EDITORIAL

Abstract

Dear friends,

Competitions under FIG and Continental Unions flag this spring have already brought about new heights of development. Especially in artistic gymnastics we have been surprised by presentations of the triple salto backward tucked on floor and the triple salto backward piked from rings (which MTC FIG recognises as a new element with H difficulty and goes by the name of Donnel Whittenburg). We are proud that Whittenburg performed it in Slovenia, during the World Challenge Cup in Koper.

Not only gymnasts and coaches are searching for new content but also researchers world-wide. The first article in this issue comes from a group of researchers from Germany lead by Thomas Heinen. They looked at how the gymnast’s motor control regulates Yurchenko vaults. The article includes some very important information for coaches in the sense of motor learning.

The second article is a review by Slovene authors Boštjan and Barbara Jakše (the latter used to be a gymnast who competed at World Championships under her maiden name Turšič) in which they discuss the importance of omega-3 fatty acids for gymnastics. A lot of condensed information again with high value not only for coaches but also gymnasts and their parents.

The third article is by one author only from Croatia. Sunčica Delaš Kalinski explored the main reasons why female artistic gymnasts rarely participate in more than one Olympic Games. Another article for coaches to think about their gymnasts’ careers.

The fourth article is from a team from Greece lead by Maria Kritikou. It looks at the correlations between artistry performance scores and morphologic characteristics and motor abilities. The article provides lots of interesting information for coaches, judges and gymnasts in the area where artistry influences the final scores.

The fifth article comes from Portugal. An analysis of rhythmic routines by Amanda Batista, Rui Garganta and Lurde Avila Carvalho concludes that the more difficult elements result in lower scores as judges influence the evaluation of whether difficulty is recognised or not.

The sixth article is also from Portugal. Researchers around Maria-Raquel G. Silva analysed gender inequalities in the Portuguese gymnastics between 2012 and 2016. Perhaps the new FIG discipline, parkour, will help make gymnastics in Portugal more popular among males.

The last article comes from a mixed group researchers from the Czech Republic and Slovenia. The group, led by Karmen Šibanc, compared morphological characteristics of top level gymnasts between years 2000 and 2015. Two different philosophies of the Code of Points have also had a minor impact on the changing morphologic structure of gymnasts.

Anton Gajdoš prepared a new contribution on gymnastics history, refreshing our memory of German team at OG 1896, Walther Lehman and Yukio Endo.

Just to remind you, if you quote the Journal: its abbreviation on the Web of Knowledge is SCI GYMN J. I wish you pleasant reading and a lot of inspiration for new research projects and articles.

Ivan Čuk, Editor-in-Chief