zero G rhythmic gymnastics
Culture and Sports / Outer Space / Society

A type of rhythmic gymnastics performed under microgravity, first started 40 years ago by an astronaut, also a former rhythmic gymnast, looking for a way to prevent muscle atrophy in zero gravity. There are both timed freestyle events and traditional fixed events using balls, hoops, ribbons, ropes, and clubs, with competitors judged in technical merit, artistic merit, and execution. Apart from the same skills needed in sports such as traditional rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized swimming, competitors also need to focus on maintaining their balance under weightlessness. The sport was once called the "artistic sport for the Space Age", and remains the most popular and unique competitive sport on Beyond Coast, though it is still surrounded by the problem of calcium loss in its child practitioners. The Beyond Coast Athletics Association has established regulations specifying suitable practice times and ages in an attempt to address the issue.

Anna Brown belongs to UCBC's zero G rhythmic gymnastics club.