Acrobatic gymnastics

Acrobatic gymnastics

Women's trio
Highest governing body	Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique
First contested	Soviet Union, 1930s
Characteristics
Contact	Not with opponents
Mixed-sex	No (except mixed pairs)
Type	Gymnastic sport
Presence
Country or region	Worldwide
Olympic	No
World Games	1993 – 2021[1]

Acrobatic gymnastics is a competitive discipline of gymnastics where partnerships of gymnasts work together and perform figures consisting of acrobatic moves, dance and tumbling, set to music. There are three types of routines; a 'balance' routine (at FIG grade 5 and above) where the focus is on strength, poise and flexibility; a 'dynamic' routine (also FIG grade 5 and above) which includes throws, somersaults and catches, and (at FIG grade 6 and above, as well as grade 4 and below) a 'combined' routine which includes elements from both balance and dynamic.

The sport is governed by the International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG, an abbreviation of Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique). At international level, there are four FIG categories of competition defined by age; 11–16, 12–18, 13–19, and 15+ (Senior). There are also grades 1–6, with grade 5 being the same difficulty as 11–16 and grade 6 being the same difficulty as 12–18.^{[citation needed]}

Acrobatic gymnasts perform in pairs or groups and enter into and are judged at a specific level or age group category. In each partnership, the gymnasts' different sizes and abilities will be balanced to complement each other in order to carry out the complex moves. Some will mainly carry out supporting and pitching roles, and are known as bases. They are then balanced with usually smaller gymnasts who become the 'tops'. In men's and women's groups there are also one or two 'middles', who are like another base who usually will support the top while balancing on the base. The different partnerships seen in competition are:

• women's pair (two females)
• men's pair (two males)
• mixed pair (a male base and a female top)
• women's group (three females)
• men's group (four males)

As well as this, in grades 1–2 there can be mixed groups (either 3 or 4 people from both genders). In competition, partnerships perform a routine to music, that has usually been choreographed specifically for them. The gymnasts carry out their acrobatic moves and combine them with dance, all in time to and in keeping with the style of the music. Partnerships are judged on artistry/dance (worth 10.0 points out of 31.5) execution of skills (marked out of 10 and doubled to give 20.0 points out of 31.5) and difficulty of skill (worth 1.5 out of 31.5).

The rules for the sport, known as the Code of Points, are governed by the FIG. These rules are subject to change every four years in line with the Olympic cycle, as in other disciplines of gymnastics.