Gymnastics and tumbling can be traced back over 2,000 years to ancient Greece. It was first implemented as a training program for other sports, and then evolved into its own competition. Now, gymnastics is a high-powered sport which involves gravity defying stunts, power, and grace. The sport is found in private and public clubs and organizations, physical education classes, high school sports, collegiate sports and the Olympics.
Foundations
After documented participation of gymnastics and tumbling in Ancient Greece, involvement in the sport declined until 1811, when a Berlin High School teacher, Fredrich Jahn, organized the turnvereins which was one of the first gymnastics associations. His intention was to form a group with great physical strength to help break Germany free from Napoleonic rule. Though the turnvereins never accomplished that task, they did succeed in forming successful centers for physical and social activity. These centers spread to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, where they became known as sokols.
Original Organizations
The sokols and turnvereins brought gymnastics to the United States in 1830. Competitions were held by private clubs and organizations until the International Gymnastics Federation, or FIG was formed in 1881. In 1883, the Amateur Athletic Association took control of gymnastics, along with most other sports. This opened the door for international competition. USA Gymnastics took over as the governing body of gymnastics in 1970. Tumbling became a whole new entity, and although it is still apart of gymnastics events, there are specific organizations dedicated only to tumbling. The main organization is the American Tumbling and Tramp Association, which incorporates trampoline tumbling and power tumbling.
Olympic Introduction
According to USA Gymnastics, gymnastics was introduced to the Olympics in 1896. At this time it was a male dominated sport, with apparatus consisting of pommel horse, rings, rings, vault, and parallel bars, only missing the floor exercise with tumbling which is a part of modern gymnastics. Women first competed in the 1928 Olympics, which was won by the Netherlands. The 1936 Olympics introduced the first American female gymnasts.
Evolution
Post World War II saw a dramatic rise in gymnastics participation. In "The Spirit of Gymnastics," Tom Conkling theorizes that this sudden growth could be accredited to increased interest in athletics due to military training, the return of GIs with military gymnastics experience and more people to coach and train gymnasts. Many colleges opened up gymnastics competition through the NCAA, which started competition in 1948.
Current
The 1970s were a landmark timeframe for women's gymnastics, paving the way for the phenomenon that it is today. In 1972, Russian gymnast Olga Korbut became popular for her daring new skills. In 1976, Romanian Nadia Comaneci took home seven perfect scores. In 1984, American gymnast Mary Lou Retton became the first female American gymnast to win the All-Around Gold medal. American women brought home the team gold in the 1996 Olympics, causing a drastic increase in participation. Gymnastics was one of the most watched sports in the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Olympics. Currently, men's gymnastics consist of the tumbling floor exercise, rings, pommel horse, parallel bars, vault, and high bar. Women's gymnastics consist of floor exercise which is a combination of dance and tumbling, uneven parallel bars, vault, and balance beam.
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