The length of the beam is 16 feet and its only 3.9 inches wide. In the early days of gymnastics, beam was based more on dance than on tumbling. Routines at the elite level were just leaps, dance poses, handstands, rolls, front walkovers, and back walkovers. In the 1960's the most dificult skill performed by the average Oympic gymnast was just a back handspring.
Originally, the beam surface was plain polished wood. In earlier years, some gymnasts competed on a beam made of basketball-like material. However, this type of beam was eventually banned due to its extreme slipperiness. Since the 1980s, beams have been covered in leather or suede. In addition, they are now also sprung to accommodate the stress of high-difficulty tumbling and dance skills.
In the 70's the difficulty of beam began to increase. Gymnasts started advancing their routines by adding aerial skills and advanced tumbling combinations. Today, balance beam routines still consist of a mixture of acrobatic skills, dance elements, leaps and poses, but with much greater difficulty.
No comments:
Post a Comment