Gymnastics Events
In women's artistic gymnastics there are four events. The first event (in Olympic order) is the vault. The vault is an apparatus that involves a vaulting table, springboard, and runway. Gymnasts must run at top speeds, make contact with the spring board once, and then have their hands touch the vault table once in order to vault themselves over to their feet.
The uneven bars is the second event women compete on. The bars are made of a steel frame. The bars are made of fiberglass with wood coating, or less commonly wood. The upper bar is approximately 8 feet in the air, while the lower beam is about 5.5 feet up. The bars are each 7.9 feet and can be adjusted to be 3-6 feet apart from one another. Gymnasts must use a lot of strength to execute the swinging and release skills in routines.
Balance beam is the third event in Olympic order for women's gymnastics. The balance beam is a beam 5 meters (16.4 feet) long, 10 cm (4 inches) wide, and raised 125 cm (4.1 feet) from the floor. Gymnasts are expected to perform tumbling and dance skills on the beam. Every routine must have a flight skill (rotating over one's hands) and dance elements such as turns, leaps, and jumps.
Floor exercise is the final event. The apparatus is a 40 by 40 foot spring floor. The spring floor allows for gymnasts to land their tumbling passes safely and provide more “bounce” in their skills. Gymnasts perform a series of dance and tumbling combinations across the floor. Gymnasts are not allowed to step out of bounds.