The NFHS Girls Gymnastics Rules Committee this week announced 15 rules changes aimed at minimizing injury risk in the sport.
According to NFHS, the new rules will take effect in the 2026-27 school year.
NFHS passed several rules for general risk mitigation, including ruling that high school girls’ gymnastics will allow a “softer foam skill cushion” during warm-up and competition; vault take off must now be from two feet; a change to the length of the working and dismount areas on the uneven bars; and, four feet by four feet of padding must be added to the dismount, landing area of the balance beam
The organization also provided new examples of equipment failure on the uneven bars and balance beam, such as tightening the cable tension and attaching balance beam end caps. If these equipment checks are not completed, and an athlete slips or falls, those errors will not be deducted from their performance and instead noted as equipment failures.
The committee also adopted rule changes for floor routines. Now, single-element passes, indirect connections within a pass and two-element passes will all be allowed.
In making these rules adjustments for gymnastics, NFHS also released results of a participation survey that found 1,762 schools offer varsity gymnastics nationwide and roughly 14,996 girls compete in the sport.
