OPTIMAL VELOCITY PROFILES FOR VAULT

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine which kinematic characteristics may be used as a performance indicator(s) for vault. Over 600 vaults (299 men and 216 Women, see Table 1) were recorded and analyzed using footage of 3 high-speed cameras taken at the 2010 Rotterdam Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. The kinematics were correlated with the judge’s outcome score: type of vault, difficulty and final score. The correlation coefficients between velocity at takeoff and final judges’ scores were r = 0.60 for men and r = 0.52 for women.