Horizontal Bar

The horizontal bar (or high bar as it’s often called) is the most risky, but definitely one of the most exciting event to watch in gymnastics.  The reason is because a gymnast will release the bar and try to re-grasp it on multiple occasions.  The combination of high flying releases and intricate turning elements make this event action packed.  While I personally only use two release skills in my routine, there are others in the world that do many more, and sometimes even in combination.  What makes this event even more exciting is that all of this is performed on a single metal pole that’s 8.5 feet high off the ground.

Here are the requirements for high bar:

  1. Long hang swings (general swings that go around the bar)
  2. Release moves (skills that require athletes to let go of the bar and re-grasp after doing a flip or a twist )
  3. “In bar” elements (similar to stoop skills done on parallel bars)
  4. Dorsal hang or El-grip elements (these are skills that require a gymnast to put their arm in a funky position: I’ll explain what I do in my routine)
  5. Dismount

The following is my routine from NCAAs 2009:

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  • Release Skill: You will notice that I immediately do one for my first trick.  This is called a Yamawaki and is worth a “D.”  I also do another release move right after that.  This is a back flip over the bar with a full twist (aka Kolman), which is valued at an “F” (0.6 in bonus)
  • Dorsal Skill: The funky looking swinging skill I do right after the Kolman is called a German giant.  This skill fulfills element 4.  If you turn up the volume on the video, you will notice that the crowd gets excited during this skill.  This is because this skill is rarely done (it’s actually an old-school skill that not a lot of gymnasts do anymore).
  • Long Hang Skill: My long hang skill is fulfilled when I do the giant swing with the hop full after my German giants.
  • InBar Skill: You will also see that I do several stoopeded skills in combination towards the end of my routine.
  • Dismount: The dismount is self-explanatory as it’s the last skill I do in my routine.

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