Changes in Gymnastics

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How has gymnastics changed through the years and what aspects have improved?

Some ways gymnastics has changed over the years are that the scores have changed, the equipment has advanced, the women have gained more rights, and the gymnasts have become stronger and more powerful. One thing that changed the entire sport of gymnastics was the elimination of the 10. A ten used to be the best score a gymnast could receive, and according to a gymnastics website, it meant the judge didn’t see any flaws or deductions. Essentially a ten was a perfect score. It was changed so the gymnasts could each have an opportunity to score differently. Nowadays, every gymnast has a start value, and their score depends on technique, and difficulty. Women haven’t always been in the Olympics, and in fact there was a time where they weren’t even allowed to compete. Based on a gymnastics post, the women were never included in the Olympics until 1928. That means they’ve only been competing competitively worldwide for 88 years. Considering gymnastics originated during the 18th century, it’s crazy to think women have only been competing for 88 of those years in the Olympics. This was one of the most interesting parts I learned from my research. It was surprising to learn how long gymnastics really has been around. According to iSport Gymnastics, gymnastics originated in ancient Greece in the late 18th century. From triple twist, I was also able to learn about all the gymnasts who have played a role in shaping the history of American gymnastics. Overall, I learned a lot from this project and how gymnastics has really become a powerful, and still graceful sport where men and women are allowed to compete.