Five months ago, gymnastics fans watched the men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics rosters of Team USA win big at the Paris Olympics. The men’s team claimed the bronze medal for the first time since the Beijing Olympics. The women’s team, on the other hand, treated the fans claiming the gold medal. After the Rio Olympics, they repeated the same success in the French capital. Fortunately, a few faces from those two rosters will soon appear on the mat to display their magic. No, it won’t be the elite gymnastics.

Instead, faces like Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, Leanne Wong (two-time Olympic alternate), Paul Juda, and Fred Richard will huddle in NCAA gymnastics bearing their college programs’ flags. Now, with the change in gymnastics types, the fans will also spot differences in the scoring system. Yes, the scoring system seen in the Olympic Games may not follow in NCAA gymnastics. Some specific changes will arise based on the parameter. But can you guess what those parameters are and how they will bring change? 

What is the scoring system in NCAA women’s gymnastics? 

The scoring system in the Olympic Games carries the weight of the top level, i.e., ELITE. But, at the college level, the NCAA aligns with the Level 10 scoring policy.

This policy keeps the highest bar at a score of 10. So a gymnast can’t achieve more than 10 for her routine. But here comes a twist. All student-athletes start their routines from 9.500 and keep collecting bonus points that come into the pocket at 0.5. The bonus will follow only in addition to certain skills (based on D or E level of difficulty) in their routines. This will take the score to 10.0. But what about the deductions?

A full score is not so easily trackable in college gymnastics. The deduction policy pulls it down. It has, however, a structured system. The deductions find their way after the gymnasts reach the 10. 

Mainly, two major deductions work behind the scoring system. Composition deductions are specific criteria for events that specify what a gymnast must include in her routine. For instance, floor gymnasts are required to execute both forward and backward elements. Else, they will incur a one-tenth deduction. Furthermore, the inability to perform at par with the NCAA gymnasts. The next one is execution deduction. 

The mentioned deductions refer to errors in form, technique, composition, or performance. The panel typically subtracts points based on the severity of the error, ranging from half a tenth (0.05) to half a point (0.5) for execution or composition mistakes. Additionally, gymnasts may incur point penalties for technical missteps, such as stepping out of bounds during a floor routine. They can also lose points because of employing an improper matting setup. The issues, like exceeding the time limit on their beam routine, can also cause deductions.

In gymnastics competitions, where results can be determined by margins as small as a quarter-tenth, these deductions are crucial in distinguishing between the good and better and sometimes the best.

How does the scoring system work in NCAA men’s gymnastics? 

The NCAA men’s gymnastics strictly follows the scoring system proposed by FIG. It has two parts: difficulty and execution scores.

So, for each routine, the judges will provide the scores after combining the two parameters. Pay attention, the male gymnasts will perform 10 skills to attain the d-score except for the vault event. They can also mix up to take the d-score higher. However, they have only one skill in the vault, and each vault has a predetermined value.

Therefore, the vault event allows a small window to add certain things. Now, the execution score starts at 10.0 and only gets deducted in the presence of errors.

Example?

Notably, the small step on landing or dismount can slash 0.1 in the all-events. The big step on landing or dismounting, however, will deduct 0.3. The fall-off from the apparatus has the bigger penalty, 1.0. Like that only, the other routines also have pre-determined error values.

In the pommel horse, hitting the horse can cut down 0.1 mark from the execution score. Similarly, leg separation can fetch 0.1, 0.3, or 0.5 based on the type of error. All these are at the individual level of scoring.

Next time, you can apply these lessons while enjoying the NCAA gymnastics on screen or in the arena.