IFFB TO PROHIBIT TUMBLING IN FITNESS ROUTINES?
According to an IFBB spokesman, the issue of whether tumbling should be prohibited in IFBB fitness routines will be reviewed at the upcoming IFBB Executive Council Meeting in Malacca, Spain, on November 16th. A similar move is being discussed by the National Physique Committee for amateur fitness contests in the United States.
The reason for considering banning tumbling primarily concerns the health and safety of the competitors. Althought tumbling is not "required" by the federations, routines that do not feature tumbling rarely achieve high scores in fitness events. So tumbling at this point is necessary in order to win or place well, even if not required.
The problem is that tumbling in fitness is done in very different circumstances than in gymnastics competitions. For example, in gymnastics meets, competitors do their tumbling routines on special mats. Even using these mats, gymnasts are still injured, as we saw in the recent Olympics in Australia. Fitness competitors, on the other hand, do their routines on bare wood floors or on thin carpet laid over wood stages. These surfaces are often slippery and the width and length of the space available for routines varies from contest to contest, adding to the increased possibility of injury.
Furthermore, competitive gymnasts are usually very young, most often teenagers. They carry very little bodyweight and have extremely good strength-to-weight ratios. Also, these gymnasts are closely supervised and trained by qualified coaches. The gymnasts who compete in fitness are most often older, much heavier and are no longer training under the careful guidance of gymnastics coaches. So no matter how competent they are at tumbling, their body comformation and level of training are not equal to what they were when they did gymnastics as girls.
Because the expert gymnasts have become so dominant in fitness events - in fact, are generally the winners in most contests - the other fitness competitors are forced to attempt some kind of tumbling in order to be competitive. Most do not have anything like the same degree of training in gymnastics - many have no prior experience at all - which increases the risk of serious or even life-threatening injury to even greater and unacceptable levels. Additionally, even many of the trained gymnasts have complained because years of gymnastics training has left them with chronic aches, pains and injuries which are exacerbated by doing tumbling on various fitness stages.
So far, there have been no really serious injuries involving performing or practicing for fitness routines. But there have been a number of near-misses, falls that could have resulted in a head injury or broken neck - and a number of broken legs, shoulder, back and joint injuries have been reported as well. As fitness events become more competitive, the degree of tumbling required to win or place well is likely to increase, which will make the threat of injury all that more likely.
Banning tumbling - as is the case in aerobics competition - would allow gymnasts to use their other skills as well as strength, flexibility and dance elements in their individual routines. But it would also level the playing field somewhat, so that women without extensive gymnastics training would have a better chance to be competitive. Many women who have not been competing in fitness say they would consider entering contests if tumbling were removed from the routines, and some who are currently competing but are discouraged by their lack of specific training in gymnastics report they would reconsider retiring from fitness competition if this change in the rules is instituted. So a consequence of this change in the rules, in addition to health considerations, would also be (1) more women entering fitness events and (2) a return to more emphasis on physique and less tendency for the contests to turn into gymnastics meets.
One factor that makes the adoption of such a ban more likely is the legal ramifications. If a fitness competitor is badly hurt and sues the federations successfully, the IFBB and/or the NPC could end up owing millions. So, in this case, the "right thing" in terms of protecting the health of the competitors is also the prudent move to make in terms of protection against legal and financial liability.
Bill Dobbins