A02 Gymnastic Based Sport

Vault: 

Skills

·         The run

When running towards the vaulting table you need to be running at full pace to get the best out of your performance and build up momentum. Start running from as far back as you can and run towards the springboard. Running at speed also enables you to get a higher lift-off from the springboard.

·         The pre-flight

This is the part when the gymnast hits the springboard. To get a higher lift from the springboard they need to be in a tight form because they don’t want to lose the power built up from the run. The gymnast’s legs should be straight and together, with toes pointed. Their arms should be stretched by their ears.

·         Contact with the table

Once the gymnast makes contact with the table they should push off with their hands as forcefully as possible to get the greatest amount of lift into the air. It’s very important that they maintain a tight body position to create a powerful vault.

·         The post-flight

To most people this is the most exciting part because the gymnast has pushed off from the table and should now be doing flips in mid-air. Both height and distance are judged, as well as form such as pointed toes and tight-together legs.

·         The landing

Once the gymnast has finished all of the flips possible they will try to stick the landing. Every gymnasts dream is to stick the landing to get the most marks possible but it can be very hard. They also need to land between certain boundaries marked on the mat.

Techniques – Performing the Front Handspring:

·         The run

If you are going to perform a front handspring the run is fairly straight forward. It should be fast and powerful and should accelerate to the punch on the springboard. The gymnast needs to have strong legs and ankles if they are to develop their running power. A good warm up will include sprints, and a variety of different running methods and jumping methods.

·         Pre-flight

Different coaches have different opinions on what the body position should be throughout the pre-flight. Some say that a strong arched position is correct but others say that a hollow position is desirable. The only thing they seem to agree on is that a piked pre-flight is detrimental. 

·         Post-flight

Some judges prefer to see a tight-arch in the post-flight, some prefer a hollow position. Some gymnasts prefer to keep a dead straight body position in the post-flight. There are many different exercises to practise keeping a straight body position one is where a coach hold your legs straight while you do a handstand. 

·         The landing

The landing is a very hard phase to master but as with all things ‘practise makes perfect’. Many coaches spend excessive amounts of time training the landing of vaults but this just makes less experienced gymnasts put less effort into their vaults. In most competitions:

Perfect vault +average landing = high score

Average vault + perfect landing = low score

Tactics

Run- To achieve a good vault you need to run as fast as you can towards the springboard to build up momentum. If your pace is really slow there is absolutely no chance of you having the amount of energy you need to perform a vault because you won’t have built up enough momentum. Once you reach the springboard you must ‘hurdle’ onto it as low as possible. The springboard is designed to take forward energy and turn it into up energy.

Punch- If you lean too far forward on the board you will smack your face into the vault because of the design of the board. To achieve a perfect ‘punch’ keep your chest up and punch with your feet in front of you.

Pre-flight- Keep your legs together and straight but do not arch. Stay hollow and keep your head neutral as you kick as hard as possible so you can achieve the greatest amount of lift.

Contact- Contact with the table should be as short as possible but your legs need to stay tight as you hit the table, so you can bounce off. The reason why you need to stay tight is so you can just bounce off and not flop to the ground. If you think about it, a pencil is tight and it bounces off the ground if you drop it but a wet noodle will not bounce.

Post-flight- Staying tight, pop your chest and arms into a hollow body position. This action is what will bring you to your feet when you land. This is the most exciting part of the vault so don’t embarrass yourself.

Landing- Although your knees must bend to absorb the shock you must keep your body as tight as possible so you don’t just flop to the ground. This also helps you ‘stick the landing’.