By Christine Situ, USAG Creator Program
Rarely do gymnasts from different disciplines get to share a space, competing in the same arena, one after another. Even rarer is the opportunity for audiences to watch these fascinating displays as non-artistic gymnastics disciplines take the spotlight at the USA Gymnastics Championships – which this year is taking place in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As Rhythmic, Trampoline & Tumbling, and Acrobatic gymnastics come center stage, audiences are invited to learn about the different disciplines, the scoring and nuances of each, and what to look out for as athletes take the floor.
The sole gymnastics discipline featuring only women at the elite level, rhythmic gymnastics features athletes known for their flexibility and lightning-fast manipulations of hand apparatus. Gymnasts compete as individuals or in groups of five. Individual competition consists of four 90-second routines, with athletes competing with a hoop, ball, pair of clubs, or ribbon, while the group event consists of two routines, with each lasting two and a half minutes with different combinations of apparatus for each. The apparatus designations for group exercises change every few years and always feature five of the same apparatus in one rendition, and a combination of two apparatus in the other for seniors. This season, senior athletes compete with five balls in one routine and with three hoops and two pairs of clubs in their second, while juniors compete with five balls and five ribbons.
Scoring is made up of three components: D- difficulty, E- execution (how well a routine is executed), and A- artistry (artistic expression and connection to the music). Difficulty is composed of Difficulty of Body (DB) and Difficulty of Apparatus (DA). DB consists of leaps, turns, balances, and dynamic elements with rotation — when the gymnast does several rotations under apparatus while it is being thrown. In the individual event, DA consists of apparatus work, such as rolls with the hoop and ball, or spirals and snakes with the ribbon. In the group event, DA consists of collaborations done by all five gymnsats, including throwing or catching multiple apparatus simultaneously, or executing apparatus work successively. Difficulty is uncapped – although there is a limit on the number of DB and DA elements within a routine – while execution and artistry start at 10, with points being taken off for errors.
A trampoline and tumbling performance can be over in the blink of an eye, but the performance is so action-packed that you won’t want to look away for even a second. There are four events under the Trampoline & Tumbling discipline: individual trampoline (TRA), synchronized trampoline (SYN), tumbling (TUM), and double mini trampoline (DMT). Athletes usually specialize in one or two events out of trampoline, tumbling, and double mini. T&T does not have an all-around category, so it is rare that athletes compete in all three.
A trampoline exercise is composed of 10 somersault elements and are scored not only on difficulty and execution, but also on horizontal displacement, which functions similarly to out-of-bound deductions in other disciplines. Individual trampoline also considers the time of flight, which measures the length of time spent in the air, and athletes receive an combined execution score from two judges, up to 20 points. Synchronized trampoline, on the other hand, additionally scores gymnasts on synchronization (out of 20). Gymnasts compete in pairs, either with another gymnast of the same gender, or of a different gender in the mixed category. In tumbling, gymnasts execute eight consecutive flips on a long track and are scored on difficulty and execution. Every flip is assigned a difficulty value, flips with more rotations are worth more points. Lastly, double mini combines a track and a small two-level trampoline. Gymnasts perform two elements, a mount (which takes place on the first trampoline) and a dismount (on the second trampoline). The landing mat at the end of the trampoline is separated into three colors – red, yellow and blue – with red incurring no deduction, yellow a slight deduction, and blue a larger deduction.
Acro is the most team-oriented discipline of the three, with no individual competition at the elite level. Gymnasts compete in pairs or groups of 3-4 in the women’s, men’s, or mixed category. Athletes compete three routines: Balance focuses on stability, pyramids and partner holds; Dynamic focuses on flight elements with higher difficulty reflected in increased number of rotations and twists; and Combined has elements of both balance and dynamic. Holds are made more difficult by reducing the points of contact (i.e. hand to hand, hand to foot, etc.) and creating higher pyramids, while flight elements are made more difficult by adding twists and rotations in the air. Balance and combined routines are 2 minutes and 30 seconds, while dynamic routines are capped at 2 minutes.
Acro is scored on difficulty, execution, and artistry, but execution is doubled, and difficulty makes up a much smaller portion of the score, so gymnasts tend to prioritize execution much more than in other disciplines. Routines feature six to eight elements, with athletes typically staying on the lower end of that range in an effort to maximize their execution score and minimize opportunities for deductions.
The 2026 USA Gymnastics Championships will take place from June 22-27 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tickets are available for purchase here, and livestreams can be found on the USA Gymnastics YouTube channel. Visit usagymchamps.com for complete information on the event.
