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RESEARCH PRODUCT

From conscript gymnastics to sportive gymnastics. 1919-1939: The case of the Federation of Alsatian Gymnastics Associations

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Between the two World Wars, gymnastics become a sport just as any other sport. An analysis of the history of the Federation of Alsatian Gymnastics Associations allows us to understand this mutation which is even more remarkable since the opposition between gymnastics and sports was initially very stiff. This mutation corresponds to a series of transformations affecting the gymnastics associations both in their functioning modalities and their social structure: the gymnast, traditionally excluded of decision making circles, becomes a full-fledged member; increasingly fewer " passive members " are inclined to support the mass education carried out by gymnastics associations; instructors are recruited among the best gymnasts and seem to be more interested in spectacular and sportive gymnastics; upper classes abandon (or are evicted from) leading positions and are replaced by the middle and lower classes, less attached to the principle of moderation which previously prevailed.