A men’s gymnastics score such as 14.400 combines two main judgments: how difficult the routine was and how well the gymnast performed it. A small landing bonus or a separate penalty can also affect the total.
- How a Men’s Gymnastics Score Is Calculated
- How the Men’s D-Score Is Built
- What Are Element Groups in Men’s Gymnastics?
- How the Men’s E-Score Is Calculated
- How the 0.10 Stick Bonus Works
- Why Men’s Vault Scoring Is Different
- What Changed in the 2025–2028 MAG Scoring Cycle?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
The difficulty portion is called the D-Score. The performance portion is the E-Score, short for Execution Score. Only the E-Score begins from 10.0, which is why the final score can be much higher than 10.
Men’s artistic gymnastics, often shortened to MAG, has six events: Floor Exercise, Pommel Horse, Still Rings, Vault, Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bar. This guide explains senior FIG scoring across those events, including the Element Groups that help determine a routine’s difficulty.
Rules checked September 13, 2026, against the 2025–2028 MAG Code of Points and official updates effective January 1 and September 1, 2026.
How a Men’s Gymnastics Score Is Calculated
When the stick bonus is displayed separately, the calculation is:
D-Score + E-Score + Stick Bonus − Penalties = Final Score
| Score component | What it tells the viewer |
|---|---|
| D-Score | How much difficulty the judges award for the skills and other required content |
| E-Score | How well the gymnast performs, starting from 10.0 and decreasing for mistakes |
| Stick bonus | An extra 0.10 for a qualifying controlled landing |
| Penalties | Separate deductions for certain rule violations |
For a real example, Daiki Hashimoto received the following marks in Horizontal Bar qualification at the 2025 World Championships:
| Component | Score |
|---|---|
| D-Score | 6.200 |
| E-Score | 8.100 |
| Stick bonus | +0.100 |
| Penalty | 0.000 |
| Final score | 14.400 |
The calculation was 6.200 + 8.100 + 0.100 = 14.400. The official results show the stick bonus in its own column, separate from difficulty and execution. That bonus is added only once. Official Horizontal Bar qualification results.
Different judging panels handle the two main scores. The D-Jury identifies the skills and determines their difficulty credit. The E-Jury evaluates the performance, with the judges’ marks combined according to the panel rules.
The broader guide to FIG difficulty and execution scoring explains how these two parts work in both men’s and women’s gymnastics.
How the Men’s D-Score Is Built
A gymnast earns difficulty points through the skills the judges recognize, the required movement categories he includes and, on certain events, difficult combinations performed directly together.
On the five events other than Vault, the main calculation is:
Difficulty Values + Element Group Credit + Applicable Connection Points = D-Score
Which Skills Count?
Under the current senior rules, a maximum of eight elements contribute their individual difficulty values. An element is the rulebook term for a gymnastics skill.
Pommel Horse, Still Rings, Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bar generally count seven eligible skills plus the dismount, the skill used to leave the apparatus and finish the routine. Floor counts eight elements under its own rules, including its required finishing element.
The gymnast may perform additional movements, but those movements do not automatically increase the difficulty total. Judges also apply restrictions on repetition and the number of counting skills from each Element Group. These counting rules appear in Sections 6 and 7 of the 2025–2028 MAG Code.
What Do the Difficulty Letters Mean?
Recognized skills receive a letter that corresponds to a numerical Difficulty Value, or DV. An A is worth 0.10, a B is worth 0.20, and the scale continues upward. A D is worth 0.40, an F is worth 0.60 and a J is worth 1.00.
If a D-rated skill replaces a C-rated skill among the counting elements, the individual difficulty total rises by 0.10. It could also affect other credit, depending on the skill’s role in the routine.
Judges award the value of the skill actually performed. Attempting an F does not guarantee 0.60 if the movement fails to meet the requirements for that element.
How Do Connections Add Difficulty?
On Floor and Horizontal Bar, certain difficult skills earn additional connection points when performed directly together under the event’s rules.
The skills can contribute their own Difficulty Values, while the qualifying connection adds separate credit. Simply performing two skills next to each other does not guarantee a bonus, and a broken connection can lose the expected points.
For a worked calculation, including the counting restrictions and different sources of credit, see how judges build the FIG D-Score.
What Are Element Groups in Men’s Gymnastics?
A routine needs more than a collection of difficult skills. It also needs a variety of movements suited to the event.
