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Complete guide
Xcel Bronze Gymnastics
Everything you need to coach Xcel Bronze — the USAG requirements, every skill broken down, the drills that build them, and a full season lesson plan.
Xcel Bronze requirements
Stretch jump onto mat, then kick to handstand flat-back · Runway hesitation: 0.10 · Failing to stick: 0.10-0.30 · Landing too low on back: up to 0.30 · Lack of dynamics: up to 0.30
Minimum of 4 "A" value skills · A cast -- hips must leave the bar · A circling skill (not the mount or dismount) · A dismount · Pullover · Cast · Back Hip Circle · Underswing Dismount · Arched/piked body in cast or hip circle: up to 0.20 · Lack of control: up to 0.10 · Bent arms in hip or sole circle: up to 0.30 · Over-rotation: up to 0.10 · Bent knees/separations: up to 0.20
Minimum of 1/2 turn on one or two feet · One jump or leap · One non-flight acro skill · A dismount -- not a salto or aerial dismount · Balance errors: up to 0.15 · Incomplete turn: up to 0.20 · Falling off: up to 0.20 · Incorrect body position: up to 0.20 · Lack of split angle: up to 0.20 · Landing errors: up to 0.20
Two directly connected acro skills · A second pass with one acro skill · A dance passage with two skills · Minimum of 1/2 turn on one foot · Lack of connection: up to 0.20 · Body alignment: up to 0.30 · Landing errors: up to 0.20 · Artistry: up to 0.30 · Execution (flexed feet, bent knees): 0.05-0.30
Vault skills
Bars skills
Beam skills
Floor skills
Drills for Xcel Bronze
Lesson plan
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Get the full Xcel Bronze lesson-plan season, printable drill sheets, and skill tracking. Level 1 is free; $4.99 unlocks every level.
Start free →Common Xcel Bronze deductions
Judges take small deductions for form on almost every skill. These are the basics to clean up first — they apply across vault, bars, beam, and floor:
- Bent legs — keep the legs straight and squeezed together.
- Bent arms — lock the elbows on handstands, casts, swings, and supports.
- Toes not pointed — point the feet on every jump, leap, hold, and landing.
- Legs or feet apart — keep legs together unless the skill calls for a split.
- Loss of balance — wobbles, extra arm swings, or a foot coming off the beam.
- Steps or hops on landing — stick the landing — a step, hop, or lunge is a deduction.
- Low chest or poor posture — stay tall and lifted through the whole routine.
- Not enough height or extension — show full amplitude and finished, stretched shapes.
KINETIC breaks down the exact deductions and error-fixes for every Xcel Bronze skill — with the drills to fix them.