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Rhythmic Gymnastics

Athena

By Athena
in 2016 Olympics

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Frisky Wig

Frisky Wig

(edited)

Saw on TV Guide that rhythmic was going to be on NBC at 3:45 on Friday, started getting excited. I don't have cable so can't watch other NBC channels or online streaming. Excitement grew as it got closer to 3:45. Turned on NBC, watched horses, BMX cycling, more horses. No rhythmic at all. I'm so so disappointed! Why advertise something if you're not going to show it? 

Edited by Frisky Wig
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greendog78

greendog78

RG confuses me. What's the difference between a good routine and a great routine? It's easy to spot bad routines ( dropped apparatus, poor flexibility), but what makes a routine worth a medal? (besides being Russian?)

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BlackberryJam

BlackberryJam

I have no clue and watch RG during the Olympics only when I remember it exists, but to my untrained eye, I could see the difference in complexity, difficulty and skill in the US routine and in the ones by Spain.

Nastia and Andrea Joyce do a terrible job of explaining.

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candall

candall

WOW, those Russians!  As I said about the Brazilian beach volleyball women--I usually have trouble perceiving who has the better skills at this advanced level of sports I don't see regularly, but this was obvious, even to me.

 

There was one point where I noticed one Russian woman didn't have her ribbon and I was squinting around trying to locate it in someone else's hand.  Couldn't find it--did she lose it??  And that's when it finally dropped back down out of the air and into her hand.

 

My have to nitpick the US ribbon color.  The white part disappeared completely against the mat and the pastel parts didn't help much with the visibility.

 

During the qualifying rounds, I heard the commentator say the teams would work on a routine for four years.  For the finals, are the routines completely different or do they do a close version of their qualifying routines?

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Ohwell

Ohwell

I saw a bit of this yesterday when there was a Russian woman with a ball.  I don't know how the judges scored her but she was so graceful and just absolutely fantastic.  As I said earlier, I don't think this belongs in the Olympics as a sport (and so many other "sports" don't belong IMO, but I digress) but I would definitely pay to see it somewhere else. 

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PepSinger

PepSinger

2 hours ago, Ohwell said:

I saw a bit of this yesterday when there was a Russian woman with a ball.  I don't know how the judges scored her but she was so graceful and just absolutely fantastic.  As I said earlier, I don't think this belongs in the Olympics as a sport (and so many other "sports" don't belong IMO, but I digress) but I would definitely pay to see it somewhere else. 

Why don't you think it belongs? I can't think of one valid reason it shouldn't be there.

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Superpole2000

Superpole2000

1 minute ago, PepSinger said:

Why don't you think it belongs? I can't think of one valid reason it shouldn't be there.

The Olympics are competitive by nature, and it's very difficult to see who the best rhythmic gymnasts are. Artistry is tough to judge or rank. All of the tricks and movements are impressive, but it isn't a great competition if viewers can't see obvious winners/losers.

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PepSinger

PepSinger

(edited)
3 minutes ago, Superpole2000 said:

The Olympics are competitive by nature, and it's very difficult to see who the best rhythmic gymnasts are. Artistry is tough to judge or rank. All of the tricks and movements are impressive, but it isn't a great competition if viewers can't see obvious winners/losers.

Couldn't the same be said for artistic gymnastics?  The same disagreements happen there, too.

Edited by PepSinger
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Ohwell

Ohwell

10 minutes ago, PepSinger said:

Why don't you think it belongs? I can't think of one valid reason it shouldn't be there.

I just came back to this thread, but @Superpole explained it pretty much the same as I would have, only better.

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legaleagle53

legaleagle53

(edited)
34 minutes ago, Superpole2000 said:

The Olympics are competitive by nature, and it's very difficult to see who the best rhythmic gymnasts are. Artistry is tough to judge or rank. All of the tricks and movements are impressive, but it isn't a great competition if viewers can't see obvious winners/losers.

In other words, if the results can't be irrefutably demonstrated with the use of a stopwatch, a scoreboard, or a tape measure, it doesn't count as a sport no matter how difficult or athletic in nature the sport in question is.  That's an ancient, tired, and biased argument.  You think referee calls in swimming, football, rugby, athletics, baseball/softball, basketball, and the like, aren't just as subjective in nature?

