Acrobatic/Gymnastic Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A choreographed solo or group performance in which acrobatic or gymnastic movement makes up a set share of the routine, kept apart from the dance category so that tumbling is judged on its own terms.

Acrobatic/Gymnastic is a talent-contest category for performers whose act is built on tumbling, balance and gymnastic skill. It can be entered as a solo or by a group, and it is not a free-form floor routine: the entry has to be a choreographed performance, with the movement planned and rehearsed from the opening position to the final pose.

What sets the category apart is a proportion rule. In the format carried by eTalenter’s template, at least one-third of the performance must be acrobatics or gymnastics, but no more than two-thirds may be acrobatic or gymnastic movement. The rest of the act has to be something else, such as dance steps, transitions, expression and staging. A routine that is all tricks, or one that barely leaves the floor, is outside the category.

The category exists because a dance section does not want to judge tumbling. The source says that acrobatics or gymnastics will be judged in another category, so a dancer who adds a few cartwheels stays in Dance. Acrobatic/Gymnastic is the home for acts that lean on the athletic side, which is why it sits beside Vocal, Instrumental, Dance and Variety as a fifth entry type.

A round is one performance on a shared stage with a supplied sound system, under a firm four-minute limit counted from the first movement to the last, bows included. In the template the same item is offered to three age divisions, 7 to 12, 13 to 21 and 22 and over, each with a Solo group of individual entries and a Group group of team entries, so six groups in all. Boys and girls compete together and there is no language requirement. Coordinators using eTalenter register each act, enter the judge’s mark out of 100 and let the software rank it within its group.

Where Acrobatic/Gymnastic is run

In eTalenter’s data this exact item is carried by one template, a state-fair youth talent contest held in Kentucky, USA, which feeds winners from regional preliminary contests into a final showcase. Similar acrobatic sections appear on dance competition templates in Australia and elsewhere, but those are separate, differently named items with their own time limits, so this page claims only what the Kentucky template supports.

• Kentucky, United States

Key facts

• Solo or group entry in the same category: the template builds a Solo group and a Group group for each of three age divisions (7-12, 13-21, 22 and over).
• The performance must be choreographed, with at least one-third and no more than two-thirds of it acrobatic or gymnastic movement.
• Four-minute limit for every act, measured from the first movement to the last; the source prints a one-point penalty for every second over.
• Boys and girls compete together, no language requirement, and a default 100 marks because no judging criteria are printed.
• Props are restricted: no fire, smoke or smoke effects, no batons or machetes, and the act must stay within the stage.
• A contestant may enter a category only once and may enter two categories in total; a group may drop a member after its preliminary but never add or replace one.

On eTalenter, Acrobatic/Gymnastic is filed under Dance and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Acrobatic/Gymnastic is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 4 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Acrobatic/Gymnastic

What a Acrobatic/Gymnastic panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Whether the routine fits the category: the one-third to two-thirds split between acrobatic and non-acrobatic material is a rule, so an act that is almost all tricks or almost no tricks risks being moved or marked down.
• Control and safety of the skills: clean entries, steady landings and balances held to a stop. A fall or a wobble on the hardest skill costs more than a simpler skill finished cleanly.
• Choreography that connects the skills: because the entry must be a choreographed performance, transitions, travelling steps and changes of level should look planned, not like a pause between tricks.
• Difficulty suited to the age division: a ten-year-old’s routine and a 25-year-old’s are not expected to match, but each should push towards the edge of what that performer can do reliably.
• Timing and showmanship: finishing inside four minutes, using the space on the stage, working with the music and, for groups, moving in unison or in clear counterpoint.

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Acrobatic/Gymnastic under Scoring Setup, or start from our group dance judging criteria guide.

How to prepare for Acrobatic/Gymnastic

How entrants and their teachers usually get Acrobatic/Gymnastic right on the day:

• Count the minutes of your routine before anything else. Mark which stretches are acrobatic and which are not, and check that the acrobatic share sits between one-third and two-thirds of the whole act.
• Time a full run-through with the music, including your walk-on pose and your bow, and aim to finish with a few seconds in hand; going over the four-minute limit is penalised second by second.
• Build the routine around the skills you can land every time, and put the riskiest move where a recovery is possible. Practise it on the same kind of floor the stage will have.
• For a group, assign roles early, whether lifters, flyers or tumblers, and rehearse the same line-up throughout, because the source does not allow a member to be added or replaced after the preliminary.
• Prepare your music on a CD or USB drive in the format the organiser asks for, as the stage uses its own sound system and operator. Keep a spare copy.
• Check your props and costume against the rules before you rehearse them: no fire, smoke or smoke effects, no batons or machetes, and keep everything inside the stage area.
• If your act could fit more than one category, ask the organiser for a category ruling before the deadline. The source invites staff to view an act and suggest a category in advance.

Frequently asked questions

Is Acrobatic/Gymnastic judged individually or as a team?

Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Team entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.

Is Acrobatic/Gymnastic the same as a dance entry with some tumbling?

No. In this template acrobatics and gymnastics are judged in their own category, not in Dance. The act has to be choreographed and has to include a set proportion of acrobatic or gymnastic movement, so a dance routine with a few cartwheels stays in the Dance category.

How much of the routine has to be acrobatic?

At least one-third of the performance must be acrobatics or gymnastics, and no more than two-thirds may be acrobatic or gymnastic movement. The remainder is choreography, dance steps and transitions that join the skills together.

How long can an act run?

Four minutes for every act in the template, timed from the first movement to the last including bows. The source states a one-point scoring penalty for every second over the limit, so the safest plan is to finish a little under.

Can I enter as a solo and as a group in the same category?

The category can be entered as a solo or by a group, and the template builds a separate Solo and Group set of competitions for each age division. A contestant may enter a category only once and may enter two categories in total, so decide how you want to use your two entries.

Can a group change its members after the preliminary round?

A group may drop a member but may not add or replace one, and a person who did not perform the act in the preliminary cannot be part of it at the final. Settle the line-up before the preliminary and rehearse with those performers only.

Want the full judging picture? Read our group dance judging criteria guide, or browse every dance competition item.