Xcel Bronze Requirements: Vault, Bars, Beam and Floor (2026

Xcel Bronze is the first of the six divisions in USA Gymnastics’ Xcel program, and the one open to the youngest gymnasts: a gymnast can compete Bronze from the age of five. She performs routines on vault, bars, beam and floor that her coach puts together, as long as each routine includes a short list of required elements.

Contents

Xcel Bronze at a Glance
Who Can Compete Xcel Bronze?
Xcel Bronze Vault
Xcel Bronze Bars
Xcel Bronze Beam
Xcel Bronze Floor
How Xcel Bronze Is Scored
Moving Up From Bronze to Silver
Common Questions
Final Takeaway
Main Sources

Those required elements are called Special Requirements. On bars, beam and floor a Bronze routine needs four of them, plus at least four skills worth an “A” value. Vault is different: Bronze gymnasts don’t vault over a table, but choose between two set vaults onto a stack of mats.

The requirements below are from the current Xcel Code of Points (the 2022 edition, extended to July 2028 and revised in August 2026) and USA Gymnastics’ 2026–27 Rules & Policies.

Xcel Bronze at a Glance

Rule	Xcel Bronze
Minimum age	5th birthday reached
Score needed to enter	None; new gymnasts may start at Bronze, Silver or Gold
Skills needed (bars, beam, floor)	4 Special Requirements and at least 4 “A” Value Parts per event
Start Value	10.0 on bars, beam and floor; 10.0 or 9.0 on vault, depending on the option
Main restrictions	No “B” or higher skills; nothing on the high bar; no saltos or aerials on floor; no salto dismounts; no walkovers on beam
Vault	Jump to handstand and fall to a flat back on a mat stack (10.0), or a stretch jump onto the mats plus a kick to handstand (9.0)

Who Can Compete Xcel Bronze?

A gymnast can compete Bronze once she has reached her fifth birthday. No qualifying score is needed: under the Rules & Policies, a gymnast with no competitive experience may enter Xcel at Bronze, Silver or Gold, at her coach’s discretion. A gymnast coming from the Development Program can enter Bronze from Levels 1 or 2, after competing the all-around at that level in at least one sanctioned meet.

The birthday has to come before the meet. The Rules & Policies example is a gymnast who turns five after the last State qualifying meet of the season: she can’t compete in that meet, so she can’t qualify for the Bronze State Championships that year. Our guide to the Xcel levels from Bronze to Sapphire compares all six divisions.

Xcel Bronze Vault

Bronze vaults onto a stack of mats, 16 to 48 inches high, rather than over a vaulting table. There are two options:

Option	Vault	Start Value
Option 1	Two parts: a stretch jump from the springboard onto the mat stack (1A), then a kick to handstand with the hands on the board or mat, falling to a flat back (1B); each part is worth 4.5	9.0
Option 2	Jump from the springboard to handstand on the mat stack, then fall to a flat back; no push off the hands (repulsion) is needed	10.0

Option 2 starts a full point higher, so it is the vault to aim for once a gymnast can reach handstand from the board. If an Option 2 attempt doesn’t get there, the Code lets her count it as a failed Option 1A and still perform the kick to handstand (1B), for a maximum score of 4.50, instead of taking a zero.

As in every Xcel division, a gymnast may perform two vaults, and the better score counts. A gymnast who lands flat on her back and then slides off the end of the mat isn’t penalized for a fall. An alternative springboard is allowed, and each gymnast gets 30 seconds of warm-up with at least one warm-up vault.

Xcel Bronze Bars

Special Requirement	What it asks for
1. Mount	From the low bar only
2. Cast	A cast in which the hips leave the bar, with no set height (not the mount or dismount)
3. 360° circling skill	A skill that circles the bar, such as a back hip circle (not the mount or dismount)
4. Dismount	From the low bar only, no saltos

Bronze mounts include a jump to front support and a pullover on the low bar, and mats may be stacked under the bar to help the gymnast reach it. The routine needs at least four “A” Value Parts. Bronze gymnasts may not perform any skill on the high bar, giants on the low bar, salto dismounts or anything rated “B” or higher; each restricted skill costs 0.50 from the Start Value.

A cast to squat, stoop or straddle on the bar, a cast shoot-through and a cast off to a stand dismount count as one “A” Value Part each, but none of them meets the cast requirement. Each gymnast gets 30 seconds of warm-up.

