Handstand vault??

[Mom2Brats]

Could somebody explain to me what the gymnast is going for in a handstand vault? Maybe point me to a You Tube video of someone doing is beautifully and then tell me why? I can't for the life of me tell a difference between a good vault and a bad one. The other events... sure, they kind of make sense. But vault? I have no idea. Thanks.

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

my understanding is that they should hit the mat in the handstand position (not still going into and not on the way out of it) and quickly block through their shoulders landing in flatback - hope this is the vault you are talking about.

they should not be piked going into the handstand or coming off. They should also not be arched coming off. Their entire body should land flat on the mat all at once.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

You mean the level 4 handstand flatback?

Gymmomntce is mostly correct, but with one exception: the gymnast should hit the mat before she reaches vertical (ie prior to handstand).

Otherwise, she's got it pretty much right.

 

[10.0]

HandSTAND as in level 2 or handSPRING as in level 4? Level 2 does a handstand flat back onto an 8 inch mat, the pointe of it is staying tight, showing proper steps of the feet (bad foot, good foot) showing an arm circle, being able to hold a tight handstand for a couple of seconds with straight arms and falling tight to a flat back in a semi hollow shape. This is the best quality video of it I could find, we teach our kids to start at the board though not to take those extra steps up to it, but the shape is correct. YouTube - Ashlynn's Vault @ 2009 Level 2 AAU Gymnastics Nationals

The point of the level 4 vault if that is the one you are talking about is prep for going over the actual table in level 5. They like a good run, correct hurdle, an arm circle, not piking up (driving heels to the ceiling first not the butt) a sharp block (push through the shoulders) and landing in a tight semi hollow shape arms tight but the head. This is a really nice example YouTube - Cora's Level 4 Vault 9-22-07 some gyms use an aero board rather than a regular spring board though (it makes jumping easier.) Hope that helps.

 

[Mom2Brats]

Sorry, I meant handspring... like in 5, 6 and frequently 7. My dd is a L6. I know that they do a handspring over the vault but what makes good form or bad form? And what improvements are they supposed to have between 5 and 6? I keep hearing terms like "hollow" and "block" but I don't know what any of that means.

 

[ryantroop]

Sorry, I meant handspring... like in 5, 6 and frequently 7. My dd is a L6. I know that they do a handspring over the vault but what makes good form or bad form? And what improvements are they supposed to have between 5 and 6? I keep hearing terms like "hollow" and "block" but I don't know what any of that means.

To define shapes, think of a person standing up straight. If they lean backwards, and "arch their back" they are in an arch. Generall, they have their back, glutes, and hamstrings tight.

If you reverse that position, squeezing the tummy, thighs, and pectorals, and have a slight lean forward, you are hollow.

Imagine a gymnast in a handstand and imagine a basketball. If the ball bounces, it's called a bounce. If the gymnast bounces (on their hands only) it's called a block. The difference is, the ball can bounce in the same place as much as it likes, the gymnast can either land in the same place, or use the bounce to turn over, or.. whatever, really. Another way to think of it is "jumping" on your hands, but rarely will you see people start on their hands to get any sort of "block."


It's been a while since I had to actually read the rules on vault, since Im primarily an UE Bars/Tumbling coach, but if I remember, level 6 the table is higher, and they are no longer judged on the run.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Sorry, I meant handspring... like in 5, 6 and frequently 7. My dd is a L6. I know that they do a handspring over the vault but what makes good form or bad form? And what improvements are they supposed to have between 5 and 6? I keep hearing terms like "hollow" and "block" but I don't know what any of that means.

The Lingo of the Gym | Apex Technical Corner

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[marie83]

Hi,
Personally I find vault the hardest thing to teach well - mainly because it is so complex, for such a quick thing!

There are 4 main phases -
Flight on (from board to table)
Repulsion (hitting and then leaving the table)
Flight off (from table to landing)
Landing

The flight on should be just that - "flighty". The gymnast's body should remain straight- There are deductions for piking or arching - and they should hit the vault table with their hands just before their body reaches vertical. The gymnast's head should be neutral - not sticking out or tucked in.

The Repulsion phase should be fast - the gymnasts do this by shrugging their shoulders and provided they hit the handstand before vertical should then 'fly' off the vault with a dished (hollow) body. The arms should be by ears throughout - deductions are taken for a closed shoulder angle (Imagine standing with arms by ears = open shoulder angle - standing with arms down by side = closed shoulder angle.

Flight off should be high and in a forwards direction - the body should be dished (hollow) The gymnast is judged on height and length

General deductions are taken for insufficient dynamics and deviation from a straight line.

The landing should be stuck with no movement at all.

Hope that's not too technical for you - hope it helps! Am off to youtube to find some examples!

Here is a gymnast doing a drill but it shows really good flight on and not a bad shape in 2nd flight - I know i've seen a video of some amazing handspring vaults but I can't find the one I want!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mtw8L6zEksU&feature=related

 

[10.0]

Okay then, I didn't search long and hard, I picked the first decent vault I found YouTube - 1st Place Level 6 Vault 9.425 if you go to youtube and search level 6 vault look for vaults that score high and they are generally pretty good examples. At this level they don't focus on the run as far as judging (although it is hugly important to have a good run to have a sucessful vault) and I don't think they deduct for no arm circle although I could be wrong. An arm circle is where the gymnast circles the arms to gain height. At level 6 and 7 they are much tougher on form level 5-7 all use the same vault so as the level goes up so does the intensity of judging. They really want tight form, legs straight and together, arms close by head, the hollow shape that was discussed and abig block that another poster already explained. They are very tough on piking the vault which mean the gymnasts brings their rear end up before their heals, you want your heals to go up fast keeping a hollow straight body position througout the vault. And lastly they are looking for a stuck landing, meaning no steps and chest up. Here is an example of a gymnast piking YouTube - Mayce USAG Level 5 Vault second Level 5 meet It isn't too bad, but you can see how her butt goes up faster than her feet.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

This is a nice little vault at 1:40, the second one is slowed down so it is easier to see the body shapes and lift from the table.

