Moving up in the USA Gymnastics Women’s Development Program is not based only on learning harder skills. At several competitive levels, a gymnast must first earn a required mobility score before she can advance.
- What Is a Mobility Score in Gymnastics?
- USAG Mobility Scores by Level
- Level 4 Mobility
- Level 5 Mobility
- Level 6 Mobility
- Levels 7–9 Mobility
- What Does IES Mean?
- Mobility Score vs. Meet Qualification Score
- Does Routine Difficulty Determine Mobility?
- Mobility Score vs. Start Value
- Do Mobility Scores Expire?
- Can a Gymnast Move Back a Level?
- FAQs
- To Sum Up
A mobility score is usually a minimum All-Around (AA) score earned at a live USA Gymnastics-sanctioned competition.
For example, a Level 4 gymnast normally needs a 34.00 AA to become eligible for Level 5, while a Level 8 gymnast needs a 34.00 AA to advance to Level 9.
What Is a Mobility Score in Gymnastics?
A mobility score is the score requirement used to determine whether a gymnast is eligible to advance to the next Development Program level.
For an All-Around gymnast:
Vault + Uneven Bars + Balance Beam + Floor = All-Around score
If a gymnast scores:
- Vault: 8.700
- Bars: 8.350
- Beam: 8.600
- Floor: 8.750
her All-Around score is:
8.700 + 8.350 + 8.600 + 8.750 = 34.400 AA
If her level requires a 34.00 mobility score, she has met the score requirement to advance.
USA Gymnastics currently specifies that only live sanctioned competitions may be used for Development Program mobility.
USAG Mobility Scores by Level
The current 2026–27 Women’s Rules & Policies lists the following Development Program mobility requirements.
| Current Level | Minimum Age | Score Needed to Advance |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 4 | No mobility score |
| Level 2 | 5 | No mobility score |
| Level 3 | 6 | No mobility score |
| Level 4 | 7 | 34.00 AA to Level 5 |
| Level 5 | 7 | 32.00 AA |
| Level 6 | 7 | 32.00 AA to Level 7 |
| Level 7 | 7 | 32.00 AA or 8.5 IES |
| Level 8 | 8 | 34.00 AA or 8.5 IES |
| Level 9 | 8 | 34.00 AA or 8.5 IES |
| Level 10 | 9 | No higher Development Program mobility level |
Levels 1–3 do not have a mobility-score requirement. The competitive compulsory levels are Levels 4–5, while Levels 6–10 are optional levels.
Level 4 Mobility
A Level 4 gymnast normally needs:
34.00 AA at Level 4 → eligible for Level 5
USA Gymnastics also provides a faster route:
36.00 AA at two Level 4 meets → eligible to move directly to Level 6
Those two 36.00 scores may come from the current or previous season.
This allows a gymnast who demonstrates particularly strong Level 4 performance to skip Level 5.
Level 5 Mobility
A Level 5 gymnast needs:
32.00 AA at Level 5
The current rules also allow mobility back and forth between Levels 5 and 6.
A gymnast who earns the required 32.00 AA at Level 5 may also skip Level 6 and become eligible for Level 7.
This is why Level 6 works somewhat differently from the surrounding levels.
Level 6 Mobility
A gymnast competing Level 6 normally needs:
32.00 AA → Level 7
However, Level 6 itself may be skipped when the gymnast has already earned the required 32.00 AA at Level 5.
For a broader explanation of how compulsory and optional levels fit together, see the USAG Development Program Levels 1–10.
Levels 7–9 Mobility
The mobility requirements become especially straightforward at the higher optional levels:
| Level | All-Around Mobility | IES Mobility |
|---|---|---|
| Level 7 → 8 | 32.00 AA | 8.5 on an event |
| Level 8 → 9 | 34.00 AA | 8.5 on an event |
| Level 9 → 10 | 34.00 AA | 8.5 on an event |
These are national Development Program mobility requirements.
The IES option is important because not every gymnast competes all four events.
What Does IES Mean?
IES stands for Individual Event Specialist.
At Levels 7–9, an athlete may use an 8.5 score on an individual event for mobility as an IES rather than qualifying through an All-Around score.
That does not mean an 8.5 automatically makes her an All-Around gymnast at the next level.
Instead, the IES route allows a gymnast to progress on the event or events she competes as an Individual Event Specialist.
For example, a Level 8 gymnast who competes only Bars may earn an 8.5 on Bars and satisfy the IES mobility requirement for Level 9 Bars.
