Cherishing Simone Biles’ humongous jumps in the air is rejuvenating for every sports lover. The 27-year-old has redefined gymnastics over the last 11 years, owning every trophy available in the sport. Now, she aims to double her collection. At the Paris Olympics, Simone is already looking strong enough to add more hardware to her collection. But haven’t you ever scratched your head after noticing the scoring pattern in the contests?

On the last few occasions, Simone has recorded staggering numbers on the leaderboard with her eye-catching routines. But where do those numbers come from, and how are they calculated? Now that the seven-time Olympic medalist is in her second Olympic team final event, let’s break down the scoring strategy.

Learn about the rules and regulations that gymnasts must follow at the Paris Olympics

At the Paris Olympics, the judges determine the scoring of a gymnast based on two components: the Execution score and the difficulty score of the schedule. The Execution score starts to flow at 10 points. However, it depends on the judges to add points to it with poise. Yet, the judges can deduct points from it based on errors such as falls, bent knees, and several more. In the meantime, the Difficulty Score takes off from zero and will increase with the composition, difficulty level of the elements, and successful connection. However, in both women’s and men’s gymnastics, the number of difficult elements varies. 

In women’s gymnastics, Simone Biles earns points for the eight most difficult elements in each of the routines, whereas, in the men’s category, 10 are the numbers for the most difficult elements. Now that Simone Biles is entering the team final tonight with her American pals, let’s analyze what the scoring strategy will be at the team final. 

In the gymnastics battle among the teams at the Paris Olympics, the final ones earned their tickets after the qualification round. As the name suggests, the round counts the top three scores after four athletes from each team competed on each apparatus. However, after the qualification round ends, the time comes for the final round, where only the top eight teams will find their entry, based on the scores from the qualification round. In the final, each team will unleash three of its athletes on the mat. They will perform on each apparatus and the total score will be tallied to announce the winner. The order of the schedules can vary in the categories. 

In the women’s gymnastics team final, the teams start in the Olympic order of vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor. The top two teams from the qualification round will start with the vault, whereas the next two followers will go with the uneven bars. The next four teams will follow the order and carry on with the balance beam and floor exercise. 

In the men’s team final, the first two teams compete on the floor exercise, and the next two will enter the pommel horse. For the next two teams, the event will be rings and the seventh and eighth will begin at the vault event. But you may hit a rock if you apply these lessons to learn about the scoring strategies at individual gymnastics events. 

Know about the Olympic gymnastics scoring 

The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) allows nine judges to carry on the duty. Those nine judges share the responsibility among themselves as the D-panel judges the Difficulty Score. Subsequently, the E-panel calculates the Execution Score. However, the additional Reference Panel watches over the correctness of the Execution Score. In the D-panel, two judges notice the added difficulties in a routine.

As we have mentioned earlier, the Difficulty Score starts from 0 and increases with each skill and connection. The judges individually detect the Difficulty Score. After completion of the routine on the mat, they compare the scores and come to a uniform decision to give the final result. Except for the vault event, the connection values come into play to determine the final Difficulties Score, as fractions like 0.1 or 0.2 are added. In the vault, the FIG already has a predetermined Difficulty Score, which can be evaluated from the scoreboard. Now in the Execution Score, things are slightly different. 

The six judges determine the Execution Score, where the highest and lowest scores are erased and the judges calculate an average value, taking the rest of the four values. However, penalties are there for errors, falls, and other mishaps. The penalties start at 0.1 and can go up to 1.0, where the neutral deductions are handed out because of violating time bounds, stepping out of the lines on the mat, and other prohibited cases. Now the Final Score looks at the sum of Difficulty and Execution Scores, after the deduction for the neutral errors. So, next time, when you are enjoying any gymnastics contest, please remember these points.