Parallel Bars Skills and Routine Construction Explained

Parallel bars asks a gymnast to move fluidly between different working positions — on the upper arms, above the bars and below them — rather than staying in one throughout.

Three positions, three element groups

The 2025–2028 MAG Code of Points divides parallel bars skills into three element groups, plus dismounts, and each roughly matches a position on the bars:

1. Elements starting in upper-arm position — the gymnast is supported across the rails on the upper arms, swinging up into support or handstand from there.
2. Elements in support or through support on two bars — the weight is on straight arms above the rails, including swings to handstand, turns on one arm and saltos back to support.
3. Long swings in hang and underswings — the gymnast hangs and swings below the rails, including giant swings around them.
4. Dismounts.

A routine must include at least one skill from each of the three groups, plus a dismount, and the Code describes a good routine as “predominantly swing and flight elements” linked by continuous transitions through hang and support.

Some named skills

Group 2 also includes the turning skills performed on one arm, such as the Diamidov (a forward swing turning on one arm to handstand) and the Healy (a full turn on one arm, from handstand). The Code rewards some combinations of them: elements to one bar gain a value when connected to Healy-type elements.

Construction rules

A few rules shape what routines look like:

• Swing over strength. Strength and hold elements are allowed only if they appear in the Code’s difficulty tables.
• Handstands from swing. They don’t have to be held, but must be performed so that the handstand clearly could have been held.
• No wasted swings. A back swing that simply reverses direction without leading to a skill with value is deducted.
• No pre-elements. The gymnast can’t perform a rotating skill before taking hold of the bars.

How it is scored

The D-score counts the seven highest-value skills plus the dismount, with no more than four from any one element group, and adds a bonus for each element group the routine covers. Execution deductions include bent arms, bent legs in kips, extra hand support during turns on one arm, and the usual landing faults. A stuck landing on a dismount of at least C value earns a 0.1 bonus.

For the apparatus itself, see men’s parallel bars.