Gymnastics in Maryland

Special Olympics gymnastics combines strength, flexibility and artistry. Competitions are offered for men in the artistic events and women in artistic and rhythmic events. As in all Special Olympics sports, athletes are grouped in competition divisions according to their ability level, age and gender. Gymnastics is one of Special Olympics' expanding sports. Today 7,837 athletes in 80 Programs around the world train and compete in gymnastics.

Women may compete in up to four events in either artistic or rhythmic competitions. The artistic events include uneven bars, the balance beam, vaulting and floor exercises. The rhythmic competition includes rope, hoop, ball and ribbon.

Men may compete in up to six events in artistic gymnastics. Men's artistic events include floor exercises, pommel horse, rings, vaulting, parallel bars and the horizontal bar. For the well-rounded athlete, the all-around competition offers an additional challenge. Men and women may choose to compete in every event, which qualifies them for the all-around.

Unified Sports™ opportunities are offered in gymnastics. This program invites individuals with and without mental retardation to compete on the same gymnastics team as partners. Its success in promoting teamwork and inclusion can be seen throughout Special Olympics.

HIGHLIGHTS

Gymnastic celebrities have helped tremendously to build the Special Olympics gymnastics program and train athletes in the sport. Lydia Bree has assisted with the development of the rhythmic gymnastics program and Mary Lou Retton and Kathy Johnson of the United States and Vitaly Sherbo of Belarus have donated their time to assist with artistic gymnastics clinics. Olympic gold medalists Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci have recently been filmed doing the new artistic routines for the 1996-1999 Official Special Olympics Summer Sports Rules; both also serve on the Special Olympics Board of Directors.

Special Olympics gymnasts also demonstrate and compete outside of Special Olympics events. Athletes performed and/or competed at the 1995 World Trials, the 1995 United States vs. Belarus Competition, and the 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival.

The Official Special Olympics Sports Rules govern all Special Olympics gymnastics competitions. As an international sports program, Special Olympics created these rules based upon Federation International de Gymnastics (FIG) and National Governing Body (NGB) rules for Gymnastics. FIG or NGB rules shall be employed except when they are in conflict with the Special Olympics Sports Rules. In such cases, the Official Special Olympics Sports Rules apply.

The T.J. Maxx 2000 Tour of World Gymnastics Champions, a 30-city tour, featured five Special Olympics athletes simultaneously performing their individual routines to the song "Proud to be an American." Spotting for them were members of the U.S. men's and women's Olympic teams and international medalists of the Sydney Olympic Games, including Svetlana Khorkina, Morgan White, Blaine Wilson, Alexei Nemov and Shannon Miller. Millions of people witnessed the abilities and achievements of Special Olympics athletes as they performed alongside their Olympic heroes. The Las Vegas performance was broadcast during a one-hour special on NBC. This was definitely a chance of a lifetime for Special Olympics athletes and a first in Special Olympics history.

EVENTS OFFERED

1. Mixed-Gender Events (Level A only)    (local & regional /national competition only)        a. Vaulting        b. Wide Beam        c. Floor Exercise        d. Tumbling        e. All Around (combination of all four event scores)        f. Unified Sports™ Vaulting        g. Unified Sports Wide Beam        h. Unified Sports Floor Exercise        i. Unified Sports Tumbling        j. Unified Sports All Around (combination of all four event scores) 2. Men's Events (Levels One, Two, Three, and Four)        a. Floor Exercise        b. Pommel Horse        c. Rings        d. Vaulting        e. Parallel Bars        f. Horizontal Bar        g. All Around (combination of all six event scores)        h. Unified Sports Floor Exercise        i. Unified Sports Pommel Horse        j. Unified Sports Rings        k. Unified Sports Vaulting        l. Unified Sports Parallel Bars        m.Unified Sports Horizontal Bar        n. Unified Sports All Around (combination of all six event scores) 3. Women's Events (Levels One, Two, Three, and Four)        a. Vaulting        b. Uneven Bars        c. Balance Beam        d. Floor Exercise        e. All Around (combination of all four event scores)        f. Unified Sports Vaulting        g. Unified Sports Uneven Bars        h. Unified Sports Balance Beam        i. Unified Sports Floor Exercise        j. Unified Sports All Around (combination of all four event scores)

Coaches Resources

Gymnastics in Maryland