Girls Gymnastics

Girl gymnastics is a sport full of young girl gymnasts dreaming of a medal, an Olympic medal. They start off young, even very young. A club photo will show the range of ages starting with little girls in gymnastic events. Some start gymnastics as toddlers, next attending kindergarten groups where they learn more about the basics of gymnastics. Attending their first competition, these very young gymnastics girls proudly show off their initial routines. Later finds the older ones attending girl’s gymnastics camps featuring their sport and, perhaps, Gymnastic Academies. For some of these gymnastic girls, this sport will consume much of their young life.

In gymnastics, a girl will learn how to build agility, balance, co-ordination, flexibility, self-confidence and strength. Girl gymnasts will train their body and spirit to participate in a sport that provides fun, fitness and the fundamentals applicable to any sort. In one of the least gender-biased sports, a gymnast girl can hone her skills. Male gymnasts have the parallel bars, female gymnasts the uneven and, both, the floor exercise or routines and the horse. Men have six events; women perform four. This is true whether you are a young gymnastic girl or young boy or adult of either sex. A girl gymnastic performer must follow the expectations of her level of expertise and experience in the field. While a male relies on strength to propel himself through a routine on the parallel or even bars, gymnast girls need to combine strength with grace and flexibility on such events as the uneven bars.

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The vault apparatus is common to both men and women. A girl gymnast, however, does not leap from end-to-end. Instead, she vaults over the side. The same type of board – the Reuther board (named after its designer, Richard Reuther) is utilized by both. Both male and females “punch” the horse to obtain the right height and perform the correct move. This can be a flip, a multiple twist or a basic handspring or somersault. Girls in high school gymnastics perform more complicated vault routines than those at lower levels.

The same applies for the balance beam. In a gymnastic gallery, a girl, never a boy, appears performing on the balance beam. This is an event for females only and it requires dexterity, intense concentration, perfect balance, precision and years of practice. The Germans refer to this apparatus as “Angst Baum” or “fear beam.”

It takes considerable skills and determination to become a gymnast. There is no place for “cutsey” posturing or hot gymnastics girls interested in the look and not the substance of the sport.