Mobility Score vs. Meet Qualification Score
These two scores are easy to confuse.
A mobility score determines whether a gymnast is eligible to move to another Development Program level.
A qualification score determines whether she advances to a particular championship meet, such as State, Regional, Eastern/Western or Nationals.
They are not necessarily the same number.
For example, the current rules list the national mobility requirement from Level 9 to Level 10 as 34.00 AA, while championship qualification uses separate rules and qualifying scores.
States and regions may also determine certain championship qualifying scores according to USA Gymnastics procedures. That does not change the national mobility score itself.
Does Routine Difficulty Determine Mobility?
Not directly.
This is the most important correction from the older version of this article.
USAG Women’s Development Program Levels 6–10 do not use the FIG D-Score system to determine mobility.
Instead, optional routines are built around a Start Value, using rules such as:
- Value Parts
- Special Requirements
- Composition Credit at applicable levels
- bonus at applicable levels
- difficulty restrictions
- execution deductions
The gymnast’s final event scores contribute to her All-Around score, and that AA score may then satisfy the mobility requirement.
So the relationship is:
Routine requirements + execution → event score
Four event scores → All-Around score
Required AA score → mobility eligibility
Difficulty can certainly affect how competitive a routine is, but there is no separate D-Score requirement that a gymnast must reach before advancing.
For more detail, see How the USAG Development Program Start Value Is Calculated.
Mobility Score vs. Start Value
Mobility Score and Start Value serve completely different purposes.
| Mobility Score | Start Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Applies to | Level advancement | One routine |
| Usually measured as | All-Around total | Maximum starting score |
| Calculated when | Competition results are complete | Routine is judged |
| Main purpose | Eligibility to move up | Determine scoring potential before deductions |
| Example | 34.00 AA | 10.0 SV |
A gymnast could have a 10.0 Start Value on all four events and still fail to meet a mobility score if execution deductions lower her final scores.
Likewise, a gymnast does not need unusually difficult routines merely because she is trying to achieve mobility.
Clean, complete routines can be just as important.
Do Mobility Scores Expire?
The previous version of this article stated that every mobility score follows a fixed August 1 through December 31 of the following year expiration period.
I would remove that statement.
The current 2026–27 Rules & Policies does not present a general rule saying that every new mobility score automatically expires after approximately 17 months.
USA Gymnastics did publish a transition rule for scores earned before the August 1, 2025 program changes: those scores remained valid through December 31, 2026. That was a specific transition provision, not a universal mobility-score expiration formula.
For current mobility status after a long period of inactivity, the Rules & Policies instruct returning athletes to work through the applicable entry rules. A gymnast inactive for one year or more should contact the appropriate state administrator regarding re-entry.
Can a Gymnast Move Back a Level?
Sometimes, but the rules depend on when and how the gymnast previously competed.
The current rules allow some movement between Levels 5 and 6 without the normal petition process. At other levels, dropping back after certain points in the season or after championship participation may require approval or a petition.
For most families, this is something to discuss with the gymnast’s coach because state and competitive-season circumstances matter.
FAQs
What score does a Level 4 gymnast need to move to Level 5?
A Level 4 gymnast needs a 34.00 All-Around score at a live sanctioned competition.
Can a gymnast skip Level 5?
Yes. A gymnast who earns 36.00 AA at two Level 4 meets may move directly to Level 6 under the current rules.
Can a gymnast skip Level 6?
Yes. A gymnast who has achieved 32.00 AA at Level 5 may skip Level 6 and become eligible for Level 7.
What score does a Level 7 gymnast need to move to Level 8?
The requirement is 32.00 AA, or 8.5 as an Individual Event Specialist.
What score does a Level 8 gymnast need to move to Level 9?
The requirement is 34.00 AA, or 8.5 IES.
What score does a Level 9 gymnast need to move to Level 10?
The requirement is 34.00 AA, or 8.5 IES.
Is there a mobility score after Level 10?
No. Level 10 is the highest level in the Women’s Development Program. Moving toward Elite competition follows a separate qualification process rather than another Development Program mobility score.
To Sum Up
A mobility score is a level-advancement requirement in the USA Gymnastics Women’s Development Program.
The main current benchmarks are:
Level 4 → 34.00 AA
Level 5 → 32.00 AA
Level 6 → 32.00 AA
Level 7 → 32.00 AA or 8.5 IES
Level 8 → 34.00 AA or 8.5 IES
Level 9 → 34.00 AA or 8.5 IES
The key point is that mobility is based on the gymnast’s competition score, not a FIG-style D-Score.
