Most gymnasts (and parents) assume a hop is automatically “worse” than a “step.” In real judging, that’s usually not how it works.
Across the common scoring systems, judges don’t care as much about the label (“hop” vs “step”) as they care about how big the adjustment is and how much control you show. A tiny hop can be a small deduction. A big step can be a bigger one. And multiple adjustments stack fast.
Below is how it’s handled in the two systems most people run into in the U.S.: USAG Development Program (DP) and NCAA.
The Core Principle: Judges Deduct the Adjustment
A landing “adjustment” is any extra movement after contact that shows you didn’t fully absorb and stop the landing.
That can look like:
- a slight hop in place
- a shuffle / foot reposition
- a step forward/back/side
- a step-close (step, then bring the other foot in)
- a large step/jump to avoid a fall
What changes the deduction is typically the size (small/medium/large) and sometimes the number of steps, not whether the foot left the floor.
How This Works in the USA Gymnastics Development Program (DP)
In USAG DP, the Code explicitly lists “slight hop” and “small adjustment of feet” together as a small landing deduction, up to 0.10.
Where it starts to separate is when your movement becomes a clearer step (or multiple steps):
- Up to 0.10: slight hop / small adjustment
- 0.10–0.15 each (max 0.40): small or medium step(s) on landing
- 0.20 each (max 0.40): large step or jump (roughly “~3 feet or more”)
And USAG gives an important clarification that affects “step vs hop” debates:
- A small step-close still counts as one small step (0.10).
- A very small step-close / tiny foot movement can be 0.05.
USAG also clarifies that if your feet slide/lift to bring them together, judges may treat it as a small step rather than “no deduction.”
Floor-specific exception (why some “steps” aren’t deducted)
On floor, a small, controlled step into a lunge in the direction of the pass can be allowed with no deduction (when it’s clearly controlled and appropriate). This is why you’ll sometimes see a gymnast take a tidy lunge step and not get hammered for it, especially on forward tumbling.
So in USAG DP:
A tiny hop and a tiny step can both live in the “up to 0.10” world. The bigger deduction usually comes from a bigger step (or multiple steps), not from the fact that it’s a step.
How This Works in NCAA gymnastics
NCAA scoring summaries commonly list:
- Small step or hop on landing: ≤ 0.10
- Large step or hop on landing: ≤ 0.20
That wording is pretty telling: NCAA generally treats step and hop as the same category, and the deciding factor is again size/control.
So in NCAA:
A hop isn’t automatically worse than a step. A large adjustment is worse than a small one, whether it’s a hop or a step.
Quick comparison table: which “wins” the bigger deduction?
| Landing situation | USAG DP typical treatment | NCAA typical treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Tiny foot shift / micro-adjustment | Can be as little as 0.05 in some “very small” cases | Usually treated as a small adjustment (often within ≤0.10) |
| Slight hop in place | Up to 0.10 | ≤0.10 |
| One small step | 0.10–0.15 (small/medium step range) | ≤0.10 if it’s truly small |
| Step-close (step then bring feet together) | Counts as one step; can be 0.10 (or 0.05 if very small) | Typically judged by size (often still “small”) |
| Large step/jump to save landing | 0.20 each (max 0.40) | ≤0.20 (large step/hop category) |
Takeaway: in both systems, the bigger deduction usually comes from the bigger adjustment, not the fact that it was a hop instead of a step.
What Judges Are Watching on Landings
Judges are reading two things at once:
1) Distance / displacement
How far did your base move? A small movement in place is viewed differently than traveling a couple feet.
2) Control / absorption
Did you land and settle… or land and fight?
This is why two “small” steps can score differently. One gymnast takes a tidy step and stops. Another takes a similar step but the chest drops, arms swing wildly, and the landing looks saved. In USAG, those extra balance-saving actions can add additional deductions beyond just the step itself.
So, Which gets the bigger deduction: hop or step?
Neither, by default.
In both USAG DP and NCAA:
- Small hops and small steps live in the same deduction range
- Bigger steps usually cost more than tiny hops
- Control matters as much as distance
The practical rule
If you want fewer landing deductions, focus on this order:
- No extra movement
- If you must move: make it tiny
- If you must take a step: one controlled step and stop
- Avoid: big traveling step/jump or multiple steps
That’s what judges reward.
