Moving from Level 5 to Level 6 changes how a gymnast’s routines are built. At Level 5, she follows prescribed exercises. At Level 6, her coach can select skills and choreography that suit her strengths, while still meeting the level’s requirements.
The usual Level 5-to-6 route requires a 32.00 all-around score at Level 5 in an eligible live USA Gymnastics-sanctioned competition. That establishes the score requirement for moving up; the coach must also determine whether the gymnast is ready to perform her optional routines. Other permitted routes exist, including a specified way to move directly from Level 4 to Level 6.
This guide covers the USA Gymnastics Women’s Development Program. It uses the 2026–27 Rules & Policies, the 2021–2029 compulsory program and the 2026–2030 optional rules. The current mobility conditions appear in USAG’s national age and mobility chart, printed page 58.
What Changes Between Level 5 and Level 6?
Compulsory gymnastics teaches a prescribed exercise: the skills, connections, positions and choreography come from the official material. Some sections have approved choices, but the gymnast cannot freely substitute different skills.
Optional gymnastics allows an individually selected routine. The coach chooses how to meet the content requirements rather than following one compulsory sequence.
| Part of the routine | Level 5 | Level 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Skill selection | Prescribed skills, including specifically allowed alternatives. | Permitted skills selected to meet the level’s requirements. |
| Routine order | Follows the official exercise. | Can be arranged around the gymnast’s skills and required connections. |
| Choreography | Uses the prescribed movement text and its permitted choices. | Can be designed for the gymnast within the rules. |
| Floor music | Uses the official compulsory recording. | Uses an individual music selection that complies with the rules. |
| Judging | Considers the prescribed exercise and how it is performed. | Checks required content and skill credit, then applies the relevant performance deductions. |
The foundation remains important: straight arms and legs, controlled landings and clearly finished skills still affect the score. Optional routines create more choice about the content, while retaining standards for how it is performed.
Levels 1–3 also use prescribed developmental exercises; Level 4 is not the beginning of all compulsory material. USAG’s official compulsory course includes the Levels 1–5 exercises, videos and floor recordings. The Development Program overview explains where each stage fits in the full pathway.
The Scores Needed to Enter Optional Gymnastics
A mobility score is a competition score that satisfies a condition for advancement. All-around, often shortened to AA, means the combined total from vault, bars, beam and floor.
The routes most relevant to this transition are listed below. These are national mobility conditions under the 2026–27 Rules & Policies, not championship qualification scores.
| Route | Required mobility score |
|---|---|
| Level 4 to Level 5 | 34.00 AA at Level 4. |
| Level 5 to Level 6 | 32.00 AA at Level 5. |
| Level 4 directly to Level 6 | 36.00 AA at two Level 4 meets; the scores may come from the current or previous season. |
| Level 5 directly to Level 7 | 32.00 AA at Level 5; Level 6 may be skipped. |
| Level 6 to Level 7 | 32.00 AA at Level 6. |
Only eligible live sanctioned competitions count for mobility. The minimum competition age for Levels 4–7 is the gymnast’s seventh birthday. Other applicable entry and registration conditions also remain in force.
A 32.00 all-around threshold does not mean that every event must score exactly 8.00. It is a combined total. It also does not require a coach to move an athlete immediately after she earns it.
Families should distinguish national eligibility from a gym’s placement decision. A coach may want more consistent routines before entering the next level; that is different from changing the national mobility score. The USAG mobility-scores guide covers the wider entry rules and exceptions.
What Does “Scoring Out” Mean?
“Scoring out” commonly describes earning the mobility score without spending a full competition season at that level. The gymnast still performs the applicable routines under that level’s rules at an eligible meet.
For example, an athlete may be preparing optional routines in training while also preparing to compete Level 5. Earning the required Level 5 score can satisfy the score condition for advancement. It does not certify that every planned Level 6 skill or connection is ready.
