The USA Gymnastics Women’s Development Program takes gymnasts from basic skills to advanced competition through 10 levels. Levels 1–3 build the foundation, Levels 4–5 develop it through prescribed routines, and Levels 6–10 allow more individual skill choices within increasingly demanding rules.
A gymnast’s level describes the competition requirements she is working toward. Minimum ages and qualifying scores determine eligibility, while coaches assess whether she has the skills, consistency and preparation to move on.
This guide covers women’s artistic gymnastics: vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. It follows the 2026–27 USAG Rules & Policies, the 2021–2029 compulsory program and the 2026–2030 optional Code of Points. Men’s gymnastics uses a different Development Program structure.
Want to look up one level and event? Open the DP Levels 1–5 Requirements Explorer. Choose a level and event, then click Get info to see the reviewed major skills, allowed choices and any gaps needing review. Check the sources and review date shown with each result. The DP records currently cover Levels 1–5; the tool does not automatically fetch new USAG rules when you click.
USAG Gymnastics Levels at a Glance
| Level | Program stage | Minimum age | Main focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Developmental | 4 | Basic shapes, rolls, balance and body control |
| 2 | Developmental | 5 | Stronger basic skills and coordination |
| 3 | Developmental | 6 | More demanding connections and introductory tumbling flight |
| 4 | Compulsory | 7 | Prescribed routines with stronger skills across all four events |
| 5 | Compulsory | 7 | More advanced compulsory work before optional routines |
| 6 | Optional | 7 | Individual routines within beginning optional requirements |
| 7 | Optional | 7 | More flight, circling and tumbling requirements |
| 8 | Optional | 8 | Intermediate optional routines and Composition Credit |
| 9 | Optional | 8 | Advanced routines with connection and difficulty bonus opportunities |
| 10 | Optional | 9 | The highest Development Program level |
The gymnast must have reached the relevant birthday before competing, rather than simply turning that age later in the year. These are minimum ages, not a timetable for when every gymnast should reach each level. USAG 2026–27 Rules & Policies, Chapters 7 and 9
The program was formerly called the Junior Olympic program, often shortened to JO. Older articles and meet references may still use that name.
Compulsory and optional routines
In a compulsory routine, USAG specifies the major skills, their order and the choreography, with particular choices allowed where the text says so. Levels 1–5 have compulsory exercises, even though USAG classifies Levels 1–3 as the developmental stage.
An optional routine is built for the individual gymnast. The coach chooses skills and choreography that suit her, but the routine must still include the required content. “Optional” does not mean that the requirements themselves can be left out.
The rule cycles are separate: compulsory exercises run from 2021 to 2029, while the current optional Code runs from 2026 to 2030. Updates within each cycle also matter.
What Changes From Level 1 to Level 10?
The examples below show how the program develops. They are not complete routine checklists; each event has additional skills, technical details and judging rules.
Level 1: Learning the foundations
Level 1 introduces shapes and movements that return throughout gymnastics. Floor work includes cartwheels, tucked rolls, a three-quarter handstand and simple dance or balance positions.
The emphasis is on recognizable body positions and control. Bar support, basic beam work and introductory vaulting help the gymnast become comfortable moving on different apparatus.
Level 2: Making basic skills more controlled
Level 2 builds on those foundations with more demanding positions and transitions. Floor examples include a backward roll to a push-up position, a handstand, and a bridge with a back kick-over.
The differences can look small to a spectator, but they ask more of the gymnast’s strength and coordination. Judges look at how the movement is performed, including body alignment, leg position and control.
Level 3: Connecting skills and adding a back handspring
Level 3 floor already includes a roundoff connected to a back handspring, followed by a rebound. USAG calls the back handspring a flic-flac in the compulsory text. It is more than preparation for learning that skill later.
Other floor elements include a handstand forward roll, a handstand into a bridge and back kick-over, and dance elements with a 90-degree split position. The routine asks the gymnast to connect increasingly demanding movements while maintaining form. USAG compulsory replacement pages, Level 3 floor
Level 4: Stronger compulsory routines on all four events
Level 4 introduces a front handspring over the vault table. On bars, the routine includes a glide kip and a long hang kip, with work on both the low and high bars. A kip brings the gymnast from a hanging or swinging position into support above the bar.
Floor examples include a back walkover, a front handspring step-out and a backward roll to handstand. The challenge is to perform the prescribed routine accurately, rather than replace its harder parts with preferred skills.
Level 4 is also where the standard competition-score requirements for advancing become relevant. Those scores are explained together in the mobility section below.
