Level 3 Gymnastics Skills and Requirements (2026 Guide)

Level 3 is the third and last beginner level of USA Gymnastics’ Women’s Development Program, for gymnasts who have reached their 6th birthday. Gymnasts still perform set (compulsory) routines on all four events (vault, bars, beam and floor) and pass by meeting three of the four checkpoints on each one; where Level 3 is competed, each routine starts from 10.0.

Contents

Where Level 3 fits
Level 3 requirements at a glance
Vault: a handspring over the mats
Bars: connecting the circles
Beam: balancing through changes
Floor: tumbling and dance belong together
Moving up from Level 3 to Level 4
Level 3 questions parents ask
Final Takeaway
Main Sources

Compared with Level 2, the big new skills are a handspring vault over a mat stack at least 32 inches high, a front hip circle on bars, a cross handstand on beam and a round-off back handspring on floor. Passing Level 3 is what moves a gymnast on: there is no score to reach and no meet required before Level 4, which opens at age 7.

This guide follows the 2021–2029 compulsory routines, checked against USA Gymnastics’ replacement pages through July 2026, and the 2026–27 Rules & Policies. It covers the major skills; the full choreography is in USA Gymnastics’ compulsory book.

Where Level 3 fits

USA Gymnastics groups Levels 1–3 as the developmental stage of the Women’s Development Program, ahead of the compulsory competition levels (4–5) and the optional levels (6–10). All five early levels use set routines from the same compulsory book, so Level 3 is still a prescribed routine; what changes is the difficulty. Gymnastics levels explained shows how these stages and Xcel fit together.

A gymnast must have reached her 6th birthday to compete Level 3, and no prerequisite score is needed. That is a minimum, not a target; gymnastics age requirements by level lists the minimum for every level.

Level 3 can be an in-gym achievement level within a gym’s pre-team program or an introductory competition level, depending on the gym. Some states run sanctioned Level 3 meets, and each state decides whether to hold a Level 3 State Championship. From Level 4 on, every state must hold one. The Development Program guide explains the full path to Level 10.

Level 3 requirements at a glance

	Level 3
Program	USA Gymnastics Women’s Development Program, developmental level
Minimum age	6th birthday reached
Routines	Set (compulsory) routines on vault, bars, beam and floor
Score at meets	Each routine starts from 10.0
To pass	Three of the four Evaluation Points (75%) on every event
Competition	Optional: in-gym testing or introductory meets; some states hold a Level 3 State Championship
Next level	Level 4, from the 7th birthday. No mobility score and no meet required

Event	Main Level 3 skills
Vault	Handspring over a mat stack at least 32 inches high, landing on the feet
Uneven bars	Glide swing and pullover, or a glide kip; cast; two back hip circles; front hip circle with a small cast; cast to squat-on or pike-on and stretch jump dismount
Balance beam	Fish pose mount, cross handstand, heel-snap half turn, two stretch jumps, 45° arabesque, 90° leap, two pivot turns and cartwheel to side handstand with a quarter-turn dismount
Floor	Handstand forward roll, 90° leap and split jump, handstand to bridge with back kick-over, forward split, half turn, backward roll to push-up position and round-off–back handspring

These are highlights, not a complete competition checklist: the routines also set the connections, positions and arm movements. For one event at a time, with permitted choices, sources and a review date, open the Gymnastics Requirements Explorer.

Vault: a handspring over the mats

Level 3 uses a handspring over a raised mat stack, at least 32 inches high, rather than the vault table. The gymnast runs, punches the springboard with both feet, reaches to the mats, pushes off her hands and flies over to land on her feet on the matting beyond the stack. This is different from the flat-back landing used in Level 2.

Finishing on the feet is only part of the performance. Judges look at each phase: a straight body into the mats, straight arms and an open shoulder line in support, a quick push rather than lingering on the hands, and a controlled landing. Touching the mats with only one hand costs 1.00.

A coach may stand between the board and the mats, but any help during the flight or support phases costs 2.00, and help on the landing costs 0.50. The vault table arrives at Level 4, where the same handspring goes over the table. The Levels 1–5 vault guide covers the mat-stack setups and that step up.

Bars: connecting the circles

The opening has an allowed choice: a glide swing and return followed by a back hip pullover, or a straddle or pike glide kip. A kip is therefore an option, not a requirement for every Level 3 gymnast, and both openings carry the same 0.60 in value. Our guide to the kip on bars explains how the glide kip is learned.

The routine then includes a cast and two back hip circles, which should flow from one into the next. A front hip circle follows: from front support the gymnast falls forward with a straight body, circles the bar, then performs a small cast and returns to front support. Level 3 does not impose the cast-to-horizontal target associated with Level 4.

The routine ends with a cast to squat-on or pike-on, with the feet placed on the bar, and a stretch jump off the low bar. There is no required jump to catch the high bar: USA Gymnastics deleted the 0.50 deduction for not jumping toward it in June 2021, and touching the high bar costs 0.50. Watch how the gymnast moves from one skill into the next, as well as whether each skill is completed. The Levels 1–5 bars guide follows these skills into the kips and higher casts of Levels 4 and 5.

