A gymnast’s D-Score shows how many difficulty points the routine earns. Judges build it by adding the values of counting skills, credit for required types of movements, qualifying connections and applicable bonuses.
The calculation differs between women’s artistic gymnastics (WAG) and men’s artistic gymnastics (MAG). Both use individual skill values, but women have Composition Requirements, while men have Element Groups with a different system of credit.
Vault is the main exception: the complete vault already has an assigned numerical difficulty value.
This guide explains the senior FIG rules for the 2025–2028 cycle, including updates in force on September 17, 2026. Junior and domestic programs can use different provisions.
What Goes Into a D-Score?
On the events where gymnasts perform a routine, the basic formulas are:
WAG: Difficulty Values + Composition Requirements + Connection Value + applicable bonuses
MAG displayed D-Score: Difficulty Values + Element Group credit + Connection Points
A qualifying men’s stick bonus may be shown separately from the D-Score. It still contributes to the final score, but it should not be added into both columns.
The D-Jury, the judges responsible for difficulty, decides which parts receive credit. Its calculation reflects what the gymnast actually completes, including whether skills and connections meet the rules.
The D-Score is then combined with the E-Score, which measures how well the routine was performed:
D-Score + E-Score + any separately listed bonus − separate penalties = final score
For example, a 5.800 D-Score and an 8.400 E-Score produce 14.200 when there are no separate bonuses or penalties. The overview of how FIG gymnastics scores fit together explains that complete scoring framework.
D-Score and Start Value Are Different
In women’s USA Gymnastics Development Program, Xcel and NCAA competition, a Start Value sets the score available before execution deductions. Those systems are generally built around 10.0.
FIG instead adds difficulty to execution. The D-Score does not begin at 10, and there is no universal fixed maximum. However, limits on counting skills, repetition and bonuses prevent a gymnast from increasing it simply by adding unlimited movements.
The Individual Skill Values
FIG assigns lettered difficulty to recognized elements on the non-vault events. A D-rated skill is worth 0.40, an E is worth 0.50, and an F is worth 0.60. The current scale runs from A = 0.10 to J = 1.00.
These points are called Difficulty Values, shortened to DV. The article on the A–J skill difficulty scale explains the ratings and how judges identify each element.
A routine may contain more recognized skills than judges include in its DV total. The first step is selecting the skills that are allowed to count.
How the WAG D-Score Is Calculated
On uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise, women build difficulty in four main steps.
Step 1: Add the Counting Difficulty Values
Judges count up to eight Difficulty Values, including the dismount, while applying the rules for that apparatus. A dismount is the skill used to finish the exercise; floor has a specific rule for identifying its final counting tumbling line.
Suppose a hypothetical routine has these eight counting elements:
E + E + D + D + D + C + C + C
The calculation is:
0.50 + 0.50 + 0.40 + 0.40 + 0.40 + 0.30 + 0.30 + 0.30 = 3.10 DV
That is the individual-skill subtotal. It becomes the first part of the D-Score.
The eight are selected under these apparatus rules:
| Event | How counting difficulty is selected |
|---|---|
| Uneven bars | Up to eight values, including the dismount, subject to repetition and skill-family limits |
| Balance beam | The eight include at least three dance and three acrobatic elements; the remaining two may be either type |
| Floor exercise | The same minimum of three dance and three acrobatic elements applies, together with limits on counting tumbling lines |
Dance elements include leaps, jumps and turns. Acrobatic elements include movements such as handsprings and flips. A flip is also called a salto in the Code.
On floor, no more than four acrobatic lines can contribute difficulty. An acrobatic line is a connected tumbling sequence meeting the Code’s definition. The dismount value comes from the highest-valued acrobatic element in the last counting line; it is not necessarily the final movement the gymnast performs. These rules appear in Sections 7, 11.2, 12.2 and 13.2 of the current WAG Code.
Step 2: Add Composition Requirements
Each of these three events has four Composition Requirements (CR), worth 0.50 each. They reward the routine for including specified types of movement.
Meeting all four adds:
4 × 0.50 = 2.00 CR
Three completed requirements add 1.50, two add 1.00, and one adds 0.50. Judges award the requirements that are actually fulfilled.
For example, uneven bars requires a flight element on the same bar: the gymnast releases and catches that bar again. Floor includes a requirement for a double salto—two flips within one skill—performed within an acrobatic line. Each apparatus has its own complete set of conditions in the WAG Composition Requirements.
A skill can contribute its own DV and help satisfy a requirement. The two forms of credit answer different questions: how difficult the skill is, and whether the routine contains the required movement.
