What is Gymnastics Tumbling?

Gymnastics tumbling is a unique form of gymnastics that combines aspects of gymnastics with aspects of trampolining. This sport is practiced by both men and women and was born out of performances by entertainers in much earlier times. It is now recognized as a sport and, is judged, and regulated using special standardized equipment.

Gymnastics Tumbling?

Gymnastics tumbling is performed as a floor routine and is executed on a 25-meter long spring track. The performance consists of two passes that typically contain eight skills. These skills might include:

• Round-offs


• Barani or Rudi (these are forward, twisting somersaults)


• Handsprings


• Whips


• Layouts


• Front hurdlers


• Standing fulls

The routine concludes with a dismount skill. Only the feet and hands are allowed to touch the track.

Gymnastics tumbling as an Olympic Sport

Gymnastics tumbling, also called power tumbling, was first seen in the Olympics in 1886. The tumblers performed their routines on thin mats. After it was determined that this was not conducive to foot and knee health, the floors or tracks evolved to a joint friendly form. Today the floor or track is typically 25-meters or 82-feet long and 2-meters or 6-feet wide. The track consists of fiberglass rods that are laid in horizontal fashion to provide the spring and two layers of foam mats.

Scoring the Event

The scoring for power tumbling is similar to trampolining scoring. Five scores are entered for execution with includes form, position and landing, and one for degree of difficulty. Like trampolining, the top and bottom scores are dropped and the three remaining scores are added to the score for difficulty. This results in the total score for the pass.