Women’s Gymnastics Overview

As a sport, gymnastics can trace its roots to ancient Greece, where it was used to train soldiers for war.  At the time, gymnastics was limited to males.  Gymnastics for females began in the 1920’s.  Women first competed in the Olympics in 1928.  The current list of events used in gymnastics was standardized by 1954.  Today, women’s gymnastics is more popular than men’s gymnastics.

Women’s gymnastics began in the 1920’s as part of the Girls Athletic Association (G.A.A.).  Gymnastics included calisthenics and tumbling. Each school created a Girls Athletic Association (GAA).  The GAA allowed the ladies to participate in various sports in what is today called intermural.  They could only compete within the school. The GAA ceased to exist with the passage of Title IX.

Beginning in the 1973-1974 school year, Girls’ Gymnastics became a Minnesota State High School League sport. This was the year the Minneapolis schools took to the mats and began interscholastic play.