Judge's Guide to USA Gymnastics Women's Development Levels 1-10 Ages 4+ 2026-27

Wear the required uniform at every level of competition (theme invitationals are the exception).

You also may not serve in a dual role at the meet (for example coach and judge, parent and judge, Meet Director and judge, or announcer and judge).

You're affiliated at a meet if you are:

• An immediate family member (parent, stepparent, grandparent, sibling, or anyone in your household) of a competing gymnast, a coach at a competing club (even if they aren't coaching that day), a competing club's owner or administrator, or a women's Development Program or Xcel team member of a competing club
• On a competing club's payroll, or critiquing or coaching at that club more than once a month on an ongoing basis
• A women's Development Program or Xcel team member of a competing club
• A coach of a competing gymnast, or owner of a competing club
• A paid sports science professional (e.g. athletic trainer, physical therapist, sports psychologist) for a competing athlete

You're not affiliated just because a family member is in a recreational class at a competing club, or on its men's, rhythmic, acro or T&T team. If your club isn't competing, you're not affiliated.

Assignments:

If a meet has separate awards per session, you're affiliated only in sessions where your club competes. An overall team award across the meet makes you affiliated for the whole meet.

Every athlete must be judged by a USA Gymnastics judge member.

Exception: any local meet that directly qualifies a Level 5 gymnast to State Championships must use a 2-judge panel.

With a 1-judge panel, a floating Meet Referee is recommended where possible.

The State Administrative Committee sets panel requirements for its State qualifying meets and State Championships, and may add criteria on top of these minimums.

• No phones or wireless devices (talking, texting and so on) on the field of play.
• You may use an electronic device for scoring, but switch it to airplane mode and turn off messages and email notifications.
• No earbuds or EarPods while officiating.

Also while judging:

• Don't chat with other judges or coaches during the competition.
• Keep meet matters, your scores and other judges' scores and opinions confidential.
• Stay at your event station until the whole competition is finished.

• Score in 0.05 increments.
• Any routine that would score 1.00 or less receives a final score of 1.00.
• Each judge should enter their own score electronically or write it on a separate score slip. With only one keypad per event, each judge writes their score and all scores are entered electronically. Both vault scores should be entered, especially at qualifying and championship meets.
• At Sectionals and above, the base score is set at the judges' meeting using the Technical Committee Base Score videos and script of deductions.
• At State and above, if no verification sheet is used, the Chief Judge must record every individual score, the average and any neutral deductions.

Start Values (Levels 6-10): must be flashed or written on the competitor's card at every sanctioned meet. Each judge sets one independently, records it with the final score, and flashes it once the Chief Judge has all scores. They don't have to match. A conference may adjust one, and any adjusted Start Value is re-flashed.

Open scoring (each judge's score flashed or written on the card):

If a conference changes a score under open scoring, re-flash it as a "Corrected Score".

Once the final average score is in the scoring system, it can only change through an inquiry, except:

• Missed neutral deduction (such as out of bounds or overtime): the Chief Judge may correct it before the end of the rotation. The coach must be told, and the new score shown publicly if possible.
• Wrong level's rules used: the routine may be re-evaluated from the judges' shorthand to fix the Start Value and compositional deductions, within 5 minutes of the end of that session. Tell the Meet Referee and scoring personnel first, and tell the coach immediately of any change.
• Clerical error in electronic entry: may be corrected officially by the end of the session.
• State Championships and above: in extenuating situations, the Meet Referee may let the panel review a routine to verify Special Requirements were met and restricted elements weren't performed. The coach must be told first. If the Special Requirement is awarded, no additional deductions may be taken.

A score may also change after a conference, inquiry, video review or Jury of Appeals only for: a math, recording or flashing error, an average made from out-of-range scores, time or line violations applied wrongly, a jury penalty for attire or behavior, or a video review finding an incorrect evaluation.

• The coach submits an inquiry form to the Meet Director or Meet Referee within 5 minutes of the squad finishing that event. No fee may be charged.
• Coaches may see all scores for their own gymnasts.
• The Meet Referee may watch video, if available, before deciding whether the inquiry goes forward.
• The inquiry is a second evaluation. The score may stay the same, go up or go down.
• The Chief Judge completes the response, and the Meet Referee or Meet Director returns the form to the coach. The coach may not approach you about it during the competition.

Valid grounds:

A camera flash is not a valid reason to request a repeat.

If the coach thinks the process wasn't followed, they may petition the Jury of Appeals within 5 minutes of getting the result.

At any Development Program meet, a coach may request a video review if video is available. It's conducted by the Meet Referee and the highest-rated judge unaffiliated with that event. If either is affiliated with the athlete, use the next two highest-rated unaffiliated judges, or the highest-rated unaffiliated judge and a USA Gymnastics officer. Video may be viewed at regular speed, slow motion or freeze frame.

Allowed only for:

• An element possibly missed by the judges that affects Start Value
• Whether the gymnast grasped or touched the bar with one or two hands before falling on a release
• Whether she landed on the bottoms of the feet first (vault, bar and beam dismounts, beam acro elements finishing on the beam, floor saltos)
• Spotting deductions, floor line violations, floor overtime (the coach must provide the video), or any neutral deduction

Not allowed for judgments of degree: casts, handstands, incomplete turns, direct connections, leg separation in leaps, timing and degree of twist on vault, and similar.

The Meet Referee must tell the panel that a review is starting and what was decided. The panel may watch the video once the review is finished.

Void vaults

• The Chief Judge must tell the coach if any judge on the panel voided the vault.
• At State Championships and above, void optional vaults should be scored unofficially but not submitted, unless video review decisively shows the vault was completed.
• For Levels 8-10, if a first vault gets a zero for not landing feet first, an immediate video review (if available and decisive) is allowed, and must be done before the second vault.

Vault numbers: for Levels 6-10, the vault number must be visually displayed at any meet with a 4-judge panel. At other meets, the vault name or number may be said aloud to the judges.

Warm-up timing

• Vault warm-up time starts when a gymnast stands on the table or mat stack to do a skill, or runs and touches the springboard. Handstand hops and run-bys that don't touch the board aren't counted and are allowed if they don't delay the meet. Excessive delay could result in a deduction.
• A gymnast may not run or jump in front of the vault judges' table. Doing so gets a warning for exceeding warm-up time.
• If an athlete or team exceeds warm-up time, the timer reports it to the Meet Director or Meet Referee. That counts as the warning, and any further infraction is a 0.20 penalty.
• When gymnasts warm up on floor between routines, the Meet Director must assign an adult monitor. This is not a judge's job.

• Equipment and setup are the Meet Director's responsibility. They must check that all equipment meets specifications and is properly installed, that competition areas don't overlap, that the floor exercise area has no obstructions, and that there's enough room for mounts, dismounts and vaulting. Coaches raise apparatus issues through the Meet Referee or Meet Director.
• A coach's actions putting an athlete at risk (for example, risk of catastrophic injury or a possible concussion): any member should report it to the Meet Director. The Jury of Appeals then decides by majority vote, and its decision is final.
• Suspected abuse must be reported immediately to local authorities, plus a Safety and Response Report to USA Gymnastics or the U.S. Center for SafeSport.

Limits on judges:

• You can't demand a last-minute change or hold up the competition unless the Rules & Policies have been violated.
• If the Meet Director doesn't comply with the sanction or the Rules & Policies, judges may refuse to judge. Both sides must try to resolve it immediately, and no action may put athlete safety at risk.
• Supervising gymnasts' conduct in warm-up or training isn't a judge's job. Talk to an athlete only if the coach or athlete asks.