The Gymnastic Sport of Balance Beam: A women’s only artistic sport
The sport of balance beam is very interesting - it is a women’s only sport that utilises a piece of equipment that is also called a balance beam. The balance beam is a wooden structure covered in leather or suede that has
special springs mounted in it that allows a young woman to perform tricks and routines. The skill involved is keeping one’s balance while doing routines, tricks and stunts. Balance beam is one of the most popular sports in the world of gymnastics and looks
all set to remain so for a long time to come.
The first time that a women’s gymnastics event took place was during the 1928 Olympic Games and was a very different affair to what it is today. At that time it was solely a team event and there were no individual disciplines.
It was not until 1950 that the modern form of women’s gymnastics made a debut and featured team, all-round and individual events. The sport of balance beam emerged as a choreographed routine of tumbles, flips, jumps and turns. Over the years it became very
popular and today is a hotly contested Olympic event.
Artistic gymnastics is practised by approximately 4.5 million people in America and many more around the world. Out of these 70% are women and the whole sport of gymnastics has a heavy female lean to it. Men do compete but
they are far and few between. In the past, the sport of balance beam was based more on dancing but nowadays it is more focused on tumbling. The tumbling routine features things mentioned above like falls, turns, leaps and summersaults. The choreographed routines
are judged on skill, artistic talent and creativity.
The sport is only contested by women because of a serious risk of injury to male private parts if men fall and land awkwardly on the beam. Due to this fact, the sport features only women and has done so for many years. The
gymnasts who take part in the sport start off at a very young age; most of them start practising around seven years old. The rules of Olympic competition state that a gymnast can start competing if they turn 16 during an Olympic year. With improved fitness
levels even women into their 20s and rarely into their 30s can also compete. But on a whole, it is usually 16 year olds who have the flexibility and the dexterity to perform the moves on a beam.
The sport was moving along in relative mediocrity when all of a sudden in the 1970s Olga Korbut and Nadia Comăneci came up with some of the most skilled displays of tumbling routines that anyone had ever seen at the time.
Soon after coaches and competitors started to follow suit and a new era of the balance beam was born. This also brought about changes in the beam itself which used to be made out of very slippery and unsafe materials. Today the beams have small springs under
them to enable them to have some give when participants are performing routines and they are also covered in non-slip materials to minimise injuries.
The rules are interesting of this gymnastics event. A routine must consist of the following; the first is a combination of two dance styles with a leap, jump or a hop. The second is a full turn on one foot, the third is a
set of acrobatic skills, the fourth is acrobatic elements in two different directions and finally a dismount. A routine cannot last longer than 90 seconds or a gymnast can be disqualified or incurs a score penalty by the judges.
The Special Olympics has also built a special balance beam for the use of Special Olympians. It is lower to the ground and is purpose built for the use of Special athletes. It seems at the moment that the Special balance
beam is a concept and a prototype has been made. Several athletes have been testing it as a proof of concept.
The balance beam will continue to entice young gymnasts to take part in it. Over time, the styles and skills displayed on the beam will become more creative and more exciting to watch. All fans of the sport will continue
to see a high quality and enthralling gymnastics event in the future.
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