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The complete guide to aerials DD values, scoring formulas, and how difficulty shapes Olympic results
In freestyle skiing aerials, every maneuver is assigned a Degree of Difficulty (DD) value by the FIS based on its complexity. The DD acts as a score multiplier -- after five judges rate execution quality, the highest and lowest scores are dropped, and the remaining three are summed for each component. That execution total is then multiplied by the maneuver's DD to produce the final score. Higher DD means greater reward, but only if execution is clean.
The Degree of Difficulty (DD) is a predetermined numerical value that the FIS assigns to every recognized aerial maneuver. It quantifies how complex a trick is by accounting for three main factors: the number of somersaults (single, double, or triple), the number of twists added within those somersaults, and the body position during the maneuver (tuck, pike, or layout).
A layout back somersault with no twists is among the simplest inverted maneuvers and carries a relatively low DD. Add a full twist and the DD increases. Stack two somersaults with twists in each and the DD rises further. At the extreme end, triple-somersault combinations with multiple twists push DD values above 5.0, representing maneuvers that only a handful of elite athletes in the world can perform.
The DD system serves a critical competitive purpose: it ensures that athletes who attempt harder tricks are proportionally rewarded. However, the reward is conditional. Because the DD is a multiplier, a poorly executed high-difficulty jump can score lower than a cleanly executed easier one. This creates the fundamental strategic tension in aerials: athletes must weigh the potential reward of a higher DD against their ability to execute the maneuver cleanly enough to benefit from that multiplier.
The table below shows representative DD values for common aerials maneuvers, ranging from basic single somersaults to the most advanced triple-somersault combinations performed at the elite level. The shorthand notation describes the twists in each somersault rotation (e.g., bF = back somersault with one full twist; bFF = back somersault with two full twists).
| Maneuver | Somersaults | Twists | Dd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Layout (bL) | 1 | 0 | 2.050 |
| Full Twist (bF) | 1 | 1 | 2.900 |
| Double Full Twist (bFF) | 1 | 2 | 3.525 |
| Back Double (bLbL) | 2 | 0 | 3.150 |
| Full-Full (bFbF) | 2 | 2 | 3.825 |
| Full-Double Full (bFbFF) | 2 | 3 | 4.175 |
| Double Full-Full-Full (bFFbFbF) | 3 | 4 | 4.653 |
| Triple Full-Full-Full (bFFFbFbF) | 3 | 5 | 4.900 |
| Full-Full-Double Full (bFbFbFF) | 3 | 4 | 4.653 |
| Quad Twisting Triple (bFFFFbFbF) | 3 | 6 | 5.000+ |
Aerials scoring follows a precise, formula-driven process. A panel of five judges independently evaluates each jump across two components:
Air and Form (up to 7.0 points) covers the quality of the takeoff, the execution of rotations and twists, body position throughout the maneuver, and the height achieved. Landing (up to 3.0 points) evaluates the touchdown itself, impact absorption, balance, and the controlled outrun. Together, these two components give each judge a score from 0.0 to 10.0.
Once all five judges have scored, a trimming process is applied at the component level. Within each component (Air/Form and Landing separately), the highest and lowest of the five marks are dropped, and the three middle scores are retained. The three middle Air/Form scores are summed, and the three middle Landing scores are summed, producing the execution total.
Finally, the execution total is multiplied by the DD of the performed maneuver. This single multiplication is what makes the DD so strategically important: it amplifies both excellent and mediocre execution equally, rewarding clean technique on hard tricks and punishing sloppy form on easy ones.
Let's walk through a realistic score calculation for a Full-Full (bFbF) with a DD of 3.825.
Step 1 -- Judges score Air/Form and Landing: | Judge | Air/Form | Landing | Total | |-------|----------|---------|-------| | J1 | 5.8 | 2.5 | 8.3 | | J2 | 6.0 | 2.6 | 8.6 | | J3 | 5.6 | 2.4 | 8.0 | | J4 | 5.9 | 2.7 | 8.6 | | J5 | 5.7 | 2.5 | 8.2 |
Step 2 -- Trim each component (drop highest and lowest):
Step 3 -- Calculate execution total: 17.4 + 7.6 = 25.0
Step 4 -- Multiply by DD: 25.0 x 3.825 = 95.625
The athlete's final score for this jump is 95.63 (rounded to two decimal places). This score would be competitive at the World Cup level for a double-somersault maneuver.