Level 5: Completing the compulsory stage
Level 5 is the highest compulsory level. It keeps the prescribed-routine structure while asking for stronger acrobatics, swinging and connections.
A recognizable Level 5 bars skill is the flyaway dismount: the gymnast releases the bar and performs a somersault before landing. The approved alternative is the Level 4 half-turn dismount with recontact of the bar; choosing it gives the routine a 9.50 maximum Start Value instead of 10.00. Floor tumbling can include a tucked front salto and a back-tuck finish. A salto is a somersault without hand support. These are examples, not a list of every required skill or allowed choice.
These routines develop skills that can carry into optional gymnastics. Level 5 still has its own required sequence and approved choices; it is not an optional routine with a compulsory label.
The Level 1–5 examples are drawn from USAG’s compulsory text and replacement pages, including its July 2023 material, July 2025 revisions and July 2026 update.
Level 6: The first optional level
At Level 6, coaches can build individual routines around the gymnast’s strengths. Two athletes can choose different skills while meeting the same event requirements.
For example, beam allows either a connected series of non-flight acrobatic skills or one acrobatic flight skill. On bars, the requirements include a cast, a bar change, specified circling work and a salto dismount. Floor combines tumbling, dance and a turn.
Skill choices remain limited by the level. An optional routine needs an appropriate balance of difficulty and reliable execution.
Level 7: More flight and more connections
Level 7 adds requirements that make the connections between skills more important. Beam needs an acro series and a flight skill, although the flight skill can be part of that series.
Bars requires two qualifying clear-circling elements—circles completed without resting the hips on the bar. Floor requires forward and backward salto work, with a stretched salto among the required content.
The progression is in what the routine must show. There is still no single prescribed Level 7 routine.
Level 8: More demanding routine construction
Level 8 requires a stronger mix of skills. On beam, the acro series itself must contain flight. Floor requires an acrobatic pass containing two saltos, along with other content requirements.
It is also the first level with Composition Credit, extra starting-score credit for particular routine choices. Meeting the basic requirements and earning all available credit are separate tasks.
Watch the difference on beam: performing a flight skill somewhere in a routine is different from connecting that flight skill directly to another acrobatic element. Higher levels increasingly ask for the connection itself.
Level 9: Advanced optional gymnastics
At Level 9, beam requires two directly connected flight skills and at least a B aerial or salto dismount. Bars also requires at least a B salto dismount, while the final floor acrobatic pass must contain at least a B salto.
The letters identify the difficulty of the skills. Level 9 routines also use eligible connections and harder elements to build their starting score.
There are still difficulty restrictions. Reaching Level 9 does not make every possible skill or combination allowable.
Level 10: The top Development Program level
Level 10 is the highest numbered level in this program. It allows greater difficulty choices on bars, beam and floor while retaining detailed requirements for the routine’s content and construction.
For example, bars requires at least a C salto dismount, and the final floor acrobatic pass must contain at least a C salto. Beam requires a stronger flight connection and a C dismount or one of the approved alternatives.
Level 10 has no general difficulty restrictions on bars, beam or floor. Vault still uses its own table of permitted vaults and assigned values. The current USAG event rules charts set out these differences.
How Gymnasts Move Up: Ages, Mobility Scores and Exceptions
In gymnastics, mobility means advancing through the program. “Scoring out” usually refers to earning the score that makes a gymnast eligible to move to the next level.
An all-around score, or AA, is the total from vault, bars, beam and floor. The standard mobility scores are:
| Current level | Standard score needed for the next level |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | No sanctioned-meet mobility score required |
| 4 → 5 | 34.00 AA at Level 4 |
| 5 → 6 | 32.00 AA at Level 5 |
| 6 → 7 | 32.00 AA at Level 6 |
| 7 → 8 | 32.00 AA at Level 7; an 8.50 IES route also exists |
| 8 → 9 | 34.00 AA at Level 8; an 8.50 IES route also exists |
| 9 → 10 | 34.00 AA at Level 9; an 8.50 IES route also exists |
| 10 | No higher numbered Development Program level |
IES means Individual Event Specialist. It provides an event-specific route for eligible gymnasts rather than the all-around route. One 8.50 event score should not be treated as automatic all-around eligibility at the next level.
The current chart specifies scores from live USAG-sanctioned competitions. Minimum age and other entry rules still apply. USAG 2026–27 mobility chart, printed page 58
Can a gymnast skip Level 5 or Level 6?
