Uneven Bars Grip Types Explained

Watch closely during an uneven bars routine and you’ll see a gymnast’s hand position on the bar change several times — each change sets up a specific kind of skill.

The main grip types

The Codes of Points use slightly different words from coaches and commentators, so it helps to know both:

• Regular grip (overgrip) — palms face away from the gymnast, knuckles on top of the bar. The women’s Code lists the basic backward giant as a “giant circle backward in regular grip”.
• Reverse grip (undergrip) — palms face towards the gymnast. The Code lists forward giants in reverse, regular or mixed grip.
• Mixed grip — one hand in each orientation, used for many turning skills and transitions.
• L-grip (eagle grip, el-grip) — the hands are turned outward past the regular grip, with the arms rotated in the shoulders. The women’s Code has an “L grip giant”, and some releases, such as the Tweddle, finish in a mixed L-grip.

Why grips change mid-routine

Different skills are defined in particular grips. A giant swing forward is listed “in reverse, regular or mixed grip”; an L-grip giant is a separate, harder element (C, against B for an ordinary giant). Some turning skills and releases are defined as finishing in a particular grip — the Tweddle, for example, is caught in a mixed L-grip. Good bar work changes grip smoothly within the swing, without a visible pause.

The women’s Code treats an element performed with or without a hop grip change — a quick release and re-grasp of the hands — as the same element, and a hop grip change doesn’t count as a flight element, even with a half or full turn.

Why grips matter for the score

On uneven bars, one of the four composition requirements, each worth 0.50, is “different grips” — the routine must show skills in more than one grip, and the cast, mount and dismount don’t count towards it. See women’s uneven bars.

Execution judges also deduct for an “adjusted grip position” — a visible shuffle of the hands to correct the grip.

On horizontal bar

The men’s Code describes horizontal bar as a routine using “a variety of hand grips”, and grip changes show up throughout its element tables: the el-grip giant, giants swung in undergrip, and turns from regular grip into mixed or el-grip. See men’s horizontal bar and the giant swing.

Grip type vs. equipment

“Grips” also means the leather or synthetic handguards gymnasts wear for friction and hand protection — a different meaning from grip type (hand orientation). See grips and handguards.