Mallakhamb words · Beginner

An Indian sport in which athletes perform gymnastic exercises on a vertical wooden pole, a hanging pole or a rope. It is mentioned in a 12th century text, was revived in the 19th century, and had national competitions from 1958.

Under 14, under 17 and under 19 for boys and girls, by age on 31 December. At the school games boys compete on pole mallakhamb and girls on rope mallakhamb. Spacing between apparatus must be at least 10 m.

The pole is a vertical wooden pole of teak or sheesam fixed in the ground and smeared with castor oil to reduce friction against the body. For boys under 19 it stands 2,600 to 2,800 mm above the ground (total length 3,400 to 3,700 mm), and for under 14 and under 17 2,400 to 2,600 mm (3,100 to 3,400 mm).

The rope version, once done on a cane but now on a cotton rope. Performers must not knot the rope in any way. For girls under 19 the rope is 5,000 to 5,500 mm long and 18 to 20 mm thick, for under 14 and under 17 12 to 13 mm, on a structure 5,800 to 6,000 mm high.

Competition No. I, in which all competitors perform and which decides the team title and the selection of individuals for higher competitions. It has a compulsory part (IA) and an optional part (IB).

A prescribed set of 10 exercises, each with a stated score, set for boys under 14, 17 and 19 on the pole and for girls under 19 on the rope. The exercises must be performed in the written order. A missed exercise is lost, an extra exercise costs 0.20 from the next one, and doing it in a second attempt gets half marks and costs 0.20.

A set of the competitor's own choice of elements, which must last at least 60 and at most 90 seconds. It is scored out of 10 as difficulty 3.40, combination 1.60 and execution 5.00.

A chief judge and four judges on each apparatus, with a timekeeper, a scorer and, if possible, a set writer. Each judge scores the set out of 10.00 independently and passes the slip within 20 seconds. A panel may be a chief judge and three or two judges if not enough are available.

The highest and lowest of the four judges' scores are deleted and the other two are averaged. The chief judge then takes off any deductions, such as for time, uniform or misconduct, to get the final score.

In an optional set: difficulty 3.40, combination 1.60 and execution 5.00.

Every element is class A (easy, 0.20), B (medium, 0.40) or C (difficult, 0.60). A set earns 3.40 for difficulty with four A, five B and one C in competition No. I, or one A, five B and two C in competitions No. II and III.

The elements are classified as mounts, hold parts, acrobatic elements, catches and dismounts, each divided into A, B and C classes for the pole and for the rope.