Category: judging

Bars – evaluating Double Layout

From World Gymnastics Women’s Artistic Newsletter – March 2026.

Stretch position must be maintained for the majority of the salto from the horizontal position (stomach down to floor) until the inverted position (consider when the legs are in the vertical)

screengrab

NCAA judging is a joke

I try not to worry about it. Ignore the scores (as much as you can) and look more at the ranking.

Surprisingly, this absurdly comic judging system often ends up getting the team ranks close to correct in time for the playoffs.

VIDEOS – most difficult Men’s Gymnastics skills

zhoxxyy posted animated video clips of the highest rated skills in the Men’s code as of 2025:

Which are the most difficult skills in Men’s Gymnastics?

Get ready to dive into the hardest skills in men’s gymnastics, the ones that can make or break a routine. From the elusive H-rated elements on Parallel Bars and Pommel Horse to the jaw-dropping J-rated feats on Floor, we uncover the history, the evolution, and the gymnasts behind these gravity-defying elements.

Hidetaka Miyachi (JPN) at the 2017 World Championships in Montréal where he submitted his eponymous skill, currently the element with the highest rate on High Bar in the MAG COP

FIG MAG News 18 December 2025

Read the entire document for yourself.

Some notes:

  • benefits being realized in the reduction to 8 elements
  • FIG Executive Committee has approved placing a maximum cap of 0.5 for the dismount element group on Pommel Horse, Rings, Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bar.
  • triple salto elements are prohibited for Juniors
  • on Floor, corner transitions must be conspicuously different from one another. Otherwise a 0.3 neutral deduction is taken.
  • all variations of the Stag Leap with 1/1 or 1/2 turn will no longer fulfill the Jump/Leap requirement 
  • Certainly, current Floor rules have resulted in much more artistic routines. It’s working.
  • hold positions with open hands may be deducted for false grip if the wrists are on top of the Rings

I noticed many more appeals at the two 2025 World Championships. MANY were for STICK BONUS.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch Clarification on Low Landings on YouTube.

Ouch. During Bhavsar and Moy type elements if the gymnast hits the floor the element will not be recognized. 

Very slight brushes could be controversial.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

A Winkler or Pogorelov (Element II.42) must be performed with a straight body up to the point where the feet pass nearest to the bar.

If the body is bent more than 45° prior to the feet passing the bar, the element will receive D value and a 0.3 deduction for nondistinct position. 

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

NEW Men’s Gymnastics book – The Game of Gymnastics

Winston Powell is a former gymnast with a coaching focused YouTube channel.  

In this book he looks at MAG routine construction, deductions, and difficulty.    Strategy to maximize routine scores.  

Only available as an eBook here for £10.00. 

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

understanding Men’s Gymnastics scores

Men’s Gymnastics competitions are fantastically competitive and exciting

Much more exciting than women’s, in comparison.

BUT very few of the general public understand much about the scores. Since we dropped the “perfect 10”, it’s not worth bothering to look at the number for most fans.

zhoxxyy simplifies it for us:

How to Read Gymnastics Scoring in 60 seconds?

Gold P Bars – Jr Worlds ’25

A tie.  Camilo Vera and Ojima Nao. 

I would have had Camilo in 2nd.  There should have been a great gap in E-score. 

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.