Floor (gymnastics)


In gymnastics, the floor refers to a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The event in gymnastics performed on floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is FX.
A spring floor is used in all of gymnastics to provide more bounce, and also help prevent potential injuries to lower extremity joints of gymnasts due to the nature of the apparatus, which includes the repeated pounding required to train it. Cheerleading also uses spring floors for practice. The sprung floor used for indoor athletics, however, is designed to reduce bounce.

The apparatus

The apparatus originated as a 'free exercise' for men, very similar to the floor exercise of today. It wasn't until 1948 that women were allowed to compete on floor.
Most competitive gymnastics floors are spring floors. They contain springs and/or a rubber foam and plywood combination which make the floor bouncy, soften the impact of landings, and enable the gymnast to gain height when tumbling. Floors have clearly designated perimeters—the "out of bounds" area is always indicated by a border of white tape or a differently colored mat.
The allowed time for a floor exercise is up to 70 seconds for males and up to 90 seconds for females. Unlike men, women always perform routines to music.

Dimensions

Measurements of the apparatus are published by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique in the Apparatus Norms brochure. The dimensions are the same for male and female competitors.
Floor exercise routines last up to 90 seconds. The routine is choreographed in advance, and is composed of acrobatic and dance elements. This event, above all others, allows the gymnast to express her personality through her dance and musical style. The moves that are choreographed in the routine must be precise, in sync with the music and entertaining.
At the international elite level of competition, the composition of the routine is decided by the gymnast and her coaches. Many gymnasiums and national federations hire special choreographers to design routines for their gymnasts. Well-known gymnastics choreographers include Lisa Luke, Adriana Pop, Nancy Roche, and Geza Pozar. Others opt to choreograph their FX routines in-house. Some gymnasts adopt a new FX every year; others keep the same routine for several competitive seasons. It is not uncommon for coaches to modify a routine's composition between meets, especially if it is used for an extended length of time. It is uncommon for gymnasts to use more than one different FX routine in the same season but it is not entirely unheard of, like at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta for instance, Russian Dina Kotchetkova's routine in the FX event finals had completely different music, choreography and composition than that of her all-around exercise.
The music used for the routine is also the choice of the gymnast and her coaches. It may be of any known musical style and played with any instrument, but it may not include spoken words or sung lyrics of any kind. Vocalization is allowed if the voice is purely done as an instrument. It is the responsibility of the coach to bring the music to every competition on CD.
Scores are based on difficulty, artistry, demonstration of required elements, and overall performance quality. Deductions are taken for poor form and execution, lack of required elements, and falls. The gymnast is expected to use the entire floor area for her routine, and to tumble from one corner of the mat to the other. Steps outside the designated perimeters of the floor incur deductions. The gymnast will also incur a deduction if there are lyrics in the music.

International level routines

For detailed information on score tabulation, please see the Code of Points article
Routines can include up to four tumbling lines, and several dance elements, turns and leaps. A floor routine must consist of at least:
A floor exercise for men is made up of mostly acrobatic elements, combined with other gymnastic elements of strength and balance, flexibility, and handstands. The routine must be choreographed forming a harmonious rhythmic exercise using the whole floor area. The whole routine may last no longer than 70 seconds.
As with other gymnastic events, scores are based on difficulty, form and overall performance quality. Deductions are taken for lack of flexibility, not using the whole floor area, pausing before tumbling lines, and using the same diagonal more than twice. Handstand skills must display control and show gymnasts' intent clearly.

International level routines

A floor routine should contain at least one element from all element groups:
The dismount can come from any element group other than group I.

Floor exercises in rhythmic gymnastics

Floor exercises is a category also in the rhythmic gymnastics, but it considers only the youngest gymnasts, up to 10 years old, who perform their routines freehand, which means without any apparatus. Their length and content is still clearly specified and differs in each age category.