Xcel Bronze Beam

Special Requirement	What it asks for
1. Turn	At least a ½ turn, on one foot or two feet
2. Jump or leap	One jump or leap, with no split angle required (not the mount or dismount)
3. Acro element	One acro skill without flight, such as a cartwheel; it must start and finish on the beam
4. Dismount	Any dismount except a salto or aerial

Beam also needs four “A” Value Parts. Anything rated “B” or higher is restricted, and so are walkovers and salto or aerial dismounts. A restricted skill used as the dismount doesn’t earn the dismount requirement either.

The routine has a 45-second time limit, with a warning signal at 35 seconds, and no minimum time. Each gymnast gets 30 seconds of warm-up.

Xcel Bronze Floor

Special Requirement	What it asks for
1. Acro pass	At least two directly connected acro skills, with or without flight
2. Second acro pass	At least one acro skill, with or without flight
3. Dance passage	Two different leaps, jumps or hops, connected directly or indirectly, one a leap with at least a 60° cross or side split
4. Turn	At least a ½ turn on one foot

The two acro passes must be separate: Requirements 1 and 2 can’t be met in the same pass. At Bronze and Silver, a round-off, rebound and backward roll counts as a connected pass. A dance skill inside the pass breaks it, though: the Code’s example of a round-off, tuck jump and backward roll doesn’t meet Requirement 1.

Floor needs four “A” Value Parts. Saltos and aerials aren’t allowed, a routine may include no more than two acro skills with flight, and “B” skills are restricted, except that a straddle jump or side leap with a 60° to 180° split counts as an “A”. The time limit is 45 seconds, with no minimum time.

How Xcel Bronze Is Scored

Bars, beam and floor routines start from a 10.0 Start Value, which the Code builds from three parts:

Part of the 10.0	Bronze
Value Parts	0.40 (four “A” skills at 0.10)
Special Requirements	2.00 (four at 0.50)
Execution and artistry	7.60

Judges take 0.10 off the Start Value for each missing “A” Value Part, 0.50 for each missing Special Requirement, 0.50 for each restricted skill and 0.30 for a routine without a dismount, then deduct for execution and artistry. The Code’s own Bronze example: a gymnast who shows four “A” skills but misses one Special Requirement starts from 9.5.

Our guide to how Xcel Start Value is calculated works through the arithmetic for every division.

Moving Up From Bronze to Silver

There is no score to move up from Bronze. A Silver gymnast needs to have reached her sixth birthday, and her coach decides when she is ready.

Silver asks for a fifth “A” skill on each event and a little more of each requirement: a cast to at least 45° below horizontal on bars, a 90° split on beam and floor, a full turn and a flight skill in the first tumbling pass, and on vault a handspring or turn-on vault over a sideways mat stack instead of onto it. Our guide to Xcel Silver requirements covers each event.

Common Questions

What skills do you need for Xcel Bronze?

On each of bars, beam and floor, four Special Requirements and at least four “A” skills. On beam, for example: a ½ turn, a jump or leap, an acro skill without flight such as a cartwheel, and a dismount that isn’t a salto or aerial.

What age is Xcel Bronze?

A gymnast must have reached her fifth birthday before the meet. There is no maximum age.

What level is Xcel Bronze in gymnastics?

Bronze is the first Xcel division. Xcel and the Development Program are separate programs, so Bronze has no exact level equivalent, but a gymnast who has competed Development Program Levels 1 or 2 may enter Xcel at Bronze; see Xcel vs. the Development Program.

Do Xcel Bronze gymnasts get medals?

At least 40% of each age division must get an award for each event and the all-around. At invitational meets, the host can give awards for achievement, placement or both; from the State Championships up, Bronze awards are by placement.

How long is an Xcel Bronze meet?

USA Gymnastics recommends that sessions for Bronze and Development Program Levels 1–3 last no more than 2.5 hours, warm-up included. Our guide to how long a gymnastics meet lasts explains the timing rules.

What score do you need to move up from Bronze?

None. Silver has no qualifying score; the gymnast must be at least six and ready, at the coach’s discretion.

Final Takeaway

Xcel Bronze routines are built by the coach, but bars, beam and floor each need four Special Requirements and at least four “A” skills, from a 10.0 Start Value. Bronze keeps everything simple: low-bar skills only, a ½ turn and any jump on beam, a 60° split leap on floor, no saltos or aerials on floor, and two set vaults onto a mat stack.

Any gymnast who has turned five can compete Bronze, with no qualifying score, and can move on to Silver at six when her coach thinks she is ready.