ACROBATIC GYMNASTICS
Acrobatic Gymnastics is a competitive sport under the umbrella of USA Gymnastics that incorporates partner stunting, tumbling, dance, strength, and flexibility. It is performed in 5 basic competitve categories: women's group (3 women), men's group (4 men's), women's pair (2 women), men's pair (2 men), and mixed pair (1 man and 1 woman). A basic competitive routine is performed to instrumental music 2 1/2 to 3 minutes long on a springboard floor. During the routine gymnasts demonstrate elements of dance, tumbling passes, flexibility moves, static holds, and of course, partner stunts!
Acrobatic Gymnastics is a performance sport! Just like in cheerleading, dance, ice skating, and other performance based sports, acrobatic gymnasts strive to capture their audience and create a memorable and awe striking experience! Gymnasts work hard to create unique and interesting movements and positions through stunting and dance, giving a visual expression to the music playing in the background.
What is a typical practice like?
A typical practice for acrobatic gymnasts would first start with basic stretching, followed by further partner stretching exercises to take flexibility to the next level. Don't worry, not everyone starts out flexible, but just as strength is accumulated through practice, so is flexibility.
Next the gymnasts would work on basic tumbling and acrobat moves that are incorporated into their personal routines: these are called individual elements. Some examples would be walkovers, back hand springs, etc.
After this, the athletes would work with their assigned partners on their stunts. This consumes the largest portion of a practice. Stunts are broken up into two categories: dynamic (elements that involve flight, like baskets), and balance (elements that demonstrate static hold, like pyramids).
After time is spent working on all of the skills that would be included into the athletes practicing the routine itself! Each group would take the floort alone and run their routine with music, practicing exactly how they would perfrom in a competition..
The last part of the practice would be spent working on strength conditiong. Maybe not the most fun part, but extremely important for the athletes.
How do I get started?
Getting started is very simple! For the time being, here at Image Allstars we would like to offer Acrobatic Gymnastics as a recreational non-competitve program. This would give athletes time to practice skills before taking them to a competitive level. Basically once athletes sign up for the class, all of them will be assigned temporary partners for that day's practice. They will practice stunts with the assigned partners at a beginner level. The next practice will most likely be with different partners. This allows athletes the opportunity to explore a varitey of the competive categories (women's group, women's pair, mixed pair, etc). Practice will also include an introduction to some of the basic training equipment used in acrobatic gymnastics, as well as work on elements of dance and basic tumbling to get a feel for each athlete's level of mastery. Anyone who has interest in moving to a competitive level will be trained in preparation for next year's competition season. Class is held on Tuesday's with Ms. Jamie 7:00-9:00pm. Call to register 816-792-4372