Gymnastics World Championships - Jakarta 2025: How does the scoring work?
When watching a gymnastics competition, such as the World Gymnastics Championships, a mystery often arises: why does this gymnast get 13.866 and not 14.000? 🤔
The scoring system has evolved greatly since the era of the famous "perfect 10". Today, judges use a very precise Code of Points, updated every four years by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
In 2025, a new 2025-2028 cycle comes into effect — and here's everything you need to know to understand the scores at the World Championships!
The basics of the scoring system
Each performance is scored based on two main components:
- The D-score (Difficulty Score) → the difficulty score
- The E-score (Execution Score) → the execution score
The final score is calculated as follows:
Final score = D-score + E-score – neutral deductions
The D-score: difficulty
The D-score depends on the technical content of the routine. Judges consider:
- the most difficult elements of the movement
- the composition requirements specific to each apparatus;
- the connection bonuses (linking two difficult elements earns extra points).
Example: a gymnast who combines a back salto with a full twist and a straddle jump can earn tenths of a bonus.
The E-score: execution
The execution score always starts at 10.00 points.
Judges then apply deductions for each imperfection:
- small fault: –0.1
- medium fault: –0.3
- large fault: –0.5
- fall: –1.0
The E-score rewards cleanliness, grace, stability, and mastery of elements.
Thus, a gymnast's less technically difficult but very clean routine can beat a more audacious but more error-prone gymnast.
World Gymnastics Championships: what changes with the 2025-2028 Code
The new FIG Code of Points brings some subtle but important adjustments. Overall, this code retains the same philosophy as the previous one (2022-2024), but introduces several adjustments aimed at refining the evaluation of routines and promoting technical variety: modified element values, refined connection/composition criteria, revised vault table, etc.
For the curious, the complete 2025-2028 Code of Points is available on the official FIG website: www.gymnastics.sport
Link to the direct page of the Official FIG International WAG Code of Points 2025-2028: https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/rules/#3
Concrete example of scoring
Let's take an example on the balance beam:
- D-score: 5.7 (routine including 8 difficult elements, including two acros in connection)
- E-score: 8.533 (several small wobbles and some minor faults on landing)
- No neutral deductions
Final score = 5.7 + 8.533 = 14.233
This is how judges arrive at these precise decimals!
Why this system?
This system aims to reward both risk-taking and quality of execution.
Since the end of the "perfect 10" after 2006, modern gymnastics seeks to be fairer:
- Gymnasts can push the limits of difficulty without a score ceiling.
- But execution still carries enormous weight: technical perfection remains essential.
This is what makes scoring exciting: every tenth counts, and strategy is part of the game.
Watching the World Gymnastics Championships with a judge's eye
The final score reflects an average or consensus among several judges, which reinforces the fairness and rigor of the evaluation. Some specialize in the D-score and others in the E-score.
During the World Championships, try to guess:
- The D-score: how many high-value elements did you spot?
- The E-score: how many visible faults (wobbles, steps, bent knees…)?
And if you want to have fun putting yourself in the judges' shoes, there's even a card game on the theme of women's artistic gymnastics: Beam Bam Gym, the first strategic and educational 100% gymnastics card game, to compose your routines and score as many points as possible! Available on mcpcreation.fr