Level 6 Balance Beam Routine

The time limit for the level 6 balance beam routine is 1:10.

The Mount-Scissor leg swing mount with a half turn

• The first leg to swing (bad leg) must reach a minimum of 45 degrees below horizontal before you can switch to your good leg to finish the mount.
• Must continue through a half turn to straddle sit on balance beam. You must not slow down or stop before arriving in a sitting position.

V-Sit

• Extend your legs completely with pointed toes. You may bend or straighten your arms but you cannot push of the balance beam with your hands to perform the stand

Coupe, Side Developpe, Rond De Jambe

• Take one releve coupe step to end on your bad leg
• While standing on your bad leg extend your good leg sidewards to a minimum height of 45degrees.
• Once it reaches 45 degrees or above immediately pull your right leg in front of you at a minimum of 90 degrees and HOLD for 1 SECOND
• Make sure your leg is turned out while lifting it to 45 degrees, shifting, and holding it at 90 degrees.
• Your leg must not drop in height or you will receive a deduction, it can only raise!!!

Coupe Turn (heel snap turn)

• Drop your foot to ankle
• Go up in releve as you snap the heel around to complete a heel snap turn on YOUR BAD LEG!
• Once you complete your turn immediately drop heal to beam and pause before stepping back words to close- If your foot doesn’t go flat on the beam at the end of your heel snap turn, you will receive a deduction.
• Make sure to show the use of your arms

Straight Leg Leap

• Legs must separate on the leap and reach a minimum of 120 degrees.
• Gymnast must sustain straight legs and pointed toes throughout the entire leap and land in a low, paused, arabesque position.
• DO NOT bend the front leg on takeoff (this will be a staged leap and will receive deductions).
• The judge is looking for amplitude, great posture and an even leg separation (legs even, not one higher than the next)
• You may only take 1-3 steps into your leap
• Both feet must be turned out. Must show rocking through the use of plie going forward and backwards. Maintain an erect torso and smooth  fluid motion from beginning to end.

Weight transfer

• Both feet must be turned out.
• Must show rocking through the use of plie (4^th position) going forward and backwards.
• Maintain an erect torso and smooth fluid motion from beginning to end.

Back Walkover

• As you arch backwards you must lift your front leg (as if there is a string tied from your foot to your arms)
• You must show a continues motion of your leg lifting as you go into your back walkover
• Your leg cannot drop
• You must place your hands side by side (they cannot stagger meaning one in-front of the next)
• While in your back walkover your legs must separate a minimum of 150 degrees
• You must pass through a handstand position and lever out

Many people don’t know this but you can perform a BACK EXTENSION ROLL on the beam in place of the back walkover

• If you would like info on how to correctly perform a back extension roll on the beam just let me know by leaving a comment

Leg Swing

• Leg must swing forward to reach a minimum of 90 degrees
• Leg must swing backwards and reach a minimum of 45 degrees

Pivot Turn Right and Left

• Pivot turns much be very sharp and quick
• You must be in a locked (closed) position
• Each turn must be completed (180 degrees)
• Hips must stay squared
• Must stay in releve the entire time

Full Turn

• Kick in high releve
• Leg must reach a minimum of 90 degrees
• While you kick flick both arms out to the side
• Then prepare arms as you would any other turn-then pull arms to a crown while turning
• Complete a 360 turn on high releve
• Turn should be completed in passé (foot to knee)
• Stay in releve the entire time

Tuck Jump

• Do a stretch jump than pull knees toward chest until you reach a minimum of 90 degree hip to knee closure
• Completely open into a stretch position before landing back on the balance beam
• Show amplitude, quick tuck and extension, keep chest up

Split Jump

• Legs must separate 120 degree
• They must be even (must not have one leg higher than the next)
• Must land with feet close together
• Must show amplitude, and keep good body posture (chest up)
• Must connect the two jumps

Arabesque

• Must have chest up
• Raise leg to a minimum of 45 degrees
• Must hold for 1 second

Scale

• Keep chest up as much as possible
• Lift leg 45 degrees above horizontal
• Hold for 2 seconds

Dismount (Cross Handstand to Side Handstand)

• Hands must be side by side (not staggered) in cross handstand
• Cross handstand must be completely vertical and held for 1 second
• Make a ¼ turn into side handstand
• Hold side handstand for 2 seconds
• Maintain a straight body position with a neutral head from the start of your handstand until you land your dismount
• The dismount is extremely important, a gymnast can get over a 1.3 deduction on this one balance beam element