Step 3: Add Connection Value
Some combinations earn extra points because the gymnast links the skills in a way specified by the Code. This additional credit is Connection Value (CV).
Qualifying connections generally earn 0.10 or 0.20, depending on the event and combination. The letters alone do not establish the bonus: the type of skill, order and way the movements connect can all matter.
For example, on uneven bars, a direct E + E connection with at least one flight element can earn 0.20 CV when it meets the technical conditions. If both elements also count individually, their combined contribution is:
0.50 DV + 0.50 DV + 0.20 CV = 1.20
On floor, some acrobatic connections can be indirect. Preparatory movements such as a round-off or back handspring may link the counting saltos within the permitted sequence. Connection credit therefore does not always require two saltos performed immediately one after the other.
Women’s elements used for CV do not necessarily have to be among the eight counting DVs. However, the connection must satisfy the relevant rules. A pause, fall or other interruption can cost connection credit even when the individual skills retain their values. See Sections 7.4, 11.4, 12.4 and 13.4 of the WAG Code.
Step 4: Add Applicable Bonuses
The current women’s rules include a 0.20 dismount bonus on bars, beam and floor for a D-or-higher dismount completed without a fall, subject to the event’s conditions.
Floor has an additional condition: the routine must contain more than two acrobatic lines, and the last line must be performed without a fall. A routine with only two tumbling lines does not receive this bonus, even if its final skill is difficult enough.
Beam can also earn a 0.10 Series Bonus (SB) for a qualifying series of three or more elements. One qualifying minimum pattern is B + B + C in any order, with the Code’s rules on the types of elements and connections still applying. This bonus can be added alongside eligible CV.
The conditions are set out in Sections 7.4.3, 12.4 and 13.4 of the women’s Code, with illustrated examples in the WAG Help Desk.
WAG Example: A Balance Beam D-Score
Consider a hypothetical beam routine that satisfies the counting rules, earns all four CRs, completes the qualifying connections and series, and finishes with a D-or-higher dismount without a fall.
| D-Score component | Credit |
|---|---|
| Eight counting Difficulty Values | 3.10 |
| Four Composition Requirements | 2.00 |
| Connection Value | 0.30 |
| Series Bonus | 0.10 |
| Dismount bonus | 0.20 |
| D-Score | 5.70 |
3.10 + 2.00 + 0.30 + 0.10 + 0.20 = 5.70
To isolate the effect of one missing requirement, suppose all the other credit stays the same but only three CRs are fulfilled. The CR subtotal becomes 1.50, so the D-Score becomes 5.20.
In an actual performance, one mistake can affect several components. Judges reassess every part that depends on the skill or connection involved.
How the MAG D-Score Is Calculated
On men’s floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, parallel bars and horizontal bar, judges also add counting skill values and other difficulty credit. The main difference is how men earn points for required types of movement and dismounts.
Step 1: Select the Eight Counting Elements
The current senior system counts eight elements on each non-vault event, reduced from 10 in the previous cycle.
On pommel horse, rings, parallel bars and horizontal bar, that consists of the dismount plus seven other counting elements. From January 1, 2026, floor also counts the dismount first, then the next seven highest eligible elements. The floor clarification appears in MTC Newsletter No. 1, with its effective date confirmed in Newsletter No. 2.
This does not give floor a separate dismount Element Group. It establishes which element must be included in the eight.
The usual limit is four counting elements from one Element Group, with apparatus-specific exceptions. On horizontal bar, for example, a fifth flight element can count when at least two flights are directly connected under the specified minimum C + C condition. Repetition and skill-family restrictions also affect selection. See the MAG counting rules and the horizontal bar clarification in Newsletter No. 1.
Once the eight are selected, judges add their DVs. In a hypothetical example:
F + E + E + D + D + D + D + C = 3.50 DV
One of those E elements could be the dismount: 0.50 for the dismount plus 3.00 for the other seven elements.
Step 2: Add Element Group Credit
Element Groups (EG) organize an apparatus’s skills into categories. They encourage gymnasts to show different types of movement, but they use a different credit system from women’s Composition Requirements.
Pommel horse, rings, parallel bars and horizontal bar have three regular groups—I, II and III—plus a Dismount Group IV. Floor has four movement groups, without a separate dismount group.
For example, men’s floor groups cover non-acrobatic elements, forward acrobatics, backward acrobatics, and single saltos with twisting.
