Rhythmic Gymnastics is an Olympic family celebrating the dualism of sport and arts.
Welcome to the introduction of Rhythmic Gymnastics!
Rhythmic is defined as "a repeated pattern of movement or sound". Gymnastics, meanwhile, is "exercises developing or displaying physical agility and coordination".
Putting them together, Rhythmic Gymnastics is performing physical exercises in harmony with the rhythm!
The prominent feature of Rhythmic Gymnastics, however, is the presence of apparatus(es) in a routine.
On top of gymnastics skills with music accompaniment, rhythmic gymnasts are also expected to manipulate certain apparatus(es) per routine.
Multitasking at its best!
There are five apparatuses in Rhythmic Gymnastics: the ribbon, ball, hoop, clubs and rope. More about this in later posts!
Rhythmic Gymnastics is reserved exclusively for females.
There is also a rise in male Rhythmic Gymnastics in certain countries although only females compete in the Olympics. There are two competing categories: the individual (1 gymnast) and the group (5 gymnasts + 1 reserve).
What do the gymnasts do in Rhythmic Gymnastics?
In Rhythmic Gymnastics, gymnasts are expected to express and interpret their rhythm through gymnastics skills AND the manipulation of apparatuses.
It is crucial for the apparatus to be always in motion, indicating that it is unfavourable for the gymnast to perform by grabbing the apparatus 90% (or even half) of the time.
Well, what’s the use of the apparatus if one isn’t utilising it much? This is what sets Rhythmic Gymnastics apart from other gymnastic families:
the equilibrium of body difficulty and apparatus mastery.
For the same reason, gymnasts are thus evaluated based on their execution as well as the routine’s Body Difficulty (BD) and Apparatus Difficulty (AD).
Body Difficulty (BD), the Core of Rhythmic Gymnastics
BD is the first component taught to younger gymnasts. The reason is relatively simple: the young age is the peak period to train gymnasts' flexibility.
BD elements are also probably easier to teach because it is very straightforward with a rather limited possibility for innovation.
There are three BD elements each gymnast has to master, which are leap, balance and pirouette. I will elaborate on each element in future blog posts, so I will only give a brief overview for now.
Leap is jumping into a form while airborne.
Balance is staying in a fixed shape throughout a time period.
Pirouette, meanwhile, is to perform turns on an axis:
Apparatus Difficulty (AD), the uniqueness of Rhythmic Gymnastics
In my own words, performing AD's is to utilise each apparatus to its intended function... and outdo them.
Compared to BD's, AD's has no boundaries and therefore they are up to the gymnast's creative interpretations (and talent) to perform them.
There are different AD's for each apparatus, which I'll cover next time. The textbook AD's, however, is to throw and catch the apparatus:
Rhythmic gymnasts can leave their mark on the carpet by inventing their unique moves, i.e. originality. And if FIG approves the move, the move will then be named after the gymnast. How cool is that!
Below is an example of ball originality performed by Yana Kudryavtseva:
Code of Points (CoP), the Rhythmic Gymnastics scoring system
Rhythmic Gymnastics' scoring system is known as the Code of Points (CoP) governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG).
The CoP changes in every Olympics cycle so yes, the CoP for 2013-2016 is different from 2017-2021, as is 2021-2024.
Despite the different formats, the overarching judging criteria revolve around how many BD's and AD's in a routine and their value, and how well gymnasts execute each element.
Personal Note
Wow, I've blabbered quite a lot in this blog post! To summarise, rhythmic gymnastics is a dualism of sports and arts. Gymnasts are evaluated based on their execution of body difficulties (BD) and apparatus difficulties (AD).
I have promised a lot of future posts, including all apparatus as well as every BD's and AD's. I know it sounds like a lot, but I'm trying my best to break down each component with clarity. One step at a time and you'll understand everything in a nick of time!
Rest assured, each of my writing will be accompanied by GIFs for easier comprehension. And memes if I'm feeling cheeky!
My next blog post will be about the most famous apparatus associated with Rhythmic Gymnastics: the ribbon!
Thank you so much for staying with me. I hope you enjoy my first Rhythmic Gymnastics piece. I'll see you all next time... goodbye!
Disclaimer:
rhythmic.palette does not own any of the published media unless stated and watermarked otherwise. GIF is sourced from giphy.com. Kindly contact rhythmic.palette should you wish to remove any of the media.
Cover image information:
"Anastasia Mulmina (UKR)" by Olivier Aubrais
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