Women's Apparatus

The Vault The Vault is an event that requires tremendous speed and power from the athlete. It involves a swift approach, a quick punch of the spring board, an aggressive repulsion from the shoulders off of the vaulting horse, and a steady landing. Our beginner gymnasts will work on skills such as the squat over and the handspring, while our more advanced athletes will train vaults such as tsukaharas and twisting. In 1998, ENA produced the Level 8 State Vaulting Champion.

The Uneven Bars The Uneven Bars is an event that requires outstanding upper body strength, utilizing the physics of momentum and swing to create amazing gymnastics elements. For our younger students, it is a great piece of apparatus to develop strength in the arms and abdominals. For our more advanced athletes, it is an exciting and daring event. ENA produced the Level 8 State Bars Champion in 1999.

The Balance Beam The Balance Beam is perhaps one of the most challenging pieces of apparatus that the women must compete on. It requires flexibility, amplitude, and good balance to perform advanced skills on a four- inch wide beam. Even young and beginner gymnasts benefit from the balance and coordination that beam teaches, while advanced gymnasts can take advantage of a solid beam routine to help them win in competitions. Between 1998 & 99, ENA had four State Beam Champions!  ENA Paramus produced the 2004 Level 7 and 5 State Beam Champions, and the Level 5 State Record holder for beam!

The Floor Exercise The Floor Exercise is an apparatus that combines flexibility, strength, power, and dance into one expressive event. Athletes perform at least three tumbling sequences, numerous leaps and jumps, and unique combinations of skills and dance to produce a visually pleasing routine. In the beginning phases of the sport, athletes will learn basic rolls, handstands, cartwheels, and limbers. Once they progress to the more advanced stages of the sport, aerial somersaulting and twisting elements are incorporated.

What It Takes...

Flexibility

Perhaps more than any other sport, gymnastics requires tremendous flexibility of the athlete's shoulders, legs, etc. Good flexibility often determines whether or not gymnasts will be able to achieve certain skills, which require different ranges of motion. A flexible gymnast will not only execute split leaps and jumps more beautifully, but she will be able to perform certain difficult elements that require this characteristic.

Strength

Although the participants of the sport of gymnastics are mainly young girls, the strength required to complete the most difficult elements compares to the strength of any football player or weight lifter! Strength is necessary to hold oneself in many of the hand- supported positions in gymnastics, such as handstands and handsprings. Leg strength is also needed for all of the skills that require a powerful jump, such as flip- flops and leaps.

Speed

Without tremendous speed, events such as the vault and the floor exercise cannot be mastered. The entire vault is generated from a quick run and punch of the spring board, and all tumbling elements require a fast approach or quick muscle movement to initiate the skill. The gymnast needs the speed of a sprinter to achieve the most advanced skills of gymnastics.

Power & Punch

Without power, a gymnast cannot achieve the height she needs to complete her gymnastics skill before landing. Many elements, such as full twisting somi's and double back flips, demand that the gymnast reach heights of up to 10 feet in the air before completion. And all of this height comes from the power and the punch generated entirely from a gymnast's legs!

Air Awareness

Once a gymnast achieves height in her tumbling and gymnastics elements, she must be able to control herself both in the air and on the landings. The athlete must be aware of exactly where she is while both flipping and twisting; no easy task! To avoid taking "extra steps" on the landings, and "form breaks" in the air, this awareness must be developed over years of training.

Coordination

To put all of the above characteristics together, the gymnast must have outstanding coordination. She must be able to combine her fast approach with her powerful takeoff, and be completely aware of her position in the air prior to landing. This type of coordination also comes with years of gymnastics training.

Grace

Beyond the pounding athleticism of gymnastics, there is a graceful and beautiful side to the sport. Not only must skills be performed with amplitude and technique, but they must be surrounded by flowing dance that ties the routines together. Top gymnasts also take ballet and dance classes every week, working on the execution of their leaps, turns, and movements. Since floor exercise routines are performed to music, the gymnast must also have a good sense of beats, rhythms, and expression.

Dedication

Perhaps more than any other trait, a gymnast must have dedication. As any gymnasts knows, success in the sport does not come easy and immediately. Skills are not achieved over night, but are the end result of countless long hours of training and conditioning. But for those who are willing to put in the time and energy, the rewards make it well worth the effort.

Copyright 2004,  Eastern National Academy of Gymnastics
All photos property of Craig Zappa.  Not to be reproduced without permission.
Site last updated 04/02/2008