Beam

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Gymnasts are required to have exceptional balance as they perform jumps, leaps, turns, flips, etc. on the 4in wide balance beam. The beam is elevated 4ft off the ground and is approximately 16.5ft long. A beam routine typically can be up to 90 seconds and gymnasts are required to make use of the full 16.5ft. For many gymnasts, the balance beam is the hardest apparatus to tackle.

Beam Routine

Similar to bars, the beam also consists of three different phases: the mount, the routine and the dismount. During the mount, gymnasts either jump, handstand, or flip onto the beam to kickstart their routine. After they have mounted the beam, they perform the main portion of their routine. This part of the routine includes various acrobatic and dance moves. Judges look at the connection between each skill, and the overall execution of each skill. They will only judge the 8 highest skills throughout a routine, so gymnasts have little room for error when competing. Afterwards, gymnasts will perform a dismount. During this time they will jump off the beam, usually performing multiple flipping and twisting skills. The dismount is judged based on the height and distance of the dismounting skill as well as if the athlete stuck the landing.

Skills

A gymnasts’ beam routine is made up of a variety of skills including leaps, jumps, turns, and flips.

Leaps and Jumps

A leap is characterized by a gymnast jumping into the air off of one foot and then land on the beam on one foot. Leaps typically include a split and a twist mid-air. A jump is characterized by an athlete jumping off and landing back on the beam using two feet. Jumps can also include twists and splits. Both leaps and jumps are heavily judged based on execution. Judges look to see if the gymnasts body lines remain sharp and straight and that their toes remain pointed at all times.

Turns

Turns on the beam are incredibly difficult to execute and are one of the most common skills gymnasts receive deductions on. There are two main types of turns. The first type is from standing and the second is from a squatted position. The more twists completed in a turn, the higher the difficulty.

Flips

The most impressive and fun to watch element of a beam routine are the acrobatic moves and flips that gymnasts perform. At the Olympic level gymnasts usually have a connected back handspring, back layout step-out combination. The most difficult flipping skill on a balance beam is a standing full or a standing backflip with a 360 twist.