Why was the layout of the asymmetric bars in womens gymnastics altered so they are further apart?
The primary reason the uneven (asymmetric) bars have been progressively widened both in the F.I.G. (International Gymnastics Federation) rules of the Sport and in gymnastics equipment construction is to make it easier for women to swing giants between the bars. An important result of this spreading of the bars is that it enables women to also perform more difficult and spectacular high bar release moves (involving saltos and twisting somersaults). A somewhat negative result has been the increase in difficulty (and sometimes fear and injury) that younger, smaller gymnasts have in getting from the low bar to the high bar (and from the high bar to the low bar).