]]> http://theworldofgymnastics.com/the-basics-of-gymnastics/gymnastics-level-6-balance-beam-requirements-skills-faults-and-deductions/feed 0 http://theworldofgymnastics.com/the-basics-of-gymnastics/how-to-avoid-and-repair-a-gymnasts-grip-rips http://theworldofgymnastics.com/the-basics-of-gymnastics/how-to-avoid-and-repair-a-gymnasts-grip-rips#comments Sun, 06 Nov 2011 05:39:19 +0000 Scarlett http://theworldofgymnastics.com/?p=434

In gymnastics, hand rips from gripping bars are common and repairable. Did you know they are, in many cases avoidable? I will give you tips on how to avoid grip rips. I will also explain how to repair and treat them if you do get these hand rips.

Grip rips are part of being a gymnast, but it is important to keep them minimal. Tender loving care will help or possibly prevent these painful hand rips. I want to help you avoid ripping those callused hands. It not only causes pain, but can hinder a performance.

Calluses are the hardened or thickened parts of the skin. They are to help protect the area where there is a lot of friction. Calluses are located at the top of the palms and sometimes in the middle of the inside of the hand. The more friction that occurs, the deeper the calluses. If the calluses get too thick, then rips can occur. It is important to avoid hand rips by maintaining proper care.

In gymnastics before you see a gymnast start her bar routine, she will rub chalk on her hands. This helps decrease the friction, but it also dries out the hands.

The best way to a gymnast can care for her calluses is by shaving them down. Many stores sell callus razors.  Pumice stones may also be used. I have even heard of people using podiatric sanders as well. Anything that helps grind down or shave the unwanted layers of the calluses. Do not shave the calluses down too far. In gymnastics, these calluses are a must have, just don’t let them get too thick. Groom them every week to avoid hand rips. Shaving the layers of a callus will keep excess skin from growing. Also, use a good skin moisturizer. Before bed is a must, Bag Balm is my favorite. Although it moisturizes, it also seems to heal the skin. It is usually found at your local hardware, farm, or drug store.

In gymnastics it is important to take care of a hand rip properly and as soon as possible. It must first be cleaned out with an antibacterial type product to keep the wound from getting infected. I recommend using an antibiotic suave just before covering up the wound. There are H shaped bandages that may be used if your gymnastics facility has them in their first aid box. If not, I recommend  wrapping gauze and tape around the hand. This is a sure way to keep the wound protected. Wrapping the hand will also help the gymnast to go on with her bar workout. Also, be sure to cut a couple pieces of tape and adhere them from the bandage inside of hand, through the fingers, and attach it to the  back of the bandage. Keep the wound covered for 4-5 days. If it is not healed, repeat this process and try to avoid too much friction until it heals.

1. Squat down with your legs and feet together.
2. Bend your arms and place your hands right next to your ears with your palms facing the ceiling and your fingers facing backwards.
3. Tuck your chin to your chest
4. Round your back like a cat
5. Lean backwards and roll
6. Once your hands meet the ground make your arms straight and push off the floor.
7. Land on your feet in either a pike or a squat (do not land on your knees)

Many times gymnastics coaches use an incline gymnastics mat or wedge mat to teach a backward roll. It gives the gymnasts a little more momentum.

When spotting a gymnast on backward rolls you want to lift their hips so they don’t hurt their neck.

Before you introduce the backward roll to your gymnast you should try starting them out with a gymnastics drill. For this backward roll drill you should start just like normal but once you roll you should squash your hands against the floor and then re-roll forward. This is kinda like a candle stick but with bent knees and arms. Each time your gymnast tries this drill encourage them to push off their hands more and more.

Mistakes in a Backward Roll

The most common mistakes gymnasts make is arching and throwing their head and shoulders backward. When doing a backward roll you must round your back like a cat.

The second most common mistake I see kids make is not pushing off their hands. If they don’t push off their hands they usually hurt their neck and never make it over. Usually they go back and fall over to the side.

Here is a video to help you understand the gymnastics backward roll even more!

I have wrote many articles explaining how gymnastics pits are very helpful and a great training tool for all gymnasts. This is very true but like always, with every good thing comes a negative aspect or a downfall.

