No More Perfect Tens: Making Sense of Gymnastics Scoring

It used to be easy: 1 was bad; 10 was perfect. However, the old gymnastics scoring system is out and a new, more technical system has replaced it. What does that mean to the average Olympic Gymnastics viewer? Well…a couple of things:

1. The new scoring system, adopted in 2006, uses a combination of two marks: the “A” score for difficulty and the “B” score for execution.

2. The “A” score begins at 0 and points are added for each element performed. Points are based on a Table of Elements composed by the International Gymnastic Federation (FIG) that includes all possible elements. Any new element created by a gymnast must be submitted and approved by the FIG before it can be performed in competition.

3. The “B” score starts at 10 and fractions of points (generally from .1 to .5) are deducted for errors (such as taking a step on a landing or stumbling).

4. Two panels of judges evaluate each routine. The final mark is a combination of these two scores.

5. The vault is scored slightly differently. Athletes receive a “D” difficulty and “E” execution score on this apparatus. All athletes performing the same vault get the same “D” score. The “E” score is similar to the “B” score discussed above, with points deducted for form, technique, execution, and landing