[tivert]

> The further breaking moves in the direction of sport, the further away it moves from being art.

That's definitely true. The demands of sport are going to push things into more physically demanding/technically impressive direction, which will conflict and constrain any artistry.

I don't know much about gymnastics, but I watched some of the balance beam stuff, and it felt like there were some remnants of artistry there (all the hand and leg movements they do between major moves), but they all felt dead and rote to me.

[krisoft]

Also, the demands of competition will require formalisation of judging. Instead of just dancing your hearth out, there will be elements, and point values, and combos and judging criteria.

Whereas previously a set of moves would have been "neat, yeah!" now it will be a "3 pointer, a 2 pointer, and then I did not recognise that last bit. Is that in the book?"