By Mrs Egle ABRUZZINI, President of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Technical Committee
Further to the analysis of a few international tournaments and the evaluation of the judges’ work, le RG-TC felt that it was necessary to remind you that the stipulations of the Code of Points must be strictly respected. We especially wish to underscore the following points:
1. A pivot with ring must be evaluated like any other pivot; there are no exceptions. The ring must be maintained for the full duration of the rotation.
2. A small execution fault does not cancel the value of a difficulty. For example, a pivot with full rotation, shape fixed, but without a perfect vertical axis of the body ending with some imbalance: This element counts as a difficulty, but a deduction will be applied for the execution fault, as stated in the Code.
1. No element with Special Artistic Characteristics (SAC) can count twice in the same combination. For example:
a. Large throw, series of rolls (a minimum of 3) and catch without using the hands during the third roll: the value of the throw and the catch during the 3rd roll is 0.20 point, plus 0.10 point for the catch without using the hands. There is no additional value for a catch during a rotation element, because the rotation is part of the basic element.
2. The symbol for the handling without using the hands is valid for all technical groups that are not specifically mentioned in the Special Artistic Characteristics for Mastery or in the Special Artistic Characteristics specific to each apparatus. For example:
i. Small throws not specially mentioned (rope, hoop and ribbon) cannot be evaluated as SAC regardless of the execution technique.
ii. Rotations of the hoop without using the hands have a value only if they have a specific symbol and are performed as a series (3 or more rotations, see Code) A single rotation of the apparatus is considered as a basic technique and therefore receives no SAC value for handling. This point is clearly explained in the Code. Without the application of this rule, a single rotation and a series of rotations would have the same value, which would not be logical.
iii. The only exceptions are the rotations performed without using the hands in a dynamic element that cannot be interrupted during the rotations. For example:
a. Rotation of the hoop around the ankle of the leg held high up during an illusion (the movement of the element is a continuous unit).
b. Rotation of the hoop around the ankle during a leap (the leap cannot be interrupted during the flight).
3. The boomerang throw, which is characteristic of the ribbon, is only described in the Ribbon chapter and is not mentioned under the SAC for Mastery, because this boomerang throw is unique to this apparatus. It is a “large throw” (except for a boomerang with sliding on the floor) and can be performed with all the mastery characteristics, some of which being described in the chapter on apparatus. For example: A boomerang throw during a pivot has a total value of 0.20 point, because it is performed during a rotation element.
4. An apparatus firmly held, without motion of its own (even if held by another part of the body than the hands) cannot be considered as a handling without the use of hands, even if the gymnast is traveling. Therefore there is no bonus. We cannot consider the following as examples of handlings without the use of hands:
a. Steps with clubs held under the arms
b. A pivot with a club held behind the knee of the bent leg
c. A ball held between the stomach and the legs during a roll
5. On the other hand, the following are examples of handlings without the use of hands:
i. A walkover with the ball or a club held behind the neck or the waist, because the instability of the apparatus creates a risk (instable balance).
ii. Pivot with leg in ring position or split backwards with or without help, or flexibility element no. 20 with ball held behind the back without the help of the hand.
iii. A pivot with the stick of the ribbon held behind the knee of the bent leg, because the ribbon itself is free and must form a pattern.
6. The walkover in the flexibility difficulty No. 19D, or performed with the same type of coordination in other difficulties, counts as an acrobatic element only if the final difficulty is not “well fixed” and therefore not valid. On the other hand, if the difficulty is performed correctly (well fixed), the walkover will not be evaluated as an acrobatic element.
7. In individual and group exercises, throws and catches performed during a difficulty other than jumps/leaps or rotations are not elements with SAC.
8. In a series of authorized identical difficulties (jumps/leaps and pivots with splits), the technical element of the apparatus can obviously be repeated and receive the value of the relevant SAC.
9. The TC noticed that many gymnasts perform the throw during a jump/leap with a ½ turn and add the bonus for rotation to the relevant SAC. In support of the gymnasts and taking into account that jumps/leaps are very dynamic elements, the TC will allow a jump/leap with ½ turn to be evaluated as a rotation element.
10. Concerning group exercises, the Technical Committee will ask the gymnasts:
i. To use only official symbols
ii. To put collaboration symbols into parentheses.
iii. To indicate the numbers of the gymnasts who are performing the risk element outside the parentheses (collaboration is a unit and is evaluated as a whole and not divided into parts).
iv. Indicate the SAC of the throw and of the catch, if used, on the same line to facilitate the evaluation by the judges. The new forms have only two columns and more space for symbols.
11. So that the SAP judges can follow the phases of the exercise more easily, the federations are authorized to show the basic symbol of body movement difficulty combined with an apparatus element next to the SAC symbol.
12. To avoid having an original element copied before being approved by the TC, the gymnasts can send their original elements immediately to the TC. The element will be evaluated as scheduled at the beginning of the year, but will be validated by its mailing date.
Egle ABRUZZINI, President of the RGTC