What Is the Optional Program in Artistic Gymnastics?
What is the optional program in artistic gymnastics? In USA Gymnastics’ Development Program, it’s Levels 6–10. Up to Level 5, every gymnast at a level performs the same set routines. From Level 6, the coach and gymnast build their own routines within each level’s rules.
Contents
“Optional” describes the choice of skills, not the requirements. Every optional routine still needs enough skills of the right difficulty and certain types of skills, and judges work out what the routine is worth before they deduct for mistakes.
This guide explains how the five optional levels progress, how their routines are scored and where Level 10 leads. The rules are from USA Gymnastics’ 2026–2030 Development Program materials and its 2026–27 Rules & Policies.
Where the Optional Levels Fit
The women’s Development Program has three stages: developmental Levels 1–3, compulsory Levels 4–5 and optional Levels 6–10. At an optional meet, two gymnasts at the same level can perform quite different skills, in their own order and, on floor, to their own music. Our guide to compulsory vs. optional gymnastics explains what changes in the routine, and the Level 6 requirements guide covers the first optional season.
Levels 6–10 at a Glance
| Level | Minimum age | Score to enter | Skills needed on bars, beam and floor | How the Start Value reaches 10.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 7 | 32.00 AA at Level 5, or 36.00 AA at two Level 4 meets | 4 A + 2 B | Starts at 10.00 when every requirement is met |
| 7 | 7 | 32.00 AA at Level 5 or 6 | 4 A + 3 B | Starts at 10.00 when every requirement is met |
| 8 | 8 | 32.00 AA at Level 7, or 8.50 IES | 4 A + 4 B | 9.80 + up to 0.20 Composition Credit |
| 9 | 8 | 34.00 AA at Level 8, or 8.50 IES | 3 A + 4 B + 1 C | 9.50 + up to 0.20 Composition Credit + up to 0.30 bonus |
| 10 | 9 | 34.00 AA at Level 9, or 8.50 IES | 3 A + 3 B + 2 C | 9.20 + up to 0.30 Composition Credit + up to 0.50 bonus |
AA is the all-around score, the total of all four events at one sanctioned meet, and the gymnast must have reached the minimum age before competing at the level. The letters are Value Parts, USA Gymnastics’ difficulty ratings for skills, from A upward. At Levels 6–8 an allowed C counts as a B, and at Level 9 an allowed D or E counts as a C. Vault isn’t built this way: each vault has its own listed value.
The 8.50 option is for an Individual Event Specialist (IES), a gymnast who competes three events or fewer. It’s a separate specialist route, explained in our guide to all-around vs. event specialist competition, not a lower all-around target. Our guide to USAG mobility scores has the full move-up chart, including the routes for skipping Level 5 or Level 6.
Levels 6 and 7 end their season at State, with regionals in some regions. Level 8 goes on to regionals, Level 9 to the Eastern or Western Championships and Level 10 to the Development Program National Championships; our guide to qualifying for State, Regionals and Nationals has the scores for each.
How Optional Routines Are Scored
Optional scoring has two stages. Judges first work out the routine’s Start Value, the most it can score before deductions, from the skills the gymnast actually performed. Then they deduct for how well she performed them.
On bars, beam and floor, the Start Value depends on two kinds of requirements: enough Value Parts of the right letters, and four Special Requirements, set types of skills such as a bar change or a leap with a full split. Each missing Special Requirement costs 0.50. From Level 8, routines also need Composition Credit, credit for specific harder content, to reach 10.0, and Levels 9 and 10 add bonus.
Bonus at Levels 9 and 10
Bonus comes in two forms. Connection value rewards qualifying skills linked together. Difficulty bonus, often called D/E bonus, rewards eligible D- and E-rated skills. A C skill doesn’t earn difficulty bonus on its own; it can count only as part of a qualifying connection.
