Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. 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.
Trampolining or trampoline gymnastics is a competitive Olympic sport in which athletes perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. In competition, these can include simple jumps in the straight, pike, tuck, or straddle position to more complex combinations of forward and/or backward somersaults and twists. Scoring is based on the difficulty and on the total seconds spent in the air. Points are deducted for bad form and horizontal displacement from the center of the bed.
The International Gymnastics Federation is the body governing competition in all disciplines of gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on 23 July 1881 in Liège, Belgium, making it the world's oldest existing international sports organisation. Originally called the European Federation of Gymnastics, it had three member countries—Belgium, France and the Netherlands—until 1921, when non-European countries were admitted and it received its current name.
The Magna Carta School is an 11–16 academy school in Staines, England, which has been awarded specialisms in Technology and ICT. It is named after Magna Carta due to its proximity to Runnymede, where the document was signed. The school contains over 1200 pupils including over 60 prefects.
Acrobatic gymnastics is a competitive discipline of gymnastics where partnerships of gymnasts work together and perform routines consisting of acrobatic skills, dance and tumbling, set to music. There are three types of routines; a 'balance' routine where the focus is on strength, poise and flexibility; a 'dynamic' routine which includes throws, somersaults and catches, and a 'combined' routine which includes elements from both balance and dynamic.
Gymnastics has been part of all World Games. Among the disciplines, there are rhythmic gymnastics, trampolining and tumbling as well as acrobatics and aerobics. Artistic gymnastics are not contested at the World Games because all of its disciplines have always been Olympic sports.
This is a general glossary of the terms used in the sport of gymnastics.
Kristin Allen is a Hall of Fame American acrobatic gymnast. Kristin and her partner Michael Rodrigues made history by becoming the first American mixed pair to win a gold medal from the World Games in 2009 and the second American pair to win the Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships in 2010. Domestically, the pair have won national titles in 2008 and 2010. She competed for the United States of America Gymnastics from 2001 until her retirement in August 2010 and spent five of those years on the Senior National Team.
Spelbound are a gymnastic troupe from the United Kingdom who rose to fame in 2010, winning the fourth series of Britain's Got Talent. The prize was £100,000 and the opportunity to appear at the 2010 Royal Variety Performance. They also performed in the Britain's Got Talent Live tour. They have since performed at numerous venues and have been featured in advertisements.
Damien Gareth Walters is a British freerunner and former gymnast from Derbyshire who specializes in tumbling and trampoline. In January 2024, he was announced as the director of an already-filmed comedy action film Stuntnuts Does School Fight which would later feature the same stunt crew in an upcoming Hit-Girl & Kick-Ass reboot.
Edward Robin Upcott is a five times British acrobatic gymnast champion who was world men's pairs champion in partnership with Doug Fordyce, winning the gold medal in July 2010 in Poland. Before his partnership with Fordyce, Upcott was in partnership with Mark Fyson, who retired in 2009 after the pair had won the bronze medal in the 2008 world championships in Glasgow. With his new partner Adam McAssey, Upcott was awarded the silver medal in the 2012 Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships.
Adam McAssey is a British acrobatic gymnast who won the title of world men's fours champion with Adam Buckingham, Alex Uttley and Jonathan Stranks in July 2010 in Poland. With partner Edward Upcott, McAssey achieved silver in the 2012 Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships.
Adam Buckingham is a British acrobatic gymnast who won the title of world men's fours champion with Adam McAssey, Alex Uttley and Jonathan Stranks in July 2010 in Poland.
Alex Uttley is a British acrobatic gymnast who won the title of world men's fours champion with Adam Buckingham, Adam McAssey and Jonathan Stranks in July 2010 in Poland.
Jonathan Stranks is a British acrobatic gymnast who won the title of world men's fours champion with Adam Buckingham, Adam McAssey and Alex Uttley in July 2010 in Poland.
Mark Fyson is a British former acrobatic gymnast.
Alice Upcott is a retired British female acrobatic gymnast and the sister of Edward Upcott, world champion in 2010. With Dominic Smith, she was awarded the gold medal in the 2013 World Games, the gold medal at the 2013 Acrobatic Gymnastics European Championships and the silver medal in the 2014 Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships.
Dominic Smith is a British male acrobatic gymnast. With Alice Upcott, he was awarded the gold medal in the 2013 World Games, the gold medal at the 2013 Acrobatic Gymnastics European Championships and the silver medal in the 2014 Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships.
Hand to hand acrobatics is a type of performance in which an acrobatic base and flyer balance on top of each other in either a gymnastic or acrobatic medium. It combines strength, agility, flexibility, and balance. For it to be considered hand to hand acrobatics, the top performer (flyer) must be making physical contact only with the base's hands, with the flyer's hands keeping them balanced. Positions the top can perform in this style of acrobatics are straddles, handstands, pikes, press to handstand, one arm handstands, planches, flags, and many others. Hand to hand acrobatics can also include dynamic catches and throws that either begin with a throw from a hand to hand position or end in a catch in the hand to hand position.
