How Does Rhythmic Gymnastics Scoring Work?

The D-Score (Difficulty Score) measures the technical complexity of a routine's content. Under the 2025-2028 Code the D-jury is four judges split into two subgroups: DB1 and DB2 record the body content, DA1 and DA2 record the apparatus content. Each judge evaluates the whole exercise alone and submits an individual score without consulting her partner; the pair then submits one common value. The final D-Score is the common DB added to the common DA, and it has no upper limit — the harder the content, the higher it climbs.

The D-Score is built from two components added together: Difficulty of Body (DB), which also carries the dynamic elements with rotation, and Difficulty of Apparatus (DA).

Difficulty of Body (DB) counts the technical value of body elements. The scored body groups in this cycle are jumps and leaps, balances, and rotations, and each element carries a pre-assigned value. Only the 8 highest difficulties in the exercise are counted, so stacking easy elements gains nothing. Alongside them the D-jury evaluates up to 4 dynamic elements with rotation (R): a high throw, two or more rotational elements of 360° each, and a catch. An R is worth 0.20 as a base value and rises with additional criteria.

Difficulty of Apparatus (DA) rewards the technical mastery of the hand apparatus, which for a senior individual means hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon. A DA is an apparatus base performed with at least two criteria attached to it, such as a high throw caught without the hands or a large roll along the body under a balance. A maximum of 15 DA are evaluated, in chronological order; anything after that is simply not looked at.

A key feature of the D-Score is the requirement for diversity. At least one element from each of the three body groups must appear, and a group left out entirely costs 0.30. Repeating the same element type does not accumulate value, which rewards complete athletic development rather than narrow specialization.

The 2025-2028 FIG Code of Points recognizes three scored Difficulty of Body groups: jumps and leaps, balances, and rotations. Each group has specific minimum technical requirements that an element must meet to be credited. Elements that fall short are still performed, but receive no difficulty value. Every exercise must contain at least one element from each group, and a missing group costs 0.30.

Jumps and leaps are the most visible group in rhythmic gymnastics. To be credited, a leap must achieve a minimum split angle (typically 180° or the specific variant requirement), height, and correct form of the free leg and back. Common credited leaps include the split leap, stag leap, ring leap, and Cossack jump. Higher split angles or combined positions (e.g., full split with a back bend) earn higher difficulty values.

Balances require the gymnast to hold a specific body position on one foot (or another point of support) while maintaining control. The free leg, back, and arms must meet precise technical requirements. Balances on relevé (toes), balances with difficult free leg positions (Y-scale, split-scale, ring-scale), and balances with trunk waves or bends are among the credited variants.

Rotations (pivots and turns) require a minimum of one full rotation (360°) to be credited, with a small group of defined shapes credited from 180°. The shape must be fixed and well defined for the whole basic rotation. Rotations on the whole foot are penalized in execution — a pivot belongs on a high relevé. Multi-rotation pivots, attitude turns, and turns in split or ring positions carry higher difficulty values.

Flexibilities and waves are not a scored Difficulty of Body group, and have not been one for several Code cycles. Extreme back and forward flexibility and full-body waves have not left the sport: they shape balances and rotations, they carry artistry components such as body expression and rhythm, and a broken shape is still deducted in execution. What they no longer do is carry a difficulty value of their own.

The A-Score (Artistry Score) is one of the distinguishing features of rhythmic gymnastics scoring compared to other FIG disciplines. Artistic gymnastics folds artistry into execution; rhythmic gymnastics gives it its own jury and its own number on the scoreboard.

Under the 2025-2028 Code the A-Score is built exactly like the E-Score. Every routine starts at 10.00, and the four judges of the A-jury (A1 to A4) each watch the whole exercise independently and submit one total artistry deduction. The highest and the lowest deduction are eliminated, the remaining two are averaged, and that final deduction is subtracted from 10.00. Where a smaller competition uses two or three artistry judges, all deductions are averaged with nothing dropped.

The Composition 5.0 + Artistic Mastery 5.0 split belongs to the previous Code and no longer exists. What the A-jury penalizes now is a named list of components: the guiding idea and character of movement, body expression, facial expression, dance step combinations (two are required), dynamic changes and effects (two in total are required), connections between movements, rhythm, and use of the whole floor area.

Most of those components are penalized in three bands, and the bands are not the execution bands. A fault costs 0.30 when the quality is present across the majority of the exercise, 0.60 when it only appears in parts of it, and 1.00 when it is not prioritized at all. Connections and rhythm work differently: they accumulate in 0.10 steps and can run past 1.00 in a routine that is consistently out of step with its music.

The E-Score (Execution Score) evaluates how cleanly and correctly the gymnast performs her routine. Every routine begins at 10.00. The four judges of the E-jury (E1 to E4) each watch the whole exercise independently and submit one total execution deduction. The highest and the lowest are eliminated, the remaining two are averaged, and that deduction comes off 10.00. Note what the E-jury does not do in this Code: artistic faults belong to the A-jury, and the E-jury judges technical faults only.

Body technique faults are graded in three bands: 0.10 small, 0.30 medium, 0.50 or more large. A knee that barely softens costs 0.10; a clearly bent knee, or a leap that lands short of its split, costs 0.30; a major position fault or a badly under-rotated pivot costs 0.50 or more. A total loss of balance with a fall costs 0.70.

