Every four years, we all gather to watch Olympic gymnastics during the summer Games.
It’s always awesome. But let’s be real — so many of us don’t know what we’re watching. That’s okay, by the way! You don’t have to know exactly what a sport is or how it works to appreciate it and think it’s cool.
That’s the relationship a lot of people have with gymnastics. These incredible athletes do incredible things that none of us could ever dream of doing. That’s more than enough to get people to appreciate the sport.
That said, knowing some of the basics about the sport will be useful, so let’s dive into it.
Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
There are different variations of the sport for the women and men competing.
The women perform on four different apparatuses: The beam, the vault, the uneven bars and the floor exercise.
Separately, the men perform on eight different apparatuses: The rings, the vault, the pommel horse, the horizontal bar, the parallel bars and a floor exercise.
Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
Judges grade a gymnast’s performance based on a difficulty score and an execution score. The scales for both scores are a bit different. The execution score starts at 10.0 and gradually decreases as participants make mistakes. The difficulty score starts at 0 and gradually increases as the gymnasts perform different moves in their routines.
Two separate panels judge gymnasts on execution and difficulty. The execution panel is called the e-panel and the difficulty panel is called the d-panel.
Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
In women’s gymnastics, each routine receives points for the eight most difficult elements. In men’s gymnastics, each routine receives points for the 10 most difficult elements.
Each routine element must be performed as technically described to receive the full difficulty value on a given element. Judges will also award a “connection value” on every event except for the vault. Connection value points are awarded when a gymnast is able to chain unique combinations together. They’re valued at either 0.1 or 0.2 points and the more you can do, the better.
The vault is the only apparatus that has a predetermined difficulty score.
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The execution score is simply about the execution and artistry of a routine. Again, contestants start with their scores at 10 and dedication are made from there.
Points will be deducted based on falls, errors in technique or mishaps in execution. The deductions can range from something as small as 0.1 to 1.0 points. Points might also be deducted for stepping out of bounds, violation of attire policies or even time violations.
That’s everything you need to know about the basics of gymnastics and how it works.
