A gymnast can earn an official skill name by introducing a new element, performing it at an eligible international competition and meeting the recognition rules. The relevant Technical Committee then confirms the skill’s difficulty and name.
The performance does not have to receive zero execution deductions. What matters is whether the new skill meets the applicable submission, competition and recognition requirements. Men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics have separate provisions.
What Counts as a New Skill?
A gymnastics skill is also called an element. The Code of Points lists recognized elements and the difficulty value assigned to each one.
A proposed new element might add twisting to an existing somersault, use a different body position or introduce a different release-and-catch action. However, a small variation does not automatically qualify as a separate element. The Technical Committee decides how the proposed movement fits the Code.
A new sequence is not necessarily a new skill either. Connecting two already recognized elements may earn connection points without creating a separately named element.
The distinction is between a movement recognized as its own element and a routine that arranges existing elements in a new way.
How Submission and Recognition Work
1. The Proposed Skill Is Submitted for Evaluation
The gymnast’s representatives submit the proposed element through the required competition procedure. Technical descriptions, drawings and video help officials understand exactly what is being attempted.
This can happen before the gymnast competes the skill. Officials may assign a provisional value, meaning a value used for that competition while final Technical Committee confirmation is still pending.
The submission deadlines differ by discipline. Women’s Code Section 7.2.3 refers to the deadline in the competition’s Work Plan. Men’s Article 7.1 requires an unlisted element to be submitted for a difficulty rating 24 hours before podium training at official FIG competitions. The event instructions must also be followed.
2. The Gymnast Performs It at an Eligible Competition
Both Codes identify official FIG Group 1, 2 or 3 competitions for the first international performance used in naming. These are FIG event classifications; an event does not qualify simply because its organizer calls it international.
A training video can support the submission, but posting a successful attempt online does not itself earn an official name. A domestic performance also does not replace the required eligible international performance.
3. The Performance Must Meet the Discipline’s Conditions
For letter-rated elements, the naming provisions set a minimum difficulty of C. The skill must receive the required difficulty recognition, not merely be attempted.
Women’s rules require the element to be performed for Difficulty Value, followed by Technical Committee analysis and confirmation. Men’s rules also specify a performance without a fall, and the amendment effective September 1, 2026 requires a successful first attempt in the exercise.
The difference matters: the men’s first-attempt wording should not be presented as an identical provision in the women’s Code.
4. The Technical Committee Confirms the Value and Name
Recognition is not complete just because a commentator uses a proposed name during a broadcast. The Technical Committee analyzes the performance and confirms the difficulty and name.
The gymnast’s federation is responsible for sending the required competition video after the performance. The relevant officials also supply the prescribed documentation. Confirmed additions can then appear in a Code update or newsletter.
These procedures are set out in WAG Code Section 7.2.3, MAG Code Articles 5.8 and 7.1 and the September 2026 MAG naming clarification.
Does the Gymnast Have to Perform It Perfectly?
No. Skill recognition and execution scoring are related, but they are not the same decision.
An element may meet its recognition conditions while still receiving deductions for how it was performed. A routine can also contain mistakes elsewhere without making the new skill disappear from consideration.
The relevant question is whether the proposed element was successfully performed under that discipline’s naming rules. For men, that includes the stated no-fall and successful-first-attempt conditions. It does not mean that the whole routine must be flawless.
For the scoring distinction, the FIG D-Score guide explains how judges recognize difficulty, while the E-Score guide explains execution deductions.
Correct Examples: Simone Biles’ Named Skills
Simone Biles’ skills provide useful examples because more than one element carries her name on both vault and floor. The apparatus and version must be identified to avoid confusing different movements.
| Common name | Apparatus | What the gymnast performs |
|---|---|---|
| Biles I | Vault | A round-off with a half turn onto the table, followed by a stretched forward somersault with two twists |
| Biles II | Vault | A Yurchenko entry—a round-off and back handspring onto the table—followed by two backward somersaults in a piked position |
| Biles | Balance beam | A dismount with two backward somersaults in a tucked position and two twists |
| Biles I | Floor | Two backward somersaults in a stretched position with a half twist |
| Biles II | Floor | Two backward somersaults in a tucked position with three twists |
A tuck bends the hips and knees, a pike bends the hips while keeping the legs straight, and a stretched position keeps the body extended. A twist turns around the length of the body; a somersault rotates head over heels.
The floor Biles II is therefore the triple-twisting double tuck, often called the triple-double. The double layout with a half twist is the earlier floor Biles, commonly distinguished as Biles I. They are different elements.
These descriptions follow the skill and vault tables in the women’s Code.
How Named Skills Affect the Score
A skill’s name identifies the element. Its assigned value determines the difficulty credit available when another gymnast performs it and meets the recognition rules.
There is no additional scoring bonus simply because a skill carries someone’s name.
On non-vault events, the current difficulty scale runs from A = 0.10 through J = 1.00. Vaults use numerical difficulty values for the complete vault, so a vault should not be described as receiving an A–J letter rating. The skill difficulty scale guide explains how the letters work.
Recognition and value are separate from a permanent scoring guarantee. An element’s assigned difficulty can change in a later Code or official amendment, even while its name remains familiar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Gymnast Have to Introduce the Skill at the Olympics?
No. The Codes allow eligible official FIG Group 1, 2 or 3 competitions. The event must meet the applicable classification and naming conditions.
Can Two Gymnasts Share a Skill Name?
Yes. Both Codes provide for a shared name when more than one gymnast performs the same new element at the same competition and meets the requirements.
Does a Training Video Get the Skill Named?
No. A video can support evaluation, but it does not replace the required competition performance and confirmation process.
Must the Gymnast Win a Medal?
No. The naming conditions concern the new element’s performance and recognition. Winning a medal is not one of the conditions listed in these naming provisions.
Can the Skill Be Used by Other Gymnasts?
Yes. Once it is recognized in the Code, other gymnasts can perform it under the applicable rules. Its name credits the originating gymnast; it does not reserve the element for that gymnast alone.