What do judges of junior and senior women's artistic gymnasts need to know about the FIG Women's Artistic Code of Points 2025-2028? D and E scores, panel averaging, execution and landing deductions, falls, short exercises, attire, and Gymnastics SA judge qualifications and safeguarding.
Under section 6.2 of the FIG Women's Artistic Code of Points 2025-2028:
Final Score = D-Score + E-Score − any penalties, shown to three decimal places.
The Code's example: difficulty 3.100 + composition requirements 2.000 + connection value 0.600 = D-score 5.700; E-score 8.666; Final Score 14.366.
Repeating an exercise is not normally allowed. Vault has special rules in qualifications and apparatus finals (section 10).
Under sections 6.2 and 9.2 of the FIG Women's Artistic Code of Points 2025-2028:
| Number of E-judges | Scores averaged |
|---|---|
| 7 | Middle 3 |
| 5 | Middle 3 |
| 4 | Middle 2 |
| 3 | All 3 |
| 2 | Both |
The Code's example from a 7-judge panel: scores of 8.800, 8.300, 9.000, 8.600, 8.700, 8.700 and 8.100 give an E-score of 8.666 (the middle three, 8.600, 8.700 and 8.700, averaged and truncated).
From section 9.3 of the FIG Women's Artistic Code of Points 2025-2028. Deductions are small 0.10, medium 0.30, large 0.50 and very large 1.00 or more, taken each time unless stated.
| Execution fault | Deduction |
|---|---|
| Bent arms or knees | 0.10, 0.30 or 0.50 |
| Leg or knee separation | 0.10; 0.30 at shoulder width or more |
| Legs crossed in twisting elements | 0.10 |
| Insufficient height (amplitude) | 0.10 or 0.30 |
| Tuck/pike not exact, single salto without twist | 0.10 at 90° hip/knee angle; 0.30 beyond 90° |
| Tuck/pike not exact, double salto without twist | 0.10 beyond 90° hip angle |
| Piking too early (not holding stretched position) | 0.10 or 0.30 |
| Hesitation during an element | 0.10 |
| Attempt without performing the element (empty run) | 0.30 |
| Deviation from straight direction | 0.10 |
| Body alignment; feet not pointed; precision | 0.10 |
| Insufficient split in non-flight acro elements | 0.10 or 0.30 |
| Dance element body shape not met | 0.10, 0.30 or 0.50 |
| Dismount too close to the apparatus (bars, beam) | 0.30 |
Each E-judge adds execution and artistry deductions and subtracts them from 10.00.
From the table of deductions in section 9.3 of the FIG Women's Artistic Code of Points 2025-2028 (all elements, including dismounts):
| Fault | Deduction |
|---|---|
| Feet apart on landing | 0.10 |
| Extra arm swings | 0.10 |
| Lack of balance | 0.10 or 0.30 |
| Extra steps, slight hop (each) | 0.10 |
| Very large step or jump (guide: more than shoulder width) | 0.30 |
| Body posture fault | 0.10 or 0.30 |
| Deep squat | 0.50 |
| Brushing or touching apparatus or mat with hands, without falling | 0.30 |
| Support on mat or apparatus with 1 or 2 hands | 1.00 |
| Fall on mat to knees or hips | 1.00 |
| Fall on or against apparatus | 1.00 |
| Failure to land feet first | 1.00 |
If there is no fall, the total landing deduction for an element may not exceed 0.80.
Under section 6.3 of the FIG Women's Artistic Code of Points 2025-2028, the gymnast can still earn up to 10.00 on the E-score, but the D-panel takes a short-exercise penalty from the Final Score based on the number of elements performed:
| Elements performed | Penalty |
|---|---|
| 7 or more | None |
| 5 or 6 | 4.00 |
| 3 or 4 | 6.00 |
| 1 or 2 | 8.00 |
| None | 10.00 |
The Code's example: a gymnast who falls, is injured and stops after 4 elements receives her D-score and E-score as normal (E deductions including both falls), and then 6.00 is taken from the Final Score.
Under the FIG Women's Artistic Code of Points 2025-2028:
Falls also affect the D-score: a connection performed with a fall earns no connection value (and no series bonus on beam), and a dismount performed with a fall earns no dismount bonus.
FIG Women's Artistic Code of Points 2025-2028, section 2.3.2. Gymnasts must:
Who penalises: attire and behaviour violations are deducted from the Final Score by the Chair of the Superior Jury, when notified by the D-panel, not by the E-panel (section 2.4).
Gymnastics South Africa's judging education structure:
You must also complete GSA's required safeguarding course for judges (Course 1, Welcome to Safeguarding Essentials) and keep the certificate current (valid four years). For help joining the online platforms, GSA lists sbu@sagf.co.za.
Gymnastics SA (GSA) makes safeguarding training compulsory for all adults in frequent contact with children, young adults and vulnerable people (GSA "Safeguarding training for Judges 2026").