A gymnastics apparatus consisting of a single bar mounted approximately eight feet above the ground and used for swinging maneuvers. Also called high bar. Event in men's gymnastics competition in which a steel bar fixed about 8 ft (2.4 m) above the floor is used for swinging exercises. Competitors generally wear hand protectors and perform routines that last 15-30 seconds. Exercises include the giant swing and various vaults (such as the straddle vault). It has been an Olympic event since the first modern Olympic Games in 1896