The word “aerobics” was coined by Dr Kenneth H Cooper, a physician at the San Antonio Air Force Hospital in Texas, to denote a system of exercise he developed to help prevent coronary artery disease.
And his book about the exercise system, Aerobics, was published in 1968. A year later, Jackie Sorenson developed aerobic dance, a series of dance routines to improve cardiovascular fitness.
During the next two decades, aerobic dance and exercise in various forms spread throughout the United States and into other countries. The number of aerobics participants in the United States of America alone grew from an estimated 6 million in 1978 to 19 million in 1982 and 22 million in 1987.
The first national aerobic championships of this new competitive sport, known as sport aerobics, was conducted by a new organization, Sport Fitness International (SFI). The International Competitive Aerobics Foundation (ICAF) hosted the first world championships in March 1990 in San Diego, America, with athletes from 15 countries competing. The ICAF became the Association of National Aerobic Championships Worldwide (ANAC).
Sport Aerobics originally featured competition in four categories: Individual male and female, mixed pairs and trio. In 2002, competition was added for groups of six athletes.