Hundreds of schools and gyms across Ireland understand the importance of improving their gymnastics facilities. By purchasing the highest quality gymnastics equipment, they’re not only providing a safe environment for kids to train, but they’re also enabling these young athletes to achieve their full potential. McSport provide a wide range of equipment in gymnastics for kids, teenagers and adults training throughout the country.
So, let’s start with the most fundamental piece of gymnastics equipment: Gymnastics mats. There are gymnastics mats of varying thickness levels to provide cushion for every type of manoeuvre. Just make sure you have a relatively large space for tumbling and floor routines.
In addition to gymnastics mats, gymnastic beams and gymnastic high bars are a staple in most facilities. Foam gymnastic beams placed on the floor are the most common for beginners. Gymnastics bars can come in different versions. Many of them can even be adjusted, which can be helpful when you have students with different experience levels or age groups.
Here are some other gymnastic equipment and a brief explanation on how they are commonly used.
Gymnastics Ring
In the Olympic Games, only male gymnasts compete in the rings. The apparatus consists of a structure to which two rings are attached 2.75 meters from the ground. The distance between them is 50 cm and their internal diameter is 18 cm.
In the event, gymnasts perform a series of strength, balance and balance exercises. The less the structure that suspends the rings to the pole shakes, the better the gymnast's performance score.
Gymnastics High Bar
The Gymnastics High Bar is another piece of gymnastics equipment used exclusively in male’s competition. The high bar is attached to a metal frame 2.75 m above the ground and is 2.40 m long. Athletes must swing their bodies fully around the bar, adding combinations of releases and turns. A good hand-eye coordination is an essential skill so that, after the athletes release their grips from the bar, they can grab it again without falling. The Gymnastics High Bar requires a great deal of core muscle and grip resistance. Athletes are scored on their ability to perform release moves, form, and landing. And by the way, the final jump, especially the landing, is often a major tiebreaker in high-level competition.
Gymnastics Beam
The Gymnastics Beam is used exclusively in female gymnastics. The modality takes place on a bar coated with adherent material, 5 meters long, 10 centimetres wide and placed 1.25 meters from the ground.
Athletes need to balance on the beam, in addition to performing jumps and turns. It's one of the most beautiful events to watch, due to the combination of difficulty of execution, grace of movements and, of course, the final jump. The routine is limited to 90 seconds, and athletes are penalized if they wobble, grab the beam for balance, or fall off the beam. Athletes are required to have strong balance and perform movements in a straight line.
Gymnastics Mats
And last but not least, the piece of gymnastics equipment that makes all the athletes' hard work possible: the gymnastic mat. Without it, all the tumbles, backflips, and cartwheels wouldn't be possible. Not only it provides cushion against falls, but also helps to prevent slipping, making the gymnastics mat the fundamental equipment for the safety of the athletes. There are different types of gymnastics mats depending on the usage but the most common ones are Chip foam Mats with Latex Base, Foldable Gymnastics Mats, which come in different thicknesses, folding options and colours, and Gymnastic Crash Mats, which are perfect to protect athletes in high impact landings.
