Back Flexion

A flexibility movement where the the free leg is raised into a splits position and the body is arched backwards towards the supporting leg.

Balance

A static position held with a clear shape. Usually it must be held for 2 seconds on toe inorder to gain it's value when being judged.

Ball

One of the 5 RSG apparatus. A ball routine must show different throws, active and passive bouncing, different rolls (on the body and on the floor), circles and figures of eight movements.

Ballet

Beautiful, expressive and dramatic dance technique developed mainly in France in the 17th century. Ballet takes many years of training basic movements before it is mastered and is vital to RSG.

Barre

The hand rail used during ballet training to help the gymnast/dancer keep balance whilst performing the exercises.

Body Tension

Contraction of the muscles with no visable change in body shape.

Body Wave

A wave like movement of the body passing through the hips, shoulders, head and arms.

Boomerang Throw

A throw done with the ribbon - the ribbon stick is thrown, but the gymnast keeps hold of the very end on the ribbon - the gymnast then pulls back on the ribbon, sending the ribbon stick flying towards her so that she can catch it.

Bridge

This is often used as a limbering exercise for back and shoulder flexibility. The body is in a backward arch with hands and feet flat on the floor. The better bridges will show the shoulders directly above the hands (as illustrated in the picture) or pushing past the hands if the gymnast has very flexible shoulders.

Butterfly

Traditionally, a male ballet movement, but can occasionaly be seen in RSG. It is an ariel leap - a little like an ariel cartwheel, except instead of passing through the vertival axis, the chest is parallel to the floor and the legs pass around the horizonal axis with a 'scissor' like action.