2011, Women gymnasts get moves named after themselves by International Gymnastics Federation
The most dynamic part of the International Gymnastics Federation’s Code of Points, has seen important revisions following the 2011 World Championships held in Tokyo this October.
The Code of Points is a rulebook used by judges to assign scores. It contains gymnastics’ moves along with their scoring systems.
It is important to note that the Code of Points is known to differ from one governing body to another, for example the NCAA has its own customised rulebook that it uses. The Code of Points under discussion here is the one issued by the International Gymnastics
Federation.
The Code also contains a table of elements. This section enlists every acrobatic and dance skill ever performed along with illustrations and corresponding difficulty rating. The rating code awards level A for the least difficult move and at a maximum awards
level G (most difficult).
The table is revised after every Olympic Games and World Championships, whereby original moves which take place during these events are added to the table. The International Gymnastics Federation accredits these moves to their introducers by naming the moves
after the performers.
The gymnasts about to perform an original move, and hopeful of having it named after them, are required to notify the International Gymnastics Federation prior to the event.
This year’s submissions for the 2011 World Championships included additions to the balance beam, uneven bars and floor exercise routine.
For balance beam, Italy’s Elisabetta Preziosa and Switzerland’s Giulia Steingruber had elements named after themselves.
The Preziosa (D) - full turn with free leg held back with both hands The Steingruber (E) - gainer salto backwards with full twist off the beam's end in the stretched position
Canadian gymnast Christina Lee also introduced an original move (two flying flairs as mount) but its difficulty level, valued at B, was one rating short of qualifying for being named after her. Nonetheless, it was eligible to be included in the table.
The uneven bars received five submissions, all of which met the minimum requirement of difficulty ratings.
Elizabeth Seitz (Germany), Volha Makhautsova
(Belarus), Marry Anne Monckton (Australia), Viktoria Komova
(Russia) and Natalie Kononenko
(Ukraine) were the honoured gymnasts.
The Seitz (E) – backward pike circle through handstand (on low bar), full turn in flight, hang on the high bar
The Makhautsova (C) – mount from low to high bar incorporating a free hecht over the low bar with legs together to hang on the high bar
The Monckton (D) – long swing forward with half turn and pike vault over high bar to hang
The Komova (E) – outward facing on low bar, clear pike circle backward through handstand with flight to hang on high bar
The Kononenko (E) – long swing forward, counter straddle followed by reverse hecht, half turn to hang with mixed grip on high bar
Romania’s Diana Bulimar was the only one to submit an original for floor exercise. The Bulimar was valued at D and entailed a Johnson leap with additional full turn.
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