Summary
The difficulty score, or D-Score, indicates the difficulty of the routine the gymnast performed.
D-Score = letter values assigned to the skills in a routine + value from element groups fulfilled + any bonuses
The execution score, or E-Score, indicates how well the gymnast executed the routine.
E-Score = 10.0 – sum of all deductions in a routine.
Final Score = D-Score + E-Score
Something that people new to the gymnastics community struggle with is understanding scoring in the sport of Men’s Gymnastics. Often times, scores seem whimsical and sometimes a routine you may view as great gets a low score. However, judges use objective criteria to determine these scores.
Basic Overview of Judging Men’s Gymnastics
The FIG (International Gymnastics Federation) defines the rules for Men’s Gymnastics in a document called the code of points. After the conclusion of each Summer Olympics, the FIG updates the code of points to modify rules and add new skills. Although the document is long and full of many clause and stipulations, we can summarize to help understand how a routine is judged.
Judges break each routine into two scores: the D-score and the E-score. The D-score is for difficulty and the E-score is for execution. The judges then combine the two into the final score awarded to the performance. At the Olympics and many other international gymnastics competitions, there is one panel of judges who evaluate the D-score and another panel of judges who evaluate the E-score. However, at smaller competitions one judge may be responsible for simultaneously evaluating both the D-score and E-score.
How Judges Evaluate Difficulty: The D-Score
The code of points assigns a difficulty value, notated by a letter, to each skill in Men’s Gymnastics. The letter notation associates a number of tenths of a point (0.1) to the skill based off how difficult it is. The scheme goes, ‘A’=0.1, ‘B’=0.2, ‘C’=0.3, … so on.
For example, the code of points assigns an ‘I’ value to the “Miyachi” on high bar, which is a double-twisting double-layout somersault over the high bar. This is therefore worth 0.9.
Similarly skills fit into different element groups on an apparatus. Fulfilling the element groups grants the gymnast +0.5 (five-tenths) to the D-Score. To fulfill an element group, a gymnast must perform a D-value element or higher from that group. But, if only a C or lower skill is performed, the gymnast receives partial fulfillment of +0.3.
The value of eight total skills comprise a routine. The value of each individual skill is summed together. The total value from fulfilled element groups is then added to that sum. This sum is the D-Score.
Some rules can change the calculations slightly, where certain events have bonuses for connected elements or other performance criteria, but from a general point of view, this is how difficulty is evaluated.
*** For more discussion about difficulty in Men’s Gymnastics check out our calculation of the highest possible score in Men’s Gymnastics.
How Judges Evaluate Execution: The E-Score
Execution is a measurement of how well an gymnast performs a routine. The execution score starts at a 10.0 and judges take deductions from this starting point. There are many criteria for deductions such as falls, separated legs, bent knees, or flexed toes. Likewise, depending on how significant an athlete makes one of those errors the deduction may be greater in value.
As a general guide, a clause in the code of points states that we can see deductions as any “discernible aesthetic or technical deviation from the expected perfect
performance.” The greater the magnitude of deviation from perfect the greater the deduction. Oftentimes, these errors are small and extremely difficult for those who are not trained judges to spot. This discrepancy between what an outside observer views as perfect and what a judge views as perfect generally causes the confusion when a score may not be what we expect.
The Final Score: Combining the D and E Scores
After we have our D-Score and E-Score, judges simply add together these two scores to produce the final result. This usually ends up with a score above 10.0. For example, a routine may have a D-Score of 4.7 and E-Score of 8.4. When added together, you get the final score of 13.1.
Vault – The Odd One Out
Unlike the five other events, judges score Vault based off of a one skill performance, except in qualifications for Vault Finals and in Vault Finals where gymnasts perform two separate vaults. Each Vault performed has a difficulty value assigned in the code of points. For example, a front handspring double front vault is worth 4.8.
When performing two vaults at the Olympics, these need to be from two separate element groups. Judges average together the final score of each of the two performed vaults to produce the final vault score awarded to that athlete.
For more information about understanding performances and scores in Men’s Gymnastics, check out our guide to pommel horse here.