Several officials may be watching the same gymnastics routine, but they do not all make the same decision. Some identify the skills, others assess the performance, and additional officials check boundaries, timing and the handling of the score.
At major international artistic-gymnastics competitions, the two main groups are the difficulty judges, called the D-Jury, and the execution judges, called the E-Jury. Their work produces different parts of the final result.
This guide explains the international system under the 2025–2028 FIG rules, then shows why a college judging panel can look different. It covers women’s and men’s artistic gymnastics; other gymnastics disciplines have their own arrangements.
Who Sits on a Gymnastics Judging Panel?
The standard artistic-gymnastics apparatus panel at the Olympic Games and World Championships has two difficulty judges and seven execution judges. That is nine scoring judges for the apparatus, with an apparatus supervisor and other officials performing additional duties.
Smaller international competitions may use fewer execution judges. The applicable event rules determine the panel, so nine is not a universal headcount for every meet. The current FIG General Judges’ Rules set different minimum arrangements for different competition groups. General Judges’ Rules, version 5.0, August 2026, section 8.
| Official or group | Main question they answer |
|---|---|
| D-Jury | Which skills, requirements and connections receive difficulty credit? |
| E-Jury | What deductions apply to the gymnast’s performance? |
| D1 judge | Have the apparatus procedures, separate penalties and other assigned decisions been handled correctly? |
| Line and time judges | Did the gymnast cross a boundary or exceed an applicable time limit? |
| Apparatus supervisor and Superior Jury | Is the judging being conducted and checked under the competition rules? |
| Scoring secretaries | Have the approved entries and results been recorded and displayed correctly? |
The D1 judge is one of the two difficulty judges, rather than an extra person added to the nine. The word jury simply identifies a group of officials with a particular responsibility.
Difficulty and Execution Are Separate Jobs
The Difficulty Judges Decide What Counts
The two difficulty judges record the routine and assess its content independently. They can then discuss it and agree on one D-Score. Their two calculations are not simply averaged.
Suppose a gymnast intends to connect two skills but pauses between them. The judges may count the skills while withholding the connection credit. Their question is whether the performance meets the rule for that connection, not whether the routine looked impressive overall.
Women’s and men’s routines also have different content requirements. The women use Composition Requirements on bars, beam and floor; the men use Element Groups on their non-vault apparatus.
Those details belong to the relevant scoring system. The D-Jury applies them to what the gymnast actually performed. FIG women’s Code, section 5.4.1, FIG men’s Code, article 5.4.1.
The guide to how judges award skill credit explains what happens when a movement finishes short or does not match the skill the gymnast intended.
The Execution Judges Assess the Whole Performance
Each execution judge watches the routine and records deductions independently, without consulting the other execution judges. One judge is not assigned only bent knees while another watches only landings. Each evaluates the performance within that judge’s E-Jury duties.
On women’s beam and floor, this includes artistry as well as execution. A gymnast can therefore receive difficulty credit for a skill while still losing execution points for the way it was performed. The two judging groups are answering different questions, so this is not automatically a disagreement.
The E-Jury’s entries are combined to produce one execution score. Their individual deduction totals are not all added together. The overall FIG scoring guide explains how the resulting E-Score combines with difficulty.
How Seven Execution Marks Become One Score
For a seven-member FIG E-Jury, the calculation uses the middle three deduction totals. The two highest and two lowest totals are removed from this calculation.
Here is a hypothetical example, with the deductions arranged from lowest to highest:
| Deduction totals | Treatment |
|---|---|
| 1.10 and 1.20 | The two lowest are removed |
| 1.30, 1.40 and 1.50 | These three are averaged |
| 1.60 and 1.70 | The two highest are removed |
The average of the three counting totals is 1.40. Subtracting that from 10.00 produces an 8.60 E-Score.
For a hypothetical women’s beam routine with a D-Score of 5.50 and no separate penalty, the result would be 14.10. This example uses round numbers so the calculation is visible; it is not a real competition result. The women’s and men’s Codes both specify averaging the middle three when there are seven E-Jury deductions. FIG women’s Code, section 6.2, FIG men’s Code, article 6.3.
Other panel sizes use different calculations. It would be incorrect to take a seven-judge example and apply its four discarded marks to a smaller panel.