A full Level 5 season provides more opportunities to practice those routines in competition. A shorter route may fit a different coaching plan. Neither approach establishes, by itself, how strong the gymnast’s fundamentals are; that depends on the training and routines behind the decision.
What Does a Level 6 Routine Need?
On bars, beam and floor, Level 6 requires four A and two B Value Parts, together with each event’s four Special Requirements.
The names sound more complicated than the basic idea:
- Value Parts are the recognized skills that count toward the routine’s difficulty. A and B are classifications assigned by the Code.
- Special Requirements describe what the routine must contain, such as a bar change, an acrobatic connection or a particular kind of dismount.
A routine must satisfy both checks. Six recognized skills do not automatically make a complete Level 6 routine if an important type of content is missing. The current requirements are summarized in USAG’s Levels 6–8 reference chart.
Vault: The Landing Setup Changes
Level 5 uses the prescribed handspring over the vault table. Level 6 offers three developmental entry vaults involving the table and a landing mat stack:
- A front handspring entry.
- A quarter- to half-turn entry associated with Tsukahara vaults.
- A round-off entry associated with Yurchenko vaults.
At Level 6, these vaults finish on the feet on the mat stack. All three have a 10.0 Start Value in the current chart. They develop the entries used for later vaults; the Tsukahara and Yurchenko names here do not mean a complete somersaulting vault is required.
The permitted Level 7 back-landing versions should not be transferred to Level 6. USAG lists the exact distinctions in its 2026–2030 Levels 6–8 vault table.
Bars: Credit Depends on the Kind of Skill
Level 6 bars needs a cast, at least one bar change, a qualifying full clear circle and an A-or-higher somersault dismount.
A cast lifts the body away from the bar from a support position. A clear circle keeps the hips clear of the bar, rather than resting against it as in an ordinary back hip circle. The required circle must come from an eligible family in the Code.
The Level 6 cast target is at least 45° above horizontal. A cast that rises above horizontal can receive the Special Requirement even if it does not reach that target, but the relevant angle deduction still applies. Receiving content credit and performing the skill without deductions are separate questions.
A flyaway is a familiar example of a somersault dismount, but naming it alone does not confirm the rest of the routine meets Level 6 requirements. The coach must also check the casts, circling work, bar change and credited difficulty. These distinctions appear in the current optional bars rules chart.
Beam: A Back Handspring Is Not Mandatory
The Level 6 beam acro requirement can be met through a connected non-flight acro series or one acrobatic flight skill.
“Flight” means the gymnast becomes airborne during the skill. A back walkover has no flight; a back handspring has flight. One gymnast may use permitted connected non-flight skills, while another uses a permitted flight element. Either route can satisfy this part of the routine.
Both gymnasts still need a qualifying leap or jump requiring a 180° split, at least a full turn on one foot, and an A-or-higher aerial or somersault dismount. They also need the required Value Parts.
This is why “she must have a beam back handspring before Level 6” is not a universal USAG rule. A gym may choose to use it as part of its training plan, but the official Level 6 requirement allows another route.
Floor: Tumbling and Dance Both Count
Level 6 floor needs two different saltos through the permitted tumbling arrangements. A salto is a somersault without hand support, such as a back tuck. A back handspring uses the hands, so it does not count as a salto.
One acro pass must contain at least two directly connected flight skills, including a salto. The second must include a different salto, either in another qualifying two-flight-skill connection or as a B-rated salto performed on its own.
The routine also needs a full turn on one foot and a dance passage containing at least two different eligible leaps or hops, including a leap requiring a 180° split.
The coach therefore builds the tumbling, dance and choreography together. A harder tumbling pass does not replace a missing dance requirement. USAG’s Levels 6–8 chart summarizes the beam and floor requirements; the Levels 1–10 skill requirements guide provides a broader event-by-event comparison.
How Level 6 Scoring Works
Level 6 optional routines use Start Value minus applicable deductions. They do not use a separate FIG-style difficulty score added to an execution score.
