Men’s gymnastics routines must show a range of skills. A Rings routine needs both swing and strength work, while a High Bar routine needs more than spectacular releases. These different skill families are called Element Groups (EG).
On the five non-vault events, Element Group credit contributes to the difficulty portion of the score, called the D-Score. Under the current senior rules, four groups can contribute up to 2.00 points. The amount earned depends on which groups the gymnast covers and, in most cases, the difficulty of the skills used.
This article covers senior FIG men’s artistic gymnastics, or MAG, under the 2025–2028 Code of Points, including the dismount-credit change effective January 1, 2026. Rules and updates were checked through September 14, 2026. For the overall scoring system, see how men’s gymnastics scoring works.
How Element Groups Contribute to the D-Score
An Element Group classifies skills according to their movement or the way they use the apparatus. Each event has its own categories, so Group II on Rings contains different gymnastics from Group II on Parallel Bars.
Floor Exercise has four regular skill groups. Pommel Horse, Still Rings, Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bar each have three regular groups plus a fourth group for dismounts. Vault uses a separate system based on the value of the complete vault.
How Much Is Each Group Worth?
Regular groups follow these rules:
| Requirement | Difficulty of the qualifying counting skill | Group credit |
|---|---|---|
| EG I | A or higher | 0.50 |
| EG II or III | A, B or C | 0.30 |
| EG II or III | D or higher | 0.50 |
| Floor EG IV | A, B or C | 0.30 |
| Floor EG IV | D or higher | 0.50 |
Dismount Group IV follows a different scale, explained below. A D dismount earns 0.40 in group credit, even though a D skill in a regular Group II or III can earn 0.50.
Group credit is awarded once for each group. Performing three D-rated elements from Group II does not earn three separate 0.50 group credits. Those elements may contribute their individual difficulty, but Group II still contributes no more than 0.50.
Individual Difficulty and Group Credit Are Separate
A skill can contribute both its own Difficulty Value (DV) and the credit for its Element Group.
For example, a counting D-rated element from Group II has an individual value of 0.40. If it fulfills that group, it also provides 0.50 in group credit:
0.40 individual difficulty + 0.50 group credit = 0.90 contributed to the D-Score
The skill remains a D-rated element. The additional credit rewards the gymnast for including that type of movement. The guide to FIG skill difficulty values explains the letter ratings separately.
Which Skills Can Earn Group Credit?
The qualifying element must be among the skills that count toward difficulty. Floor counts eight elements. Pommel Horse, Rings, Parallel Bars and High Bar count seven eligible elements plus the dismount, with a maximum of four counting elements from the same group.
Judges therefore cannot select counting difficulty without considering the construction rules. A skill performed elsewhere in the routine does not automatically earn group credit if it falls outside the counting set.
An element can fulfill only the group in which the Code lists it. Its movement may resemble more than one category, but the gymnast does not receive two group requirements from that one skill. These rules appear in Articles 6.1 and 7.2 of the FIG MAG Code of Points.
Element Group Requirements by Event
The tables below summarize the movement families on each apparatus. The official classification of an individual skill comes from its entry in the Code’s difficulty tables.
Floor Exercise
Floor combines tumbling with non-acrobatic gymnastics. Its fourth group covers a particular type of salto—a flip—rather than dismounts.
| Floor group | What it includes |
|---|---|
| EG I | Non-acrobatic skills, including recognized balance and strength elements |
| EG II | Forward acrobatic elements |
| EG III | Backward acrobatic elements |
| EG IV | Single forward or backward saltos with at least one full twist |
Group IV is an easy source of confusion. A single backward salto with twisting may belong to Group IV, so it cannot also supply Group III credit simply because the gymnast rotates backward. The listed group determines which requirement it fulfills.
For full group credit, the gymnast needs an eligible counting element from Group I and D-or-harder counting elements from Groups II, III and IV.
Floor also has a separate finishing requirement: a senior gymnast must finish with a multiple salto, and that element must count among the eight difficulty elements. A double salto, for example, contains two flips within one skill.
