Talavera: A balance beam skill named after Tracee Talavera, who was the first to do it in international competition. The skill consists of pommel horse like move with the circle done like a flair.  The skill has been rated by the FIG as a C level skill and its FIG number is 3.308.

Tap: The term is most often used on high and uneven events to describe the kick used to generate the required speed and rotation for a circling skill, release skill or dismount. Typically a dynamic motion used to generate momentum. 

Thomas: A floor exercise tumbling skill named after Kurt Thomas. It consists of a 1 ½ salto backward in a tucked or piked position with 1 ½ twists rated as a “D.” 
Thomas: A floor exercise tumbling skill named after Kurt Thomas. It consists of a 1 ½ salto backward in a layout (straight) position with 1 ½ twists rated as a “E.” 

Thomas Flairs: A pommel horse skill named after Kurt Thomas. It is a circling skill with alternating straddled lifted legs rated as a “B” level difficulty skill. 

Timer: A drill that simulates the feel of a skill, or the set for a skill without the risk or danger of completing the skill. Timers are used on most events and are a progression for learning the harder skill.  They are also often used as warm-up skills for meets.  One example is that a 1 1/4 back salto landing on a stack of mats is a timer for a double back.

Tkatchev: A release move named after Russian gymnast Alexander Tkatchev performed on uneven or high bar from a handstand to a giant swing down releasing to a backward straddle release over the bar to regrasp. 

Tour jeté: A ballet and gymnastics jump with a half-turn and switch split action of the legs taking off one foot and landing on the other the other. 

Tsukahara: A men’s or women’s vault named after Japanese gymnast, Mitsuo Tzukahara.  It consists of a ¼ or ½ on to a back salto off the vault table. 

Tuck Position: A gymnastics body position where the knees and hips are bent and drawn into the chest with the hands holding the knees. This body position is used in somersaults to rotate faster. Variation on the tuck position include the open tuck and cowboy tuck positions. 

Tumbling Pass: In floor exercise and tumbling, this term is used to indicate a series of connected tumbling elements.

Turn: A gymnastics and ballet movement where the rotation occurs upright on the body's axis on one or both feet. A minimum of a full turn is often a requirement on floor exercise and beam.

Turners: For more than 150 years, they have formed Turnvereinen, or "gymnastic unions", which are not only athletic, but also political, "nationalistic gymnastic" organizations in Europe. The German movement was started by Turnvater Jahn and was instrumental in German unification after 1848.  The American Turners were instrumental in the popularization of gymnastics in America.

Turnout: In gymnastics and ballet, a rotation of the leg which comes from the hips, causing the knee and foot to turn outward, away from the center of the body. This allows for greater extension of the leg, especially when raising it to the side and rear and for better balance when performing dance skills and on beam. This characteristic most distinguishes ballet from other forms of dance. It refers to the outward rotation of the legs in the hip socket, so that if one were to look at the feet in first position (heel to heel), they would appear to make a straight line. 

Twist: A movement in acrobatic skills where the rotation is about the longitudinal, or vertical, axis. This is the axis that runs from head to toes. Twisting is usually defined in terms of which shoulder moves backwards first.  A right twist is defined as the right shoulder going backwards, the opposite is true for a left twist.  Twisting usually refers to an action that occurs simultaneously with a somersault so the body is both twisting and flipping. 

Twisting Degrees: Fractions and degrees are used in order to describe twisting movements. A ½ twist is a 180-degree twist, a full (1/1) twist is a 360 degree twist.  A 1& ½ twist is 540 degrees of twist.  A double twist (2/1) is 720 degrees of twist.  A 2& ½ twist is 900 degrees.  A triple twist is a 1080-degree twist. A 3& ½ twist is 1260 degrees.  A quad twist is a 1440-degree twist.
 

Gymnastics Dictionary