Gymnastics with ropes, benches, mats, hoops, balls and poles

1Why this matters

Olympic gymnasts use expensive apparatus, but one branch of the sport, rhythmic gymnastics, is built on hand-held equipment much like what your school already has. Rhythmic gymnasts perform to music on a 13 m × 13 m carpet with five kinds of apparatus: the rope, hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon. The hoop, rope and ball came first; the ribbon was added in 1971 and the clubs in 1973. In this lesson you use simple equipment to train the same qualities: balance, coordination, rhythm and control.

2Check the equipment first

• Ropes: not frayed, with a knot or handle at each end.
• Benches: stable, dry and free of splinters; carried by at least two people, lifting with bent knees.
• Mats: flat, with no gaps between them, placed wherever someone may land.
• Hoops: not cracked or split, since a broken hoop has sharp edges.
• Balls: properly pumped.
• Poles (bamboo or wooden sticks about 1 to 2 m long): smooth and uncracked. Poles lie on the ground or rest loosely on low supports such as cones or bricks, so that they fall if touched.

3Skills at each station

1. Benches: balance. Walk the length of the bench forwards, backwards and sideways with your arms out and your eyes on the far end. Turn on the balls of your feet halfway along. Hold a one-leg balance for 3 seconds. Step off the end into a safe landing: on the balls of your feet, knees bent over the toes, arms forward, then freeze.

2. Mats: rolls and shapes. A forward roll, then a balance in a clear shape: a tuck (knees to chest), a pike (legs straight, body folded at the hips), a straddle (legs wide) or a straight stretch.

3. Ropes: rhythm. Skip ten times on two feet, then ten on alternate feet. Then lay the rope on the ground in a zig-zag and jump along it from side to side with your feet together.

4. Hoops: coordination. Spin a hoop round your waist; roll a hoop along the ground and run beside it; skip through a hoop as if it were a rope; step through a hoop held in front of you while turning.

5. Balls: throw, move, catch. Throw a ball up with both hands, clap or turn round before you catch it, and let your hands "give" as you catch. Roll the ball from one hand across your chest to the other. Bounce it in time to a clapped rhythm.

6. Poles: footwork. Lay 6 poles on the ground about 60 cm apart, like a ladder. Run through stepping once between each pair, then hop through on two feet, then go sideways. Walk along a single pole laid flat as if it were a beam. Finally, jump two-footed over a pole resting 20 to 30 cm high on two cones and land softly.

Worked example: judging an equipment sequence

Each student builds a sequence of six elements, using at least three kinds of equipment. Every element is marked 0, 1 or 2: 0 = not done, 1 = done with a clear error, 2 = done with control. The maximum is 6 × 2 = 12 marks.

Keza's sequence:

Her two lost marks were in the balance and the catch, both skills that need control. Her practice target: hold the straddle balance for 3 seconds, and throw the ball lower so there is time to turn.

Practice

Solution. Rope, hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon.

Solution. A loose pole falls if a foot catches it, so the jumper does not trip. A fixed pole would stop the foot and cause a fall.

Solution. Land on the balls of the feet, bend the ankles, knees and hips with the knees over the toes, hold the arms forward, and freeze for two seconds.

Solution. 2 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 0 = 7 marks. The maximum is 5 × 2 = 10 marks.

Solution. Put it aside and tell the teacher. A cracked hoop can split and leave sharp edges that cut the hands.