Best Apparatus
The Yurchenko 2.5, commonly known as the Amanar vault, is an elite gymnastics skill demanding exceptional power and coordination. It involves a round-off start transitioning into a back layout with two and a half twists. This complex maneuver is performed by competitive female gymnasts seeking to ma...
Roman rings, officially designated as the still rings in competitive gymnastics, are a standard apparatus in men's artistic gymnastics regulated by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). The apparatus consists of two rings suspended on wire cables, requiring athletes to perform a routine of...
The inverted cross ring apparatus represents a significant challenge in men’s artistic gymnastics. It requires athletes to maintain a completely inverted position on the rings, utilizing maximum upper body strength and control for a sustained hold. This complex skill is primarily practiced by elite...
Rhythmic gymnastics is a competitive discipline in which individual gymnasts or groups perform choreographed routines on a floor area, manipulating handheld apparatus including the rope, hoop, ball, clubs, and ribbon, accompanied by music. The sport developed in the Soviet Union during the mid-20th...
A traditional Chinese circus apparatus consisting of vertical poles, typically 3 to 9 meters tall, that acrobats climb, slide between, and hold poses on using specialized grip and momentum. Performers commonly use rubber-soled footwear or leather patches on their clothing to create friction against...
The German Wheel, also known as the Rhönrad, is a complex acrobatic apparatus consisting of a large, rotating wheel with two rims. Invented in 1925 by Otto Feick, it’s notable for its demanding solo performance capabilities. Acrobats utilize the wheel's momentum to execute intricate rolling and spin...
The Thomas flair, or Thomas circle, is a gymnastics skill performed on the pommel horse consisting of simultaneous leg swings combined with a full-body rotation around the horizontal axis. It is named after American gymnast Kurt Thomas, who first performed the skill internationally in the late 1970s...
The Def is a named release element performed on the parallel bars in men's artistic gymnastics. It consists of a backward flyaway with two saltos and a full twist before the gymnast catches the bars again, requiring substantial height, rotation, spatial awareness, and precise hand placement. The ski...
The Russian Flair is a specialized element performed on the pommel horse in men's artistic gymnastics. Similar to the traditional Thomas Flair, this maneuver involves continuous leg circles but requires the gymnast to maintain an inverted body orientation during the swing phase. Named for its origin...
Continuous circular travel movements along the full length of the pommel horse, named after Hungarian gymnast Zoltán Magyar, who dominated the event with multiple World and Olympic titles in the 1970s–80s.
The aerial walkover on beam is an advanced acrobatic gymnastics skill performed on the balance beam. In this flight element, the gymnast executes a backward or forward walkover without their hands touching the apparatus, relying entirely on momentum and spatial awareness. It requires significant fle...
An aerial cube is a suspended circus apparatus formed from a rigid, open metal frame shaped like a cube. It hangs from overhead rigging and may rotate or swing while an artist balances, hangs, climbs, and poses on its edges and within its interior space. The apparatus is used in contemporary circus...
The Roue Cyr, commonly called the Cyr wheel, is a circus apparatus consisting of a single large metal hoop sized so that a performer can stand inside it. The artist grips the rim and uses shifts of weight and momentum to roll, spin, and rotate across the floor while remaining connected to the wheel....
A back flip on the balance beam is a backward salto performed above the beam and landed on its narrow surface. Unlike a back handspring, the skill includes a flight phase without hand support and may be executed in tucked, piked, or laid-out form depending on the element and routine. It requires pre...
The Spindle is a skill performed on the pommel horse in men's artistic gymnastics. During the element, the gymnast executes a full 360-degree longitudinal rotation of the body while maintaining continuous support on the hands, with the legs extended and held together. The skill requires coordinated...
The Ezhova is a women's artistic gymnastics uneven bars skill featuring a clear hip circle with a 180-degree turn, named after Russian gymnast Galina Ezhova.
A balance beam turn named after American gymnast Amy Chow, a 1996 Olympic silver medalist on uneven bars, recognized as a named element requiring specific body position and rotational criteria.
A balance beam or floor turn performed in a squat position on one leg with the other extended, requiring the gymnast to complete one or more rotations and valued for its difficulty when performed in multiples.
A classic pommel horse element where the gymnast swings alternating legs in a scissors-like pattern while supporting on the hands or pommels, one of the oldest codified pommel horse skills.
The Cartwheel is a fundamental acrobatic element performed on the balance beam in women's artistic gymnastics, requiring the athlete to pass through a vertical handstand sideways.
The Cat Leap on beam is a women's gymnastics dance element where the athlete jumps from one foot, bringing one bent knee up while extending the other leg outward in flight.
A leap on balance beam or floor where the gymnast switches legs mid-air, transitioning from one split orientation to the other, and is valued based on the degree of split angle achieved at peak height.
The Stoop-In is an uneven bars skill in women's artistic gymnastics where the athlete executes a forward glide swing beneath the bar before transitioning into a kip.
