Connection Value on Balance Beam Explained

Key takeaways

On beam, connection value is earned for directly linked acrobatic, dance and mixed connections — +0.10 or +0.20 depending on the skills.

Acrobatic connections must be 'rebounding': landing and taking straight off again using the spring of the beam.

A separate 0.10 series bonus is added for three or more linked skills (at least B + B + C).

Grasping the beam, an extra step or a fall cancels the bonus.

Balance beam rewards linking skills into a continuous series, not just performing them individually — and on a beam 10 cm wide, the connection itself is part of the challenge.

What counts as a direct connection

The 2025–2028 WAG Code of Points allows only direct connections on beam. A connection is broken by a stop, an extra step, a foot touching the beam between the skills, a loss of balance, an obvious extension of the legs or hips before the second take-off, or an extra arm swing. Grasping the beam cancels it too.

Acrobatic connections

Acrobatic connections link two acrobatic flight elements — the mount can be one of them, the dismount can’t — and all must be rebounding: the gymnast lands from the first skill and takes straight off into the second, using the spring of the beam.

+0.10	+0.20
C + C	C or D + D (or higher)
B + D, travelling backward (this order only)	B + D, both forward
B + E	B + F

A back handspring (B) rebounding straight into a layout salto with legs together (E), for example, earns +0.10.

Dance and mixed connections

Beam also rewards linked dance skills, and dance linked with acrobatic flight elements (excluding the dismount):

+0.10	+0.20
C + C or more (dance)	D + D or more
A + C (turns only)
B + D (mixed)

Turns in a connection must be entered by stepping onto the opposite leg — not from a plié on one or both feet.

The series bonus

On top of connection value, a series bonus of +0.10 is awarded for linking three or more skills — at least B + B + C in any order, including the mount and a C-value or harder dismount. A three-skill series can earn connection value on both links and the series bonus. The Code also lets a handful of B-value acrobatic skills with hand support (back handsprings, the round-off, the front handspring) be performed a second time to earn connection value and series bonus, though not to fulfil a composition requirement again.

Why it’s harder here than on floor

The same skills are easier to link cleanly on a sprung floor with a full-width landing area. On beam, maintaining balance through the connection — not just performing each skill — is part of what’s judged, which is why beam connections are often singled out as a mark of a gymnast’s control. See beam acrobatic series.