For the regular groups, credit is calculated as follows:
| Group | Element used to fulfill it | Group credit |
|---|---|---|
| Group I | Any recognized counting element from the group | 0.50 |
| Other regular groups | A, B or C | 0.30 |
| Other regular groups | D or higher | 0.50 |
| Any required group | No qualifying counting element | 0.00 |
This regular-group table includes Floor Group IV. The separate dismount group on the other four events follows the table below.
The element used for group credit must be among the counting elements. Judges award group credit once for that category, rather than adding it again for every skill from the group. The general provisions are in Article 7.2 of the men’s Code.
This makes some upgrades particularly valuable. Replacing a counting C with a D can add 0.10 in skill value and 0.20 in group credit, if that D becomes the element earning the higher credit for its group.
Step 3: Add Dismount Group Credit Where Applicable
On pommel horse, rings, parallel bars and horizontal bar, the dismount has two roles. Its DV counts as one of the eight skills, and it earns separate Dismount Element Group credit.
Since January 1, 2026, that separate credit equals the dismount’s value up to a maximum of 0.50:
| Dismount rating | Individual DV | Separate dismount-group credit |
|---|---|---|
| A | 0.10 | 0.10 |
| B | 0.20 | 0.20 |
| C | 0.30 | 0.30 |
| D | 0.40 | 0.40 |
| E | 0.50 | 0.50 |
| F | 0.60 | 0.50 |
| G or higher | The skill’s full listed DV | 0.50 maximum |
An F dismount therefore contributes 0.60 DV + 0.50 group credit = 1.10 before any eligible stick bonus.
The original 2025 Code allowed the group credit to continue rising with the dismount value. The later MTC Newsletter No. 3establishes the cap and its effective date. The cap applies to the separate group credit; the individual dismount still keeps its full recognized DV.
Step 4: Add Connection Points, Then Check for a Separate Stick Bonus
Men’s floor exercise and horizontal bar award separate Connection Points for qualifying combinations. The detailed connection tables differ between these events, and the connected elements must be among the eight counting skills.
For example, horizontal bar can award 0.20 for a qualifying direct connection of a D-or-higher flight element with an E-or-higher flight element. Both must satisfy the recognition and connection conditions. The tables are in Sections 10 and 15 of the MAG Code.
Other apparatus have special combination rules that can change individual skill values. On parallel bars, certain combinations involving a one-bar element and a Healy-type turn can increase the elements’ DVs. Those increases belong in the skill-value total and should not also be added as separate Connection Points.
Men can also earn a 0.10 stick bonus for an eligible dismount of at least C difficulty on floor, rings, parallel bars and horizontal bar. Pommel horse is excluded. Vault has its own eligibility rule for vaults containing a salto.
Other execution faults do not automatically prevent the stick bonus, but raising the heels or toes to maintain balance does. The bonus and clarification are covered by Article 7.2 of the MAG Code and Newsletter No. 3.
MAG Example: A Horizontal Bar D-Score
Suppose a hypothetical routine has 3.50 in counting DVs, including an E dismount. It earns full credit for the regular groups, 0.20 in connections and the 0.10 stick bonus.
Now compare it with a version where the only D-or-higher element fulfilling Group III is replaced by a C from that group. Assume that skill still counts, the connections are unchanged, and nothing else affects the calculation.
| Component | Original routine | With the C replacement |
|---|---|---|
| Seven elements, excluding the dismount | 3.00 | 2.90 |
| E dismount DV | 0.50 | 0.50 |
| Element Group I | 0.50 | 0.50 |
| Element Group II | 0.50 | 0.50 |
| Element Group III | 0.50 | 0.30 |
| Dismount Group IV | 0.50 | 0.50 |
| Connection Points | 0.20 | 0.20 |
| D-Score | 5.70 | 5.40 |
| Separate stick bonus | 0.10 | 0.10 |
| D-Score plus stick bonus | 5.80 | 5.50 |
The original D-Score is 3.50 DV + 2.00 group credit + 0.20 connections = 5.70. Its separate 0.10 stick bonus brings the combined contribution to 5.80, before execution and penalties.
The D-Score falls by 0.30 after the replacement: one tenth comes from the easier skill and two tenths from lower Element Group credit. The stick bonus stays at 0.10 in this example. Keep it separate when reading a results sheet that shows an SB column, so it is included only once in the final score.
The official 2025 World Championships results use that separate-column layout. For example, Daiki Hashimoto’s horizontal bar qualification result shows 6.20 D + 8.10 E + 0.10 SB = 14.40 with no neutral deduction (results-book PDF page 99).
