What Does Beam Mean?

The word beam means any relatively long piece of wood or metal. The Balance Beam basically is creative gymnastics equipment. It is generally used by female gymnast. On the basis of historic records it is assumed that male gymnast do not use the balance beam because of possible injury to the testicles. This myth is totally baseless, women gymnastics was not acknowledged as an Olympic Championship sport for nearly fifty years after MAG was first integrated in the Olympics. Hence the progress of balance beam as a gymnastics event was correspondingly tardy. Where as male gymnasts do act upon many other events, like pommel horse and parallel bars.

These events could have also caused major injury to their lower bodies. Apart from this, at the high school level in the USA, there are many male gymnasts who take part in girl's teams and have fruitfully competed in all the events, even including the balance beam.

Is a beam straight up and down or side to side