From USA Gymnastics: FLOOR EXERCISE
The entire floor area should be used during the exercise, which consists primarily of tumbling passes performed in different directions. Acrobatic elements forward and backward and an acrobatic elements sideward or backward take-off with � turn must be performed during the routine. There must also be a balance element on one leg or one arm, held for two seconds with a minimum of "B" value, or a static strength move, held for two seconds with a minimum of "B" value. Transitional skills, or gymnastics movements performed in between tumbling and acrobatic passes, should be executed with proper rhythm and harmony. The exercise must not exceed 70 seconds in length.
Today's floor exercise routines consist of dynamic tumbling skills that only a few years ago were performed solely on the trampoline. The best gymnasts will incorporate tumbling passes with substantial difficulty, performing multiple twisting and flipping saltos during their routines on the 40' x 40' floor exercise mat.
This event is difficult because:
It is one of the more difficult events to arrive at a 10.0 start value. The best routines will include tumbling passes with connected bounding skills totaling 0.5 points of bonus.
What can we expect to see at the Olympic Games?
* Difficult tumbling passes with multiple flips and twists
* Connected bounding skills
* Creative routines that start at 10.00 which have no execution errors and stuck landings
