Breaking Down | Vault Groups/ Entries

The CoP has separated every vault entry into five groups dependent on how the gymnast enters the jump from the horse. The vault board is sometimes referred to as a horse - it is a relic from when the old vaulting board was flatter and basically a pommel horse without pommels. It is necessary to know about entries because during vault finals the women must perform two separate vaults from two different families, entries. Plus if you know the entry of the vault then you will more likely know which vault is being performed. Let's go!

Group 1
The group one vaults are by far the least valued vaults and probably the easiest - to some. They are classified as a vault without a salto. As you have learned from a previous post - a salto is referencing a double tuck, double pike, double stretched and so on. This vault can be with out without longitudinal axis turn in the first and/or the second phase.

Note: The first phase is when the gymnast has hit the springboard and is about to hit the horse. The second phase is after they have left the horse and are coming down.

Group 2
The second group is from a handspring entry in a forward style and can be with or without a full turn onto the horse, first phase. Then requires a salto forward or backward with or without a longitudinal axis turn in the landing phase, second phase. A vault like this could be one that is a handspring entry and then a double tucked forward. That's the Produnova vault, the most difficult vault ever performed by a woman.

Group 3
Like the second group the third group also has a handspring entry but includes either a quarter or half turn in the entry phase, first phase. This is called a Tsukahara entry but is rarely referenced in the women's field. The vault requires a salto backward with or without a longitudinal axis in the second phase, after the horse.

Group 4
The most performed vaults come from group four and are usually referred to as Yurchenko entries. The Yurchenko vault is named after Natalia Yurchenko and it is a round-off entry. The round-off can have no turn or a three quarter turn in the first phase. Then a salto backward is performed with or without longitudinal axis turn in the second phase.

Many of you might remember this vault as the one that McKayla Maroney performed in the Team Final at the Olympics London. It is named the Amanar vault after Simona Amanar of Romania.

Group 5
Like group four, group five has a round-off entry but includes a half turn in the first phase. Then it launches salto forward or backward with or without a longitudinal axis turn in the second phase. It is a very specific type of round-off entry that means a gymnast has to perform a 180° turn onto the horse to fit this group.

The most famous vault in this group is the Cheng vault. It is named after the famous Chinese gymnast Cheng Fei. It is a round-off half on and then stretched with a full turn and a half off.

Produnova Vault - it's a bit cowboyed but most men that perform it are just as bad.

The Amanar Vault - the almost perfect vault that Maroney dropped in Team Final. In slow motion!