or soft rubber.
The next item is the tape. It is attached to a special club, the length of which is 50 cm. The ribbon is made of satin or a material similar to satin. Length 70 cm.
Rolling pin. This device does not have a specific length, since it depends on the growth of the gymnast. It should be made of plastic or other similar material.
Mace. This item is made of wood or plastic. Both maces are quite light, only 150 gr each. This item is made in the shape of a bottle. The size of each club is 40 centimeters, in the narrow part there is a small rounding. The narrow part of the mace is called the tip or head, and the wide part is the body.
The most important thing for any athlete is to always be in shape, to watch your figure. Therefore, in order to avoid the appearance of extra pounds, gymnasts, like any other athletes, are on diets or take certain drugs that protect against the appearance of unnecessary pounds. Rhythmic gymnastics has something in common with artistic gymnastics, but it is rhythmic gymnastics that is less dangerous and more accessible.
The main means of this sport are exercises with an object, without an object, elements of folk and fashion dances, elements of pantomime and basic gymnastics, rhythm, as well as exercises from acrobatics and other sports.
How are the workouts
Combining dance, plastic and gymnastic tricks, rhythmic gymnastics is recognized as one of the most beautiful and spectacular sports. You can enroll your child in training from an early age. Most studios accept little girls from the age of 3.
For kids, the training schedule does not exceed more than 2 hours a day. But older athletes sometimes bring the training time up to 14 hours. Naturally, if the goal is to win in certain competitions.
In the process of training, gymnasts interact with several objects: these are ribbons, maces, hoops, jump ropes and balls. Sometimes artistic numbers do not involve the use of shells. In this case, rhythmic gymnastics is a plastic, artistic and extremely complex dance that catches the eye and makes you involuntarily hold your breath.