FIG organizes those movements into Element Groups, often abbreviated EG. On Rings, for example, swinging movements and strength holds belong to different groups. A gymnast cannot earn all the available group credit by performing only strength holds.
The categories change with the apparatus:
| Event | Main movement categories |
|---|---|
| Floor Exercise | Non-tumbling movements; forward tumbling; backward tumbling; single flips with at least one full twist |
| Pommel Horse | Scissors and single-leg swings; circular swings with the legs together or apart; movements that travel along the horse; dismounts |
| Still Rings | Swinging movements; strength and hold positions; swings directly into strength holds; dismounts |
| Parallel Bars | Movements beginning on the upper arms; work supported on the hands; hanging and underswing movements; dismounts |
| Horizontal Bar | Large hanging swings; release-and-catch skills; movements close to the bar; dismounts |
These are plain-English descriptions of the groups. The Code assigns each element to a specific category, and a skill can fulfill only the group in which it is listed. A qualifying skill must also be among the counting elements to earn Element Group credit.
Floor has four regular groups. The other four events in the table have three regular groups plus a separate Dismount Group. Vault uses its own difficulty table and has no routine-style Element Group requirements.
How Much Credit Does a Group Earn?
For a regular group other than Group I, a counting A, B or C element earns 0.30, while a D or harder element earns 0.50.
Group I is the exception: a recognized counting element from that group earns 0.50 regardless of its difficulty letter. The dismount follows the separate rule below.
Consider a regular group where the difficulty threshold applies. A C skill contributes 0.30 for the skill itself and 0.30 for fulfilling the group. Replacing it with a qualifying D contributes 0.40 for the skill and 0.50 for the group.
In this isolated example, the change adds 0.30 overall: 0.10 from the harder skill and 0.20 from higher group credit. It assumes no other part of the calculation changes.
Two routines with the same total of individual Difficulty Values can therefore have different D-Scores if they earn different group credit or connection points.
How Does Dismount Group Credit Work?
On Pommel Horse, Still Rings, Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bar, the dismount earns its own Difficulty Value and can also earn Dismount Group credit.
Since January 1, 2026, the group credit has been capped at 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 harder | 0.60 or more | 0.50 maximum |
An F dismount still receives its full 0.60 individual value. Its additional group credit is 0.50, giving 1.10 across those two components. The cap replaced the original 2025 rule, which allowed the group credit to rise above 0.50. December 2025 MAG newsletter.
How the Men’s E-Score Is Calculated
Execution covers the quality of the performance: body positions, technique, control and how clearly the gymnast completes each movement.
The calculation is:
E-Score = 10.00 − Execution Deductions
For example, if the panel’s final deduction total is 1.60, the gymnast receives an 8.40 E-Score.
| Error category | Typical deduction |
|---|---|
| Small error | 0.10 |
| Medium error | 0.30 |
| Large error | 0.50 |
| Fall | 1.00 |
The exact deduction depends on the fault and the event. Some mistakes have fixed penalties; others have different amounts according to their severity. Judges do not choose freely from all four amounts for every error.
What Are Judges Watching?
Bent knees, separated legs, poor body position and uncontrolled landings are familiar examples. A gymnast can receive several deductions on one skill, such as a form error in the air followed by a landing step.
Each apparatus adds its own demands. On Pommel Horse, judges watch whether the circles remain extended and continuous. Rings requires precise strength positions and clear holds.
Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bar demand accurate handstands, controlled swings and clean catches. Floor and Vault require sufficient flight and controlled landings.
Some faults are difficult to spot at normal speed. A routine can look successful from the stands while repeated small errors lower the E-Score. To see how the awarded scores add up, use the men’s score calculator. Choose FIG and Men, then enter the difficulty and execution. Add a separate stick bonus only when it is listed outside those scores.
Can Better Execution Beat Greater Difficulty?
Yes. Consider two hypothetical routines with no stick bonus or separate penalties:
| Gymnast | D-Score | E-Score | Final score |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 6.200 | 7.700 | 13.900 |
| B | 5.900 | 8.500 | 14.400 |
Gymnast A gains 0.30 through difficulty. Gymnast B gains 0.80 through execution and finishes 0.50 ahead.
A mistake can also affect both scores. A fall receives an execution deduction, and the gymnast may additionally lose difficulty points if a skill or connection is not credited. The difficulty loss depends on what happened; it is not an automatic second deduction for every fall.
What Is a Separate Penalty?