On bars, beam and floor, a routine that satisfies the necessary content can start from 10.0. Level 6 does not award difficulty bonus or Composition Credit, the additional credit used at higher optional levels. Adding a harder skill does not automatically raise the Start Value.
Difficulty restrictions also matter. For example, Level 6 beam and floor permit one C dance element, credited as a B, while C acrobatic elements are restricted. The general advice to “add B or C skills” is therefore too broad without checking the event and the specific skill. USAG’s event rules charts identify these limits.
Each missing Special Requirement costs 0.50 from the Start Value. Execution deductions then reflect errors such as bent legs, balance checks and landing steps.
Here is a simplified illustration, assuming all other content is credited and the listed deductions are the only ones:
| Hypothetical routine | Start Value | Performance deductions | Final score |
|---|---|---|---|
| All required content credited | 10.00 | 0.80 | 9.20 |
| One Special Requirement missing | 9.50 | 0.80 | 8.70 |
The performance deductions are the same; the missing content changes the starting number. The gymnastics score calculator can illustrate this arithmetic once the Start Value and deductions are known. It does not check whether a routine is legal or award skill credit.
Preparing for the First Optional Season
The first preparation question is whether the gymnast has a workable routine on each event. That includes the connections and finish, not just the most noticeable skill.
Performing a skill by itself is different from performing it in sequence. On beam, for example, a pause can affect whether acrobatic elements receive connection credit. On floor, the gymnast needs to coordinate tumbling, dance and music throughout the routine.
It is useful for the coach, gymnast and family to identify a few concrete goals before choosing a competition date. These might include completing a particular connection consistently, remembering the new choreography or performing the planned dismount with control. They are individual preparation goals, not additional national mobility rules.
Music, Choreography and Training Plans
Level 6 allows an individual floor-music choice, which should be discussed with the coach or choreographer before the routine is built. The current maximum floor routine time is 1 minute 20 seconds, as listed in the official event chart. A music choice needs to work with the planned content and timing.
Training hours, choreography arrangements, travel and private lessons vary by gym and athlete. Moving to optionals does not create a universal schedule or a fixed package of new expenses.
A practical planning discussion can cover five questions:
- Which eligibility route will the gymnast use, and is the required score documented?
- Which planned routines are ready, and which connections still need work?
- What does the coach need to see before the first Level 6 meet?
- Who handles floor music and choreography, and what are the costs and deadlines?
- How will the training and competition plan fit the gymnast’s school schedule, recovery and interest in the sport?
The gymnast should have room to describe what feels manageable and what still feels uncertain. A clear plan gives everyone something more useful to discuss than whether another athlete moved up sooner.
Common Questions About Moving to Optionals
Is Level 6 Always Harder Than Level 5?
It changes the demands, but it is not simply a harder version of every compulsory skill. Individual routine choices may suit one gymnast better than the Level 5 sequence. The new challenge includes building credited connections and performing a complete personal routine within the rules.
Can a Gymnast Skip Level 5 or Level 6?
Yes, through the specified mobility routes. Two 36.00 Level 4 all-around scores can allow entry to Level 6, and a 32.00 Level 5 all-around score can allow entry to Level 7. The other eligibility requirements and the gymnast’s preparation still matter.
Does Earning the Score Mean She Should Move Immediately?
No. The score satisfies a national advancement condition. Selecting an appropriate competition level also requires a coaching judgment about the routines the gymnast can perform.
Does Optional Gymnastics Mean Preparing for Elite?
No. Levels 6–10 belong to the Development Program. Beginning optional routines does not require a decision about elite gymnastics or a future college team.
A Clear Plan for the Transition
The most useful Level 5-to-6 plan combines three things: the correct eligibility route, routines that meet the current requirements, and enough preparation to perform those routines with control.
Optional gymnastics gives coaches and gymnasts more ways to build those routines. Understanding the available choices helps families judge progress by the athlete’s actual preparation across all four events.