Glossary
All-Around A category of gymnastics that includes all the events. The all-around champion of an event earns the highest total score from all events combined.
Amanar A Yurchenko-style vault, meaning the gymnast performs a round-off onto the board, a back handspring onto the vault with a two and a half twisting layout back flip.
Cast A push off the bar with hips and lifts the body to straighten the shoulders and finish in handstand.
Deduction Points taken off a gymnast's score for errors. Most deductions are pre-determined, such as a 0.5 deduction for a fall from an apparatus or a 0.1 deduction for stepping out of bounds on the floor exercise.
Dismount The last skill in a gymnastics routine. For most events the method used to get off the event apparatus.
Elite International Elite, the highest level of gymnastics.
Execution The performance of a routine. Form, style, and technique used to complete the skills constitute the level of execution of an exercise. Bent knees, poor toe point and an arched or loosely-held body position are all examples of poor execution.
Giant Performed on bars, a swing in which the body is fully extended and moving through a 360 degree rotation around the bar.
Full-In A full-twisting double back tuck, with the twist happening in the first back flip. It can be done in a tucked, piked, or layout position and is used in both men's and women's gymnastics.
Free Hip Circle Performed on the uneven bars or high bar, the body circles around the bar without the body touching the bar. There are both front hip circles and back hip circles.
Handspring Springing off the hands by putting the weight on the arms and using a strong push from the shoulders. Can be done either forward or backward, usually a connecting movement. This skill can be performed on floor, vault, and beam.
Heel Drive A termed used by coaches to inform the gymnasts they want them to drive their heels harder up and over on the front side of a handspring vault or front handspring on floor. Stronger heel drives create more rotation and potential for block and power.
Hecht Mount A mount where the gymnast jumps off a spring board while keeping their arms straight, pushes off the low bar, and catches the high bar.
Inverted Cross Performed by men on the rings, it is an upside down cross.
Iron Cross A strength move performed by men on the rings. The gymnast holds the rings straight out on either side of their body while holding themselves up. Arms are perpendicular to the body.
Jaeger Performed on bars, a gymnast swings from a front Giant and lets go of the bar, into a front flip and catches the bar again. Jaeger can be done in the straddle, pike, and layout position, and is occasionally performed in a tucked position.
Kip The most commonly used mount for bars, the gymnast glides forward, pulls their feet to the bar, then pushes up to front support, resting their hips on the bar.
Layout A stretched body position.
Layout Timers A drill that simulates the feel of a skill, or the set for a skill without the risk of completing the skill.
Lines Straight, perfect lines of the body.
Overshoot, also known as Bail A transition from the high bar facing the low bar. The gymnast swings up and over the low bar with a half-turn to catch the low bar ending in a handstand.
Pike The body bent forward at the waist with the legs kept straight, an L position.
Pirouette Used in both gymnastics and dance to refer to a turn around the body's longitudinal axis. It is used to refer to a handstand turning moves on bars.
Rips In gymnastics, a rip occurs when a gymnast works so hard on the bars or rings they tear off a flap of skin from their hand. The injury is like a blister that breaks open.
Release Leaving the bar to perform a skill before re-grasping it.
Relevé This is a dance term that is often used in gymnastics. In a relevé, the gymnast is standing on toes and has straight legs.
Reverse Grip A swing around the bar back-first with arms rotated inwards and hands facing upwards.
Round-off A turning movement, with a push-off on one leg, while swinging the legs upward in a fast cartwheel motion into a ninety degree turn where legs come together before landing on both feet. The lead-off to a number of skills used to perform on vault, beam, and floor.
Salto Flip or somersault, with the feet coming up over the head and the body rotating around the axis of the waist.
Sequence Two or more skills performed together, creating a different skill or activity.
Shaposhnikva A clear hip circle on the low bar then flying backward to the high bar.
Stick To land, and remain standing, without requiring a step. A proper stick position is with legs bent, shoulders above hips, arms forward.
Straddle Back An uneven bar transition done from a swing backwards on the high bar over low bar, while catching the low bar in a handstand.
Switch Ring Performed on floor and the balance beam, the gymnast jumps with both feet, lifting their legs into a one-hundred-eighty degree split with the back leg coming up to touch their head.
Tap Swing Performed on bars, an aggressive tap toward the ceiling in a swinging motion. This gives the gymnast the necessary momentum to swing around the bar to perform a Giant or to go into a release move.
Toe On Swing around the bar with body piked so much the feet are on the bar.
Tour Jete A dance leap where the dancer leaps on one foot, makes a full turn in the air, and lands on the other foot.
Tsavdaridou Performed on beam, a round-off back handspring with full twist to swing down.
Tuck The knees and hips are bent and drawn into the chest, the body is folded at the waist.
Twist The gymnast rotates around the body's longitudinal axis, defined by the spine. Performed on all apparatuses.
Yurchenko Round-off entry onto the board, back handspring onto the vaulting table and Salto off the vault table. The gymnast may twist on the way off.
One
Kova was a heartless, cunning man.
Hate swelled through me at an alarming rate. Rage unlike I’d ever felt before slithered through my veins, consuming me. I detested the ground he walked on, the air he breathed. I loathed every fiber of his being. After everything we shared, after all we knew about each other—our goals and desires in life, our dreams and aspirations—this was the dirtiest move of all, and I wasn't sure how we would come back from it.
There was no one else other than Kova who knew how important each gymnastics meet was on my journey to the Olympics, yet he had the audacity to rip it from me for his own selfish reasons.
His job was to catch me if I fell. Not sweep the rug out from under my feet and watch me hit the ground.
I had played him dirty too, though. I'd threatened rape. A low blow, and I felt terrible for playing that card, but he deserved it. I wanted to ruin him, but ruining him meant ruining myself, and that was something I couldn't chance.
Overcome with exhaustion, I stood at Hayden's car and released an anguish-filled breath. I'd run out to the parking lot to stop him after he caught Kova and me having sex.
The image of Hayden's expression when he barged into Kova's office played like a broken record in my head and slowly seared my brain. Stunned, mortified, shocked, and the absolute worst of all, disappointment had flitted across his face. He'd been rendered speechless and left Kova's office. I had to beg him not to open his mouth and report us to the authorities. And by doing so, I promised to come clean with him. Not something I wanted to do, but I would in return for his word.