YouTube - Level 6 Gymnastics - Judges Cup 2009

Here are some images from the FIG help desk, ignore the deductions, but look at the pictures. The lines show the level of the hips during contact with the table. The green line then shows the how much higher (or lower) the hips are after contact. It is a good way to compare the height of vaults with different size gymnasts. For beginner gymnasts doing handsprings I would probably look more at the shoulders than hips to judge height.

 

[Mom2Brats]

Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!! I had to watch the different examples a bunch but I think I'm finally getting it. It's just always frustrated me that the vaults all look the same to me... obviously something different is going on but aside from steps on the landing I had no idea what was even supposed to be happening. I think I'll enjoy watching that part of the meets more now.

 

[Mariainlv]

Great question, and great answers!

 

[NotAMom]

A handspring vault is allowed all the way through the USAG levels (I believe) starting at L5. Up to L7, all HS vaults have the same SV of 10.0. At L8, the SV starts to go down (i.e. 9.0 at L8). Many upper levels use it as a second vault as a backup just in case.

There is different focuses at each level through L7. Of course, the lower the level the more fundamental. Just for instance, at L5 the run, feet tightness and the back position counts a ton; at L7, not so much -- now the emphasis is on the quality of the flights and the block as well as hand position, etc. With that in mind, a high scoring HS at a lower level does not guaranty the same success at a higher level even though it's exactly the same vault.

 

[gymdog]

The run is only scored in L4. Obviously beyond L4 a good run is correlated with more power and better vaulting in general. When they do look at the run, there are 3 components worth up to 0.3 tenths each: acceleration, maintaining horizontal speed, and board contact (upright or tilted back body/no leaning forward).

You can download these documents and see the explanation of the vault penalties and the associated deductions (look at the one that says deductions, not judging sheets). I think they're fairly straightforward:
Vault | Evergreen/Camas Gymnastics

 

[pixie flips]

You can download these documents and see the explanation of the vault penalties and the associated deductions (look at the one that says deductions, not judging sheets). I think they're fairly straightforward:
Vault | Evergreen/Camas Gymnastics

Thank you!

*bookmarked*

 

[dancengym]

What is the difference between L5, L6 and L7 vault?

Is there a difference between the vault routine at L5, L6 and L7? Does the vault height increase with each level? Or is it the emphasis on various aspects/stages of vaulting that changes with the level? My DD just finished the L5 season and is training for L6 and L7. She said the vault at L7 is higher. Any truth to this?

 

[10.0]

Nope the vault height has nothing to do with level, well not directly anyways, although the coach usually tries to increase it as much as possible so that when they start flipping vaults in level 8 they are used to the table being higher as it makes having time to flip it happen. But usually the height is determined by the gymnasts height, power and ability to block off and show a nice vault, even if you are working up to flipping vaults you do not want to compete on a table that is too high as it caused form issues and you wont score as well. My guess is that you have seen your dd's table get higher as she progressed because she has the hand spring vault down now and is probably more powerful, tighter and possibly even taller.

As far as the levels the judging is easier in level 5 as that is the first year girls go over a table and they are not quite as strict on form, but in level 6 and 7 they expect the girls have done this vault now for a year or 2 and want it to be much tighter and better with good form, so yes the judging bar does go up since the actual vault does not change.

 

[gympanda]

Is there a difference between the vault routine at L5, L6 and L7?

There is absolutely no difference in the judging between L5 and L6. We use the exact same deductions and should be using them to the same degree with each girl. I often hear that "judging is stricter at level ___", but the way the system is set-up that is not the case. We have the same "up to" deductions for L5 & 6. So, a girl who has an extreme pike on at L5 will receive the same .5 deduction as a girl with the same degree of pike at L6. Often we judge L5 & 6 in the same session and on vault have no idea what level is vaulting, because the table of penalities is the same (actually, there is only one page listed as L5/6).

Level 7 has slightly different "up to" deductions for form, that are slightly lower, however still retains the same deductions for angle of repulsion and too long in support.

 

[dancengym]

There is absolutely no difference in the judging between L5 and L6. We use the exact same deductions and should be using them to the same degree with each girl. I often hear that "judging is stricter at level ___", but the way the system is set-up that is not the case. We have the same "up to" deductions for L5 & 6. So, a girl who has an extreme pike on at L5 will receive the same .5 deduction as a girl with the same degree of pike at L6. Often we judge L5 & 6 in the same session and on vault have no idea what level is vaulting, because the table of penalities is the same (actually, there is only one page listed as L5/6).

Level 7 has slightly different "up to" deductions for form, that are slightly lower, however still retains the same deductions for angle of repulsion and too long in support.

Then it does not benefit my dd to practice her vault on a higher setting. She was so proud she was doing her vault with the higher levels at their higher setting. Her form certainly was not as good as her regular setting. Is it advisable then for her to do her vault at the setting of someone 4 to 6 inches taller?

 

[Mariainlv]

Actually, I think it does right? Getting used to vaulting higher will translate well as she progresses.