Descriptionary

balance beam a 16%-foot-long by 4-inch-wide raised, padded beam, adjustable to various heights.

barani a half-twisting front somersault.

beat the bar on the uneven bars, to strike the lower bar with the abdomen or hips with a whipping motion.

compulsory in a competition, a required exercise or routine.

crash mat the foam safety mat that serves as a cush­ion for landings or falls.

cross grip on the horizontal bar, a grip in which one hand is crossed over the other; it is used to turn the performer during a swing.

croupe the rear portion of a pommel horse. When facing the horse from the side, the croupe is always on the left.

Deltchev on the uneven bars, a cross-gripped down­swing followed by a half turn and a front somersault.

Diamadov on the parallel bars, a full twisting for­ward swing to a one-armed handstand.

dismount the finishing exercise and flight of a routine.

double flyaway a horizontal bar dismount consist­ing of a giant downswing followed by a release on the upswing and the execution of two somersaults before landing.

elgrip an unusual grip, similar to the hand position used with a swimmer's backstroke.

English position a handstand position in which the hands are held closely together.

flip flop on the balance beam, a backward flip that stops at a handstand and follows through to a stand­ing position. Also, any somersault.

full-in short for "full in to back somersault out"; more specifically, a backward somersault followed by a second backward somersault with a full twist.

full-out short for "back somersault in to full out"; more specifically, a somersault followed by a second somersault with a full twist.

giant swing on the bar or on the rings, an exercise in which the entire body is swung end over end by the hands.

half in-half out a somersault with a half twist fol­lowed by another somersault with a half twist.

handspring a jump through a handstand in tum­bling or over the vault horse.

handspring vault running up to a horse and flip­ping over it by upending oneself with a moving hand­stand.

hanging event an exercise on the horizontal bar or rings.

Hecht dismount on the horizontal bar, a high- swinging dismount.

horizontal bar the raised gymnastics bar; it stands about 8% feet high.

horse short for pommel horse.

hurdle to leap or hop over.

iron cross on the rings, a position in which the arms are extended out sideways to describe the shape of a cross. Also known as the cross.

layout a straight-out body posture maintained dur­ing certain exercises.

limber similar to a walkover but with the legs kept together.

lunge a starting position for some tumbling exer­cises, characterized by the arms held outstretched overhead and one leg extended with bent knee for­ward.

mount the starting exercise of a routine.

neck as viewed from the side, the right position of a pommel horse.

Olympic order the event order in professional com­petition. In men's competition, the order is floor exer­cise, pommel horse, still rings, long horse vault, par­allel bars, and horizontal bar. In women's, the vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise.

one-arm giant a giant swing performed with a one- handed grip.

overgrip the most natural hand grip, with the palms of the hands facing away from the gymnast.

parallel bars two 11-foot rails set parallel to each other about 5 feet, 9 inches from the floor.

pike a position in which the body is bent forward at the hips.

planche a position in which the gymnast balances his body parallel to the floor or apparatus.

pommel horse an upholstered, four-legged support having wooden handles (pommels) on the top.

press a very slow, graceful movement to a handstand.

puck position a cross between a tuck and a pike.

rings the still rings. Once known as the flying rings.

routine a series of exercises.

run a series of tumbles.

Russian Moore performing pivots around both pommels of a pommel horse.

saddle on a pommel horse, the area between the pommels; the middle of the horse.

scissors swinging the body and scissoring the legs back and forth across the pommel horse.

spotting the act of assisting or standing by to catch a gymnast in the event of a fall.

spotting belt a training belt suspended by ropes and worn by a gymnast when learning a new exercise to help prevent injuries.

step-out a landing position in which one leg follows the other instead of hitting at the same time.

still rings the rings, flying rings.

streulli on the parallel bars, a backward roll on the upper arms, followed by an extension to a handstand.

stuck landing a perfect or still landing, as if being "stuck" to the floor.