Handstand hold contest
- Winner
- Longest hold
- Measured in
- Hold time
- Boards
- Gym, city, country, world
The longest freestanding handstand you can hold, filmed in one take. The clock starts when both feet leave the floor and stops when a foot comes down or a hand leaves its spot, and the time is ranked on your gym, city, country and world boards.
The rules
What counts
- A freestanding handstand on the floor, on two hands or one.
- The clock runs from the moment both feet leave the floor.
- Shifting your weight through your fingers and palms to stay balanced.
- Any leg shape, straight, split or tucked, as long as nothing touches.
What doesn’t count
- Using a wall, a partner or any support for your feet or body.
- Walking on your hands. Once a hand moves off its spot, the hold ends.
- Parallettes, blocks or canes. This contest is hands flat on the floor.
How to film it
- Film from the side with your hands, feet and the floor around you in view.
- Leave some space above your feet so a straight line is easy to see.
- Start recording before you kick up so the moment you leave the floor is in the take.
A handstand looks still, but it is a constant set of small corrections through the fingers. Holding one for a long time takes balance, shoulder strength and patience, which makes it a good test of all three.
How it works
Open the contest, set your phone on the floor or a shelf side-on, and start recording. Kick up when you are ready. The clock in the app starts when both feet are off the floor and stops when a foot lands or a hand moves. Fall out and you can kick up again in the same take: your longest hold is the one that counts.
Results go on your gym, city, country and world boards at once, with brackets for age group and sex. Someone holding for 20 seconds can lead their gym while someone else is going after a national record.
Who checks the hold
The automatic check confirms the video is unbroken and times the hold. Anyone who thinks a take used a wall or a walking step can flag it. Every take in a top 10, and every new record, goes to a referee who steps through the start and the end frame by frame. If the time is changed you see why and where, and you can appeal to a second referee.
Holding for longer
Practise often and in short bouts rather than in one long session. A few minutes of kick-ups and wall holds most days builds the balance faster than a weekly hour. Work on chest-to-wall holds to strengthen the shoulders, and warm up your wrists before every session, as they take the load.
Questions
Do one-arm handstands go on a separate board?
No. One arm and two arms count on the same board. Moving to one arm during a hold is fine as long as the other hand does not walk.
Can I kick up more than once in the same take?
Yes. The app times your longest hold in the video, so a failed kick-up before a good one does not cost you anything.
How is the end of a hold decided?
It ends on the first frame a foot touches the floor or a hand lifts and lands somewhere else. A referee checks that frame for every take in a top 10.
