USAG Level 4 brings together several recognizable milestones: a handspring over the vault table, kips on bars, a cartwheel on beam and a round-off connected to two back handsprings on floor. The challenge is performing these skills with the required shapes, timing and control throughout a prescribed routine.
- Where Level 4 fits in the program
- Level 4 requirements at a glance
- Vault: taking the handspring over the table
- Bars: kips and casts with a clear height target
- Beam: acrobatics, held positions and a different turn
- Floor: the connected tumbling is only part of the routine
- What score is needed to move beyond Level 4?
- Level 4 questions parents ask
- What to look for as Level 4 becomes more consistent
This guide covers Level 4 in the USA Gymnastics Women’s Development Program, using the 2021–2029 compulsory cycle and the 2026–27 entry and mobility rules. It explains the main requirements across all four events; the complete compulsory manual supplies every connecting movement and judging detail.
For an individual event lookup, use the Gymnastics Requirements Explorer. Select USAG DP · women, Level 4 and the event, then choose Get info. Check the scope and review date of the result. The tool retrieves the site’s reviewed records, not a live feed from USAG.
Where Level 4 fits in the program
Level 4 is a compulsory level. Gymnasts perform prescribed exercises, including the permitted choices within those exercises. Coaches do not build a different optional routine for each gymnast at this stage.
The 2026–27 Women’s Rules & Policies lists a minimum age of seven years, reached by the gymnast’s birthday, and no prerequisite score for entry into Level 4. That does not establish readiness by itself. A gymnast still needs the preparation to perform the exercises, and previous competitive experience can affect the applicable placement rules.
Level 4 may be a gymnast’s first competitive level, because competing at every developmental level is not required. The Development Program guide explains the relationship between the early levels, compulsory competition and optional gymnastics.
Level 4 requirements at a glance
| Level 4 | |
|---|---|
| Program | USA Gymnastics Women’s Development Program, compulsory (set) routines |
| Minimum age | 7th birthday reached |
| Starting score | 10.0 on every event |
| Competitions | Sanctioned meets up to and including State Championships |
| Move up to Level 5 | 34.00 all-around at a sanctioned meet |
| Skip to Level 6 | Two 36.00 all-around scores, from the current or previous season |
| Event | Main skills and changes to recognize |
|---|---|
| Vault | Handspring over the vault table, landing on the feet |
| Uneven bars | Glide kip, casts to horizontal, transfer to the high bar, long-hang kip, prescribed circles and swings, and half-turn dismount |
| Balance beam | Cartwheel, half turn in forward passé, stretch jump and 120° split jump, cross handstand, scale, 120° leap and handstand-related turning dismount |
| Floor | Back walkover, front handspring step-out, cartwheel, straight-arm backward roll to handstand, dance elements and round-off–two back handsprings |
Level 4 skills checklist
Tick each skill your gymnast can do on her own. Your ticks stay in this browser, and you can print the list for the gym bag.
Vault (1)
Bars (9)
Beam (9)
Floor (11)
Skills from the USA Gymnastics Women’s Development Program compulsory routines (2021–2029 cycle), with updates through the 2026–27 season. A tick means your gymnast can do the skill, not that she’s ready to compete. Her coach decides that.
The table is a major-skill overview, not a complete routine script. Connecting steps and positions also belong to the compulsory exercise.
Vault: taking the handspring over the table
The prescribed Level 4 vault is a handspring over the vault table. The gymnast runs to the springboard, travels into hand support on the table and pushes away into the flight toward the landing.
The push away is often called the block. It helps explain why a vault is more than getting over the apparatus: judges also assess the body position, support action, height, distance and landing under the applicable rules.
This differs from the earlier mat-stack exercises. Level 2 finishes on the back, and Level 3 performs the handspring over raised mats to the feet. Level 4 uses the table. Level 5 retains the same basic handspring vault type, although some judging rules differ.
For example, the published compulsory table assigns a 2.00 deduction at Level 4 for coach assistance during the first flight, support or second flight. The corresponding assistance makes a Level 5 vault void. Assistance on landing is treated separately, so the phase matters.
Bars: kips and casts with a clear height target
The routine begins with a straddle or pike glide kip. The gymnast swings outward beneath the low bar and uses a coordinated action to arrive in support above it. This is different from the pullover seen at earlier levels.
The cast must reach horizontal with the prescribed body alignment. Horizontal means level with the floor. A gymnast lifting only the feet while the hips remain low does not necessarily meet the required body-line measurement.
The low-bar section allows the prescribed squat-on or pike-on route, or a backward sole-circle alternative, before the high-bar work. A long-hang kip returns the gymnast from the high-bar swing to support, followed by a cast to horizontal.
