Sometimes a gymnastics score changes a few minutes after it appears. A coach may believe the judges missed some of the routine’s difficulty and ask for it to be checked. That formal request is called a score inquiry.
The score can go up, stay the same or go down. Asking for a review does not guarantee extra points.
This article explains the 2026 rules for women’s and men’s artistic gymnastics set by FIG, the sport’s international governing body. College gymnastics and domestic USAG competitions have different inquiry procedures.
What Can a Coach Ask Judges to Check?
In FIG gymnastics, a routine receives two main scores. The difficulty score, or D-Score, rewards the difficulty of the skills and other qualifying routine content. The execution score, or E-Score, reflects how well the gymnast performs.
An ordinary inquiry can challenge the difficulty score. It cannot challenge an execution deduction simply because a coach thinks a landing or body position deserved a smaller penalty. The FIG Technical Regulations, Articles 8.5–8.6, set out this distinction.
For example, a coach might ask: “Did that combination of skills earn its extra tenth?” That is a difficulty question. “Was the deduction for bent knees too harsh?” is an execution question and cannot be raised through a D-Score inquiry.
The guide to how FIG gymnastics scoring works shows how difficulty and execution fit together.
Why a Planned Skill Might Not Earn the Expected Points
Judges score what the gymnast actually performs. A coach may plan two skills as a combination, but a pause between them can stop the combination from earning credit.
During an inquiry, officials check whether the performance met the rule. The presence of both skills alone does not settle the question. The article on how judges decide whether a skill gets credit explains this more fully.
Who Submits an Inquiry, and What Is the Deadline?
Each national federation designates someone to submit inquiries for its gymnasts. That person can be a coach or another delegation member, but cannot be a judge. The submission must come from the designated inquiry area.
A country cannot use this process to challenge another country’s gymnast. The official 2026 Varna World Challenge Cup work plan, Section 22, confirms these arrangements.
The deadline depends on the submission system:
| How the inquiry is submitted | Deadline under the 2026 rules |
|---|---|
| Electronically | Within two minutes after the score appears |
| On the official form, when no electronic device is available | Before the next gymnast’s score appears |
| On the official form for the last gymnast in a rotation | Within two minutes after that gymnast’s score appears |
These deadlines come from Article 8.5.5 of the FIG Technical Regulations. A late or incorrectly submitted request can be rejected.
For an electronic inquiry, a score appearing at 2:10 p.m. starts a two-minute window. With a paper form, the usual deadline is tied to the next score instead. Teams therefore need to know which system the meet uses before competition begins.
Simply talking to an official beside the apparatus does not replace the required submission.
What Happens to the Score During a Review?
The senior official responsible for the review checks the official competition video. That official is the President of the Superior Jury, the group that oversees judging, or the Technical Delegate where applicable.
Personal phone footage is not used for the inquiry. In an artistic apparatus final, the decision must be made before the next gymnast’s score appears. See the Varna work plan’s inquiry procedure.
Here is an invented example. A gymnast first receives 5.500 for difficulty and 8.100 for execution, with no separate penalty. The total is 13.600.
| Review result | Difficulty score | Final score |
|---|---|---|
| Judges add one tenth of difficulty | 5.600 | 13.700 |
| Judges confirm the original difficulty | 5.500 | 13.600 |
| Judges remove one tenth of difficulty | 5.400 | 13.500 |
Execution stays at 8.100 in all three examples. The table shows why an inquiry can change the final result without changing the judges’ assessment of the gymnast’s form or landings.
Does an Inquiry Cost Money?
Yes, unless the review increases the difficulty score. The fees are listed in Swiss francs, abbreviated CHF:
| Inquiry in the competition’s fee sequence | Fee |
|---|---|
| First | CHF 300 |
| Second | CHF 500 |
| Third and each later inquiry | CHF 1,000 |
The sequence continues across the competition’s stages. If the D-Score increases, the fee is waived. Otherwise, the federation is charged after the competition. These are the rules in Article 8.5.9.
In the example above, a rise to 13.700 would qualify for the waiver. An unchanged 13.600 would not. The fee depends on the difficulty decision, even if the revised score does not change the gymnast’s placing.
What About Going Out of Bounds or Over the Time Limit?
Some scoring decisions have a separate review route. Where the rules allow it, a team can ask officials to check a time, line or bonus decision without paying an inquiry fee. The same submission process and deadlines apply. Other neutral penalties cannot be challenged through this route. See Article 8.6.
A line review might concern whether a foot crossed the floor boundary. That is a different question from whether the gymnast took a large landing step: the first concerns the boundary; the second concerns execution.
The women’s Code specifically includes Vault Bonus among the decisions that may be reviewed separately. A disagreement about bonus already included in the D-Score still belongs to a difficulty inquiry. See the women’s Code, Section 3.1.
The article on neutral deductions in gymnastics explains these separate penalties.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an inquiry be withdrawn?
No. Once it has been submitted, it cannot be withdrawn. The Varna work plan, Section 22, repeats this FIG rule.
Can a rival country ask for a gymnast’s score to be lowered?
No. A federation can submit an inquiry only for its own gymnast.
Does every score change come from an inquiry?
No. Officials also have procedures for correcting certain errors and intervening in judging. These do not give coaches a general right to challenge execution scores. See the FIG Code Appendix, Part A.
Can the team submit another challenge to the inquiry decision?
The 2026 regulations make the inquiry outcome final within the ordinary competition inquiry process. The team cannot keep resubmitting the same disagreement.