Gymnastics

Gymnastics

Daniele Hypólito performing on the balance beam
Highest governing body	Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG)
First played	Began in ancient Greece (Sparta and Athens)
Characteristics
Contact	No contact
Mixed-sex	No, separate
Type	Summer sport
Equipment	Women's artistic gymnastics (WAG): floor, vault, uneven bars, and balance beam Men's artistic gymnastics (MAG): floor, vault, still rings, pommel horse, parallel bars, and horizontal bar
Venue	Gymnasium
Presence
Country or region	Worldwide
Olympic	Yes, Summer Olympics

Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance.^[1] The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest, and abdominal muscle groups. Gymnastics evolved from exercises used by the ancient Greeks that included skills for mounting and dismounting a horse.^[2]

The most common form of competitive gymnastics is artistic gymnastics (AG); for women, the events include floor, vault, uneven bars, and balance beam; for men, besides floor and vault, it includes rings, pommel horse, parallel bars, and horizontal bar.

The governing body for competition in gymnastics throughout the world is the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). Eight sports are governed by the FIG, including gymnastics for all, men's and women's artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics (women's branch only), trampolining (including double mini-trampoline), tumbling, acrobatic, aerobic, parkour and para-gymnastics.^[3] Disciplines not currently recognized by FIG include wheel gymnastics, aesthetic group gymnastics, TeamGym, men's rhythmic gymnastics (both the Spanish form which is identical to the women's version and the Japanese version which is a different sport) and mallakhamba.

Participants in gymnastics-related sports include young children, recreational-level athletes, and competitive athletes at all skill levels.