A college gymnastics balance beam stands 125 centimeters high (approximately 4 feet), sits 10 centimeters wide (approximately 4 inches) and runs 500 centimeters long (approximately 16½ feet).
To recall your days of grade school mathematics, that means a balance beam occupies 625,000 cubic centimeters. Or, approximately 38,016 cubic inches or 22 cubic feet. For a real-world application, 22 cubic feet is the capacity of some large standard refrigerators. Or about four bathtubs.
"The girls who tend to make more mistakes probably get more nervous as the routine progresses," Husker senior gymnast Grace Williams said. "So you could do really good in the first half, and then just blow it in the second half.