Event
Floor exercise
Skill type
Dance
Value
C
(upgraded from B in 2013)
Known as
Popa
Straddle full
Straddle jump 1/1
Named after
Celestina Popa (ROU) – 1987
About
At a C (0.3) value starting in 2013, the Popa is useful enough to include in elite routines since all but the very top floor workers are content counting a C or two. But it truly reaches ubiquity in NCAA gymnastics where it appears in most routines, typically in combination with the switch side, for that juicy juicy connection bonus.
The Popa is among the few elements in gymnastics for which the named title is exclusive. No one calls this skill anything but a Popa. If you called it a straddle jump 1/1, you would be sitting over there with the art freaks.
For most skills with this status (like the Onodi or Pak), the skill is so cumbersome to describe that the surname gains exclusive reference out of ease. Not the case, however, with the Popa since straddle full is easy to say and just one syllable more than Popa. I think people just like to say Popa. And why not? Popa.