The Floor Exercise in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics is a dynamic blend of tumbling and dance. The FIG Code of Points for 2024–2028 outlines specific rules, skill values, and scoring criteria for floor routines. Below is an in-depth breakdown of the updated rules, required elements, skill difficulties, and scoring system for the women’s floor exercise under the current Code.
General Rules and Competition Guidelines
Floor Area and Time Limit
Gymnasts must complete their routine within 90 seconds on a 12m x 12m floor area. If the routine exceeds this time limit, a 0.10 neutral deduction is applied.
To avoid compositional deductions, gymnasts should utilize the entire floor area rather than staying in one spot for too long. Stepping outside the marked boundary lines results in out-of-bounds deductions:
- 0.10 for one foot/hand stepping out
- 0.30 for both feet/hands or any body part touching outside the boundary
Music and Choreography
Floor routines must be performed to instrumental music. Under FIG’s latest rules, vocals without lyrics are now allowed, but fully lyric-based music remains prohibited.
The music must start and end cleanly, and the gymnast’s movements must synchronize with the beat. Treating the music as background noise rather than an integral part of the routine can lead to artistry deductions.
If a gymnast performs without music, a 1.0 deduction is taken. Music and movement should match in style and rhythm to meet artistry requirements.
Artistry and Presentation
The FIG Code values artistry, expression, and originality. Gymnasts are expected to deliver a performance, not just execute a series of skills.
Judges apply artistry deductions if the routine lacks expression, fluidity, or proper body posture. To ensure high scores, gymnasts should focus on:
- Body posture and alignment – Poor posture (e.g., hunched shoulders or incorrect positioning) can lead to deductions up to 0.30.
- Amplitude and extension – Jumps and leaps should be performed with a full range of motion. Small, incomplete movements result in deductions.
- Footwork and precision – Flexed feet, sloppy steps, and heavy landings interrupt the artistic flow and can result in penalties.
- Use of body parts – The gymnast should engage arms, torso, and head throughout the routine. A lack of full-body involvement can lead to artistry deductions.
- Composition and flow – Routines should feel connected and fluid. Pauses, awkward transitions, or excessive breaks between skills can lead to penalties.
Additionally, choreography in the corners between tumbling passes should be dynamic. Simply standing and preparing for a tumbling pass for more than 2 seconds incurs a 0.10 deduction.
Corner and Choreography Rules
Gymnasts often pause in corners before tumbling runs, but staying still for more than 2 seconds is penalized (0.10 each time).
The routine should start with dance or choreographic movement, not an immediate tumbling pass. Skipping an opening dance sequence results in a deduction. Similarly, after the last tumbling pass, the gymnast must finish with choreography—ending abruptly without a final dance element leads to deductions.
Special Requirements (Composition Requirements)
The FIG Code defines four Composition Requirements (CRs) for the floor exercise. Each CR is worth 0.50, contributing up to 2.0 points toward the Difficulty Score (D-score) if all are fulfilled:
1. Dance Passage
The gymnast must perform a series of two different leaps or hops, either directly or indirectly connected, with one reaching a 180° split position (cross, side, or straddle split). The passage may include running or small preparatory steps but must be completed as one continuous sequence.
(Note: Turns are generally not allowed between dance elements in the passage, though a ½ pivot for directional change is permitted under 2025 rules).
- A faulty dance passage (e.g., stopping or reversing direction mid-passage) means the 0.5 CR for dance is not awarded.
2. Salto with LA Turn
At least one acrobatics salto with a longitudinal (LA) twist of 360° (full twist) or more.
For example, a back layout with a full twist fulfills this requirement. This must be in a tumbling line (no aerial cartwheel; it has to be a salto).
3. Double Salto (Double Back)
At least one acro line containing a double somersault (double salto), which on floor is typically a double backward salto. This could be tucked, piked, or stretched.
For 2024–2025 the code clarifies that for a double salto stretched (double layout) with twists, the gymnast must maintain a stretched body position in the majority of both flips to get credit as a layout; if the body pikes in the second flip, it may be credited as a piked double instead
4. Salto in Both Directions
- The routine must include one backward and one forward salto (aerials do not count; it must be an actual salto) in the same or different tumbling passes.
- For example, a front tuck or front layout in one pass and a back layout in another pass fulfills this. An “Arabian” (a backward take-off into a front salto) counts as a forward salto by FIG definition, so an Arabian connected to a back salto could satisfy this CR.
All these acrobatic requirement elements have to be part of acro lines (i.e., part of a tumbling pass with at least two flight elements).
