Parents' support in the sports career of young gymnasts

From the very first moment of entrance in sports up to the time of their successful achievements, parents have a pronounced influence on the sport's career of their children. This influence is readily seen when the parent's dedicated involvement and investment, both emotional and financial, put into the support they give to their children in sports is taken into account. This is all done with the objective that their young athlete may stay involved and reach their full potential. To describe the parental support in the context of Brazilian Artistic Gymnastics in formative categories, this study addressed the perceptions that young gymnasts have toward the behavior and attitude of their parents through a field research conducted among 29 sport institutions involving a total of 163 athletes. We have found that parental support enabled and greatly influenced the child's entering into sports, their access to the practice of a sport, their level of participation, their degree of involvement, and their physical and emotional wellbeing. Moreover, the parental support is crucial to the commitment and dedication of the young gymnast. However, when this support is perceived in a negative way it can result in stress, conflicts between parents and children, burnout and may provoke dropout.

From Gibbons to Gymnasts: A Look at the Biomechanics and Neurophysiology of Brachiation in Gibbons and its Human Rediscovery

This conference paper serves to examine the evolutionary linkages of a brachiating ancestor in humans, the biomechanical and neurophysiology of modern day brachiators, and the human rediscovery of this form of locomotion. Brachiation is arguably one of the most metabolically effective modes of travel by any organism and can be observed most meritoriously in Gibbons. The purpose of the research conducted for this paper was to encourage further exploration of the neurophysiological similarities and differences between humans and non-human primates. The hope is that in spurring more interest and research in this area, further possibilities for rehabilitating brain injury will be developed, or even theories on how to better train our athletes, using the biomechanics and neurophysiology of brachiation as a guide.

Skeletal benefits after long-term retirement in former elite female gymnasts

Bone strength benefits after long-term retirement from elite gymnastics in terms of bone geometry and volumetric BMD were studied by comparing retired female gymnasts to moderately active age-matched women. In a cross-sectional study, 30 retired female gymnasts were compared with 30 age-matched moderately active controls. Bone geometric and densitometric parameters were measured by pQCT at the distal epiphyses and shafts of the tibia, femur, radius, and humerus. Muscle cross-sectional areas were assessed from the shaft scans. Independent t-tests were conducted on bone and muscle variables to detect differences between the two groups. The gymnasts had retired for a mean of 6.1 +/- 0.4 yr and were engaged in gymnasts; likewise, BMC and total CSA were significantly greater at the distal radius (22-25%, p

Direction detection thresholds of passive self-motion in artistic gymnasts

In this study, we compared direction detection thresholds of passive self-motion in the dark between artistic gymnasts and controls. Twenty-four professional female artistic gymnasts (ranging from 7 to 20 years) and age-matched controls were seated on a motion platform and asked to discriminate the direction of angular (yaw, pitch, roll) and linear (leftward–rightward) motion. Gymnasts showed lower thresholds for the linear leftward–rightward motion. Interestingly, there was no difference for the angular motions. These results show that the outstanding self-motion abilities in artistic gymnasts are not related to an overall higher sensitivity in self-motion perception. With respect to vestibular processing, our results suggest that gymnastic expertise is exclusively linked to superior interpretation of otolith signals when no change in canal signals is present. In addition, thresholds were overall lower for the older (14–20 years) than for the younger (7–13 years) participants, indicating the maturation of vestibular sensitivity from childhood to adolescence.

Gymnasts and orienteers display better mental rotation performance than nonathletes

The aim of this study was to examine whether athletes differ from nonathletes regarding their mental rotation performance. Furthermore, it investigated whether athletes doing sports requiring distinguishable levels of mental rotation (orienteering, gymnastics, running), as well as varying with respect to having an egocentric (gymnastics) or an allocentric perspective (orienteering), differ from each other. Therefore, the Mental Rotations Test (MRT) was carried out with 20 orienteers, 20 gymnasts, 20 runners, and 20 nonathletes. The results indicate large differences in mental rotation performance, with those actively doing sports outperforming the nonathletes. Analyses for the specific groups showed that orienteers and gymnasts differed from the nonathletes, whereas endurance runners did not. Contrary to expectations, the mental rotation performance of gymnasts did not differ from that of orienteers. This study also revealed gender differences in favor of men. Implications regarding a differentiated view of the connection between specific sports and mental rotation performance are discussed.

A new system of instruction in the Indian club exercise : containing a simple and accurate explanation of all the graceful motions as practiced by gymnasts, pubilists, etc.

Mode of access: Internet.

Strength indices of the proximal femur and shaft in prepubertal female gymnasts

Introduction/Purpose: The role of impact loading activity on bone mass is well established; however, there are little data on the effects of exercise on bone geometry and indices of bone strength. The primary purpose of this study was to compare indices of bone strength at the proximal femur (PF) between elite premenarcheal gymnasts (N = 30) and age-matched controls (N = 30). Methods: Structural properties of the proximal femur were derived from the hip analyses program and included measurement of subperiosteal width, endosteal diameter, cross-sectional area, bone mineral density, cross-section moment of inertia (CSMI), and section modulus (Z). These parameters were measured for two regions of the PF: the narrow neck (NN), and the shaft (S). In addition, a strength index (S-SI) was calculated at the shaft by dividing the Z at the shaft by the femur length. A secondary purpose was to compare bone mineral content (BMC) values at the total body, lumbar spine, and three sites at the PF (neck, trochanter, and total) between the groups. All dependent values were compared adjusting for height and weight using an ANCOVA procedure and for relative lean body mass post hoc. Results: The gymnasts had significantly greater size-adjusted strength indices (CSMI, Z, and SI) at the NN and S. Gymnasts also had significantly greater size-adjusted BMC at all sites investigated. However, these differences disappeared when adjusted for relative lean body mass. Conclusion: When adjusted for body size, gymnasts had significantly greater indices of both axial strength and bending strength at the NN region of the PF and S, as well as a greater bone SI at the femoral shaft. These differences may be related to greater relative lean body mass attained in gymnastics training.

Young gymnasts

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Young gymnasts

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Gymnasts at the Colgate women sports exhibition

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.