The displacement of a calibrated horizontal bar is used as a measure for forces acting on the bar itself during dynamic performances in artistic gymnastics. The high bar is loaded with known forces and the displacement is monitored by means of a Vicon motion capturing system. The calibration results are fitted according to the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory. After calibration, forces can straightforwardly be measured by multiplication of the bar displacement with the determined fit parameter. This approach is also able to account for non-central force application (two hands on the bar) and the effect of the bar's inertia. Uncertainties in measured forces are assessed to be ± 25 N plus an additional 1% for the unknown weight distribution between the two hands.