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| Highest governing body | Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) |
|---|---|
| First played | Began in ancient Greece (Sparta and Athens) |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | No contact |
| Mixed-sex | No, separate |
| Type | Summer sport |
| Equipment |
|
| Venue | Gymnasium |
| Presence | |
| Country or region | Worldwide |
| Olympic | Yes, Summer Olympics |
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance.[1] The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest, and abdominal muscle groups. Gymnastics evolved from exercises used by the ancient Greeks that included skills for mounting and dismounting a horse, and from circus performance skills.[2]
The most common form of competitive gymnastics is artistic gymnastics (AG); for women, the events include floor, vault, uneven bars, and balance beam; for men, besides floor and vault, it includes rings, pommel horse, parallel bars, and horizontal bar.
The governing body for competition in gymnastics throughout the world is the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). Eight sports are governed by the FIG, including gymnastics for all, men's and women's artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampolining (including double mini-trampoline), tumbling, acrobatic, aerobic, and parkour.[3] Disciplines not recognized by FIG include wheel gymnastics, aesthetic group gymnastics, TeamGym, and mallakhamba.
Participants in gymnastics-related sports include young children, recreational-level athletes, and competitive athletes at all levels of skill.
- ^ "Gymnastics | Events, Equipment, Types, History, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ Magazine, Smithsonian; Solly, Meilan. "A History of Gymnastics, From Ancient Greece to Tokyo 2020". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ "About the FIG". FIG. Retrieved 31 May 2019.