The benefits of a gymnastics foam pit greatly outweigh the downfalls, but as a coach I must warn people about each and every downfall.

First, the gymnastics foam pit is very forgiving and may teach kids to use bad form and technique. When gymnasts do skills in the foam pit they usually forget all about straight legs, pointed toes and correct form. They get so caught up in doing the skill into the pit that they forget about all the technique required to do it on the ground.

Second, it can give a gymnast a false sense of accomplishment. Time after time I have asked my gymnast if they can to do a specific skill and they say yes. But they leave out that they have only done it into the pit! Many gymnast think if they can do a skill into pit than they have that skill. This is not true!! This thought can be very dangerous. I cannot stress enough, just because you can do a skill into a gymnastics foam pit does not mean you can do it on the spring floor.

Third, the foam pit can cause many injuries. Every gymnast should watch how they land in the pit. Landing feet first can cause an ankle to roll or knee to buckle. Landing headfirst can cause neck and back injuries. Landing on your belly can also cause back and neck injuries. When tumbling into the pit make sure you don’t land short or undercut, this could make you land on the pit edge. If you tumble to far you could also land on the pit edge. I have seen several gymnasts knee themselves in their face when landing in the pit, so be careful.

Last but not least, foam pit dust may get in the gymnasts eyes. This can cause a great amount of irritation.

Time after time I have seen my gymnasts come into our gymnastics academy wearing a brand new leotard.  There is just one problem, it doesn’t look like a new gymnastics leotard. I see many new leotards that are super faded, have rhinestones missing and colors that bled together. This is very disappointing when a parent spends their hard earned money on a new gymnastics leotard and it gets ruined after one wash. To ensure sure this doesn’t happen to you and your new gymnastics leotard you need to follow the washing instructions on the tag. One problem is many gymnast say the tag is itchy so their parents cut it out. This means mom and dad no longer have the washing instructions and this usually leads to a disaster leotard. If this happens you should follow theses washing guidelines….

• Make sure you wash it with a very mild liquid detergent. Usually Woolite or baby detergent (baby magic, dreft, baby all) work the best.
• Always was the gymnastics leotard in cold water. Using hot water will make the colors bleed more
• It is always best to wash gymnastics leos by hand. If you decided not to wash them by hand you need to wash them in a gentle cycle with like items. This will eliminate pulls, snags, and bleeding from other clothes.
• Turn your gymnastics leotard inside out when you wash it. This will help the special finish on your leo to last much longer.
• When it comes to drying a gymnastics leotard it always best to hang dry it. If needed you can throw the gymnastics leo in the dryer for a bit on super low heat.

Follow these instructions and you will have a gymnastics leotard that will not lose its color or shine and will look brand new all the time.

Gymnastics level 1, 2 and 3 balance beam routine has a time limit of 30 seconds

Ten seconds before your time is up the person timing will either ring a bell or say “warning.” Once your time is up you will either hear a bell ring again or the person timing say “time.” If you go over time you will receive a 0.10 deduction from your average score. If you are a level  7-10 and your routine is shorter than 30 seconds you will receive a 2.00 point deduction from your final score plus a deduction for whatever is missing in your routine. The time for a beam routine will began as soon as the gymnast takes off from the mat or springboard.  And the time ends as soon as the gymnast lands on the mat after her dismount. If the gymnast falls during her beam routine the person timing will stop the time once the gymnast makes contact with the floor.  The time will restart as soon as the gymnast makes her first move to continue her beam routine. The gymnast only has 30 seconds to remount the balance beam after she falls off. This time will be timed separately; this means there must be two stop watches. The person timing  will notify the gymnast when she has 20 seconds and also 10 seconds remaining  to remount the beam. If she doesn’t remount the beam within the  time limit the balance beam routine will be terminated. Within the 30 second fall time a gymnastics coach is allowed to coach and talk to the gymnast without receiving any deduction.  During the fall time the gymnast may perform a skill on the mat but will receive a 0.20 deduction.

A good recreational gymnastics program  should be designed to accommodate and teach children of all ages and skill level. It should help each and every gymnast build strength,  flexibility, agility, coordination, fitness, balance,  confidence, special awareness, etc. Along with teaching them the basics gymnastics skills to more advance skills.

All of this should be taught in a fun and safe atmosphere by including games and activities into the USAG based gymnastics program.

