Balance Beam Explained

Balance beam asks a gymnast to perform floor-level acrobatic and dance skills on a raised surface just 10 cm wide, which is why even small technical faults are judged more heavily here than elsewhere.

The apparatus

Under the FIG Apparatus Norms, the beam is 5 m long, 10 cm wide across its top surface and 125 cm high, measured from the floor. The gymnast mounts from a springboard or the mat. If a first attempt fails before she touches the board or the beam, she can try again with a penalty; if she has touched them, she must carry on without credit for the mount.

Time and falls

Under the 2025–2028 WAG Code of Points, a beam routine can last up to 90 seconds. A warning sounds 10 seconds before the limit and again at 90 seconds; a routine that runs to 91 seconds or more is penalised. After a fall, the gymnast has 10 seconds to get back on the beam before a further penalty, and the fall time doesn’t count towards the 90 seconds. A fall itself costs 1.00 — see how falls affect a score.

How a routine is built

The eight counting skills, including the dismount, must include at least three dance elements (leaps, jumps, hops and turns) and three acrobatic elements. Around them, the Code expects a routine that balances dance, acrobatics and choreography into “a continuous flow”: changes of level and direction, varied rhythm and tempo, and no unnecessary stops.

Composition requirements

Four requirements are worth 0.50 each:

1. A connection of at least two different dance elements, one of them a leap or jump with a 180° split or straddle
2. A turn (or one of a short list of rolls and flairs)
3. An acrobatic series of at least two flight elements, one of them a salto
4. Acrobatic elements in different directions — forward or sideward, and backward

For the skills involved, see leaps, jumps and hops on beam and floor, turns and pirouettes, beam acrobatic series and beam mounts and dismounts.

How it is scored

The D-score adds together the eight highest-value skills, including the dismount; up to 2.00 points for four composition requirements, worth 0.50 each; and connection value for linking certain skills directly. A dismount of D value or higher, landed without a fall, earns a further 0.20 bonus. Beam also has a series bonus of 0.10 for linking three or more skills (at least B + B + C), on top of connection value. See connection value on balance beam.

The E-score includes beam-specific deductions: extra movements to keep balance, pauses of two seconds or more, excessive preparation, steps that aren’t part of the choreography, and grasping the beam to avoid a fall. Judges also deduct for insufficient artistry — posture, amplitude, footwork and lack of variation in rhythm. See artistry in floor and beam.