let the games begin!

one day to go before the olympics. can't wait! of course, among the spectator sports like synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics, i'm dying to watch the women's artistic gymnastics competition (WAG). well, my fascination with WAG started because of this girl during the 1996 olympics.

(source: http://isportspix.com/2008/04/04/svetlana-khorkina-picture-gallery)

yes, it is the queen of bars, svetlana khorkina. no, she wasn't wearing that in competition! anyway, i've seen her performed her optional floor exercises and she simply took my breath away. that time aside from the optional competitions, gymnasts were still required to perform compulsary exercises (gymnasts performing the same routine).

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well, so much has changed on my favorite sport. first, gone are the days of perfection. yup, no more perfect 10 like nadia. say hello to 14's (mediocre), 15's (safe) and 16's (possible medal).scoring has been changed in the code of points (read: the rule book). since 2006 world championships, there are 2 kinds score that a gymnast can receive. the A panel score (additive) which is all about the difficulty - meaning the harder the skill, the higher the score. aside from difficulty, connection of movements/bonus points are also in included in A panel. the B panel, however, is the execution score. basically, it rates how a gymnast perform a skill. this scores is deductive from a perfect score of 10. deductions are counted from unpointed toes during tumbling (0.1 deduction) to a fall on a skill (0.8). final score is the sum of the A panel and B panel scores.

the new scoring was due to the controversy in the men's all around competition in the 2004 olympics. korea's yang tae young was given a start value of 9.9 in the parallel bars instead of 10. a 0.1 difference cost him to just take the bronze medal instead of the gold. the international gymnastics federation (FIG) suspended the 3 judges who made the mistake, but paul hamm (the all around winner during the games) kept the gold. the FIG standardized the scoring for both the men and women. other than this controversy, the difference in the level of difficulty among the exercises the gymnasts are performing also led to the establishment of the new system.

for the equipment, bars has changed since nadia. during her time, there was just a narrow opening between the low and high bars. well, the bars hasn't changed since 2004 olympics but some of my readers may have fallen as sleep for about 30 years so i think it's worth mentioning.

in the 2000 olympics, many gymnasts got injured during the all-around competition because the vault was set 5 centimeters lower than the standard height. so no more side-horse vaults. we now have the vaulting table which is both used by men and women.

(source: www.fig-gymnastics.com)

since 70's the beam and floor has improved as well, with the inclusion of springs on the apparatus.

with today's level of competition, the artistry in artistic gymnastics is literally a thing of the past. wish i could see more of this, this and this instead of this and this. only a few gymnasts like my current fave, nastia liukin, can still combine difficulty and artistry.

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i am no expert on the sport. luckily, i found a beginner's guide to today's gymnastics. according to the author, "Gymnastics is a dynamic, always-evolving sport. It's about power, beauty, grace, athleticism, virtuosity, and, perhaps most of all, innovation. A, uh, great PHILOSOPHER once noted that the best example of this is how, in gymnastics, when you're the first to "climb a particular mountain" (do a skill no one else has done) they name it after you in celebration. This is one of the many reasons that the style of gymnastics, the rules, the skills, and even the athletes all evolve quickly and constantly." good thing, the author was able to describe the new scoring better on different four apparatus - "Women's Artistic Gymnastics is performed on four apparatus. EACH ONE MORE DEADLY THAN THE LAST."

anyway, here's the dummy guide about the women's vault, bars, beam and floor.