The recreational gymnastics program is designed to be a fun and challenging program that will enhance the participants athletic ability.  The newly  enhanced  physical attributes will help each person become a better athlete no matter what sport they choose to play.

Children of any age and skill level can participate in a recreational gymnastics program. Most rec gymnastics programs are built around USAG recommendations and standards. USAG require each gymnastics coach and business owner to become members and go through a safety training course and test. This is very important and helps decrease the chance of injury to your child.

Recreational gymnastics programs are usually categorizes by both, age and skill level. Mommy and me class, preschool and kindergarten are all designed for specific ages. Mommy and me class is for children usually 18 months to 3 years old, preschool class is for  3 to 5 year olds and kindergarten class is designed for 5 and 6 year olds. All the rest of the recgymnastics classes are based on gymnastics skills. The classes are arranged as followed: beginner, advance beginner, intermediate, level 1, level 2… so on and so forth. A gymnast must master all the skills in their gymnastics level before they get to move up to the next level.

Recreational gymnasts get to use the floor exercise, balance beam, uneven bars, vault, pit, and trampoline. They also get to use many types of mats that aide in the learning of specific gymnastics skills. There is some equipment in a gymnastics academy that recgymnast do not get to us. They usually don’t get use high bar, strap bar, harnesses, etc.

Most rec gymnasts take gymnastics classes  1 to 2 times a week and each class is usually about an hour long. Every rec class starts with a warm up and usually ends with conditioning.

It is not so much that they did something wrong, they usually are just missing the WOW FACTOR in their floor routine and beam routine.

Keep in mind, a judge may see the same gymnastics routine 100s of times. In all honesty they get a little board and want to see something that stands out. You can’t just hit your routine, you got to leave a mark and a good impression on the judges by giving them the WOW FACTOR they are looking for.

What is a WOW FACTOR? A wow factor is going to be something that wows the judges. A little extra spice in your routine that get the judge’s attention and makes your floor routine and beam routine stand out. This means you cannot just go through the motions of your routine.

Every judge wants to see a tight, clean, flawless routine, but this won’t get a gymnast the high score they are striving for. There is more to a routine than that. Presentation  and showmanship is very important when competing. This means every gymnast must finish every skill, stay in releve, have full body extension, keep their chin up, smile constantly and go all out on every skill. They must show a great amount of confidence and enthusiasm and not look timid or afraid. This will grab the judges attention and give them the wow factor they have been looking for!

You need to practice the way you compete. Going through the motions during practice and a meet is not good enough. You need to give it 110% on every skill and every beam routine and floor routine. This will give the judges the wow factor they want to see and will set you apart from the rest of the gymnasts.

Give the judges and audience a gymnastics routine to remember!!! GO GET THEM GIRLS!!

Do not land head first into the pit
Do not bury yourself under the pit blocks.
Do not attempt skills you cannot do by yourself safely
Do not land on your knees in the pit
Do not dig holes in the pit blocks
Do not throw foam out of the pit
Do not pick the foam pit blocks apart
Do not throw foam blocks at anyone’s face

MAKE SURE…

Make sure you land in the pit!
Make sure you take turns going into the pit
Make sure only one gymnast at a time is in the pit
Make sure no one is in the pit before you use it
Make sure to land in a pike position if dropping from rope
Make sure the foam pit is fluffed regularly
*Make sure to clean out the foam pit every once in awhile

*It is very important to take time and clean out the gymnastics pit a few times a year. Over time and with a lot of wear and tear the blocks start to flake apart. This causes a lot o dust and small foam pit pieces to be in the pit that often get into the gymnast’s eyes. When you clean out foam pits you may never know what you may find in the bottom. Some of the common things are hair clips, headbands, ponytail holders, stud earrings, jewelry, socks (even though they aren’t suppose to wear them), Band-Aids, etc. And you may even find a few crazy things; we have found glasses, retainers, hand grips, and a dead mouse.

Cleaning a foam pit out can be a very dirty job. Make sure you wear masks and even safety glasses to keep all the dust and flakes out of your mouth, nose, and eyes!!!!

One of our gymnasts always got foam pieces in her eyes, so one day she came to class wearing swimming goggles! She wore the goggles the whole time she did pit tumbling…Needless to say she didn’t get any foam in her eyes!!