Gymnastics.

Artistic Gymnastics.

Artistic gymnastics is usually divided into Men's and Women's Gymnastics. Each group does different events; Men compete on Floor Exercise, Pommel Horse, Still Rings, Vault, Parallel Bars, and High Bar, while women compete on Vault, Uneven Bars, Beam, and Floor Exercise. In some countries, women at one time competed on the rings, high bar, and parallel bars (for example, in the 1950s in the USSR). Though routines performed on each event may be short, they are physically exhausting and push the gymnast's strength, flexibility, endurance and awareness to the limit. Traditionally, at the international level, competitions on the various apparatus consisted of two different performance categories: compulsory and optional. For the compulsory event, each gymnast performing on a specific apparatus executed the same required routine. At the optional level, the gymnast performed routines that he or she choreographed. Nowadays, each country may use compulsory and optional routines at their discretion in the training of young gymnasts.

Rhythmic gymnastics.

At present, only women compete in rhythmic gymnastics. The sport involves the performance of five separate routines with the use of five apparatus—ball, ribbon, hoop, clubs, rope - on a floor area, with a much greater emphasis on the aesthetic rather than the acrobatic. Rhythmic routines are scored out of a possible 20 points; the score for Artistry (choreography and music) are averaged with the score for Difficulty of the moves and then added to the score for execution.