Floor (gymnastics)

In gymnastics, the floor refers to a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The event in gymnastics performed on floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is FX.

A spring floor is used in most competitive gymnastics to provide bounce. Spring floors are also used sometimes in cheerleading. The sprung floor used for indoor athletics, however, is designed to reduce bounce.

The apparatus originated as a 'free exercise' for men, very similar to the floor exercise of today. It wasn't until 1948 that women were allowed to compete on the floor.

Most competitive gymnastics floors are spring floors. They contain springs and/or a rubber foam and plywood combination which make the floor bouncy, soften the impact of landings and enable the gymnast to gain height when tumbling. Floors have clearly designated perimeters—the "out of bounds" area is always indicated by a border of white tape or a differently colored mat.

The allowed time for a floor exercise is up to 70 seconds for males and up to 90 seconds for females. Unlike men, women always perform routines to music.

Measurements of the apparatus are published by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) in the Apparatus Norms brochure. The dimensions are the same for male and female competitors.

Floor exercise routines last up to 90 seconds. The routine is choreographed in advance, and is composed of acrobatic and dance elements. This event, above all others, allows the gymnast to express her personality through her dance and musical style. The moves that are choreographed in the routine must be precise, in sync with the music and entertaining.

At the international elite level of competition, the composition of the routine is decided by the gymnast and her coaches. Many gymnasiums and national federations hire special choreographers to design routines for their gymnasts. Well known gymnastics choreographers include Lisa Luke (United States), Adriana Pop (Romania, France, China), Nancy Roche (United States) and Geza Pozar (Romania, United States). Others opt to choreograph their FX routines in-house. Some gymnasts adopt a new FX every year; others keep the same routine for several competitive seasons. It is not uncommon for coaches to modify a routine's composition between meets, especially if it is used for an extended length of time. It is uncommon for gymnasts to use more than one different FX routine in the same season but it is not entirely unheard of: at the 1996 Olympics, for instance, Russian Dina Kotchetkova's routine in the FX event finals had completely different music, choreography and composition than that of her all-around exercise.

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