Event
Floor exercise
Skill type
Dance
Value
A
Known as
Split side
Straddle 1/4
Leap with 1/4 turn to straddle
About
A rare skill that barely exists in modern gymnastics, split sides had their moment when they ruined everyone’s life in the 1988 compulsory floor routine. Now, the split side is almost always eschewed in favor of its slightly more valuable cousin the switch side leap. The split side is also difficult to work into a passage of dance elements, so if you’re doing something A-valued, you’re just going to do a regular split leap instead.
Of note for the more complicated elements that involve a side split but also here, two techniques are equally acceptable. Both the vertical-chest side split and the forward-chest straddle pike position can be performed without deduction (for that).