USAG permits two specific routes:
| Route | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Level 4 → Level 6, skipping Level 5 | Two Level 4 all-around scores of at least 36.00; the scores may be from the current or previous season |
| Level 5 → Level 7, skipping Level 6 | A Level 5 all-around score of at least 32.00, with the other entry requirements met |
The current-or-previous-season allowance for the two Level 4 scores was added for 2026–27. USAG Development Program Committee, May 11, 2026
The first route does not also authorize skipping Level 6. A gymnast who goes from Level 4 to Level 6 must then meet the Level 6 mobility requirement to reach Level 7.
Eligibility and readiness are different decisions
Earning the score does not require the gymnast to move up immediately. Coaches also consider whether she can perform the next level’s skills consistently and manage its routines.
A gymnast may remain at a level for another season or progress through more than one level in a year. The national rules do not impose a one-level-per-year schedule. The USAG mobility guide covers entry, advancement and related exceptions in more detail.
How Scoring Changes at the Optional Levels
In compulsory gymnastics, judges evaluate how accurately the gymnast performs the prescribed exercise. Bent knees, balance errors, incorrect body positions, falls and changes to required content can all reduce the score.
Optional gymnastics also evaluates the routine that the coach has built. Judges check its difficulty mix and its required types of content before applying performance deductions.
The difficulty classifications A, B, C and higher are called Value Parts. The required content conditions are called Special Requirements. A routine’s starting maximum before execution deductions is its Start Value.
On bars, beam and floor, Levels 6–7 can start from 10.00 when their requirements are met. At Level 8, routine construction also earns Composition Credit. Levels 9–10 add opportunities for bonus from eligible difficulty and connections. Each kind of credit has its own conditions; adding a hard skill does not automatically make up for something missing elsewhere.
Vault uses approved vault choices with assigned Start Values, so its starting score is worked out differently.
For a simple example, suppose an optional routine has a confirmed 10.00 Start Value. With 0.70 in total deductions, its score would be 9.30. A harder routine does not automatically win if its performance loses more points.
The explanation of USAG Start Value covers the calculation and the additional-credit rules. It also explains the separate exceptional-routine bonus available at Level 10 under additional conditions.
Championship Opportunities and What Comes After Level 10
The competition pathway expands at the higher levels, but reaching a level and qualifying for its championship are separate achievements.
| Level | General championship pathway |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | State competition may be offered; some programs focus on in-gym development |
| 4–5 | State Championships |
| 6–7 | State Championships and possible Regional Championships, depending on the region |
| 8 | Regional Championships |
| 9 | Eastern or Western Championships for qualifying athletes |
| 10 | Development Program National Championships for qualifying athletes |
State and regional organizations determine some of the lower-level competition structure and qualification details. The mobility score used to advance to a new level is not automatically the qualifying score for a championship. USAG Rules & Policies, Chapter 9
After reaching Level 10, an athlete can continue in that program, pursue college gymnastics or work toward the separate elite pathway. Becoming elite requires its own qualification process; it is not an automatic promotion from Level 10.
The Development Program National Championships and the elite U.S. Championships are different events. A gymnast can have a successful Level 10 career without competing as an elite.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every gymnast have to compete Levels 1–3?
No. These levels can be used for in-gym development, pre-team work or introductory competition. There is no national sanctioned-meet mobility score for Levels 1–3. The gymnast still needs the foundational skills and must meet the entry conditions for the level she will compete.
How long does it take to reach Level 10?
USAG does not set a fixed number of years. Progress depends on the gymnast’s starting point, skill development, consistency and circumstances. Minimum ages are eligibility rules, not expected achievement ages.
How is the Development Program different from Xcel?
The Development Program uses numbered levels with a prescribed progression from compulsory to optional gymnastics. The Xcel program uses divisions from Bronze through Sapphire and has its own routine and advancement rules.
An Xcel division does not automatically equal a Development Program level. A transfer must follow the applicable entry and petition rules, with the coach checking the gymnast’s experience and eligibility.
Is reaching Level 10 necessary for a worthwhile gymnastics experience?
No. Gymnasts can develop strength, skill and competition experience at many levels. The appropriate goals depend on the athlete, rather than a requirement to finish all ten levels.
Choosing the Next Step
The Women’s Development Program has three stages: foundational Levels 1–3, compulsory Levels 4–5 and optional Levels 6–10. The routines become more demanding as gymnasts develop stronger skills and connections.
Minimum ages and mobility scores establish eligibility. Consistent skills and preparation guide the decision to advance.
Rules reviewed September 28, 2026. Use the linked USAG documents and later official updates when planning a competition season.