Women’s Gymnastics Discourse Analysis
Introduction
Women’s gymnastics is definitely a Discourse that can be very intricate at times. There are many terms that one is required to know in order to be in this Discourse and even moves that go along with the terms. The Discourse of gymnastics is complicated at best and very intensive on the side of terms and actions. Gee, the author of Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction, states that Discourses are comprised of a
“saying (writing)-doing-being-valuing-believing combinations” (6).
Based on Gee’s definition of Discourse I believe that gymnastics can be proved as a Discourse. As for the type of Discourse, gymnastics is a non-dominant secondary Discourse. A non-dominant secondary Discourse is a Discourse that
“often brings solidarity with a particular social network but not a wider status and social goods in a society at large,” (Gee 8)
while the opposite is a primary Discourse, which
“is the one we first use to make sense of the world and interact with others” (Gee 7).
While most gymnasts do start young, they don’t start young enough for it to be a primary Discourse and it is not a Discourse that is used as a home Discourse. Also, it is a non-dominant Discourse because this Discourse has no real “social goods” that come with it. All that comes with this Discourse is the moves you can perform and the random names of moves and rules that make gymnastics what it is.
Darcy A. Fiano, the author of Primary Discourse and Expressive Oral Language in a Kindergarten Student, has used and Gee’s seven building tasks and used them in a Discourse analysis similar to this one. Her paper is helping me to asses the gymnastics Discourse. Along with the previous knowledge I have of gymnastics, these artifacts will help me to explain what is in the Discourse and the significance of it all. These artifacts are the USAG 2014–2015 Rules and Regulations handbook and the FIG 2013 Code of Points.
After analyzing the gymnastics Discourse, I believe that it is very intricate but once it is learned it is very easy to become a master in the Discourse.
Gymnastics
Women’s artistic gymnastics is a popular sport that many people enjoy watching during the Olympics. While, the Discourse that I am analyzing is slightly different than that of the Olympics, this gymnastics still involves strength, flexibility and grace.
Being a gymnast is a huge commitment if you want to compete. Competitive gymnastics is very fun and exhilarating. To understand gymnastics you must first know that there are four separate events: uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise and the vault table. Each event is characterized by a specific piece of equipment needed to perform.
The uneven bars are a set of two bars that are parallel to each other but are at different heights. Moves for the uneven bars are performed on both bars, sometimes even jumping from the low bar to the high bar or vice versa.
The balance beam is a sixteen foot by four inch piece of wood that is four feet off the ground. Balance beam is all about balance and seeing what kind of moves can be done on such a small surface for traction.
The floor exercise is where a lot of the grace comes in. The floor exercise is performed on a forty by forty foot spring floor. The floor exercise combines dance moves and tumbling into what is called a routine. It is the only event that is choreographed to music.
The last event is vault. Vault involves sprinting towards the vault table and using a spring board to hurl yourself onto it doing various turns and rotations in the process.
Saluting
For an example of the Discourse, there is a term for signaling the judges. This is called saluting. People not in the Discourse would likely think of a salute in reference to the military with the hand coming to the head. That is not what a gymnastics salute is.
In gymnastics, a salute is a move done before the routine starts to signal to the judges that they can start judging your routine. It is performed by standing tall next to the apparatus and raising both arms above the head while facing the judges.
This is a very important part of the Discourse because it encompasses many of the combinations Discourses are comprised of. The saying is the actual name of the move, the doing is the move itself, being is the signaling that you are the next gymnast competing, and the believing is that you believe you are ready to start.
It can be very complicated but knowing these terms can make you a master in the Discourse.
Visual Sport
Gymnastics is a very visual sport. Gymnastics is mostly learned through show and the act of visually explaining. Therefore the sign systems and knowledge are a very important part. The sign systems and knowledge are defined as
“the relevant sign systems (e.g., languages, social languages) and forms of knowledge (ways of knowing) that are relevant in a context and how they are used and privileged or disprivileged,” (Fiano 67).
