Event
Balance beam

Skill type
Dance

Value
D
(upgraded from C to D in 2017)

Known as
Straddle jump 1/1
Straddle pike full
Popa

About
This element will typically be called a Popa because that’s what a straddle jump full is called on floor—named after Celestina Popa—but the skill has never had named attribution on beam. She just gets it by association.

While the actual Popa on floor is pretty common, this one is rare due to the likelihood of your ankle shooting off and killing someone in the crowd when you try to land it on a beam. It can seem like a good idea in theory, but then you immediately take it out of your routine for nationals after you under-rotate and fall at US Classic.