Each level caps how much bonus counts toward the Start Value. Level 9 can count up to 0.30, either all from connections or 0.20 from connections plus 0.10 for its first eligible D or E skill. Level 10 can count up to 0.50, with at least 0.10 from each type. Our guide to gymnastics bonus rules lists what qualifies.
Level 10 also has a separate 0.10 bonus that sits outside the Start Value. It goes to a routine that already starts from 10.0, earns at least 0.60 in total bonus and includes a qualifying difficult skill: an E acro skill on beam or floor (the front double twist doesn’t count on floor), or on bars a single-bar D release or any E release.
Deductions
Once the Start Value is set, judges deduct for execution and artistry, such as bent knees, landing steps or poor rhythm. A fall costs 0.50. The chief judge also takes neutral deductions, such as stepping out of bounds, going over time or floor music with words.
For example, a Level 7 beam routine that meets every requirement starts from 10.0. If it loses 0.80 for execution and includes a fall that doesn’t cost any skill credit, it scores 10.00 − 0.80 − 0.50 = 8.70. Our guide to how the USAG Start Value is calculated works through Levels 8–10, where Composition Credit and bonus come in.
Difficulty Limits: Levels 6–9 and Level 10
Levels 6–9 have difficulty restrictions. Each level lists which harder skills are allowed, and a restricted skill beyond those limits costs 0.50 from the Start Value and earns no credit. A gymnast who can perform a harder skill may therefore score better by leaving it out until the level allows it.
Level 10 has no restrictions on skill choice, but its score isn’t open-ended. The Start Value still stops at 10.0, bonus counts only up to 0.50, and the extra 0.10 is the only credit outside it. Beyond those limits, a harder skill adds risk without raising the score, so a cleaner routine can beat a harder one.
Where Level 10 Leads
Level 10 is the top level of the Development Program. Its season ends at the Development Program National Championships, which take up to seven all-around gymnasts from each age division in each region, with at least a 35.00.
From there, a gymnast can stay at Level 10, compete in college or try elite. Women’s college gymnastics uses Level 10 rules with NCAA modifications. Elite is a separate program with its own compulsory and optional qualifying scores, so Level 10 results don’t qualify a gymnast for it. Our guides to what comes after Level 10 and qualifying for U.S. elite cover both routes.
Common Questions
Does every optional routine start from 10.0?
No. A routine has to earn its Start Value. At Levels 6 and 7, meeting every requirement gives 10.0; at Levels 8–10 the routine also needs Composition Credit and, at Levels 9–10, bonus. Missing requirements lower the Start Value before any deductions.
Can a gymnast skip Level 6?
Yes. A 32.00 all-around at Level 5 qualifies a gymnast for Level 7, so she doesn’t have to compete Level 6 first.
Is there a limit on Level 10 difficulty?
Level 10 doesn’t restrict which skills a gymnast performs, but the Start Value is capped at 10.0, with only a separate 0.10 bonus on top for qualifying routines. Extra difficulty beyond that doesn’t raise the score.
Final Takeaway
The optional program is Levels 6–10 of USA Gymnastics’ Development Program, where coaches build each routine within the level’s rules instead of teaching a set routine. Each level asks for more difficulty and has its own entry rules.
Judges first decide what the routine is worth, up to 10.0, and then deduct for mistakes. Levels 8–10 need extra credit to reach that 10.0, and even Level 10, with no skill restrictions, can’t score beyond it apart from one small separate bonus.
Main Sources
- USA Gymnastics 2026–2027 Women’s Rules & Policies, Chapter 9: Development Program (ages, mobility scores and championships)
- 2026–2030 Cheat Sheet: Levels 6, 7 and 8 and 2026–2030 Cheat Sheet: Levels 9 and 10 (USA Gymnastics)
- Development Program Event Rules Charts, Levels 6–10 (USA Gymnastics): allowed and restricted skills, bonus limits and Composition Credit
- USA Gymnastics Women’s Development Program: the three stages and the Level 10 skill-choice rule