The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is an artistic gymnastics

Artistic gymnastics

Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics where gymnasts perform short routines on different apparatus, with less time for vaulting . The sport is governed by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique , which designs the Code of Points and regulates all aspects of international elite...

 apparatus. It is used only by female gymnast

Gymnast

Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...

s. It is made of a steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 frame. The bars are made of fiberglass

Fiberglass

Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...

 with wood coating, or less commonly wood

Wood

Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...

. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is UB or AB, and the apparatus and event are often referred to simply as "bars" or "uneven bars". The bars are placed at different heights allowing the gymnast to jump from bar to bar.

The apparatus

Uneven bars used in international gymnastics competitions has to conform to the guidelines and specifications set forth by the International Gymnastics Federation Apparatus Norms brochure. Several companies manufacture and sell bars, including AAI (USA), Jannsen and Fritsen (Europe) and Acromat (Australia).

Gymnasts will often use a single bar to practise skills on the bar, mostly for safety and for ease of spotting.

Dimensions

Measurements of the bars are provided by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique

Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique

The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique or International Federation of Gymnastics is the governing body of competitive gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on July 23, 1881 in Liège, Belgium, making it the oldest international sport organisation...

 (FIG) in the Apparatus Norms brochure.

• Height:
  • upper bar: 241 centimetres (7.9 ft)
  • lower bar: 161 centimetres (5.3 ft)
• Diameter of bar: 4 centimetre (0.131233595800525 ft)
• Length of the bars: 240 centimetres (7.9 ft)
• Diagonal distance between the two bars: 130 centimetres (4.3 ft)–180 centimetres (5.9 ft) (adjustable)

Evolution

The uneven bars apparatus originally consisted of men's parallel bars set to different heights. Consequently, the bars were very close together, and gymnasts could transition from one to the other with little difficulty. Routines of the early 1950s chiefly consisted of simple circles, kips, and static balance elements and holds. In the late 1950s the trend shifted toward fluid motion, and gymnasts began to perform routines composed of more difficult circles, kips, beats (bouncing the body off the low bar while hanging from the high bar), wraps (wrapping the body around the low bar while hanging from the high bar) and transitions. Release moves also began to come into play, although they were almost entirely limited to transitions between the low and high bars.
In the late 1960s/early 1970s, companies began manufacturing uneven bars as a separate specific apparatus. The design was changed slightly to allow the bars to be adjustable, with tension cables that held the apparatus to the floor. As a result of this change, coaches could set the bars further apart. Additionally, the circumference of the bars themselves decreased, allowing gymnasts to grasp and swing from them with greater ease.

As other events in gymnastics increased in difficulty, so did the uneven bars. Gymnasts and coaches began experimenting with elements, attempting more challenging dismounts, and adapting moves from men's high bar. In 1972 Olga Korbut

Olga Korbut

Olga Valentinovna Korbut , also known as the Sparrow from Minsk, is a Belarusian, Soviet-born gymnast who won four gold medals and two silver medals at the Summer Olympics, in which she competed in 1972 and 1976 for the USSR team....

 pioneered the Korbut Flip

Korbut Flip

Two gymnastics skills are known by the name, Korbut Flip. They are the same skill performed on two separate apparatus. Both, extremely difficult, were first performed internationally by the Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut....

, the first high bar salto

Somersault

A somersault is an acrobatic exercise in which a person does a full 360° flip, moving the feet over the head. A somersault can be performed either forwards, backwards, or sideways and can be executed in the air or on the ground...

 release move. Nadia Comăneci

Nadia Comaneci

Nadia Elena Comăneci is a Romanian gymnast, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the first female gymnast ever to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. She is also the winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer...

 continued the trend with her original Comaneci salto at the 1976 Olympics

1976 Summer Olympics

The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...

 and advanced handstand elements four years later. The giant swing, the staple of high bar in men's artistic gymnastics (MAG), was also adopted into the women's Code of Points, and quickly became a basic uneven bars skill.

By the mid 1980s, routines had become so based on swing and release moves that the bars were moved even further apart. The distance between bars increased even more as gymnasts developed difficult transition elements that required space, such as the Pak salto

Pak salto

The Pak, or Pak salto, is a release move performed on the uneven bars in women's artistic gymnastics. The move starts with the gymnast facing the low bar, swinging forwards towards the low bar and performing a straight backward salto to catch the low bar....

