Doing gymnastics is commendable in itself. I know because I spent well over a decade trying to excel at the perfection-fixated sport, and it didn’t always come naturally to me. But, when you get creative and execute a move that no one does in competition, you leave your mark — and that’s a level all its own. As of the 2019 World Championships, for example, Simone Biles had four skills officially named after her. And Auburn University gymnast Cassie Stevens’s signature skill on beam is a jaw-dropper that’s as difficult as it looks.
Cassie, a freshman from Phoenix, AZ, does a swing-through front aerial to her knee, which is awarded four tenths of a point, or a “D” value. Scoring-wise, it’s worth the same as a regular front aerial on beam without the swing-through and extremely difficult landing, but she told POPSUGAR via email that she likes to think the judges appreciate the uniqueness she brings (I know I do). Mind you, Cassie does all of this on a mere four-inch surface; flipping onto your feet, let alone your knee, is not a simple task. Watch that skill below:
obsessed with this original skill by Cassie Stevens of @AuburnGym 😍 pic.twitter.com/5bbuBW8hHK
— kt (@ktgymnastics) February 6, 2020
Cassie started doing her signature move when she was in seventh grade and competing in level nine of USA Gymnastics (USAG), well before she joined Auburn. She upgraded it from a front handspring to her knee (aka, putting your hands on the beam instead of flipping without your hands), then added the swing-through entry when she graduated to level 10 in the eighth grade. “This was the year that I qualified to the Junior Olympic National Championships and officially got it named after me,” she said.
Connie Maloney, the technical director of USA Gymnastics’s Junior Olympic program for women, confirmed that Cassie does in fact have a variation of a front aerial bearing her name. It’s in the Junior Olympic (JO) Code of Points, the rulebook for the JO Optional program consisting of levels six through 10. The term used for it is “swing-through front aerial to land in a kneel/sit,” and “Stevens” is listed in parentheses. (I was given a copy of the specific page where Cassie’s skill is listed to verify this.)
Connie told POPSUGAR via email that the requirements for naming a skill after a Junior Olympic gymnast are similar to those for elite gymnasts like Simone in the FIG Code of Points: it has to be done correctly at a major competition for the first time and must be at least a “C” value. Simone, for reference, had to be the first gymnast to successfully land her skills at a World Championship or Olympic Games.
A Junior Olympic gymnast’s coach has to submit a request form of evaluation to their respective Regional Technical Committee Chair (RTCC). Note: Connie said there are eight regions across the country. Then, the RTCC gives the skill a temporary value, and the coach takes this paper to competitions in order to verify the value given. If the gymnast qualifies to the Junior Olympic National Championships and performs the skill successfully, it’s added to the JO Code of Points.
I, for one, have never seen someone compete a front aerial kneeling like Cassie does. She explained that the hardest part about doing her skill is that sometimes she’ll take off crooked and her shin will land on the corner of the beam, which could cause some bruising. But, if she takes off straight, it doesn’t hurt at all.
Cassie went on to say that she’s done this skill for so long because she enjoys it and is consistent with her performance. “I don’t think I’ll ever take it out of my routine,” she said. Plus, she loves the skill so much that she also does it on floor (which you can see an example of here). Ahead, check out a full beam routine from Cassie that features her one-of-a-kind flip: the Stevens.