Gymnastics Australia (GA) is the

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...

for the

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

in Australia.

History

Gymnastics in Australia is thought to have originated in the early 20th century by eastern European immigrants. It wasn't until after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

when Australia was in the Great Depression that people started turning to organisations like the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

for support. From these community-based groups, the sport started to flourish. Around the same time, gymnastics was included in the school curriculum at

Geelong Grammar , motto_translation = 1 Corinthians 1:30: "For us, Christ was made wisdom"( 1 Corinthians 1:30: Christ, who has been made for us in wisdom) , city = Corio, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , ...

, Wesley College and Carey Grammar. Australians participated in the sport for the first time at an

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

at the Melbourne Games in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. The body was founded on 8 September 1949 as the Australian Gymnastic Federation. Affiliation was accepted by the

Australian Olympic Federation Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

in 1951 and by the

International Federation of Gymnastics The International Gymnastics Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, FIG) is the body governing all disciplines of competitive gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on July 23, 1881, in ...

in 1954. In 1999, the AGF changed to its current name of Gymnastics Australia.

Present day

Gymnastics Australia runs a head office in Melbourne, Victoria, and is the representative body to

FIG The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

. Gymnastics Australia coordinates and provides gymnastics for Australians through eight Association Members: * ACT Gymnastics Association Inc. * NSW Gymnastics Association Inc. * NT Gymnastics Association Inc. * Queensland Gymnastics Association Inc. * Gymnastics South Australian Inc. * Tasmania Gymnastics Associations Inc. * Gymnastics Victoria Inc. * Gymnastics Western Australia Inc. Gymnastics Australia sets the routines and routine guidelines for the National Levels Program which are used by gymnasts around the country. Prominent gymnastics from Australia through the ages include Lauren Mitchell, the first Australian gymnast to win gold on floor at the 2010 World Championships and Damian Istria who won gold on floor in the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

References

External links

* {{Sports governing bodies in Australia National members of the International Gymnastics Federation Gymnastics in Australia Sports governing bodies in Australia 1949 establishments in Australia Sports organizations established in 1949 Organisations based in Melbourne

History

Present day

See also

References

External links