How Composition Requirements Boost (or Sink) Your Gymnastics D-Score

In gymnastics, the Difficulty Score (D-score) isn’t only about throwing the hardest tricks you can. The Code of Points (FIG 2025–2028) makes sure routines aren’t just a collection of disconnected high-value elements.

To prevent “trick parades” and encourage variety, every apparatus includes Composition Requirements (CRs), essential categories of skills that must appear in each routine.

What Are Composition Requirements?

Composition Requirements are structural rules that ensure a well-rounded routine.

• Each apparatus has four CRs.
• Each is worth 0.5 points, for a total of 2.0 points.
• Judges check for them separately from skill difficulty.
• If a CR is missing, no matter how difficult the routine is, the gymnast loses the credit.

Think of them as the “must-have ingredients” in a recipe: leave one out, and the dish (or routine) is incomplete.

Why Composition Rules Matter

While difficulty and connections can give a gymnast flash, composition rules guarantee balance.

Imagine a gymnast stacking her routine with high-value “H” and “I” skills. Without the required composition elements, her D-score could still plummet. Conversely, a gymnast who maximizes connections and fulfills every CR can squeeze extra tenths from a routine with lower base difficulty.

Composition Requirements by Apparatus (MAG & WAG)

Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG)

1. Uneven Bars

Bars CRs reward variety in transitions and release moves. To get full value, a gymnast must show:

• A flight from high to low bar
• A flight from low to high bar
• Two different grips (e.g., regular, L-grip, mixed grip)
• A dismount of at least C-value

💡 Boosting Your Score: Smartly connecting releases (like a Pak salto into a Van Leeuwen) earns both CR and CV.

2. Balance Beam

Beam CRs ensure a balance of acrobatics, dance, and turns. To get full value, a gymnast must show:

• A dance element with 180° split
• A full turn on one foot (minimum 360°)
• An acro series with at least one flight element
• A dismount of at least C-value

💡 Boosting Your Score: Linking a leap out of a back handspring can satisfy dance + acro requirements together.

3. Floor Exercise

Floor CRs reward variety in tumbling and artistry. To get full value, a gymnast must show:

• An acro line with two saltos (one must be a double salto or higher)
• Saltos in different directions (forward/backward or sideward)
• A dance element with 180° split
• A turn on one foot (minimum 360°)

💡 Boosting Your Score: Plan a turn + jump passage to cover dance CR while stacking connection value.

4. Vault

Vault has no composition requirements in team or all-around. In event finals, however, gymnasts must:

• Perform two vaults from different families

💡 Boosting Your Score: Training both handspring-entry and round-off-entry vaults opens medal opportunities.

Men’s Artistic Gymnastics (MAG)

1. Floor Exercise

Floor CRs highlight variety in saltos, directions, and strength. To get full value, a gymnast must show:

• An acro series with two saltos
• A front and back salto (direction variety)
• A non-acro strength/hold element near the floor
• A dismount of at least C-value

💡 Boosting Your Score: Incorporating a planche hold or press handstand checks off the strength CR with style.

2. Pommel Horse

Pommel CRs emphasize rhythm and coverage of the apparatus. To get full value, a gymnast must show:

• A single leg element (scissors)
• Circles or flairs with travel or variation
• Work across all three parts of the horse
• A dismount of at least C-value

💡 Boosting Your Score: Master flairs with travel to knock out two CRs at once.

3. Still Rings

Rings CRs test swing, strength, and control. To get full value, a gymnast must show:

• A swing-to-strength or strength-to-swing element
• At least one swing through or to handstand
• A strength hold held for 2 seconds
• A dismount of at least C-value

💡 Boosting Your Score: Use an iron cross held cleanly into a swing for maximum impact.

4. Parallel Bars

Parallel Bars CRs highlight support positions and amplitude. To get full value, a gymnast must show:

• An element performed through or to handstand
• An element performed in support
• An element performed in upper arm support
• A dismount of at least C-value

💡 Boosting Your Score: A clean peach basket to handstand can check the handstand CR while setting up for difficulty.

5. Horizontal Bar

High Bar CRs reward grip variety and flight elements. To get full value, a gymnast must show:

• A long hang swing element passing through handstand
• A flight element with release and regrasp
• An element with different grips (dorsal, el-grip, mixed)
• A dismount of at least C-value

💡 Boosting Your Score: Combining a release with a grip change (like an Adler + Tkatchev) secures multiple CRs.

Composition That Boosts Your D-Score

1. Connection Value (CV): Linking difficult elements can add 0.1–0.2 per connection. Example: on bars, connecting a release to a Pak salto; on beam, linking a side aerial directly into a layout step-out.
2. Smart Skill Placement: Ending with a high-value dismount secures its DV, CR, and possible connection bonus.
3. Variety of Elements: Mixing dance and acro on beam/floor avoids repetition deductions and strengthens artistry.
4. Risk-Reward Balance: High-difficulty skills that fulfill CRs serve two purposes at once—maximizing efficiency.

Composition That Sinks Your D-Score

1. Skipping CRs: Each missed CR is a flat −0.5. Forgetting just two requirements drops your D-score by a full point.
2. Over-repetition: Only two skills per element group count toward DV; extra repetitions waste energy without raising your score.
3. Missed Connections: If a gymnast breaks rhythm or wobbles in a planned connection, the CV bonus disappears.
4. Playing It Too Safe: Filling a routine with only A–C skills satisfies CRs but caps potential. Without harder skills or smart links, the D-score stalls.

In summary, a routine that respects composition rules can squeeze maximum value from every skill.