How to Understand the Scoring System

The first perfect ten in Olympic history was scored by Nadia Comaneci of Romania, on uneven bars during the compulsory round at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. The last perfect ten in Olympic history was scored by Lavinia Milosovici, also of Romania, in the floor exercise event finals at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. Now, gone is the perfect ten. Starting in 2006, the FIG unveiled a brand new scoring system. This new scoring system continues to confuse people, especially casual fans who only watch gymnastics during the Olympics. I'll do my best to break it down in the plainest English possible so everyone understands.

The D-Score

The new system consists of two numbers, a D-score and an E-score. The D is for difficulty, which is the start value of the routine. It's calculated from the value of each skill performed plus five tenths for every requirement on each apparatus, and connection bonus. Each skill in the Code of Points has a value from A to G (or I on floor exercise), which is translated into tenths.

A = 0.1
B = 0.2
C = 0.3
D = 0.4
E = 0.5
F = 0.6
G = 0.7
H = 0.8
I = 0.9

The top 8 most difficult elements are added together, with the connection bonus and 2.0 points for fulfilling each requirement to create a start value.

BARS REQUIREMENTS:
flight from high bar to low bar = 0.5
flight from low bar to high bar = 0.5
flight element on same bar = 0.5
close bar elements = 0.5

For beam and floor, a minimum of three acrobatic skills, three dance skills, and two optional skills must be counted.

BEAM REQUIREMENTS:
connection of two dance elements (one must be a 180 degree split) = 0.5
turn on one foot = 0.5
acrobatic series = 0.5
acro elements forward & backward = 0.5

FLOOR REQUIREMENTS:
connection of two dance elements (one must be a 180 degree split) = 0.5
saltos forward & backward = 0.5
double saltos = 0.5
saltos with a minimum of one full twist = 0.5

Every vault already has a start value that does not need to be calculated.

Each event also has different rules for connection bonuses.

UNEVEN BARS CONNECTION BONUSES:
D + D (or more) = +0.1 CV
D (flight element/transition from LB to HB) + C (or more, performed on HB) = +0.2 CV
D + E (both being flight elements) = +0.2 CV

BALANCE BEAM CONNECTION BONUSES:
Acrobatic Connections
C/D + D (or more, without rebound) = +0.1 CV
C + C = +0.1 CV
B + E = +0.1 CV
C/D + D (or more, with rebound) = +0.2 CV
B + D (rebound forward) = +0.2 CV
B + F = +0.2 CV
Starting from B + B + C (any order) (can include mount or dismount) = +0.1 SB (series bonus)
Dance & Mixed Connections
C + C (or more) = +0.1 CV
A + C (both being turns) = +0.1 CV
D (salto) + B (dance element) = +0.1 CV
D (salto to 1 foot) + A Scale = +0.1 CV
D + D (or more) = +0.2 CV
Starting from B + B + C (any order) = +0.1 SB (series bonus)

FLOOR EXERCISE CONNECTION BONUSES:
Indirect Acrobatic Connections
B/C + D = +0.1 CV
A + A + D = +0.1 CV
C + E = +0.2 CV
D + D = +0.2 CV
A + A + E = +0.2 CV
Direct Acrobatic Connections
A + D = +0.1 CV
C + C = +0.1 CV
A + E = +0.2 CV
C + D = +0.2 CV
Mixed Connections
D (salto) + B (dance) = +0.1 CV
E (salto) + A (dance) = +0.1 CV
Turns Connections
D + B = +0.1 CV

Let's take Mai Murakami's floor exercise from the 2017 World Championships, for example.

Mai Murakami. 2017 World Championships. EF. FX

Dance element: quadruple turn (E)
First pass: double twisting double back (H)
Second pass: double layout (F)
Third pass: 2½ twist (D) + front full twist (C) [CV 0.1]
Two connected dance elements: switch split leap (B) + split leap with 1½ turn (D)
Dance element: double L-turn (D)
Fourth pass: double pike (D)

The top acrobatic elements would be:
double twisting double back - H
double layout - F
2½ twist - D

The top dance elements would be:
quadruple turn - E
split leap 1½ - D
double L-turn - D

The top optional elements (either acrobatic or dance) would be:
double pike - D
front full twist - C

Acro skills: H + F + D
Dance skills: E + D + D
Optional skills: D + C
0.8 + 0.6 + 0.4 + 0.5 + 0.4 + 0.4 + 0.4 + 0.3 = 3.8
Connection bonus: 0.1
3.8 + 0.1 = 3.9
3.9 + 2.0 = 5.9

Mai's start value is 5.9.

Start values vary for each apparatus. For example, on vault, the start value for the Amanar (2½ twisting Yurchenko) is 5.8. The hardest vault in the Code of Points is a handspring double front, which is a 6.4.

To medal on bars, the start value needs to be in the mid to high 6's. Beam and floor are pretty similar. To medal, the start value needs to be in the mid 5's to low 6's.

The E-Score

The E is for execution. The execution is out of a ten, which is simple enough to understand, so I don't need to explain that. These also vary for each apparatus, with vault being the highest-scoring event and floor being the lowest, due to the deductions gymnasts take for stepping back on their tumbling passes and pausing in the corner too long before a tumbling pass.

With the new scoring system, no one has been awarded a perfect score. A few have come close. Nastia Liukin and He Kexin were the only gymnasts to score in the 17's on uneven bars during the 2005-2008 quad. McKayla Maroney’s near-perfect vault in team finals in London had a 9.733 in execution. Simone Biles also had execution scores in the high 9's on vault (as high as 9.900, but those were at domestic competitions).

And Finally

Let's go back to Mai Murakami's floor exercise. Her start value is a 5.9. Her execution score during the event finals at the World Championships was 8.333. Add them together and you get 14.233. That is her final score.

Solid scores start at about the mid-13 range. Scores in the 14's are very good and scores in the 15's are excellent. Anything lower than around 12.500 is considered a miss.

For the TL;DR Crowd

If you completely skipped over everything (I don't blame you, it's confusing):

• Scores are made by adding up two numbers: the difficulty, or start value, and the execution, which is out of a 10. Final scores range from 12 to 15, depending on the start value.

• Scores in the mid to high 13's are solid and consistent. The middle of the pack.

• Scores in the 14's are very good. 14's win medals.

• Scores in the 15's are exceptional. 15's win gold medals.

• Anything lower than 12.500 is not good.

If a gymnast falls, they can still medal if their start values are high enough (see: Vanessa Ferrari 2006 AA, Li Shanshan 2007 BB EF, Cheng Fei 2008 VT EF, Rebecca Bross 2009 & 2010 AA, Yao Jinnan 2011 AA, Aliya Mustafina 2012 AA, McKayla Maroney 2012 VT EF).