How long can floor music be? Cutting a song to the time limit.

Gymnastics floor: how long can the routine be?

Women’s artistic floor is timed from the gymnast’s first movement to her last position, and the music is expected to end with the routine. These are the maximums in force today. None of them has a minimum.

Time limits change. Check your current rulebook or meet information.

Over time: under USA Gymnastics rules the Chief Judge deducts 0.10 for overtime, and no deduction is taken within a fraction of a second over the limit (a routine clocked at 1:30.01 to 1:30.99 is treated as in time). There is no warning signal on floor. Under the FIG code the overtime penalty applies from 1:31. Under time: Xcel takes no deduction for a short routine. In the Development Program a floor exercise shorter than 30 seconds draws a 2.00 Chief Judge deduction, but there is no minimum above that. A separate 0.10 Xcel deduction applies for failing to show synchronisation of the music with the ending pose, which is why the music is cut to end with the routine.

The Development Program’s 2026–2030 Code of Points is sold as a digital book and we have not read it, so the Level 6 and 7 figures above come from the 2022–2026 edition. Level 1 to 5 compulsory routines use USA Gymnastics’ own set music, so there is nothing to cut.

Figure skating: program lengths

Skating is different from floor: most programs have a target time with a window of plus or minus 10 seconds around it, and the clock runs from the moment the skater begins to move until the complete stop at the end.

Finishing outside the window costs a deduction of 1.0 for up to every 5 seconds lacking or in excess, any element started after the required time plus 10 seconds has no value, and a program 30 seconds or more under the range gets no marks at all. Cut the music to the target itself, not to the edge of the window.

From 1 January 2027 the Excel levels (except Pre-Preliminary, which already had one) move to a plain maximum 10 seconds longer than the old target, with no minimum. A program cut inside the 2026 window, the target plus or minus 10 seconds, is fine under both seasons. A shorter program that relies on the 2027 no-minimum rule would be under time in 2026.

Time limits change. Check your current rulebook or meet information.

Cheer and dance: what the clock measures

Under USASF cheer rules the clock starts with the first movement, voice or note of music, whichever comes first; UCA and UDA say the first choreographed movement, voice or note of music. Under USASF dance and NDA rules it starts with the first choreographed movement or note of music. Either way it ends with the last, so the music itself is effectively timed. Leave a cushion.

UCA’s rules put it plainly: because penalties are severe, time the performance several times before competition and leave a cushion of several seconds for differences between sound systems. For dressage freestyle limits, see the dressage guide.

Time limits change. Check your current rulebook or meet information.

What exactly is timed?

This decides how long to make the music, so check it before you cut.

• Floor: the gymnast is timed, from first movement to last position, and the exercise must end with the music. If the music has a short introduction before she moves, the music runs slightly longer than the routine, but the ending has to land together. Most coaches cut the music to the limit or just under it and choreograph the start to the first beat.
• Skating: the skater is timed from the first movement to the complete stop. Aim the music at the target time, inside the window, and start moving as the music starts.
• Cheer and dance: the clock starts at the first movement, voice or note of music under USASF cheer rules, the first choreographed movement, voice or note under UCA and UDA rules, and the first choreographed movement or note under USASF dance and NDA rules, so a music track that is exactly the limit leaves no room for a late start or a slow sound system. Cut it a few seconds short.

How to cut a song to the limit cleanly

You can do all of this in a free editor such as Audacity, in GarageBand on a Mac, iPhone or iPad, or in SongShrink. The steps are the same.

1. Write down the rule, not just the number. Is it a maximum, or a target with a window? Does the clock start with the music or with the first movement? Decide your cushion now: for a maximum-only rule many coaches cut to a second or two under; for a skating window, cut to the target itself.
2. Map the song. Listen once with a pen: introduction, verse, chorus, bridge, ending, with the times each starts. Decide the story you want: a strong opening, a big moment for the hardest pass or jump, and a clear ending.
3. Drop whole sections, not random seconds. Most popular music is built from phrases of 4 or 8 bars. Removing a whole verse or a repeated chorus keeps the music making sense; trimming an odd 7 seconds out of the middle of a phrase does not.
4. Cut on the bar line. Count 1-2-3-4 along with the song. Place each cut just before a “1” (the downbeat) on both sides of the join, so the beat carries straight on. A cut on another beat is the next best choice. Zoom in and put the cut at the very start of the drum hit, not after it. Join like with like: a chorus into a chorus, the same key, the same instruments playing.
5. Crossfade the join. A short crossfade of a few tens of milliseconds hides the click where the two pieces meet. Too long a crossfade smears the beat and you hear two rhythms at once.
6. Decide the ending. Three honest options: keep the song’s real ending if it lands on your time, fade out over the last few seconds, or stop on a beat. A sudden stop in the middle of a phrase sounds like a mistake.
7. Level and export. Make the pieces the same loudness, keep the peaks under the clipping point so arena speakers don’t distort, and export in the format the meet asks for. MP3 is the usual answer: the Xcel Code of Points says floor music must be recorded digitally and downloaded onto the device used at the meet, with no cellular, internet or Bluetooth playback at competitions.
8. Check it like a judge. Play the exported file from start to finish, read its length in the player, and time the routine to it in practice with a stopwatch. If the file is a few hundredths of a second over, that is normal for some formats and within the fraction-of-a-second allowance, but the routine itself must finish in time.

