Exercise
Rhythmic Gymnastics is essentially divided into two different types of exercise: individual and team exercise (5 gymnasts = 1 team). The individual exercise has a duration that can go from 1'15'' to 1'30'' and is played by a single gymnast, who must perform a series of movements, both body and gear, safely and with a high degree of aesthetics and technical competence, following a musical base. Each of these elements has its own value, defined by the scoring code.
The order of execution of the elements is free; however the exercise must be organized logically and uniformly, to create a composition that has its own idea. Only the elements recognized by the jury and correctly executed will have value at the end of the exercise score.
The team exercise has a duration that can go from 2'15 '' to 2'30 '' and follows the same rules of the individual, in principle. The main difference is that the 5 gymnasts must cooperate by exchanging the tools and performing movements as synchronously as possible.
Music
All the exercises must be performed in their entirety with musical accompaniment. Only short and voluntary arrests, motivated by the composition, are tolerated. Music can be interpreted by one or more instruments, or by a musician, including the voice used as an instrument. All instruments are authorized, provided they express a music with the characteristics necessary to accompany a GR exercise: clear and well defined in its structure. A single team exercise and two individual exercises can be performed with the music with voice and words, respecting the ethics. The coach must highlight which exercise you use the music with voice and words and write it on the Music Statement Sheet.
Quoting the Code of Scores:
There must be a total correlation between the movements and the music, performed with the contrast of the movements according to the tempo, the rhythm and the musical accents, the ability to express the character, and the emotional responses to the music through the movements of the music. body and the continuous work of the tool.
The Gymnast
Good skills of coordination, flexibility, explosive strength, concentration, power and muscular hold are essential to practice rhythmic gymnastics. The gymnasts are usually slender to be agile and graceful. They wear gauzed bodysuits, with or without kilt and/or pantyhose, or entire academics. The costume must well model the body to allow judges to evaluate the correct position of all the different parts of the body. Team gymnasts bodys must be identical in shape and color. The choreographic aspect is very important in this sport, so the costumes are very showy and often embellished with sequins, pailettes and swarowsky. The gymnasts hair is neatly gathered in a chignon or a tail. Half-feet can be worn at the feet, covering only the fingers and the first part of the foot in order to turn more easily on the footboard, reducing the friction of the foot.
Tools
The characteristics of the tools are specified in the Regulation of exercise equipment. The tools used for the team must all be identical (weight, size and shape): only their color can be different.
The Organizing Committee must arrange a series of identical tools (the complete set of tools used for individuals or for the competition team) along two of the four sides of the platform (excluding the entry and exit points) for use by each gymnast in case of exit of the tool, with relative penalization.
Rope
The rope is the classic one also used by children, but at the ends there are no knobs, but knots. Its length varies according to the height of the athlete and can be made of hemp or similar materials. The athlete must perform the exercises keeping it always in action without making it take strange shapes or suffer sagging.
The basic technical groups of this tool are:
- Steps through the rope
- Series of hops
- Echappé and spirals
- Rotations with the rope folded in half or open
The rope can be launched holding both knots in the hand, open and held only for a knot, held from the center, starting from a spiral, with different body parts from the hands (example foot) etc.
Circle
The circle for the competitive discipline has a diameter of 80-90 cm, a minimum weight of 300 g and can be wood or synthetic. The gymnasts often cover the circle with colored ribbons in order to improve the choreographic aspect.
The basic technical groups of this tool are:
- Steps through or above the circle
- Rolls on the body or on the ground
- Rotations around the hand or other part of the body
- Rotations of the circle around its axis, on the ground or on a part of the body
You can launch the circle sagittally, horizontally or transversely, you can launch it prilled or with different body parts from the hands (example foot) etc.
Ball
The ball is made of rubber or plastic weighing 400 grams with a diameter of 18-20 cm. The ball should be held gently in hand, without tightening it with the fingers ("designer" ball) or resting it on the wrist for the duration of the exercise. The ball is a tool that lends itself particularly to being stuck in various parts of the body, for example in the back during a bending movement of the torso.
The basic technical groups of this tool are:
- Dribble on the ground or with a part of the body
- Rolls on the body or on the ground
- Figures with eight, reverses and cirrusions
- Shooting with one hand
The ball can be thrown with one or two hands, from behind the back, it can be re-launched by bouncing it on a part of the body, or thrown with different body parts from the hands (example foot) etc.
Clubs
The clubs are usually made of plastic and have the shape similar to that of a bottle with a very thin neck and a sphere with a diameter of 3 cm at its end. This tool requires good coordination skills, as they must be handled simultaneously with both symmetrical and asymmetric movements. The clubs are the only tool made up of two elements: this makes it possible to create very complex and particular throws and stalls. The rule of handling is with the clubs held by the head, so no other form of holding the clubs (for the body, for the neck) can be predominant.
The basic technical groups of this tool are:
- Moulinets: minimum 4 small circles of clubs in décalage, alternating with and without crossing the wrists/hands, each time
- Small circles with clubs held by the head
- Asymmetrical movements of the 2 clubs
- Small throws with rotation of the clubs
The clubs can be thrown together or one at a time, sagittally or horizontally, in cascade (throwing the two clubs in succession), asymmetrically, with different parts of the body from the hands (example foot) etc.
The tape
The tape consists of a rod, usually made of fiberglass or synthetic, to which a silk ribbon 5 or 6 meters long and 4 to 6 cm wide is attached, by means of a hook or a wire that allows it to move freely. The tape is a very difficult tool, because it must be kept in constant motion throughout the exercise, without causing it to undergo sagging or creating knots. If this happens, the judges detract from the final score a more or less high penalty based on the size of the error.
The basic technical groups of this tool are:
- Spirals
- Passage through or above the tape design
- Serpentine
- Echappé
The tape can be thrown from the wand or from the cloth, recalled holding it by the tail (boomerang), with different parts of the body from the hands (example foot) etc.
The competition field
The gymnasts perform their exercises on a square moquettes platform; the space that can be used by the gymnast measures 13 meters on each side. Every overcoming of the boundaries of the surface with any part of the body or with the tool is penalized; however, there is no penalty if the overrun takes place without touching the ground, or if the tool comes out of the platform after the end of the exercise and the music. The exercise must develop over the entire platform, occupying it homogeneously.