Technological advances in artistic gymnastics and the impact on its development

Abstract

This paper looks at the history of technology development in Artistic Gymnastics (AG) by reviewing patent registrations, test procedures for the AG competition equipment by the official control laboratory of the International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG), and major apparatus advances by manufacturers. Equipment became lighter and more resistant with synthetic materials, with a clear tendency to increase elastic (repulsive) capacity. It is noteworthy that the testing laboratory becomes an arbiter for the industry and the FIG when the technological developments and equipment of manufacturers are evaluated for official use. Only 23 companies have equipment approved by the FIG, 12 of them manufacturing AG apparatuses. Suppliers are located in nine different countries (2 in Asia; 4 in Europe; 2 in America; 1 in Oceania). There is still an unequal distribution of access to technologies, which are concentrated in the northern hemisphere. More access to the actual technology is clearly required when we consider that 156 national member federations are affiliated with the FIG as of this writing.