In other words, I agree with PepSinger.  Gymnasts, synchronized swimmers, figure skaters, skateboarders, mountain bikers, equestrians, golfers, and yes, DanceSport participants (even though that is not yet an Olympic event) are athletes in exactly the same sense of the word as swimmers, soccer players, or track stars, because they train just as hard and compete just as hard as those whose results are judged by the tape measure, the stopwatch,or the scoreboard.  And I daresay that any of them could probably kick the ass of pretty much anyone in here any day of the week.  And yes, their disciplines are sports in every sense of the word as well.

Edited by legaleagle53
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walnutqueen

walnutqueen

I really don't mind what sports are included in the Olympics; some I watch,  others I don't (and many I just Fast Forward through all the heats to see the end!).  We all have our passions and preferences.

When I watch this sport, I can't help thinking :

Rhythmic Gymnastics : A Ball, A Hula Hoop & A Really Big Cat Toy   

Yeah, I honestly don't watch much, but can appreciate the effort.  ;-)

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Ohwell

Ohwell

(edited)

This argument has been going on, well, probably since the early beginnings of the Olympics regarding what some call a sport and others don't.  I think it's a purely subjective argument to make and people have differing opinions about it.  So, my opinion is that rhythmic gymnastics is not what I'd call a sport for the Olympics.  Obviously, YMMV.  

And, for the record, I do have a black belt in taekwondo (I mean real taekwondo, not the "foot fencing" shown in the Olympics) from the venerable Jhoon Rhee Institute of Taekwondo (lol).  I'm no spring chicken now (more like a stew hen) but I'm still in pretty good shape and I feel pretty confident that, even now, I could kick some rhythmic gymnastic arse. ; )    

Edited by Ohwell
clarification
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azshadowwalker

azshadowwalker

Dancing is not a sport. Rhythmic gymnastics, ice dancing, and ballroom dancing are, you guessed it, dancing. As a former ballet dancer, I find their inclusion or suggested inclusion in the Olympics ridiculous. There's art and there's athletic competition. If people want to watch dancing, great. I love watching dancing. It just doesn't belong in the Olympics, where there are already issues with the number of sports, especially in the Summer Games. 

There are also games that aren't real sports.  I don't consider golf a real sport, and think it was ridiculous to put it back in the games. I am especially angry that the men were such lazy cowards. It needs to go. 

I find the insistence that these things should be in the Olympics just as tiresome and old. If someone spends more time putting on make-up and working with costume designers than actually competing the event, it's not a sport. Women's artistic gymnastics and figure skating are working my last nerve with that nonsense. It won't be long before I am completely done with them, too. The only way they stay in my nominal graces is the length of time they have been in the games, especially gymnastics. 

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katisha

katisha

50 minutes ago, azshadowwalker said:

I find the insistence that these things should be in the Olympics just as tiresome and old. If someone spends more time putting on make-up and working with costume designers than actually competing the event, it's not a sport. Women's artistic gymnastics and figure skating are working my last nerve with that nonsense. It won't be long before I am completely done with them, too. The only way they stay in my nominal graces is the length of time they have been in the games, especially gymnastics. 

Interesting you should say that, azshadowalker . Just watching some rhythmic gymnastics now and while it is beautiful to see, I am inclined to agree with you. The costumes the competitors wear are spectacular but they look far more like what you would see on Dancing With the Stars than the gymnasts' leotards. There is also far more evidence of ballet training as far as I can tell so it looks far more like dancing than gymnastics.

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dcalley

dcalley

5 hours ago, Ohwell said:

And, for the record, I do have a black belt in taekwondo (I mean real taekwondo, not the "foot fencing" shown in the Olympics) from the venerable Jhoon Rhee Institute of Taekwondo (lol). 

Oh my gosh, "Nobody bothers me!"

On 8/10/2016 at 3:47 PM, Athena said:

Which is your favourite apparatus?