Beam: balancing through changes

Level 3 beam opens with a front support fish pose mount and must finish within 55 seconds, with a warning at 45. The main new skill is a cross handstand, which has to reach vertical with the legs joined and the hands placed evenly rather than staggered.

The half turn in forward passé uses the prescribed heel-snap technique on beam, and skipping it costs 0.30. In a passé position, the free leg is bent with the foot near the supporting knee. Two stretch jumps are connected, and two half pivot turns complete the turning work.

An arabesque is a balance with one leg extended behind the body; at Level 3 the leg reaches at least 45° and the position is held for one second. The straight-leg leap has a 90-degree split target and finishes with a brief pause in a low arabesque. The arabesque and the leap have separate targets, so they should not be treated as the same flexibility test.

The dismount moves through a cartwheel into a side handstand, which has to reach vertical, before a quarter turn off the beam; leaving out the quarter turn costs 0.20. The Levels 1–5 beam guide shows how the beam routines step up from here.

Floor: tumbling and dance belong together

Level 3 floor follows prescribed choreography and compulsory music. It is not a freely assembled list of skills.

The tumbling includes a handstand forward roll, with the handstand held for one second before the roll; a handstand to bridge with back kick-over; a backward roll that opens to 45° above horizontal before lowering to a push-up position; and a round-off connected to one back handspring (the book’s “flic-flac”) and a rebound. Our back handspring guide covers how gymnasts learn that skill with a coach.

The dance elements have their own numbers. The straight-leg leap and the split jump, which follows a connected stretch jump, have 90-degree split targets, while the forward split on the floor targets 180 degrees. Those numbers describe different elements; one does not replace the other.

Two details are easy to mix up. The half turn in passé on floor must not use the heel-snap technique, the opposite of Level 3 beam, and using it costs 0.30. And rolling up to a handstand instead of the prescribed backward roll earns nothing extra: it counts as a change of element, which has cost 0.20 since July 2025.

The published Evaluation Points for Level 3 floor show what passing looks like: good alignment in the split jump; straight arms and legs with an open arm angle in the handstand forward roll and the bridge kick-over; neat footwork in the chassé and leap; and straight arms and legs through the backward roll and the round-off back handspring. The Levels 1–5 floor guide follows these skills into Levels 4 and 5.

Moving up from Level 3 to Level 4

Level 3 has no mobility score, and USA Gymnastics doesn’t require a gymnast to compete at Levels 1–3 before Level 4. To advance, she should pass the Level 3 Evaluation Points with 75% proficiency on every event: at least three of the four points on each routine. If she shows all four points but falls, the attempt still counts as successful.

Level 4 has its own entry rules in the 2026–27 chart: she must have reached her 7th birthday, and no prerequisite score is needed. A gymnast who passes Level 3 at six can’t compete Level 4 until she turns seven. Level 4 is also where scores start to decide moving up, with 34.00 all-around needed for Level 5; our Level 4 skills guide shows the routines that come next.

If her gym enters Level 3 meets, judges start each routine from 10.0 and take deductions. Two gymnasts can perform the same routine and receive different scores, because judges also assess body position, balance, continuity and landings; how compulsory gymnastics is scored explains the system. Those scores decide placings or awards, not the move to Level 4.

Level 3 questions parents ask

What age is Level 3 gymnastics?

A gymnast must have reached her 6th birthday to compete Level 3. That’s a minimum, not a target.

Do Level 3 gymnasts compete?

It depends on the gym and the state. Levels 1–3 can run as a non-competitive achievement program or as introductory competition, and some states hold sanctioned Level 3 meets and a State Championship.

What score do you need to pass Level 3?

None. Level 3 is passed on Evaluation Points, three of the four on each event, not on a meet score. Level 4 then opens from the 7th birthday with no prerequisite score.

Is the Level 3 vault done on a vault table?

No. Level 3 vault is a handspring over a raised stack of mats, at least 32 inches high. The vault table starts at Level 4.

Can a Level 3 gymnast switch to Xcel?

Yes. A gymnast who has competed Level 3 all-around at a sanctioned meet can enter Xcel at Silver, or at Gold from her 7th birthday. Our guide to Xcel levels compares the divisions.

Final Takeaway

Level 3 is the last developmental level of USA Gymnastics’ Women’s Development Program, open from the 6th birthday. Its set routines bring in a handspring vault over a mat stack of at least 32 inches, a front hip circle on bars, a cross handstand on beam and a round-off back handspring on floor.

A gymnast passes by meeting three of the four Evaluation Points on each event. There is no mobility score and no meet requirement, so passing Level 3 and reaching her 7th birthday are what open Level 4.

Level 3 Gymnastics Skills: What Gymnasts Learn on Each Event