If any Composition Requirement is missing, a 0.50 deduction per missing CR is applied to the D-score. Meeting all four requirements earns the full +2.0 toward the D-score.
Other General Guidelines
Only 8 highest-valued elements (excluding invalid or repeated skills) count toward the Difficulty Score, and these 8 must include a minimum of 3 dance elements and 3 acrobatic elements.
- If a gymnast performs more than 8 elements, the extra elements don’t add to D-score (though execution deductions still apply to everything performed).
- If fewer than 7 elements are performed, a large deduction is taken (e.g. 4.0 off for 5–6 elements, up to 10.0 off if nothing is performed).
Also, no more than 4 tumbling passes are allowed; any additional acro line beyond the fourth will not count for difficulty. Every routine must end with a “dismount” tumbling line, usually the final pass.
- If a gymnast performs only one acro line in the entire routine, that pass cannot fulfill a dismount requirement and a 0.50 penalty is taken for missing dismount.
Skill Difficulty Values and New Elements
Every skill in the Code of Points is assigned a Difficulty Value (DV), ranging from A (easiest) to J (most difficult) for women’s gymnastics. On floor exercise:
- A-value: 0.10 points – e.g. a simple split leap or a cartwheel.
- B: 0.20 – e.g. a full turn on one foot, a front tuck salto.
- C: 0.30 – e.g. a double turn, a layout step-out, a switch leap with split.
- D: 0.40 – e.g. a front layout full twist, a double back tuck, a switch ring leap.
- E: 0.50 – e.g. a piked full-in (double back with full twist), a triple turn, a double back piked.
- F: 0.60 – e.g. a double layout (stretched) salto, a double Arabian (half twist into double front).
- G: 0.70 – e.g. a full-twisting double layout, a double front salto piked.
- H: 0.80 – e.g. a Silivas (double twisting double back tuck), or a double layout with full twist.
- I: 0.90 – extremely rare on floor (open-ended for new toughest skills; as of 2024, no women’s floor skill has I value, though men’s floor has seen I). (J is 1.0, but in WAG floor there are currently no I or J skills officially; most difficult women’s floor tumbling like the Biles (double layout half out) and Moors (double layout) are G or H.)
Difficulty Updates:
The 2022–2024 Code introduced a few noteworthy revaluations: for example, the straight jump full turn on floor was downgraded from B to A (reflecting its ease), while the single wolf turn (360°) was upgraded from A to B.
These changes influence how gymnasts compose dance elements in their routines (e.g., fewer straight jump fulls for value, and recognition that even a simple wolf turn now has B credit).
Additionally, FIG capped multiple wolf turns. Gymnasts are prohibited from doing more than one wolf turn on floor in a routine – any second wolf turn will not be counted for difficulty. This rule (new in the 2022 Code) was aimed at preventing athletes from stockpiling turns for cheap difficulty and to improve artistry by avoiding repetitive spinning.
New Elements in 2022–2024:
Each Code cycle often recognizes new skills performed successfully at major competitions. In this code cycle, several new elements were added to the women’s floor Table of Elements.
- For instance, in 2023 the Moerz (named after Austria’s Alissa Moerz) was added – it is a pike jump with 1/1 turn (360°) to front lying support on the floor, valued C. This is a dance element innovation (essentially a full-twisting pike jump that lands in a prone position).
If a gymnast performs a never-done-before salto (for example, a triple salto or a new twist combination) and it’s ratified, it gets named and valued accordingly.
- Note: In men’s floor, higher-difficulty tumbling like a 3½ twisting double back (The Minami, H value) and a 3½ twisting double layout (The Jarman, I value) have been added, showcasing the expanding boundaries of difficulty – women’s gymnastics could see similar advances in the future.
Connection Bonuses:
On floor, gymnasts can earn Connection Value (CV) by connecting difficult acrobatic elements. Unlike bars and beam, floor CV is only awarded for acrobatic connections and certain mixed connections, not for dance connections (except turns).
Scoring Criteria
In FIG’s open-ended scoring system, a gymnast’s final floor score is the sum of the D-score and E-score, minus any neutral deductions. Here’s how each component works for floor exercise:
Difficulty Score (D-Score)
- The eight highest valued elements in the routine (including at most 5 acro and 3 dance, or 4 and 4, etc., but minimum 3 of each type).
- The 4 Composition Requirements (0.5 each, detailed above) if fulfilled.
- Any Connection Value bonuses for acro or mixed connections.
- A Dismount Bonus of +0.2, which was introduced in this cycle: if the gymnast’s last tumbling pass (dismount) is a D-valued or higher salto and is successfully landed without a fall, an extra +0.20 is added. (This bonus replaced the old requirement that a dismount had to be D; now it’s not required, but if you do perform a D dismount, you’re rewarded. For example, ending with a double pike or harder can earn this bonus.)