That finishing rule does not turn Floor Group IV into a dismount group. The final multiple salto contributes through its own listed group, without the additional dismount-group credit used on the other four non-vault events.
Pommel Horse
Pommel Horse groups distinguish separate-leg movements, circling work, travel across the horse and the finish.
| Pommel Horse group | What it includes |
|---|---|
| EG I | Single-leg swings and scissors |
| EG II | Circles, flairs and related turning, handstand and combined elements |
| EG III | Traveling elements that move the gymnast across the horse |
| EG IV | Dismounts |
Scissors involve the legs moving separately. Circles and flairs provide continuous circling work, while travels change the gymnast’s position on the apparatus.
Some elements combine several movements, so their group cannot always be identified from one visible feature. The difficulty-table entry determines whether a complex turning or traveling skill belongs to Group II or III.
A routine containing difficult circles can still miss group credit if it lacks a counting scissor element or qualifying travel. Keeping the swing continuous matters for execution, but it does not replace the need to cover the groups.
Still Rings
Rings separates swinging skills from strength work and from movements that swing directly into strength positions.
| Still Rings group | What it includes |
|---|---|
| EG I | Kip and swing skills, including swings through or into handstand |
| EG II | Strength elements and held positions |
| EG III | Swinging elements that finish in a strength hold |
| EG IV | Dismounts |
The difference between Groups II and III concerns how the gymnast reaches the position. A strength element and a swing into a strength hold can finish in a similar shape while belonging to different groups.
Required hold positions have a two-second standard. Judges evaluate both the recognized element and the quality of the position, so group classification alone does not guarantee full difficulty recognition or clean execution.
Rings also requires a swing to handstand held for two seconds among the eight counting elements. Covering all four groups is therefore only part of satisfying the apparatus’s construction rules.
Parallel Bars
Parallel Bars groups reflect the different positions from which the gymnast swings or supports the body.
| Parallel Bars group | What it includes |
|---|---|
| EG I | Elements beginning in an upper-arm position |
| EG II | Elements in support, or passing through support, on both rails |
| EG III | Long hanging swings on one or both rails, and underswings |
| EG IV | Dismounts |
In an upper-arm position, the upper arms rest against the rails. In hand support, the gymnast supports the body through the hands. Hanging elements take the body below the bars.
The group requirements encourage routines to move through these different ways of using the apparatus. A routine cannot earn full group credit from difficult work performed entirely in one type of support.
The group numbering above follows the current Code. Older Parallel Bars guides may arrange the categories differently.
Horizontal Bar
Horizontal Bar, commonly called High Bar, divides its content into large swings, releases, close-to-the-bar work and dismounts.
| Horizontal Bar group | What it includes |
|---|---|
| EG I | Long hanging swings, with or without turns |
| EG II | Flight elements that release and regrasp the bar |
| EG III | In-bar and Adler elements |
| EG IV | Dismounts |
Giant-type swings are familiar examples of the long-swing family. Flight elements are the release moves spectators often notice first. In-bar work brings the body closer to the bar and includes families such as Stalder and Endo elements; Adler skills also belong to Group III.
Release combinations may earn substantial difficulty and applicable connection points, but they still cover only their assigned group. The routine needs other counting movement families to earn the remaining group credit.
Vault
Vaults are classified into groups, but Vault does not use the Element Group requirement-credit system described above.
Each recognized vault has a predetermined Difficulty Value. The gymnast does not add another 0.50 for showing its vault group. Group restrictions can affect the selection of two vaults for apparatus competition, but they serve a different purpose from the four requirements used to construct a non-vault routine.
The event classifications and the additional Floor and Rings requirements are set out in Sections 10–15 of the official MAG Code.
How Dismount Group Credit Works in 2026
On Pommel Horse, Rings, Parallel Bars and High Bar, the dismount earns its individual Difficulty Value plus credit for Dismount Group IV.
