Event
Balance beam

Skill type
Turn

Value
A

Known as
Full turn
Full spin

About
The basic full turn features either in every single beam routine you see or exactly zero beam routines, all depending on the whims of a given code of points and its turn requirement.

In NCAA gymnastics, the requirement to perform a turning element of any value means that pretty much every gymnast elects to use this most straightforward of turns in her routine.

In present day elite gymnastics, however, the need to get counting value out of every possible element (and then immediately get off the beam before 48 more deductions can be taken) means that pretty much all gymnasts opt for a far more valuable turn to get the requirement over with while also boosting D score. Those who do still perform the basic full turn are almost always doing so in an attempted combination (A+C turns receives 0.1) to try to build up that difficulty.

The 2022 change to the turn requirement that allowed it to be fulfilled by a turn or roll also dulled the popularity of the full turn by providing yet another avenue for gymnasts to check that box beyond just the full turn.

It is a famous cliché of gymnastics commentary to call it “the dreaded full turn” or say “it may look like the simplest skill in the routine, BUTTTTTTTT…” any time someone has a deduction on a full turn.