Each of the counting elements contributes its Difficulty Value to the D-score. Repeated elements (exact same skill done twice) only count once for DV. If a skill is not completed (e.g., a fall such that the gymnast doesn’t land on feet first) it gets 0 DV and cannot fulfill CR – yet, a fallen skill is still considered an attempt so it could satisfy the “acro line” definition if it was part of a tumbling pass, but it won’t add to D-score.
Execution Score (E-Score)
Every routine starts from a 10.0 for execution. A panel of E judges evaluates how well the gymnast performs both the technical elements and the artistry/choreography.
Execution judging covers two main areas: technical faults and artistry/compositional faults:
1. Technical Deductions
These include form breaks (bent arms or legs, flexed feet), lack of height (amplitude) in leaps and tumbles, poor technique on turns, hops on landings, and falls.
- Examples: A noticeable leg separation in a twist or a slight hop on landing might incur 0.1. A bigger balance error or low landing chest could be 0.3. Falls (not landing on feet or hands down) cost 1.0 each, deducted by the E-panel.
On floor, common landing deductions are for stepping out of bounds (neutral deduction of 0.1 or 0.3 by the line judge), and for lack of control (each step or hop on landing is 0.1, or 0.3 if large, and deep squats or hand touch 0.5).
Tumbling with legs apart or insufficient twists can also be deducted or even downgraded – e.g., a nearly incomplete triple twist could be downgraded to a 2½ twist for DV, and the execution deduction for the lack of turn completion would apply.
2. Artistry and Composition Deductions
As noted in the artistry section, judges deduct up to 0.5 in total for lack of artistry and expression. The Code breaks artistry deductions into specific sub-categories (each can be 0.1–0.3 typically).
- For example, “Insufficient artistry of performance throughout” can be 0.1, 0.3, or 0.5 depending on severity. Missing a required choreographic element, such as not including any floor level choreography (a moment where the gymnast’s head, torso, or knee touches the floor), is a composition deduction (0.10) if omitted.
Similarly, lack of complexity in movement or using the same rhythm/level throughout can be 0.1–0.3 off. New for this code, the previously used phrase “failure to engage the audience” was removed – instead the focus is on the gymnast’s expressiveness relative to her music.
Judges also look at transition movements. If a gymnast stands in the corner and only does a simple step or arm swing before a tumbling run, it might be flagged as “excessive preparation” (0.1 each time).
All these execution deductions are summed and subtracted from 10.0. For instance, if a routine had a few minor form breaks totaling 0.5, a hop on one landing (0.1), and an overall artistry deduction of 0.3, the E-score would be 10 – (0.5+0.1+0.3) = 9.1.
Neutral Deductions
These are penalties taken off the final score (after adding D+E) for violations like stepping out of bounds or overtime. They are not part of E-score; they are applied by the Chief Judge.
- Stepping on or outside the boundary line with one foot is 0.10, with both feet or body is 0.30. If the routine music stops before the gymnast finishes (or she exceeds 90 seconds), overtime is 0.10.
Other neutral deductions include attire violations or not saluting the judges (0.30), and having a coach step onto the floor to spot (0.50). These neutral deductions are taken after calculating D+E.
Final Score
The final score = D-score + E-score – Neutral Deductions.
There is no theoretical maximum since D-score is open-ended, but in practice women’s floor D-scores in 2024 are usually in the 5.0–6.5 range for top elites, and E-scores rarely exceed 9.0 given stringent judging.
A perfect routine (no execution deductions) with a high difficulty could score in the high teens, but this is extremely rare. (Notably, the “perfect 10” is a thing of the past in FIG scoring – 10 now only refers to the execution baseline.)
Conclusion
The 2024–2025 FIG Code of Points for women’s floor exercise continues to reward a balance of difficulty and artistry.
Under the updated Code, routines are evaluated not only for what skills are performed but how they are performed: a truly successful floor routine will seamlessly blend tumbling and dance with musicality, covering the entire floor with both powerful acrobatics and artistic expression.
Sources:
- FIG Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Code of Points 2022–2024 (Cycle 15) – Floor Exercise Rules
- FIG WAG Code of Points 2025–2028 – Updates on Dance Passage and Tumbling Criteria
- Balance Beam Situation – “The 2022 Code is Out!” (analysis of WAG Code changes)
- Gymnastics Now – FIG Code of Points release news
- Difficulty examples from elite skill database (high-value floor elements and their ratings)