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Copyright of Science of Gymnastics Journal is the property of Science of Gymnastics Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Science of Gymnastics Journal is the property of Science of Gymnastics Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Science of Gymnastics Journal is the property of Science of Gymnastics Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of this study was to establish whether a pattern exists in the type of apparatus specific elements chosen by elite rhythmic gymnastics groups. Twenty six group exercise routines (5 hoops, and 3 ribbons and 2 ropes) performed by thirteen groups at the Portimão 2009 World Cup Series gymnastics competition were analysed. Results: (a) mastery and risk with throw: (i) all groups preferred using throws during a body flight; (ii) in the 3 ribbons and 2 ropes routines the use of catches during an element with rotation was most common, whilst in the 5 hoops routines catches without the help of the hands were used most frequently; (iii) compulsory rotations were the most commonly used elements in the 5 hoops routines, whereas the additional rotation was preferred in the 3 ribbons and 2 ropes routines. (b) mastery without throw: (i) rotations and handlings were the most frequently used elements in the 5 hoops routines whilst snakes & spirals were preferred in the 3 ribbons and 2 ropes routines; (ii) there were no records of risk without throw. (c) with regard to collaborations (COLL) the most frequently used were the COLL RR1 (these include a large throw with risk of loss of visual contact with the apparatus during its flight, as well as passing over, below or through one or several apparatus or other gymnasts during the flight of the apparatus) in the 5 hoops routines and the COLL with throw in the 3 ribbons and 2 ropes routines. This study demonstrates that it is possible to broadly identify and describe patterns of element use for each apparatus type for 5 hoops, and 3 ribbons and 2 ropes routines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Judging is a very important factor in rhythmic gymnastics (RG), so much so that the evaluation made by the judge leads to its development. Aims. The main goal of this study is to analyze the behavior of the Portuguese rhythmic gymnastics' judges during a national competition. Methods. The judging of 23 national judges was evaluated during the 2009 Portuguese Cup using an International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) table. The control score was obtained by the judging of 4 international judges in the same routines. A questionnaire was applied to all judges in order to obtain data to relate the premonition variables to the judgment score. For the results interpretation a comparative and inferential analysis in SPSS 17 and Excel (Office 2007) was used. Results. The main results were as follows: 70% of the judges were National (5 to 8 years of judging experience) and 30% International (more than 9 years of judging experience). The average of the classifications obtained was 6.035 (from a maximum of 10 points). The age of the judges, their judging experience and, their judging competitions per year and the category of National Judge had a great influence on the judgment score. Also, the experience as a coach, and a job related to sport and high education qualifications showed a tendency of an improvement in the judgment evaluation. Their experience as a gymnast resulted in the worst performance as judges. Conclusions. There are differences in the judging competences among the different judges. The selected variables influence the evaluation of performance, and from these the age, sports experience and judging experience are the most important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. A knowledge of the composition of competition elite gymnasts routines gives us a perspective of the evolution of gymnastics. Aim. The aim of this study is to try to understand if there is a common profile in the choice of difficulty elements in different body groups in gymnasts from different countries and/or from different "training schools". Methods. In this study, there were observed 70 different routines, from 23 different countries in 4 different continents, which have competed at the 2007 and 2008 Portimão World Cup Series (PWC). All the groups performed two different routines, one with 5 ropes and the other with 3 hoops and 4 clubs. To analyse the difficulty elements we used competitions forms provided in advance to the competition organisation. We used the competition forms instead of films because in this way the analysis would not be affected by mistakes made by the group during the competition. The official classification used in the FIG (Gymnastics International Federation) Code of Points (FIG, 2005-2008) was used to organise different elements. It classifies the body difficulties in 5 categories: Jumps/Leaps, Balances, Pivots, Flexibility/Waves and Exchanges. Results. The analysis of the 2007 and 2008 results showed that in the Jumps and for both routines, all groups preferred performing difficulties with different kinds of jeté with turn. In the balances category, the balance with horizontal trunk and the balances with different positions of the free leg were the most performed in both competitions. The most frequently used pivots were the pivots with the leg high (in front or side) for the two different types of routines in 2007. However, in PWC 2008, the fouettés were the most frequently used pivot in both routines. The preferred flexibility/wave elements used in the sample observed were the splits with the horizontal positions. The results show that the majority of the exchange elements were performed without body difficulty elements. However, when they include them, the groups chose jumps in both types of routine and in both competitions. Conclusions. In general a profile for each kind of apparatus could be designed and to compose the difficulty elements, the groups observed, demonstrated a preference for jumps and flexibility/waves in both routines and in both years (2007 and 2008). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims. The „Swallow” is a very important element for the rings' routines in Men's Artistic Gymnastics. This study is aimed at verifying the contribution of the „Swallow” as a structural framework and also to evaluate it within the rings' routines. Methods. The rings' routines of 212 male gymnasts from the World Championships at Stuttgart in 2007 were observed. The exercise evaluation was made via IRCOS images, with the support of the Rings Supervisor Judge from the competition analyzed. For data analysis, we used the Correlation of Pearson and Descriptive Statistics (a study of frequencies and crosstabs). Results. We found that: most gymnasts who make the „Swallow” choose to do two variants of the element; the start value note of exercises seems to increase according to the number of variants elements executed, having implications on the final score and thus on gymnasts' classification; the „Swallow” elements were in majority performed in the first five elements of the exercise and the summits' teams have a larger number of gymnasts performing two „Swallow” elements on their exercises; most of the gymnasts on Competition III showed two „Swallow” elements. Conclusions. The „Swallow” is an advantageous alternative for the value and structuring of Rings exercise, mainly as it has the widest range in variants of the high value of difficulty, compliance with the requirement groups and the ability of connection value awarded with other elements of strength directly connected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]