3.2 GYMNASTICS 39 The word gymnastics derives from the Greek adjective gymnos which means train naked , in fact in ancient times athletes competed without clothing. Gymnastics-for-all is a fitness activity involving gymnastics (with or without an apparatus) and dance. What is parkour? achievement: raggiungimento apparatus: attrezzo backbend: piegamento all indietro pottery: vasellame to pursue: perseguire rulebook: regolamento THE HISTORY OF GYMNASTICS Origins and early development Gymnastics has existed for over 3,000 years. We find traces of this activity in writings by Greek authors such as Homer, who wrote about the people of Faiakes (a region of Greece), whose performers danced with a ball. Traces of gymnastics can be also found in ancient Egyptian pottery and tombs, and even the walls of some pyramids are decorated with scenes representing women backbending to show their grace and flexibility. In its present form, gymnastics evolved in Germany at the beginning of the 19th century: the German educator Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, known as the father of modern gymnastics, invented several apparatuses, including the horizontal and parallel bars, which are still in use. The term artistic gymnastics was introduced to distinguish freestyle performances from military ones. The FIG The F d ration Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) was founded in Belgium in 1881 to regulate all aspects of the international competitions and to assign the Code of Points . The Code of Points is a rulebook that defines the scoring system for each level of competition and is defined in a public document provided by the Federation. The FIG is the oldest international federation of any Olympic sport and governs eight disciplines: 80 TO DO Maybe that's why I like gymnastics because I like to fly. Nadia Coma neci gymnastics-for-all , men s and women s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline gymnastics (including double mini-trampoline), aerobic gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics, and parkour . International competitions Gymnastics was first included in the 1896 Summer Olympics, but only men could participate. Female gymnasts were not allowed to participate until 1928. The first edition of the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was held in 1903 but, again, it was open to men only and women were allowed to participate only 31 years later. Nowadays, in Olympic and World Championship competitions, events are divided into several sessions held on different days: qualifications, team finals, all-around finals, and event finals. The format of team qualifications is 4-4-3, meaning that all four gymnasts compete in each event, but only the top three scores count. During the qualifications and team finals, gymnasts compete with their national teams and the scores from the session determine the medallists in the team competition. In the all-around finals and event finals the gymnasts compete individually and only two gymnasts per country may advance to each event final.