Gymnastics UEG

Australia is a wealthy country with an enviable environment, a laid-back style of life, and a higher quality of living than most other nations around the globe. Given this, it could be simple to forget the variety of difficulties this nation faces, even in light of its good socioeconomic situation. Recent cuts to High-Performance sports, like eliminating the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) program at the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS), occur when we should be fighting to boost funding and advance the sport. Please refrain from making choices that will only limit its potential.

The national economy is under a lot of strain due to childhood obesity, mental illness, and its effects on population health. These expenses, caused mainly by disease, premature mortality, and low productivity, are estimated to reach $13.8 billion annually. Regarding a decline in national production, sedentary habits rank fourth after smoking, hypertension, and obesity.

The entire cost of solving these problems has likewise skyrocketed. In the past 25 years, health spending has increased in line with the expansion of the overall economy, but at a far faster rate. It has expanded from 6.5% of GDP to 9.7% of GDP, outpacing both the national rate of inflation and the costs associated with our aging population.

Numerous health issues, such as mental illness and obesity, can be successfully treated by increasing physical exercise. Improving a child’s physical literacy is one way to improve general health. A youngster can better analyze their environment, make wise judgments, and move more confidently and with greater control when engaging in physical activity by mastering basic sport and movement abilities.

THE PART GYMNASTICS PLAYS

Gymnastics is a popular method for enhancing physical literacy since it helps kids acquire their basic movement abilities and lays a solid foundation for further skill development in all sports. Gymnastics places cognitive demands on kids, requiring them to listen, problem-solve, make decisions, and get ready to take controlled risks through exploration and movement sequencing. Gymnastics encourages overall physical growth, muscular strength, joint flexibility, balance, coordination, and core strength necessary for daily life.

A child’s later development of acquired physical literacy is laid out by physical exercise and motor development throughout the foundation (0–5 years of age). Positive thoughts and attitudes about physical activity are developed early in life and contribute to other major developmental milestones. Recommended development capacities for movement and body control are also established.

It has been shown that developing movement abilities during preschool positively impacts one’s health and well-being. Early motor skill development also lays the groundwork for future participation in various physical activities and sports. As soon as a child reaches school-age, more opportunities to improve their physical literacy become available through modified sports activities, physical education lessons, and in-class physical activity time, including unstructured play and active transportation to and from school.

The tendency for physically literate kids to maintain a healthy range of body weight and body mass index is perhaps the most significant long-term preventative health benefit. It is abundantly evident from the research that being overweight or obese raises one’s chance of developing several non-communicable diseases, both as a kid and as an adult.

FITNESS IN SCHOOL

A joint evaluation by Gymnastics Australia, Victoria University, and the Victorian Department of Education thoroughly examined the advantages of including gymnastics instruction in the primary school curriculum. Together, the parties investigated the efficiency of the LauchPad program for fundamental movements, which is based on gymnastics and is used in primary school physical education classes. Tests were used in the study to evaluate the four key components of physical literacy: locomotion, object handling, dynamic postural control, and general coordination. Major conclusions included:

Before gymnastics education and training:

• The children assessed generally showed a low level of mobility proficiency. This result was in line with findings from other Australian investigations.
• Australian kids who participated in gymnastics outperformed their peers regarding total movement proficiency.
• Physical education (PE) instructors in primary schools were competent in leading lessons but less skilled in implementing a developmentally appropriate PE curriculum to promote movement competence.

The following are gymnastics education and training:

• Dynamic postural control and overall body coordination saw the most increases. These elements are crucial to a child’s total movement competency.
• Working with a certified gymnastics coach benefited teachers’ personal and professional growth.

The real benefit of a gymnastics development program like LaunchPad is that it gives kids the chance to improve their overall motor skills within a gymnastics context. This shows that studying Fundamental Movement Skills can be successfully combined with gymnastics (as a delivery technique) to improve general body coordination and dynamic postural control.