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WAG – Page 14 – Gymnastics History

Category: WAG

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Compulsories Floor Music Olympics WAG World Championships

1958-1996: Compulsory Floor Music over the Decades

As far as FIG events are concerned, women’s individual floor exercise was first introduced at the 1950 World Championships, but at the time, gymnasts did not use floor music. In fact, at the 1950 FIG Congress, the delegates had to decide if gymnasts should perform to music at the 1952 Olympics, and they voted against it (eight votes to three).

It wasn’t until 1958 that music was introduced for individual floor routines, both compulsory and optional. 

Below, you’ll find recordings of the music for the compulsory routines from 1958 until 1996. For some of you, the music will bring back fond memories. For others, it’ll bring back nightmares. But hopefully, you’ll find a piece you enjoy listening to.

19 Sep 1988: Phoebe Mills does her floor exercise during the Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. Mandatory Credit: Billy Strickland /Allsport
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1962 Compulsories MAG WAG World Championships

1962: The Compulsory Routines for the World Championships

What were compulsory routines at the 1962 World Championships?

Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, there aren’t videos of the routines on YouTube. But in this post, you can find the English text for the men’s compulsories, as well as the English text and drawings for the women’s compulsories.

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1968 Olympics WAG

1968: Valerie Nagy’s Reaction to the Mexico City Olympics

What were the 1968 Olympics like from the perspective of a Women’s Technical Committee member? Well, the Vice President, Valerie Nagy of Hungary, wrote an article for Olympische Turnkunst, in which she summarized her views.

Not surprisingly, she pointed out that there was some “clever teamwork” among the judges. 

100 Years of the FIG
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1962 WAG World Championships

1962: Berthe Villancher’s Summary of the World Championships

After the 1962 World Championships in Prague, Berthe Villancher, the President of the Women’s Technical Committee, penned a summary for the French magazine Éducation physique et sport (November 1962). 

It’s a fascinating article, in which she calls the judges “combatants,” echoing something that Dr. Klinger wrote after the men’s competition at the 1934 World Championships.

You can find an English translation of Villancher’s article below.

100 Years of the FIG
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European Championships MAG Olympics Perfect 10 WAG World Championships

The Perfect Scores before Nadia Comăneci and Nellie Kim

Before Nadia Comăneci’s and Nellie Kim’s perfect 10s at the 1976 Olympic Games, there was a long line of gymnasts who obtained perfect scores at the Olympic Games, the World Championships, or the European Championships. (Originally, the World Championships were called the International Tournament.)

Some of them even managed perfect totals, meaning that they received the maximum score for their compulsory and optional routines combined.

So, here’s a chronological list of the gymnasts who were “perfect” before Comăneci and Kim.

Kunstturn-WM in Basel 1950: Barren-Sieger Hans Eugster (Photo by RDB/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
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1907 Sokols WAG World Championships

1907: Women’s Gymnastics at the Czech Sokol Rally

Women didn’t compete at the International Tournament in 1907. (They wouldn’t compete at the World Championships until 1934.) But female gymnasts were part of the Fifth Sokol Rally in 1907. 

Let’s take a look at their participation.

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Evolution Olympics WAG World Championships

1928-1956: The Events of Women’s Gymnastics

Flying rings? Track and field events like javelin throwing? If you’ve been reading this site, you might be wondering about the evolution of the women’s program at FIG competitions.

So, here’s a quick rundown of the women’s programs at the major FIG competitions. Here we go…

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1938 WAG World Championships

1938: The First All-Around World Champion in Women’s Gymnastics

The women’s competition at the 1928 Olympic Games was solely a team competition. As was the women’s competition at the 1934 World Championships. As was the women’s competition at the 1936 Olympic Games.

At the 1938 World Championships, in addition to the team results, a women’s individual all-around champion was crowned for the first time at a major FIG competition. (Note: Previously, there had been individual champions at competitions like the Workers’ Olympics, which were unaffiliated with the FIG.)

Let’s take a look at what happened on June 30 and July 1.

Vlasta Děkanová and Alois Hudec, 1938, Národní muzeum – Historické muzeum, Czech Republic
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1958 Code of Points WAG

1958: The Very First Women’s Code of Points

In 1949, the Men’s Technical Committee published its first Code of Points.

Almost 10 years later, in 1958, the Women’s Technical Committee published its first Code of Points.

Of course, women’s gymnastics had rules before this. But this was the first official Code of Points, and as we’ll see, the rules for women’s artistic gymnastics had developed a lot since female gymnasts first competed at the Olympics in 1928.

Let’s take a look at the 1958 Code of Points.

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1934 WAG World Championships

1934: Women Compete at the World Championships for the First Time

At the 1934 World Championships in Budapest, women at the World Championships for the first time. 

Only five women’s teams participated, but remember that only four men’s teams participated at the first International Tournament, the competition that would become known as the World Championships. (In fact, 1934 was the year that the International Tournament was renamed, becoming known as the World Championships.)

The format for the women’s competition was quite different from modern competitions. There were javelin throws, partner acro exercises, and national dances.

Here’s what happened on June 1 and 2, 1934.

The Hungarian team
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