Apparatus technique is graded on the same three bands: imprecise trajectories, catches saved with extra steps, involuntary contact with the body, wrappings, a knot in the ribbon. Losing the apparatus is the exception. It is not a single flat number but a ladder, and what sets the rung is how far the gymnast has to travel to get the apparatus back:

• 0.50 loss and retrieval without travelling
• 0.70 loss and retrieval after 1 or 2 steps
• 1.00 loss and retrieval after 3 or more steps
• 1.00 the apparatus leaves the floor area, whatever the distance
• 1.00 the apparatus is lost at the end of the exercise and never retrieved

When the apparatus leaves the floor area, the Line judge adds a separate 0.30 penalty that comes off the final score on top of the execution deduction. Even so, the accumulation of small technical errors across a whole routine, rather than one spectacular disaster, remains the most common source of E-Score reduction at the elite level.

The Code of Points recognizes five hand apparatus: rope, hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon. The senior individual programme for 2025-2028 is four of them — hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon. The rope is not in the senior or junior individual programme this cycle; it stays in the Code, in the apparatus norms, and in the national and age-group programmes that choose it. Each apparatus has its own technical requirements and its own table of DA bases and criteria.

Hoop is a rigid plastic circle with a diameter of 80–90 cm. Hoop mastery elements include throws, catches, rolls along the floor or body, passages through the hoop (gymnast passes her whole body through while rotating), and rotations of the hoop on the floor or around the body. The hoop's rigidity makes drops highly visible and penalized.

Ball is considered the most 'musical' apparatus because its round shape and smooth handling lend themselves to fluid, wavelike movement. Ball mastery elements include throws with rotation or direction changes, rolls along the body (arm, leg, back), bounces, and spirals along the floor. The ball must never be gripped or squeezed — it must always rest on an open palm or body surface.

Clubs are used as a pair and require coordination of both hands. Club mastery elements include small arm circles (mills), throws and catches with one or both clubs, asymmetric tosses (each club travels a different trajectory), and interceptions (the gymnast catches one club while throwing the other). The dual nature of clubs makes them the most technically demanding apparatus for coordination.

Ribbon is a 6-meter satin strip attached to a 60 cm stick. Ribbon mastery elements include large spirals, snakes (S-curves along the floor or in the air), throws of the stick with ribbon trailing, and large circles. The ribbon must be in continuous motion throughout the routine and must never become tangled or knotted — both are immediate deductions.

Rope is the oldest and most athletic apparatus in the sport, and the one a senior will not meet at a World Championships this cycle. Rope elements include skipping (single and double jumps), wraps, swings, circles, and throws. The gymnast may handle the rope folded in half or as a full length. Rope routines traditionally feature the highest leap content of any apparatus, as skipping naturally generates height. The rope must remain taut and in motion — a sagging rope is a technical fault.

At FIG-sanctioned international rhythmic gymnastics competitions, three specialized juries evaluate different aspects of the performance at the same time, backed by line and time judges.

The D-jury is four judges in two subgroups. DB1 and DB2 record the body content: the difficulties of body and the dynamic elements with rotation. DA1 and DA2 record the apparatus content. Each judge evaluates the entire exercise alone and submits an individual score first, without consulting her partner; only then does the pair submit one common value. The final D-Score is the common DB added to the common DA, not an average of four opinions.

The A-jury is four judges (A1 to A4). Each submits a total artistry deduction, the highest and lowest are eliminated, and the remaining two are averaged.

The E-jury is four judges (E1 to E4), working the same way on technical execution faults. Both juries subtract their final deduction from 10.00.

Two line judges watch the boundary of the 13×13 meter floor area. Any part of the body or the apparatus touching outside it costs 0.30 off the final score, as does the apparatus or the gymnast leaving the area. One or two time judges control the length of the exercise — 1'15" to 1'30" for an individual routine — at 0.05 per second over or under.

Below the FIG top tier the panel shrinks. The General Judges' Rules set the minimum for Group 4 competitions at 2 execution, 2 artistry, 2 DB and 2 DA judges, and when artistry or execution is evaluated by two or three judges, all deductions are averaged with nothing dropped.

Coaches may submit a formal inquiry against the D-Score if they believe an element was not credited or was valued incorrectly. Inquiries against execution and artistry deductions are not permitted. Each inquiry requires a fee, refunded if it succeeds. Line and time penalties follow a separate route: a coach in doubt makes a verbal request for review to the inquiry officer, within the same time limit.

Rhythmic gymnastics group competition features five gymnasts performing together on the same carpet simultaneously. A senior group performs two exercises: one with five identical apparatus and one with two apparatus types split 3+2. Group competition is scored using the same D + A + E framework as individual competition, by juries of the same size, but the nature of what is credited changes significantly.

In group competition, the synchronization of the five gymnasts is a critical evaluated element. The E-jury deducts for asynchronous body movements — when gymnasts perform the same element but with slight timing differences. At the elite level, synchronization errors are among the most common sources of E-Score reduction in group routines.

Group apparatus configurations come in two types:

• Unified apparatus: all five gymnasts use the same apparatus (e.g., five ribbons, as at the 2025 World Championships)
• Mixed apparatus: the group splits 3+2 between two apparatus types (e.g., three gymnasts with balls and two with hoops)

The exchange of apparatus between gymnasts — throwing an apparatus to a teammate and catching one in return, is a required element in group routines and carries its own difficulty value. High-risk exchanges (throws over the full group, blind catches, crossover trajectories) earn higher DA values.

The A-Score in group evaluates not just individual artistry but the collective choreographic vision: how the five gymnasts form shapes together, the use of different spatial levels (high/medium/low), and the coordination of their movements into unified visual patterns.