Working safely on apparatus

1Why this matters

Olympic gymnasts perform on apparatus: the balance beam, the rings, the bars. Your school's versions are lower and simpler (benches, low boxes, ropes, a low beam or bar), but they teach the same skills: gripping, hanging, balancing, jumping and, above all, landing safely. Most injuries in gymnastics come from careless handling of the apparatus and from bad landings, not from the skills themselves.

2The competition apparatus

The competition balance beam is 125 cm high, 5 m long and only 10 cm wide, which is about the width of your hand. A school bench turned upside down gives a beam of a similar width that is only a few centimetres off the floor.

3Handling apparatus safely

1. Carry benches and box sections in a team: at least two people for a bench and four for a box. Lift with bent knees and a straight back.
2. Face the direction you are walking, and lift and lower together on a spoken command ("ready, lift").
3. Place mats wherever someone may land or fall, with no gaps between them. Check that apparatus does not rock before anyone uses it.
4. Wait behind a line for your turn. One person uses a piece of apparatus at a time unless the teacher says otherwise.
5. Only teachers, or students who have been taught how, give support (spotting), for example holding the upper arm and hip of a performer.

4Skills at each station

• Bench or low beam: walk forwards, backwards and sideways with arms out; turn on the balls of the feet; hold a one-leg balance; step off the end into a landing.
• Low box: step or jump up; jump off with a shape (straight, tuck or straddle); land.
• Ropes: grip with one hand above the other and hang with straight arms. Climb by clamping the rope between your feet (the foot lock) and moving your hands up one at a time. Come down hand under hand. Never slide, because the friction will burn your palms.
• Low bar or rings: hang with straight arms, then in tuck and pike shapes. Hold a front support on a bar (arms straight, bar at hip height). Grip with your thumbs wrapped round the bar.

5The safe landing

1. Land on the balls of your feet, then let your heels come down.
2. Bend your ankles, knees and hips, with your knees over your toes, never falling inwards.
3. Hold your arms forward for balance and your chest up.
4. Freeze for two seconds. This is called "sticking" the landing.

Bending the legs makes the stop take longer, and a slower stop means a smaller force on your joints. A stiff-legged landing stops you in a split second and sends the whole force through your knees and back.

Worked example: planning a circuit

A class of 30 uses five stations: bench, low box, ropes, low bar and mats. How many students are at each station, and how long does the whole circuit take if each station lasts 4 minutes with 1 minute to rotate between stations?

Total = 20 + 4 = 24 minutes, which leaves time in an 80-minute double period for a warm-up and a cool-down.

Practice

Solution. Vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise.

Solution. Straight legs stop him almost instantly, so a large force goes through his knees. He should land on the balls of his feet and bend his ankles, knees and hips, with his knees over his toes and his arms forward, then freeze.

Solution. Friction between the rope and your skin produces heat and tears the skin of your palms (rope burn), and you may lose your grip and fall. Come down hand under hand.

Solution. 24 ÷ 4 = 6 students per station. Time = 4 × 5 + 3 × 1 = 20 + 3 = 23 minutes.