Some rule violations reduce the final score separately. Examples include exceeding the Floor time limit or touching outside the permitted Floor area. These are often called neutral deductions.
A gymnast can receive both an execution deduction for a landing step and a boundary penalty if that step goes outside the area. The two deductions address different parts of the performance.
How the 0.10 Stick Bonus Works
A stuck landing shows control without a step or hop. Under the current MAG rules, a qualifying stuck dismount rated C or higher can earn 0.10, including an eligible finishing element on Floor. Vaults containing a flip, called a salto, can also qualify. Pommel Horse is excluded.
The bonus is awarded by the D-Jury. When official results display it in a separate column, it is added to the displayed D-Score and E-Score as shown in the Hashimoto example above.
The landing does not have to be free of every deduction to receive the bonus. The Code allows some other faults, such as an arm movement or feet apart, to be deducted while the stick bonus is still awarded.
However, raising the heels or toes to maintain balance prevents the bonus. See Article 7.2 of the MAG Code and the January 2026 clarification.
A further clarification effective September 1, 2026 confirms that a gymnast can receive a stick bonus on Floor or Vault even when the landing also receives a line deduction. Landing control and landing location are evaluated separately. July 2026 MAG newsletter.
Why Men’s Vault Scoring Is Different
Vault consists of one complete vault rather than a routine assembled from several counting skills. Judges identify the vault performed and apply its predetermined Difficulty Value.
There are no eight-element totals or routine-style Element Group credits to add. Execution is still evaluated from 10.0, and an eligible stick bonus or separate penalty can affect the result.
For a hypothetical vault with 5.60 difficulty, an 8.90 E-Score, a 0.10 stick bonus and no penalty:
5.60 + 8.90 + 0.10 = 14.600
When Do Men Perform Two Vaults?
Team and all-around competition use one vault score. A gymnast seeking a place in the vault apparatus final must perform two vaults in qualification, and finalists also perform two.
The two-vault result uses the average, subject to the relevant penalties and rules. The pair must meet the men’s requirements for different vault groups. The better vault does not simply replace the lower-scoring one.
The first qualification vault supplies the team or all-around vault score even when the gymnast performs a second vault for apparatus-final qualification. For the full format, see how vault scores and attempts are handled.
What Changed in the 2025–2028 MAG Scoring Cycle?
Several changes explain why a current score may look different from a score earned for similar gymnastics in an earlier cycle.
| Change | Current rule or effect |
|---|---|
| Counting skills | Eight on non-vault events, reduced from 10 |
| Floor time limit | 70 seconds, reduced from 75 |
| Vault difficulty scale | All men’s vault values reduced by 0.40 at the start of the cycle |
| Very difficult elements | The MAG difficulty scale now includes J-rated skills worth 1.00 |
| Landing reward | A 0.10 stick bonus is available under the qualifying rules |
The federation’s overview of the cycle changes explains the initial revisions. The later newsletters must be read alongside the Code: the dismount-credit cap took effect in January 2026, and further landing clarifications took effect in September 2026.
A lower D-Score across different rule cycles does not necessarily show that a gymnast performed easier skills. The number of counting elements and the values awarded may have changed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Men’s Gymnastics Scored Out of 10?
Senior FIG men’s gymnastics has no fixed maximum final score. Only the E-Score starts from 10.0; difficulty and any applicable stick bonus are added separately. The Code still limits which skills and credits can count.
Does Every Men’s Routine Need Eight Skills?
Eight is the maximum number of elements counted for individual difficulty on non-vault events. It does not describe every movement in the routine. Performing too few recognized elements can also trigger short-exercise penalties.
Does a Hard Dismount Automatically Earn the Stick Bonus?
No. Difficulty and landing control are separate conditions. A sufficiently difficult dismount still has to meet the landing rules to earn the extra 0.10.
Are Element Groups the Same on Every Event?
No. Each apparatus has its own categories. A Rings strength hold and a Horizontal Bar release skill satisfy different event-specific requirements.
What Is a Good Men’s Gymnastics Score?
There is no single cutoff that works across every event, competition and rule cycle. The most useful comparison is with other routines on the same apparatus under the same rules, using the D-Score and E-Score to understand the difference.
Conclusion
A men’s score becomes easier to follow when its parts are separated. The D-Score rewards the skills, movement groups and connections judges count. The E-Score reflects how well the routine was performed. A qualifying stick bonus and any separate penalties complete the calculation.