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The backward tucked somersault dismount from the high bar, also known as a ‘fly-away’, is a basic gymnastic skill. While it is a common practice for gymnasts to practice high-difficulty dismounts upon stable execution of basic skills, there is little evidence to support this practice. The aim of this study was to investigate the kinematic differences of the fly-away dismount performed by elite and non-elite gymnasts. Four elite gymnasts (18±3 y; 166.7±4.3 cm, 61.4±10.4 kg) and four non-elite gymnasts (10±1 y; 137±2 cm, 34.6±8.7 kg) volunteered for the study. The sagittal plane of the release action up to the peak of the flight and the landing were recorded by two cameras at 50Hz. Simi Motion was used to digitize 7 markers placed on the gymnast9s body. The angular position of the release measured from the handstand, the flexion-extension angles of hip and knee joints at the instants of release and landing, the vertical peak of the flight and the horizontal distance of the hip from the bar at the peak of flight were analysed. The differences in the variables were rank-ordered and a Mann Whitney test was used to compare the ranks for the elite and non-elite gymnasts. The angles of hip and knee joints at the instant of release for the elite gymnasts (Hip=mdn (range)=142°(49); Knee=69°(61)) were different from the non-elite gymnasts (Hip=161°(54); Knee=109°(87)). Vertical and horizontal distances at the peak of the flight were different between elite (Vert Peak=1.4 m (0.8); Hor distance=1.7 m (0.9) and non-elite gymnasts (Vert Peak=0.7 m (0.9); Hor distance=1.2 m (0.3)). To improve the performance of the fly away dismount, non-elite gymnasts should focus on their ability to rotate in a full tucked position stressing flexion of hip and knee joints; and control the increased angular momentum. It is assumed that by employing these strategies, a double rotation fly-away will be mastered more quickly.

The straight jump is performed by gymnasts of all levels in warm-up routines on the floor and on the beam. Refining this basic skill serves gymnasts when learning high-difficulty jumps. It is common practice for gymnasts to master skills on floor before transferring them onto the beam. The aim of this study was to investigate the kinematic differences of the straight jump on the floor and on the beam performed by county and national level gymnasts. Four county (9±1 y; 133.5±7.6 cm; 29.8±1.9 Kg) and four junior national (13±1 y; 148.5±8.2 cm; 42.8±5.6 Kg) gymnasts volunteered to participate. The straight jump performances were video recorded (80Hz). Simi Motion was used to track nine markers on the gymnast9s body. The floor and beam apparatus were instrumented with a pressure mat connected to a digital timer. A 2x2 factorial ANOVA (apparatus x expertise) analysed the following variables: relative angles of shoulder, hip, knee and ankle joints at take-off, peak of the flight and at the minimum vertical displacement of the centre of mass during landing. There was no interaction between apparatus and expertise. There was a main effect of apparatus for shoulder angle at the take-off (fl=132±12°; bm=119±12°), shoulder (fl=154±18°; bm=143±16°) and hip (fl=180±7°; 175±10°) joint angles at the peak of the flight. Expertise showed an effect on the hip joint angle at the take-off (c=164±9°; n= 179±6°) and jump height (c=25.0±7.8 cm; 33.5±4.2 cm). The present study showed that kinematic differences occurred at the instant of take-off between floor and beam and between county and national gymnasts when performing the straight jump, thus some caution should be used in transferring jumping skills from the floor to the beam. Apparatus-specific drills should be used with young gymnast to master these jumping abilities.