Why Gymnastics?

The leading gymnastics researcher in the world in 1999 was Dr. Bill Sands. He explains Why Gymnastics in a good article on the USA Gymnastics Technique website.

Here is a summary:

• Gymnasts are among the strongest, pound for pound, of all the Olympic athletes.
• Gymnasts are among the most flexible of all athletes.
• Gymnasts are very good at both static and dynamic balance.
• Gymnasts learn early to fall without injuring themselves.
• Gymnasts are among the smallest and lightest of athletes.
• Gymnastics is a reasonably safe sport.
• Gymnasts tend to do very well in school.
• Gymnastics shares with other sports the opportunity to learn about teamwork, sportsmanship, fair play, dedication, patience, dedication, perseverance, and planning.
• Gymnastics helps people learn to work hard for objectives that can take years to achieve.
• Drug abuse in gymnastics, while not unknown, is extremely limited
  "Not only do the gymnast [sic] acquire the ability to focus on an activity while blocking out what's going on around them, my daughter learned valuable time-management skills that carried over into all her activities and school. ...
  Focusing and time-management are the two main advantages I give parents for the sport. This is over and above the self-satisfaction, self-esteem, team building abilities, and other obvious reasons."
  (C. Hill, gymnastics parent, 1998)

Gymnastics is a terrific sport for young people. Gymnastics can provide opportunities for physical development, character development, and education that are hard to find anywhere else.

Dr. Bill Sands

Website: www.usa-gymnastics.org/publications/technique/1999/3/why-gymn.html