Which gymnastics terms should every parent know?

What are the basic skill families?

Most of the skill vocabulary you'll hear at the gym describes a shape, a rotation, or a category of movement rather than one specific move — once you know these building blocks, coaches' shorthand starts making sense.

salto

A somersault — any skill where the body rotates fully around a horizontal axis, whether performed on the floor, off the vault, or dismounting from an event.

twist

Rotation around the body's long axis (think spinning like a corkscrew), usually combined with a salto in the air rather than performed on its own.

kip

A skill that takes a gymnast from below the bar to above it, typically the first move many gymnasts learn on bars and a building block for a wide range of later skills.

cast

A bars skill where the gymnast pushes her hips and legs away from the bar to gain height and momentum, usually as the setup for the next skill in a sequence.

handspring

A skill where the gymnast rotates through a handstand position, pushing off the hands to land on the feet — the basis for entries on vault and a common floor and beam skill.

layout / pike / tuck

The three basic body shapes used in the air: layout means straight body, pike means bent at the hips with straight legs, and tuck means knees drawn in toward the chest. Nearly every aerial skill is described using one of these three shapes.

release move

A bars skill where the gymnast lets go of the bar mid-skill and re-catches it (or a different bar), rather than staying in continuous contact.

dismount

The final skill on an event, performed to land on the floor and end the routine.

series

Two or more skills performed back-to-back with no extra steps in between, most often heard in the context of beam or floor acrobatic skills.

connection

Linking two skills directly together within a routine — the general idea behind a series, but also used more broadly for combinations that flow from one movement into the next.

What will you hear at practice?

Day-to-day gym language is less about naming specific skills and more about how training is structured and what a gymnast is working on in a given session.

progressions

The step-by-step sequence of easier drills and partial skills that build up to a full skill — gymnasts typically work through a progression before attempting the complete movement on their own.

drills

Repeated, simplified exercises that isolate one part of a skill — a specific body position, timing cue, or strength element — so it can be trained on its own.

spotting

Hands-on physical assistance from a coach while a gymnast learns or refines a skill, used to support safety and correct positioning during the learning process.

shapes

General shorthand for body positions — hollow, arch, straddle, and the tuck/pike/layout positions above are all "shapes" a coach might reference or correct.

conditioning

Strength, power, and endurance training done alongside skill work — think core work, leg strength, and upper-body strength that support the skills gymnasts are training.

open gym

Unstructured or lightly structured gym time, separate from a gymnast's regular team practice schedule, often used for extra skill work or conditioning.

deck / podium

The competition floor area at a meet ("deck") and, at some meets, a raised platform equipment sits on ("podium") rather than being placed directly on the competition floor.

tank vs. comp leo

A "tank" is a simpler, everyday practice leotard, while a "comp leo" (competition leotard) is the more elaborate leotard a gymnast wears specifically for meets — your gym will let you know what's expected for practice versus competition.

What will you hear at a meet?

Meet-day language describes how the competition itself is organized — the schedule, the format, and the way a gymnast's performance is grouped with others.

all-around

The combined result across all four events (vault, bars, beam, and floor) rather than any single event on its own — a gymnast competing "all-around" competes on every event at that meet.

event finals

A separate part of some competitions that focuses on individual events rather than the all-around, often held after the main competition concludes.

session

A scheduled block of a meet — a specific group of gymnasts, levels, or age groups competing together at an assigned time. A single meet is typically made up of several sessions across a day or weekend.

rotation

The order in which a group of gymnasts moves between events during a session — for example, a rotation that starts on vault and moves next to bars.

march-in

The formal entrance where gymnasts in a session are introduced and walk out together at the start of competition.

touch warm-up

A brief, supervised warm-up period on each event immediately before that rotation begins, giving gymnasts a last chance to feel out the equipment and conditions.

flash score

The score for a routine as it's displayed to the audience after a gymnast competes, distinct from any official results published later. It's a structural part of how meets present results in real time, not a number this glossary defines — the current USA Gymnastics rules or your gym can walk you through how scoring itself works.

age group

The category gymnasts are grouped into for awards purposes at some meets, based on age as of a set date rather than level or ability.

qualifying score

The concept that some competitions require a gymnast to reach a certain result at a qualifying meet before she can advance to compete at the next meet in a series. The numbers themselves — which meets require qualifying scores and what those thresholds are — live in the current USA Gymnastics rules, since they vary by level, division, and meet.

What do the program words mean?

A last set of terms describes the different competitive programs and paths a gymnast can be part of, which is useful shorthand once you've heard it a few times at the gym.

DP

Short for the Development Program, the numbered competitive ladder most people picture when they think of levels in gymnastics.

Xcel

A separate competitive track organized into named divisions rather than numbered levels, built to widen who can take part in competitive gymnastics.

compulsory

A level where every gymnast performs the same set routine — identical skills, identical order — rather than an individualized one.

optional

A level where a gymnast's routine is built specifically for her, within a set of rules about which skills and skill categories must appear.

sanctioned meet

A competition officially recognized and sponsored by a governing gymnastics organization, meaning it follows that organization's rules and its results count within that system.

mobility (level movement)

The general term for a gymnast moving between levels or tracks — the specific requirements and standards tied to any particular move are set by your gym and the current USA Gymnastics rules, not by a fixed rule of thumb.

For a deeper look at how the level ladder itself is structured, see Gymnastics Levels Explained: DP 1–10 and Xcel, and for how this vocabulary comes together on an actual meet day, see A Parent's Guide to Your First Gymnastics Meet.