The remaining major content includes a back hip circle, underswing and counterswings, a tap swing and the tap swing forward with a half-turn dismount. A counterswing is the return swing; a tap swing uses timed changes in body shape to develop the movement. The official text specifies the sequence and required positions.
A completed kip can still receive deductions for execution, just as a completed cast can lose points for height or alignment. The Levels 1–5 bars requirements guide explains how these skills develop from the earlier routines.
Beam: acrobatics, held positions and a different turn
Level 4 beam begins with the front-support fish-pose mount. Its major elements include a cartwheel and a separate cross handstand. The cross handstand must reach vertical with the legs joined and show a one-second hold.
The half turn is performed in forward passé, with one knee bent in front and the foot near the supporting leg. Unlike the heel-snap technique prescribed in the Level 3 beam turn, Level 4 does not use that technique. This is a technical change the coach teaches; copying the earlier turn without adjustment can produce a deduction.
The stretch jump connects to a 120-degree split jump. The routine also includes a straight-leg leap with a 120-degree split requirement. These are different actions: the leap takes off from one foot, while the jump takes off from two.
The scale requires the free leg to reach at least horizontal and the position to be held for one second. The dismount is a cartwheel to side handstand with the prescribed quarter turn; its handstand position also has a one-second hold requirement.
The beam time limit is 1 minute 5 seconds, with the warning at 55 seconds. That limit does not replace the other requirements for connections, holds and execution.
Floor: the connected tumbling is only part of the routine
The final tumbling series is a round-off followed by two back handsprings and a rebound. The official material calls the back handsprings “flic-flacs.” The gymnast is expected to connect the skills with the prescribed rhythm, rather than pause and restart between them.
Earlier acrobatic content includes a back walkover, a front handspring step-out, a cartwheel and a straight-arm backward roll to handstand. The back walkover has a 150-degree split requirement. The roll should pass through the required vertical position; a simpler backward-roll finish is not interchangeable with it.
The front handspring step-out finishes on the feet in sequence. The published table also states that performing a “fast front walkover” carries no deduction for that variation. It is useful to preserve that permitted treatment rather than insisting every gymnast’s version must look identical.
The dance content includes a stretch jump with a half turn, a straight-leg leap and straddle jump with 120-degree split requirements, a forward split on the floor and a full turn in forward passé. The forward split has its own 180-degree requirement; it should not be confused with the 120-degree airborne positions.
Level 4 uses the prescribed compulsory floor exercise and music. These skills are not a checklist for creating a custom routine. Arm positions, steps, transitions and musical timing are part of the official exercise.
What score is needed to move beyond Level 4?
Under the 2026–27 national mobility chart, a gymnast can qualify to move to Level 5 by earning 34.00 all-around at Level 4. All-around is the total from the four events, not a score needed on each apparatus.
The chart also permits a direct route to Level 6 with 36.00 all-around at two Level 4 meets. The listed scores may come from the current or previous season, and mobility scores must come from live sanctioned competitions. This route concerns eligibility; it does not decide whether skipping Level 5 is the best training choice for an individual gymnast.
For example, a hypothetical 34.20 all-around clears the listed score threshold for Level 5. It does not satisfy the two-meet 36.00 route to Level 6. The coach still assesses preparation for the next routines and confirms any other applicable entry conditions.
The USAG mobility-score guide explains advancement rules in more detail. State-meet qualification and national mobility are separate questions and may use different thresholds.
Level 4 questions parents ask
Is Level 4 good in gymnastics?
Level 4 is the first Development Program level built for competition: gymnasts compete set routines at sanctioned meets, up to State Championships. Reaching it is a real step. Whether a gymnast’s scores are “good” depends on the meet, so compare her progress with her own earlier scores.
What age is Level 4?
A gymnast must have reached her 7th birthday. There’s no score needed to enter Level 4.
What score do you need to pass Level 4?
A 34.00 all-around at a sanctioned meet lets a gymnast move to Level 5. Two 36.00 all-around scores let her skip Level 5 and go straight to Level 6. Since the 2026–27 season, those can come from the current or the previous season.
Can a coach spot the Level 4 vault?
Yes, but it costs 2.00. At Level 5, a spotted vault is void.
What to look for as Level 4 becomes more consistent
Progress often appears in the details: a kip ending in steadier support, a cast with a clearer body line, a beam hold that looks settled or a tumbling series that keeps moving. Completing the main skills is one milestone; repeating them with the required control is another.
A whole-level guide helps families understand those goals. The coach and official routine materials remain the sources for teaching the exact movements and deciding when the gymnast is ready for more demanding work.
Reviewed September 28, 2026. Major-requirements overview; consult the complete current compulsory manual for the full exercise and judging rules.