|
There are five different categories of sports acrobatics,
and these involve both men and women.
Mixed pairs are the showcase event of sports acrobatics. Imagine
Torville and Dean without the ice, but with a lot more excitement
and high degree of dynamism, and this is mixed pairs. The
top can be either a woman or a girl, and both combinations
have their advantages. The smaller girl is often thrown in
the air, with the ability to perform difficult and shocking
moves, whereas the more mature woman gives the event a different
appeal – providing a more aesthetic presence.
Again there are only two performers in this discipline, but
as both are male the choreographic element tends to be underplayed
with more emphasis on the difficulty of the acrobatic elements,
while many of the balance elements are performed on the base’s
head.
This discipline is very similar to men’s pairs, though
choreography tends to play a more important part in the routines,
while, unlike men’s pairs, the base is allowed to assist
the landings of the top in tempo elements.
This event utilizes the same movements as the pair exercises,
but, as there are three partners involved, the balances are
not only technically more difficult, but they are also more
breathtaking. Balances where three women stand on each others
shoulders, before the top performs a variety of handstands,
are the norm while the tempo moves are much higher and more
spectacular.
Men’s four can be the most spectacular event with four
men forming a pyramid on top of each other, but it can also
be the most disappointing as there are many falls and wobbles.
Men’s four is the only event where an acrobat has ever
performed a quadruple (four) back somersaults to land back
on the hands of his partners in a competition, though this
level of difficulty indicates why there are so many errors
and mistakes.
So, as you can imagine (and see from the images) sports acrobatics
is a unique and exciting sport that has been around for many
years. Its popularity has grown over the last thirty years,
but it is not immensely popular, or a sport which you often
see on the television. So why haven’t you heard more
about it until now? Well, there could be many reasons: international
sports acrobatics bodies may not publicise the sport enough,
TV advertisers may not be interested as it does not interest
enough people, spectators may wish to watch sports where teams
or individuals battle it out ‘head-to-head’, or
there may simply be a high amount of ignorance about the sport.
What you can be sure of is that it is an extremely exciting
sport to watch, it will have you on the edge of your seat,
and the acrobats perform moves that you would never believe
possible. If you ever get a chance to watch high-level sports
acrobatics – grab it – you won’t believe your
eyes.
|
Things To Do
Science
Center
Schools
SEED People
