Gymnastics Vault Families: Women’s and Men’s FIG Groups
Women’s and men’s artistic gymnastics each have five official FIG vault groups. The groups are not identical: a Yurchenko can stay in one women’s group while different versions fall into separate men’s groups.
Contents
Names such as handspring, Tsukahara and Yurchenko describe familiar entry families. The official classification also considers the movement after the table. Knowing the entry is the starting point, not always the complete answer.
This guide explains the 2025–2028 international classifications, checked against the current Codes and updates on November 4, 2026. For individual names such as Cheng, Amanar and Dragulescu, use the vault names and recognition guide.
What Does a Vault Family Describe?
A vault has two flight phases separated by hand support on the table. The first flight runs from the springboard to the table; the second flight runs from the table toward the landing. A salto is a flip without hand support, while a twist turns the body around its length.
In everyday gymnastics conversation, a “family” often groups vaults by their approach to the table. These four entry descriptions are useful when watching a meet:
| Entry description | What to watch before hand support | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Front handspring | The gymnast takes off facing the table and moves forward onto it. | Handspring front tuck |
| Tsukahara | A forward-facing board takeoff leads into a quarter- to half-turn toward hand support. | Tsukahara tuck |
| Yurchenko | A roundoff onto the board leads into a back handspring onto the table. | Double-twisting Yurchenko |
| Roundoff half-on | After the roundoff onto the board, the gymnast adds a half-turn before reaching the table. | Cheng |
Several individual vaults can share an entry. A Yurchenko full and an Amanar start similarly but have different amounts of twisting after the table. The Tsukahara and Yurchenko comparison examines the two approaches that viewers most often confuse.
The Five Women’s FIG Vault Groups
Women’s artistic gymnastics, often shortened to WAG, separates vaults without an additional unsupported flip from the main salto entry groups. The following is a plain-English summary of Section 10.3 of the women’s Code.
| Women’s group | How the Code groups the vaults | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vaults without a salto: handspring, Yamashita and roundoff-entry variations, with or without turns. | Basic front handspring |
| 2 | Forward handspring entry, with or without a full turn in the first flight; forward or backward saltos follow. | Handspring front tuck; Produnova |
| 3 | A quarter- to half-turn in the first flight, followed by a backward salto, with or without twists. | Tsukahara tuck or layout |
| 4 | Roundoff/Yurchenko entry, including three-quarter-turn-on variations, followed by backward saltos. | Double-twisting Yurchenko; Amanar; Biles II |
| 5 | Roundoff entry with a half-turn onto the table, followed by forward or backward saltos. | Cheng; Biles I |
A roundoff does not automatically make a vault Group 4. A roundoff-entry vault without a salto can belong to Group 1. A roundoff half-on with a salto belongs to Group 5. “Roundoff entry” is a broad clue that still needs the rest of the movement.
The amount of turn before the table matters too. The Luconi has a three-quarter-turn onto the table and belongs to Group 4. It should not be moved into Group 5 simply because it adds a turn to a roundoff entry.
These groups are not a difficulty ladder. Group 5 does not mean Level 5, and a Group 5 vault is not automatically harder than every Group 4 vault. The Yurchenko double pike, or Biles II, is a Group 4 example.
The Five Men’s FIG Vault Groups
Men’s artistic gymnastics, or MAG, uses Roman numerals I–V. Its classification gives more weight to the combination of entry, single or double saltos, and twisting complexity. The Code’s terms “simple” and “complex” describe those categories; they are not judgments about how easy a vault is to learn.
| Men’s group | Main classification | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| I | Single-salto vaults with complex twists, outside the roundoff-entry groups. | Yang Hak Seon; Yonekura |
| II | Handspring salto vaults with no or simple twists, and handspring-entry double forward saltos. | Handspring front tuck; Roche; Dragulescu |
| III | Sideways-handspring/Tsukahara salto vaults with no or simple twists, and double backward saltos from that entry family. | Tsukahara tuck; Ri Se Gwang |
| IV | Roundoff-entry single-salto vaults with complex twists. | Full-twisting layout Yurchenko; Shirai 2 |
| V | Roundoff-entry vaults with no or simple twists, including double saltos. | Tucked Yurchenko; Yurchenko double pike |
The full-twisting layout Yurchenko is a useful comparison. It belongs to men’s Group IV, while a tucked Yurchenko belongs to Group V. Both are women’s Group 4 vaults. Carrying a group number from one discipline into the other would give the wrong classification.
When a men’s vault is difficult to place from a short description, look up its individual Code entry. For example, the men’s Yurchenko full is vault 405: its leading digit identifies Group IV. That is more reliable than inventing a rule such as “every vault with a twist belongs to Group I.”
Why Cuervo and Kasamatsu Do Not Create Extra Groups
Commentators and coaches also use names such as Cuervo and Kasamatsu. Those names identify meaningful movement variations, but they do not create a sixth or seventh numbered FIG group.
A Cuervo-type vault combines a forward handspring entry with a turn into a backward salto. A Kasamatsu uses a sideways entry and a particular continuation of turning after hand support. For classification and value, the complete version still has to be matched to its Code entry.
The men’s Code explicitly relates Cuervo-type vaults to equivalent handspring-salto vaults and Kasamatsu-type vaults to equivalent Tsukahara vaults. The twisting counts attached to the names are not interchangeable. The named-vault guide gives examples without turning those familiar names into extra official categories.
Why the Official Group Matters in a Vault Final
For international vault-final qualification and the apparatus final, gymnasts perform two vaults. Those vaults must come from different official groups in the applicable women’s or men’s Code.
Two different names do not necessarily satisfy that requirement. In women’s gymnastics, a double-twisting Yurchenko and an Amanar are different vaults but both belong to Group 4. A Yurchenko and a Cheng can provide the Group 4/Group 5 distinction, provided the actual vaults performed match those descriptions.
Women’s current rules also offer a separate 0.20 bonus for two vaults with saltos in different second-flight directions, when neither vault has a fall. The August 2026 Help Desk clarifies that Cuervo-type vaults count as forward for this purpose. The bonus is not an extra group requirement, and a “backward-looking” segment should not be used to overrule the official classification.
The vault scoring guide explains the averages, execution scores and penalties. Here, the useful point is that choosing two vaults requires more than choosing two different athlete names.
Using the Groups Without Turning Them into a Training Plan
A group number identifies a type of vault, not the stage at which a gymnast should learn it. USA Gymnastics Development Program and Xcel rules have their own allowed vaults, equipment requirements and start values. NCAA also has its own rules and modifications.
For a beginner gymnast or parent, start with how the vault event works. Use this classification guide when identifying competition vaults or reading an international rule, not to assign an elite difficulty value to a mat-stack exercise or choose the next skill to attempt.
Final Takeaway
There are five official vault groups for women and five for men. Familiar entry families help you recognize the movement, but the complete vault and the correct discipline determine its group. Use the name to describe what you see, then the Code to confirm where it belongs.
Main Sources
- FIG Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Code of Points, 2025–2028 — Section 10.3, Section 10.4 and vault tables; current file listed October 16, 2026.
- FIG Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Code of Points, 2025–2028 — Section 13.2.2 and vault tables; current file listed April 25, 2025, read alongside subsequent MAG newsletters.
- FIG Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Help Desk, August 2026 — vault-final requirements and second-flight-direction bonus, pages 49–50.