THE APPROACH, VAULTING PERFORMANCE, AND JUDGE’S SCORE IN WOMEN’S ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS

Abstract

The approach step, hurdle, and round-off length characteristics of women’s vaulting were examined in relation to post-flight performance and judge’s score during five trials for five gymnasts. Two reference strips with alternating 50cm black and white intervals were placed on either side of the approach area. One 50Hz panning camera filmed the approach, with two stationary 250Hz cameras filming the post-flight vaulting performance. Two qualified judges viewed each trial and provided a performance score. A significant correlation was found between velocity during visual control of the approach, post-flight time (p≤0.01) and judge’s score (p≤0.01). Specifically, increased approach velocity leads to an increase in round-off velocity (p≤0.01), resulting in a short high velocity take-off from the board (p≤0.01).