There are many moves and moves that can be combined to create other moves. Routines, the expression of gymnastics is all about combining moves to create a dance of sorts. For example, the 2013 code of points for women’s gymnastics has a section in the book that shows all of the singular moves that can be done and how much they are worth. That section also contains diagrams and drawings to help explain how the move is to be performed.
When one is not in the Discourse, these drawings can be overwhelming and confusing and even completely nonsensical. To gymnasts, these drawings are essential to learning new moves and improving our scores on any given event.
Expectations
Along with being a very visual sport, gymnastics is also a sport that has a lot of unwritten words and specific etiquette that is expected of both competitors and spectators. According to Fiano,
“the social goods that are relevant and at stake in a context and how they are being distributed or how their distribution is being viewed,” (67),
or in other words what others in the Discourse see as proper, is the politics of that Discourse. The rulebook contains a lot of competition etiquette that is to be followed and someone who has never been to a competition might not know, gymnasts and spectators alike.
For example, a coach can’t just go and argue with a judge over a score, there is an official process for it. According to the rulebook,
“the coach may not approach the judge regarding the inquiry during the competition,” (103).
And like many other sporting events, there is no flash photography. There is even an unwritten rule that if there are technical difficulties with a girl’s music for her floor routine, the audience and other competitors will clap for her giving her a beat to perform to.
That is all just courtesy to the gymnasts and is expected during a meet. Failure to meet any of these will make you seem rude to the other gymnasts and observers or even make you seem like an outsider to those in the Discourse.
Significance of Terms
Because of the sheer amount of terms that are associated with gymnastics, there needs to be there needs to be a certain way that someone will determine the most significant parts. Significance in a Discourse is
“how the speaker or writer is trying to give significance to things,” (Fiano 67).
In the gymnastics rulebook, the language is specified on keeping people safe. There is a large portion of the book that is dedicated to regulations of the equipment and any other general rules to protect the athletes from injuring themselves. For example, the rulebook states that
“the area under the apparatus and/or in the landing area must be matted with competition landing mats that are uniform in height,” (87).
This is so that a gymnast will not risk tripping when trying to mount or dismount the apparatus. Also, in the code of points, there is a common “language” that is used to discuss moves and the body forms needed. For example, in the code of points, there is a move called a shushunova and it is described as a
“straddle pike (both legs above horizontal), or side split jump landing in front lying support,” (FX — Group 1–5).
This description may be confusing to an outsider of this Discourse. When one is in the Discourse, though, this seems like a very simple move but trying to perform it is not as easy as the description makes it seem. The Discourse of women’s gymnastics relies heavily on practice since it is an active sport afterall. According to Fiano, practice is
“the practice (activity) or practices (activities) that are relevant in a context and how they are being enacted,” (67).
Gymnastics is a sport where each gymnast is judged based on the code of points. In the code of points, there are general rules that are for every move that is done by the gymnast and how they are to be judged. Some of these things include straight legs and pointed toes and even the angle that the legs are at in any sort of split jump (where the legs are split in the air).
These are just some of the practices that are very important to a gymnast and the resulting score.
Conclusion
This Discourse is not easy to say the least. It takes a lot of practice and a lot of time to understand everything within it. It requires a lot of knowledge but even people who have been in the Discourse a long time don’t know all of the terms.
Many times, they will refer to the code of points for help with moves and even turn to their coaches who are much more involved with the Discourse.
This Discourse is complicated to say the least but once one is in it, everything becomes easier and even the most daunting task becomes a matter of the mind when one sets themselves up for success.
Works Cited
Gee, James Paul. “Literacy, Discourse and Linguistics: Introduction.” Journal of Education. 171.1(1989): 5–15. Print.
Fiano, Darcy A. “Primary Discourse and Expressive Oral Language in a Kindergarten Student.” Reading Research Quarterly. 49.1(2013): 61–84. Print.
2014–2015 Women’s Program Rules and Policies. USA Gymnastics, 2015. October 15, 2015. PDF file.
2013 Code of Points Women’s Artistic Gymnastics. Fédération Internationale De Gymnastique, 2013. October 15, 2015. PDF file.