Two things to avoid: cutting a song from a streaming service (the download is copy-protected and no editor can open it; buy the song as a file instead), and changing the speed of the music to hit the time. SongShrink’s own thresholds are a fair guide: it says nothing up to 8%, notes that a change of 8 to 15% may start to sound odd, warns that above 15% most music sounds unnatural, and stops at 50% either way. A floor routine choreographed to the original tempo will no longer fit anyway.

Where SongShrink helps

SongShrink is an app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android that does the steps above for a song you own. You pick the time limit from a built-in list that names the rulebook and season on each one (the Xcel limits of August 2026, the Development Program levels, NCAA, FIG, ISU, U.S. Figure Skating Excel for 2026 and, from 1 January 2027, the 2027 maximums, USASF, UCA and NCA, UDA and NDA), or type your own and save it.

The app finds the beats, bars, phrases and sections of the song on your device and suggests up to four finished edits: keep the ending, most energy, smoothest joins, or fade at the time. Each suggested cut prefers a nearby bar line or beat between phrases, and joins are crossfaded by default. If the song is too short it can suggest repeating a section instead. Turn on Land exactly on the target and, when the music is long enough, SongShrink trims and fades the end so the music is exactly your time; shorter music stays short unless you repeat a section. You can tap sections to keep or drop them, nudge any cut by a beat or a bar, reorder or repeat pieces, and undo everything. The length is shown to the tenth of a second.

Export evens out the loudness with peaks kept safe for arena sound systems, and writes MP3 at 192, 256 or 320 kbps, M4A or WAV, named with the event, the athlete and the length. Songs, projects and exports stay on the device; nothing is uploaded. SongShrink is free to download and try; exporting is a one-time unlock, and the store shows the price in your currency.

Also on the Mac App Store Get it on Google Play

More answers are on the SongShrink support page: which songs work, getting a song in, how exact the length is, and which format to use.

Questions

How long can gymnastics floor music be?

It depends on the program. In USA Gymnastics Xcel the floor routine may run up to 45 seconds in Bronze and, since 1 August 2026, in Silver (1:00 before that, so confirm with your meet), 1:00 in Gold, 1:15 in Platinum and 1:30 in Diamond and Sapphire. Development Program Level 6 is 1:15 and Levels 7 to 10 are 1:30 in the 2022–2026 Code of Points; check your current Code of Points. NCAA women’s floor and elite floor under the FIG code are 1:30. These are maximums. Xcel has no minimum time, and in the Development Program only a floor exercise shorter than 30 seconds is penalised, with a 2.00 Chief Judge deduction. Time limits change, so check your current rulebook or meet information.

Does the music have to be exactly 1:30?

No. The limits are maximums. Xcel has no minimum time and no undertime deduction, and the FIG code sets only a maximum of 90 seconds. In the Development Program a floor exercise shorter than 30 seconds draws a 2.00 Chief Judge deduction, but there is no minimum above that. Judges time the gymnast from the first movement to the last position, and the exercise has to end with the music, so the music is normally cut to the length of the routine, finishing at or just under the limit.

What happens if the routine runs over time?

USA Gymnastics: the Chief Judge deducts 0.10, and no deduction is taken within a fraction of a second over (1:30.01 to 1:30.99 counts as in time). FIG: the overtime penalty applies from 1:31. ISU skating: a deduction of 1.0 for up to every 5 seconds outside the plus or minus 10 second window, and an element started after the required time plus 10 seconds has no value. UCA school cheer: 1 point for 1 to 5 seconds over and 2 points for 6 or more, with no deduction until 3 seconds over. UDA school dance: 0.5 for 3 to 5 seconds over and 1.5 for 6 or more.

Do the cuts have to land on the beat?

No rulebook says where to cut. The FIG code asks for music that is flawless, without abrupt cuts, with a clear start and finish, and cutting at the end of a phrase on a bar line is how you meet that. A cut on a beat is next best. A cut in the middle of a beat usually stumbles.

Which file format should I use for competition music?

Whatever the meet asks for. If it doesn’t say, MP3 plays almost everywhere. The Xcel Code of Points says floor music must be recorded digitally and downloaded onto the device used at the meet, and that accessing music via cellular, internet or Bluetooth at competitions is not allowed. Play the exported file through once and check its length before you compete.

Can I cut a song from Spotify or Apple Music?

No. Songs from streaming services are copy-protected, even when downloaded for offline listening, so no editing app can open them. Use a song file you own: an MP3 you bought, an iTunes Store purchase, or a file from your coach or a competition music service.

Sources

Every limit above was read in the governing body’s own document on 25 October 2026.

• USA Gymnastics, Xcel Code of Points, replacement pages of 12 August 2026 (floor chart, timing of the exercise, music regulations) and the 2026–2027 Xcel Program Update (time limit changes effective 1 August 2026).
• USA Gymnastics, Women’s Development Program Optional Code of Points 2022–2026, revised pages (Floor Exercise, timing of the exercise).
• NCAA, Women’s Gymnastics Rules Modifications, September 2026.
• FIG, Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Code of Points 2025–2028 (Floor Exercise: music requirements and timing).
• ISU, Sports Rules, Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance 2026 (Rule 502 and Rule 353).
• U.S. Figure Skating, 2026 Excel Free Skate Requirements and 2027 Excel Program Requirements.
• USASF, Cheer Rules, effective 1 June 2026 and Dance Rules, effective 14 September 2026.
• UCA, 2026–2027 Rules and Regulations (routine time limitations); NCA, 2026–2027 school divisions; UDA, 2026–2027 School Rules and Regulations; NDA, 2026–2027 School Rules and Regulations (time limitations).

This is general information for athletes, parents and coaches, not legal advice. Rules change; your current rulebook and meet information take precedence over anything here.