.

Of all the apparatus in women's artistic gymnastics (WAG), uneven bars is probably the one that has seen the most radical changes. Most elements from 1950s and 60s bars routines, such as the Hecht dismount and the Radolcha somersault, are now completely obsolete; others, such as the once-traditional beats and wraps, are impossible given the current diagonal separation between bars; and still others, such as static holds and the Korbut Flip

Korbut Flip

Two gymnastics skills are known by the name, Korbut Flip. They are the same skill performed on two separate apparatus. Both, extremely difficult, were first performed internationally by the Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut....

, are not permitted under the current Code of Points.
In USAG levels 1-6, everyone in the same level performs the same compulsory routine

USAG compulsory routines

The USAG Compulsory routines are the USAG designed/required routines for use in USAG and JO Levels 1-6 programs. Typically gymnasts compete in Levels 4-6; however, in some regions competitions may be as early as 2. Gymnasts in the Compulsory levels may only compete using USAG authorized routines...

. In levels 7 through Elite, gymnasts make up their own routines within specific requirements.

In Gymnastics Australia

Gymnastics Australia

Gymnastics Australia is the governing body for the sport of gymnastics in Australia.-History:Gymnastics in Australia is thought to have originated in the early 20th century by eastern European immigrants. It wasn't until after World War I when Australia was in the Great Depression that people...

 levels 1-3 gymnasts have a choice of three routines with different difficulty. In levels 4-6 gymnasts have the option to include more difficult skills in their routines for bonus points. In levels 7 to Elite gymnasts make up their own routines within set guidelines.

International level routines

A routine on the uneven bars must consist of:

• Flight element from high bar to low bar and vice versa
• Flight element on the same bar
• At least two different grips, and a close bar circle element
• Non flight with a turn on the bar, for example turning handstand
  Handstand
  A handstand is the act of supporting the body in a stable, inverted vertical position by balancing on the hands. In a basic handstand the body is held straight with arms and legs fully extended, with hands spaced approximately shoulder-width apart...
  
  s
• Dismount

Scoring and rules

Judges score routines based on difficulty, form, technique and composition. Deductions are taken for execution errors, poor form, falls, pauses, "empty " swings (extra swings that do not lead into another skill), steps on the dismount, and other mistakes. Falls incur an automatic deduction of 1.0. Also, if the gymnast hits the low bar with her foot (Beth Tweddle did at the 2008 olympics bars qualifications), a deduction of 1.0 will occur.

Apparatus specific rules

Gymnasts are permitted to tape their hands or use grip

Grip (gymnastics)

Grips are devices that are worn on the hands of artistic gymnasts when performing on various gymnastics apparatus. They are worn by female gymnasts on the uneven bars, and by male gymnasts on the high bar, still rings and parallel bars...

s or hand guards on bars. Their coaches are also permitted to apply chalk

Magnesium carbonate

Magnesium carbonate, MgCO3, is a white solid that occurs in nature as a mineral. Several hydrated and basic forms of magnesium carbonate also exist as minerals...

 and/or water to the bars to ensure gymnasts don't slip off.

Unlike high bar and rings in MAG, gymnasts may not be lifted to the uneven bars to begin their routines. They may mount the apparatus with either a simple or a difficult skill, on either the high or low bar; running mounts and springboards are permitted.

Once the routine has started, the coach may not physically interfere with the athlete in any way, however he or she is permitted to stand on the mat during release moves and dismounts. If the gymnast falls on one of these skills, her coach is allowed to catch her or break her fall; the coach is also allowed to lift her back to the high bar to continue her routine. If a springboard has been used for the mount, the coach is allowed to quickly step in and remove it so that it does not impede the routine.

If a gymnast falls from the apparatus, she has 30 seconds to re-mount. Within this time limit, she is allowed to readjust her grips or chalk her hands again, if necessary. However, if she does not return to the bars within 30 seconds, she is not permitted to continue her routine.

External links and sources

• The 2009-2012 Code of Points *Apparatus description at the FIG website
• US Gym Net's glossary of uneven bars skills
• Animations and explanations of basic bars skills
• The Complete Book of Gymnastics, David Hunn, Ward Lock Ltd, London, 1980, ISBN 99903-963-2-9