Removing a mark from the calculation does not, by itself, establish that the judge made an error. Judges may assess the size of a fault differently, and their work remains subject to the applicable evaluation and oversight rules.
Who Checks Boundaries, Time and the Published Result?
Line judges report boundary violations on floor and vault. Time judges monitor the time assigned to them, which can include routine duration, the period after a fall or the time before a routine begins. The exact duties depend on the apparatus and discipline.
The D1 judge coordinates these officials and the scoring secretaries. D1 also ensures that applicable separate penalties are reflected before the score is displayed. In men’s artistic gymnastics, D1 has responsibility for ensuring the correct stick bonus is applied under the apparatus rules. FIG men’s Code, articles 5.4–5.5.
Scoring secretaries handle the approved entries and their display.
What Do the Supervisor and Superior Jury Do?
The apparatus supervisor checks the judging on an event. The Superior Jury oversees the competition’s technical judging and handles the matters assigned to it, including score inquiries. Supervisors can prepare control scores to check the work of the panels.
Their power to intervene follows rules. They do not simply replace every execution score they would have marked differently. The FIG Appendix distinguishes ordinary differences between judges from issues such as an impossible entry or an incorrectly applied penalty. Appendix to the Code of Points, section 1.4.
A coach’s inquiry is also a defined procedure. Under FIG, difficulty inquiries and requests concerning time, line or bonus decisions have specified routes; there is no general coach’s inquiry against the E-Score. The detailed deadlines and conditions belong in the dedicated inquiry guide. FIG Technical Regulations 2026, articles 8.5–8.6.
Where Does Judging Technology Fit?
FIG’s Judging Support System can supply movement measurements and views that assist officials. Human judges remain responsible for official decisions. Availability and use depend on the competition; the technology should not be assumed to decide every score automatically. World Gymnastics’ JSS explanation.
Why a College Judging Panel Looks Different
NCAA women’s judges evaluate routines within a Start Value system. A Chief Judge is designated on each apparatus, and a Meet Referee has responsibilities across the competition. This is not the same arrangement as a FIG panel with separate D and E juries.
The 2026–27 women’s modifications specify these ways of combining judges’ scores:
| NCAA women’s panel | Scores used for the average |
|---|---|
| Two judges | Both scores |
| Four judges | The middle two, after removing the highest and lowest |
| Six judges | The middle four, after removing the highest and lowest |
For example, two judges awarding 9.800 and 9.900 produce an average of 9.850. The example describes combining their routine scores, rather than averaging two FIG D-Scores. NCAA women’s modifications, sections 8.1–8.2.
The women’s rules also specify when judges may call a conference. A discussion at the table does not by itself show that a coach has challenged a score. The broader guide to NCAA women’s scoring puts those judges’ marks into the college scoring system.
NCAA men follow their own modifications. For example, the standard four-judge arrangement assigns difficulty duties to two judges while all four evaluate execution, and all four execution marks are averaged.
Alternative formats have different arrangements. A viewer should identify the competition format before borrowing another meet’s panel calculation. NCAA men’s modifications, sections 1 and 13.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are gymnastics judges trained officials?
Yes. FIG international judging requires an appropriate current qualification, called a brevet. Permitted assignments depend on the judge’s category and the competition. Courses, examinations and ongoing evaluation are covered in the General Judges’ Rules.
Can the two difficulty judges talk to each other?
Yes. They assess the routine independently and then jointly establish the D-Score. Execution judges record their own deductions without consulting each other.
Is there a separate artistry panel in women’s artistic gymnastics?
The artistic-gymnastics E-Jury assesses the applicable artistry faults. A separate artistry panel used in another gymnastics discipline should not be assumed to apply here.
Does the head judge decide the whole score?
No. D1 coordinates important parts of the process, but difficulty, execution, timing, boundaries and supervision have assigned responsibilities. The published score comes from that combined process.
A Quick Summary
Gymnastics judging divides a routine into decisions that require different kinds of attention. Difficulty judges decide what counts; execution judges assess performance; other officials handle specific checks and the proper recording of the result.
The number of judges and the averaging method depend on the competition. Understanding their jobs explains more than simply counting the people around the apparatus.