WAG and MAG D-Scores Compared
Both systems reward skill difficulty and routine construction, but their extra credit works differently.
| Feature | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Counting elements on non-vault events | Up to eight under the apparatus rules | Eight under the apparatus rules, with the dismount counted first |
| Individual skill values | A–J numerical scale | Same numerical scale |
| Required-content credit | Four CRs worth 0.50 each on bars, beam and floor | Element Groups; credit can depend on the counting skill’s difficulty |
| Separate connection credit | Bars, beam and floor | Floor and horizontal bar |
| Beam-style Series Bonus | Available on beam | No equivalent general category |
| Dismount-related credit | Conditional 0.20 bonus for D-or-higher dismounts | Separate dismount-group credit on four events, capped at 0.50 |
| Stick bonus | No general equivalent to the MAG stick bonus | Conditional 0.10 on eligible events |
These differences explain why a harder men’s dismount or an upgrade from C to D can affect more than one component. Women’s routine choices have their own effects through Composition Requirements, connections and bonuses.
How the Vault D-Score Is Calculated
For women’s vault, the D-Score is the numerical difficulty assigned to the vault judges recognize. There is no eight-skill subtotal or set of routine Composition Requirements to add.
For a hypothetical women’s vault with 5.40 difficulty and an 8.900 E-Score, with no separate penalties:
5.40 + 8.900 = 14.300
Men also use a vault difficulty table. An eligible salto vault can receive the 0.10 MAG stick bonus in addition to its listed value when the landing qualifies.
The women’s 0.20 bonus for a qualifying pair of vaults is different: it is added to the two-vault average, rather than to an individual vault’s D-Score. The guide to vault scoring, averages and bonuses explains the full calculation.
Why the Awarded D-Score Can Change
A gymnast may begin with a planned difficulty total, but judges calculate the score from the performance they see.
A lower recognized skill value can reduce the DV subtotal. A broken connection can remove connection credit. Missing required content or failing a bonus condition can reduce other parts of the calculation.
The effect of a mistake depends on the rest of the routine. If a skill loses value, another recognized element might move into the counting eight. Conversely, one error might cost both individual difficulty and group or connection credit, as in the horizontal bar example above.
Difficulty Credit and Execution Deductions Can Both Be Affected
The D-Jury decides which difficulty points to award. The E-Jury separately deducts for errors in how the gymnast performs.
Bent knees might cost execution points while the skill keeps its full DV. A more serious mistake might prevent recognition and also receive execution deductions. A fall does not have one automatic effect on difficulty across every skill and apparatus.
For the performance side of the score, see how FIG execution deductions build the E-Score.
Not Every Penalty Applied by the D-Jury Reduces the D-Score
The D-Jury also applies certain separate penalties. Those are taken from the final score rather than removed from difficulty.
For example, men’s floor requires a qualifying balance or an approved jump/leap. Missing this brings a 0.30 neutral deduction, and the required element may be outside the counting eight. It is a separate check from earning Element Group credit. The rule and later refinements appear in MTC Newsletter No. 1 and the July 2026 newsletter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Every Skill Add to the D-Score?
No. Counting limits, repetition rules and apparatus restrictions determine which individual values are included. Some additional movements may still help fulfill other conditions, while others are choreography or preparation.
Is There a Maximum D-Score?
There is no universal fixed maximum. In practice, each apparatus limits the number and types of elements and the extra credit a routine can earn.
Does a Higher D-Score Guarantee a Higher Final Score?
No. With no separate bonuses or penalties, 6.00 D + 7.80 E = 13.80, while 5.60 D + 8.50 E = 14.10. The second gymnast earns the higher final score because the execution advantage is larger than the difficulty disadvantage.
Does an F Dismount Still Receive 0.60 in Men’s Dismount Group Credit?
Under the rules effective January 1, 2026, it receives 0.60 individual DV and 0.50 dismount-group credit on pommel horse, rings, parallel bars and horizontal bar. The group-credit cap does not reduce the skill’s own value.
Does Men’s Floor Have a Dismount Element Group?
No. Floor has four movement groups. Its dismount is counted first within the eight elements, but it does not earn the separate dismount-group credit used on the other four non-vault apparatus.
What to Remember
To calculate a D-Score, first identify the skills that count, then add the required-content credit, qualifying connections and bonuses included in that difficulty total. Keep a separately displayed men’s stick bonus outside the D-Score and include it once in the final score.
Women’s Composition Requirements and men’s Element Groups follow different rules, and vault uses its own calculation. The score awarded depends on what the gymnast completes, so a planned difficulty total can change during the routine.