Horizontal Bar Releases Explained | Gymnastics Explained

Key takeaways

Release moves are one of four element groups on horizontal bar, and a routine must include at least one.

Named releases range from C (a straddled Tkachev or Jaeger) to H (the Bretschneider) in the 2025–2028 MAG Code of Points.

Linking two releases directly, or a release with another high-value skill, earns 0.1 or 0.2 in connection value.

Releases must show a clear rise of the body, and a release with a salto over the bar must be followed by a giant swing.

Horizontal bar routines are built entirely from swing — the Code of Points allows no stops or pauses — so the variety and quality of release moves does much of the work of separating routines.

What a release involves here

The 2025–2028 MAG Code of Points calls releases flight elements, and they make up one of horizontal bar’s four element groups (alongside long hang swings, in-bar and Adler elements, and dismounts). Each one takes the gymnast off the bar entirely — flying over it, past it or turning in front of it, sometimes changing grip in the air — before re-catching it to continue swinging.

Named releases and their values

Release	What it is	Value
Tkachev	Forward swing, straddled flight backward over the bar	C
Jaeger	Backward swing, salto forward to catch the bar (tucked or straddled)	C
Tkachev straight	As above, body straight	D
Kovacs	Double salto backward over the bar, tucked	D
Gaylord	Salto forward tucked over the bar	E
Kolman	Kovacs with a full twist	E
Cassina	Kovacs straight with a full twist	G
Bretschneider	Kovacs with a double twist	H

The range runs from C up to H, and the twisting versions of the Kovacs alone span four letters.

Connection value

Horizontal bar rewards linking releases together. In the 2025–2028 Code, connection points are awarded when skills among the eight counting skills are performed directly one after another:

Release + release: a C and a D or higher, or two Ds, earn 0.1; a D or higher with an E or higher earns 0.2.
Release + skill from groups 1 or 3: a D or higher with a D earns 0.1; a D or higher with an E or higher earns 0.2.

That’s why it matters whether a gymnast links releases directly or takes an extra swing in between: the extra swing loses the connection value.

What the judges look for

Height. Releases must show “a conspicuous rise of the body during the flight phase”.
A giant after a salto release. Any release that passes over the bar with a salto must be followed by a giant swing, or the execution judges deduct 0.3. See the giant swing.
No stops. The routine must consist entirely of swings, so any hitch on the re-catch is deducted.

Missing the bar entirely is a fall.

Why the dismounts are so dramatic

Because the routine is continuous swinging with no strength pauses, a gymnast can carry great speed into the dismount, usually multiple saltos with twists. A stuck landing on a dismount of at least C value earns a 0.1 bonus. For the apparatus as a whole, see men’s horizontal bar.