USAG allows all gymnasts to perform two vaults. The highest score of the two gymnastics vault will be the score that is counted. Each gymnast has up to 3 running approaches as long as they do not touch the springboard and/or vault table. If the gymnast touches the board or gymnastics vault and does not go over this will count as one of their vaults (this vault will receive a score of zero).

What the judges look for in a gymnastics level 5/6 front handspring vault…

RUN…The first thing a judge will look at is the gymnasts run. they want the run to be even, strong and accelerated (the gymnast MUST not slow up before they hurdle ad punch the spring board)

PREFLIGHT…the preflight is aka the first flight. During the preflight the gymnasts arms must swing forward until the gymnast has complete shoulder extension (shoulders are opened). During this time the head must remain neutral while only the eyes focus on the hand placement. Throughout the preflight the gymnast must maintain a straight, tight, hollow body positions with legs squeezed together and hips opened (no pike). In the preflight the gymnast must attain near vertical (but no more than vertical). This is attained by driving the heals up and backwards.

CONTACT…as soon as the gymnasts hands contact the gymnastics vault table the gymnast MUST quickly and forcefully extend their shoulders (this is known as blocking) against the vault without bending their arms. This will cause the gymnast to leave the vault table very quick and near vertical.

POSTFLIGHT…the gymnast must maintain the same position as the preflight…head neutral while in a straight and tight hollow body position. The gymnast must continue rotating until they land in demi-plie.

FINISH… once the gymnast’s feet contact the mat the gymnast should slightly bend knees to absorb the landing (this will help the gymnast stick it) while their arms drop down to their side. As soon as the gymnast has full control of the landing they need to extend their legs to a straight stand and raise their arms to finish in a V position.

Here is a list of additional penalties a gymnast can receive on a front handspring vault.

• Body position
- Piked
- Arched
• Legs
- Bent
- Separated
• Feet
- Not pointed

RUN AND PREFLIGHT
• Run
- Lacks speed
- Lacks power
- No acceleration
- Not straight
• Wrong vault performed
• Aid of Coach

CONTACT

• Arms
- Bent
- Shoulders not open (showing a shoulder angle)
• Head contacts vault
• Failure to leave the vault before the gymnast goes past vertical
• Hands
- Additional hand placement (moving hands once they contact the vault table)
- Keeping hands on the vault table for too long
- Touching with only one hand
- Not touching the vault at all

POSTFLIGHT
• Not enough height
• Not enough distance
• Any contact with body at the end of the vault table (Other than when the gymnast hands first have contact)

LANDING
• Feet
- Hop
- Move
- Step
- Jump

• Extra arm swing
• Additional body movement to maintain balance
• Incorrect body position
• Deep squat
• Touching the landing mat with any part or body other than feet
• Touching the vault table with any part of body
• Not landing feet first.

Gymnastics Vaut Table

Who in their right mind would sprint at the speed of lighting down an eighty-two foot runway toward a big stationary object? A gymnast! And this stationary object that she is running towards is a gymnastics vault table.

The vault table is an apparatus that both men and women artistic gymnasts use. Vault is very different than all the other apparatuses, this is the only event where there is no routine performed.  If you turn your head or blink your eyes you could miss the vault; within seconds it’s over. Luckily, a gymnast gets two chances in a row to perform vault; the judge will judge both vaults and take the higher of the two scores. Another very unique thing about vault is, if a gymnast baulks they get no deductions and have thirty seconds to start over and attempt a new vault. If a gymnast baulks this means the gymnast runs down the runway and stops before he/she reaches the spring board. If a gymnast touches the spring board then stops and doesn’t go over the vault then this is considered their vault and they will receive a zero from the judges.

Vault is probably the hardest event to judge because it is so quick. The slightest mistakes can drop your score a whole lot. When vaulting a judge looks at many different things depending on the vault the gymnast will perform (there are many different types of vaults). There are five steps in a vault no matter what vault you attempt; there is the run, pre-flight, hand contact, post-flight, and the landing. Here are a few things the judge always judges when dealing with these five vaulting steps: how fast a gymnast runs, if their run accelerates as they get closer to the vault, the angle the gymnasts punches the spring board, the angle of their shoulders as they hit and leave the vault table, head position (must be neutral), the block off the vault (no bent arms), the height and distance when leaving the vault table, and a stuck landing. These are only some things a judge looks for no mater what vault the gymnast performs. A judge will look for much more with each specific vault.

Vault may take a split second to perform but is worth the same as any other event. There is so much energy, power, speed, and technique that go into a proper vault. If you follow and succeed at the five vaulting steps you will have a great, high scoring vault.

springboard