Effective January 1, 2026, that group credit equals the dismount’s Difficulty Value up to a maximum of 0.50:
| Dismount rating | Individual Difficulty Value | 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 or higher | 0.60 or higher | 0.50 maximum |
An F dismount therefore contributes 0.60 in individual difficulty plus 0.50 in group credit. Its individual value remains intact.
The original 2025 rule allowed the group credit to continue rising with the dismount’s value. The later update introduced the cap. Current calculations should use MAG Newsletter No. 3 alongside the main Code.
For full 2.00 group credit on these four events, the gymnast needs full credit in Groups I–III and an E-or-harder dismount. A D dismount leaves the group total at 1.90 when the other three groups receive 0.50 each.
Is the Stick Bonus Part of Group Credit?
An eligible stuck landing can earn a separate 0.10 bonus under MAG rules. Pommel Horse is excluded.
That bonus is not extra Element Group credit. Official results display it separately from the D-Score and E-Score, as shown in the 2025 World Championships results. The guide to gymnastics bonus rules explains the qualifying conditions and how the different bonuses affect a score.
A Worked Element Group Example
Suppose a Parallel Bars routine has the following counting skills available to fulfill its groups. No counting element harder than C belongs to Group III.
| Requirement | Skill providing the group credit | Credit earned |
|---|---|---|
| EG I | B | 0.50 |
| EG II | D | 0.50 |
| EG III | C | 0.30 |
| EG IV: Dismount | E | 0.50 |
| Total group credit | 1.80 |
The gymnast has covered all four groups, but the C in Group III earns 0.30 rather than the maximum 0.50.
Replacing that C with a recognized D from the same group would add 0.20 in group credit. It would also increase the individual skill value from 0.30 to 0.40.
Assuming the other counting elements remain unchanged, the total improvement would be:
0.20 additional group credit + 0.10 additional skill difficulty = 0.30 added to the D-Score
This is why the effect of an upgrade depends partly on which group it serves. The same C-to-D upgrade in Group I would not increase group credit, because Group I already earns 0.50 from an eligible C.
The complete calculation also includes the remaining counting skills and any applicable connection points. See how the FIG D-Score is calculated for the wider formula.
What Can Reduce Element Group Credit?
Judges award credit for the routine actually performed and recognized. Planned difficulty alone does not secure an Element Group.
If a gymnast’s only qualifying Group III element is a D and judges recognize it as a C instead, the group credit can fall from 0.50 to 0.30, along with the reduction in the element’s own difficulty.
If the element receives no difficulty recognition, the effect depends on the remaining routine. Another eligible counting skill from Group III might preserve some or all of the group credit. If no qualifying counting element remains in that group, its credit is lost.
The counting set can also change after an error. It is therefore inaccurate to assume that every failed skill automatically removes an entire group or to calculate the loss from the intended skill alone.
Missing group credit affects the D-Score. Execution errors are evaluated separately in the E-Score. One mistake may affect both—for example, if it prevents recognition of a required skill and also earns an execution deduction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Gymnast Need One Skill From Every Group?
To earn credit for all four groups, each must be represented by a qualifying counting element. The gymnast can perform more than one skill from a group, within the counting restrictions, but each group receives requirement credit only once.
Can One Skill Fulfill Two Element Groups?
No. A skill fulfills only the group under which it is listed in the Code. A twisting backward salto on Floor cannot automatically earn both backward-acrobatics and twisting-salto group credit.
Are Element Groups the Same as Women’s Composition Requirements?
Both help ensure varied routine content, but their rules differ. FIG women’s gymnastics uses Composition Requirements on Uneven Bars, Beam and Floor. Men’s Element Groups organize recognized skills into apparatus-specific families, with credit depending partly on the difficulty used.
Does Full Group Credit Guarantee a High Final Score?
No. Group credit is only part of difficulty, and execution still affects the final result. A gymnast can earn all 2.00 in group credit while losing points for poor form, technical errors or an uncontrolled landing.