SOURCE: USA Gymnastics Media Guide (unedited)

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Men’s and Women’s Scoring

Rules that govern gymnastics scoring are made by the FIG. At major competitions, four to six judges sit at each piece of apparatus. Each of the judges arrives at a score independently.

The high and low scores are discarded while the remaining scores are averaged. A judges conference is called when the scores fail to fall within a range designated by the rules. A gymnast’s all-around score is compiled by adding each of the athlete’s individual event scores together.

JUDGING CRITERIA

For each routine, the gymnast begins with less than a perfect score. For women, the competitor stars with a 9.40 while men start with a 9.00. Judges make deductions for flaws in execution and for any missing requirements in the composition of the exercise.

The judge may award bonus points, up to 0.60 for women and 1.00 for men. Thus, the perfect routine, including bonus points added, is awarded a score of 10.00.

Gymnastics skills are divided into five levels of difficulty. Levels range from"A", which is the easiest, to"E", the most difficult. Each routine must have a minimum number of parts dependent upon the level of competition.

OLYMPIC COMPETITION ORDER

The international competition orderis decidedby the FIG. Olympic order for women is vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. Men compete in the following order: floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vault parallel bars and horizontal bar.