Female gymnasts use uneven parallel bars The bars are made of wood, plastic or composite material The higher bar is approximately 8 feet high The lower bar is approximately 5 ½ feet high Requirements for a routine: Mount the apparatus Perform skills Dismount the apparatus on to a mat Example of a Bar Routine

The balance beam is generally 4 feet high, 4 inches wide, and 16 feet long Routines on the beam last between 60 and 90 seconds Routines typically include acrobatic skills, leaps, turns, and dance poses Example of Beam Routine

The floor is made up of a 39 foot by 39 foot square, with a 3 foot border Stepping out of bounds during a routine results in an automatic deduction of 0.10 Floor exercise may last up to 90 seconds for females The floor is made up of springs, foam, and plywood to support the gymnasts landings Example of Floor Routine

During vault, the gymnast runs down a runway, jumps on a spring board and does some skill over the vaulting table The vaulting table used to be a horse, just like the pommel horse without the handles USAG ruled that the vaulting was horse was too dangerous and switched it to a table Example of a Vault

Ideally, every routine would start out of a 10 point value In levels 1-6, all routines are the same and therefore start out of the 10 value In levels 7-10, gymnasts must combined skills to get bonuses that raise their routines up to a 10 value Deductions can be taken for infractions such as bent legs, not pointing toes, arching/hollowing of the back, and lack of fluid rhythm Falling off of an apparatus results in an automatic 0.5 deduction from the score

Obviously, gymnastics is a very dangerous sport. The most common injuries occur in the ankles, wrists, knees, and backs of these athletes as a result of the constant pounding. Eating disorders and mental disease develop as a result of the highly competitive sport. One gymnast, Christy Henrich, died of anorexia after a judge told her she should lose weight.

Christy Henrich before her death Kerri Strugs infamous vault at the 1996 Olympics Skin on the hands frequently rips from swinging on the bars

Carly Patterson won the All Around Gold Medal at the 2004 Olympics Nastia Liukin followed in Pattersons footsteps at the 2008 Olympics The Magnificent 7 captured the team gold for the first time at the 1996 Olympics Mary Lou Retton vaulted a perfect 10 to become the first American to win the All Around Gold Nadia Comaneci earned s at the 1976 Olympics, the most in the sports history

**All data provided by USA Gymnastics

Gymnastics has proven to help children develop essential skills for other sports For example, hand- eye coordination is really improved as is balance Gymnastics also creates close relationships with teammates It encourages flexibility, balance, healthy eating, and regular exercise