The Gymnastics Book - 3rd Edition by Elfi Schlegel & Claire Ross Dunn (Paperback)

About the Book

Previous edition: Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books, 2012.

Book Synopsis

"An excellent book in every way... Best of all, the book is accessible to early readers. Superb coverage of a popular sport."
-- School Library Journal (starred review)

This indispensable guide is simply the best book for beginners to the sport of artistic gymnastics. Illustrated with full-color photographs of gymnasts balancing, tumbling and jumping, The Gymnastics Book features skilled guidance from a medal-winning Ontario Sports Hall of Fame gymnast who is now a noted instructor.

The topics covered in detail include:

• Finding a good gymnastics club
• Qualities to look for in a coach
• Warm-up and cool-down exercises
• Entering competitive gymnastics
• Managing victories and losses
• The importance of family and friends
• Nutrition and apparel
• Financial aspects
• A typical day of training for competition.

This edition is updated for 2018 with new interviews and updated profiles on the most prominent star gymnasts of today and yesterday, including Simone Biles, Ellie Black, Ragan Smith, Kyle Shewfelt, Emily Boycott and many more. Anecdotes and advice from Olympic stars take beginners behind the scenes and offer a no-holds-barred account of life as a competitive gymnast. Updated profiles on the Olympic greats and gymnasts who have become well-known coaches, gym owners, and gymnastics judges show young gymnasts career pathways beyond the competition.

The Gymnastics Book provides motivation and detailed instruction to young gymnastics students

Review Quotes

[Review for previous edition] [STARRED REVIEW] An excellent book in every way ... Best of all, the book is accessible to early readers. Superb coverage of a popular sport.--Kate Kohlbeck "School Library Journal" (4/1/2001 12:00:00 AM)

[Review for previous edition] A wonderful way for those interested in the sport to get started. provides a solid beginning to this popular sport.-- "GoodReads.com" (10/1/2012 12:00:00 AM)

[Review for previous edition] An indispensable guide to the beginner's world of artistic gymnastics.-- "Books for Growing Minds" (2/1/2001 12:00:00 AM)

[Review for previous edition] An informative, visually appealing guide for any child who is interested in this popular sport. Highly recommended.--Michelle Brian, Librarian, Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa "Canadian Materials" (11/16/2012 12:00:00 AM)

[Review for previous edition] Colorful photos and pleasing layout ... very eye catching. But there is also plenty of information to go along with the clean design ... An excellent introduction to the sport.--Denise Wilms "Booklist" (5/1/2001 12:00:00 AM)

[Review for previous edition] Getting a child started in a gymnastics program can be confusing for the parent. Terminology, exercises and safety are all concerns and so it is nice to start off with a well-written guide book to familiarize yourself... With colour photographs throughout, the book provides a step-by-step guide to getting started. Accompanying the photographs are descriptions of the warm-up exercises, basic skills, and cool down stretches. Schlegel also discusses competition training and profiles a number of important gymnasts.--Terry Peters "North Shore News" (4/7/2013 12:00:00 AM)

[Review for previous edition] Goes beyond basics... proper techniques for basic moves on the balance beam, vault and uneven bars are illustrated with color photographs.--Jenna Galley "Trenton Times" (8/11/2004 12:00:00 AM)

[Review for previous edition] This timely book certainly provides children with a nice, positive introduction to a sport they can enjoy.-- "GoodReads" (10/1/2012 12:00:00 AM)

The current layout and design are clear, well-organized and user-friendly. The chapters more than adequately cover the sport, the necessary skills, its various forms, superstars and careers, and will appeal to both amateur enthusiasts and future competitors... The inclusion of photographs of children of colour, children from various cultures, and featuring more than one male in the stars of yesterday and today section would serve to make future editions of this book accessible to a more inclusive and diverse readership... provides a good introduction to the sport in an easy to read format. Highly Recommended.--Cate Carlyle "CM Canadian Review of Materials" (4/5/2019 12:00:00 AM)

The Best Gymnastics Books-- "Justifying Fun" (3/1/2019 12:00:00 AM)

The Gymnastics Book is everything that I loved as a young gymnast in elementary school. Its full of colourful photos, step by step guide for basic gymnastics skills (artistic, trampoline and rhythmic too!), interviews and features of gymnastics greats from the past and present. Like Elfi, I am Canadian, so it was especially exciting to see so many Canadian athletes represented in the book, PLUS from a wide diversity of gymnastics disciplines -- from women's, men's, trampoline, rhythmic and Special Olympics... If you have any young aspiring gymnasts in your life that want to devour everything and anything gymnastics, I highly recommend this book. What a fabulous introduction to what our sport is all about.--Ali Stoffels "Rec Gym Pros" (3/10/2019 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Elfi Schlegel was a member of the Canadian National Team from 1976 to 1985, won two gold medals at the 1978 Commonwealth Games and in 1979 won a team gold and individual bronze medal at the Pan Am Games. Elfi won Canada's first World Cup gymnastics medal, a bronze in the vault, in 1980. As a scholarship athlete at the University of Florida, she was a six-time All-American, a University of Florida Hall of Famer and is one of the University's 50 Women of Distinction. Elfi got her start as a gymnastics commentator at the age of 17 and worked for CTV and CBC. For 20 years, she was a sports commentator for NBC Sports, covering 9 Olympics (2 with CBC), as well as countless other gymnastics meets, and the sport of curling. Elfi lives in Toronto, Ontario, and, for over 20 years, has run Schlegel's Gymnastics Centre in Oakville, Ontario with her sister, former gymnast Andrea Schlegel.

Claire Ross Dunn is a writer and story editor for film and television. In 2014 she was nominated for the Canadian Screen Award for best writing in a children's or youth program.