I watched more of this today than I think I ever have. I didn't even know about the clubs before, and they were definitely my least favorite.

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PepSinger

PepSinger

2 hours ago, azshadowwalker said:

If someone spends more time putting on make-up and working with costume designers than actually competing the event, it's not a sport.

Where is this listed in the definition of "sport"?

 

Also, how on Earth is golf "not a sport"? That's a first.

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shang yiet

shang yiet

I love the music, costumes and grace of the movements but RG seems more to me like dancing with an apparatus.

My opinion is -

Sports which are 'real' sports but don't belong to the Olympics - tennis, golf, rugby.

Sports which are too artistic and maybe shouldn't be in the Olympics - RG, syncro swimming, ice dancing, trampoline.

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BlackberryJam

BlackberryJam

(edited)

I don't think I am qualified to decide what should be an Olympic sport and what should not.

But if the line is to be what is "too artistic" I'm throwing in diving. RG, SS, ID, trampoline are all "sports" which are competitions decided by judges based on quality of performance. Diving falls into that same category. And well, so does boxing, if it's not a knockout. That's another "sport" where the decision is based on judging. Then you have to throw in snowboarding halfpipe, all the "freestyle" skiing events.  And so on.

What I dislike about de-valuing of certain sports saying they aren't "sports" is that the ones people seem most keen to eliminate are ones that are predominantly considered "women's sports," RG, synchro swimming, etc. 

But you know, I'm totally down with getting rid of halfpipe because it seems like something pretty much anyone decently athletic could pick up and do.

On the other hand, I look and these rhythmic gymnasts and think "For the love of all that is holy, how in the mother of fuck do they get their bodies to DO that? They must have been working on it since infancy." I am floored by their training, their skill and their dedication. And I'm not going to say they haven't earned the right to compete in the Olympics to display it.

But you know, I'm not the one who makes these decisions.

Edited by BlackberryJam
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MostlyC

MostlyC

I really like the ribbon- especially with the team competition..  Why did I think there were more apparatus?  (apparati?)

I'm okay with this being a sport- good god it definitely is athletic in that these women have to be strong and flexible, have amazing timing, and stamina.

Figure skating has music, athleticism, glittery costumes and make-up and it's considered a sport.  So I'm fine with this being one.

I think the american had the highest placing ever- good for her.

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proserpina65

proserpina65

On ‎08‎/‎21‎/‎2016 at 1:14 PM, MaryMitch said:

It's a sport. It requires athletic ability, flexibility, eye-hand coordination, and training. It has rules, scoring, judging and regular competitions.

What is and isn't a sport is subjective and everyone has their opinion.  (Personally I think snow boarding is not a sport.)  I'm not in charge of choosing sports for the Olympics, but I did enjoy watching the team finals.  I don't know much about rhythmic gymnastics but even I could see that the Russian routines, and to a slightly lesser extent the Spanish ones, were far superior to the others.

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andromeda331

andromeda331

I just think its really beautiful. I love the routines and the costumes.  I do admit its the one sport I can't tell which ones are more difficult and don't really understand the rules. Only which routines I liked which was most of them. Russian and China were great, I really liked Israel's, Spain and Italy's.  Most of the girls looked like they were having a lot of fun. I really wished their had been more countries completing. I mean I know they have to cut off at some point, but when they reached the last country I wasn't ready to see it end. 

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MaKaM

MaKaM

I think RG needs to go (SyncSwimming too) unless they become coed or have a men's version. Equality across the board and all that. I also prefer timed sports vs judged ones (and anything with a ref is judged) and any sport that has choreography judged is getting the side eye from me. the complete domination of the sport by a single country is as worrisome in RG as it is in women's basketball. RG is lovely to watch and clearly athletic, but I would drop it in a second from the Olympic program (the team competition if not the individual) and add spots back to artistic gymnastics (which now will only get teams of four for the Olympics, 12 teams vs RG teams of 5, 14 teams) or trampoline which gets only 16 per gender. Rhythmic had 70 in the team section and I am not sure how many individuals (24? 16?). Not really necessary to have that many when the single rule seems to be: Russia Wins.

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