Artistic gymnastics rules rules, for watching
Start with how a match works. Then the rules you see every few minutes, then the ones that change results.
Settling an argument? Search all 16 rules
- What are the events in artistic gymnastics?
- How is a gymnastics score worked out?
- What goes into the difficulty score in gymnastics?
- How do gymnastics judges take off points for mistakes?
- How much does a fall cost in gymnastics, and can the gymnast carry on?
- How are landings judged in gymnastics, and what is "sticking" a landing?
- What penalties are there in gymnastics apart from execution errors?
- How does the vault work in gymnastics, and why do some gymnasts do two?
- What does a gymnast have to do on the uneven bars?
- What are the rules on the balance beam?
- What are the rules for the women's floor exercise?
- What are the rules for the men's floor exercise?
- What does a gymnast have to do on the pommel horse?
- What does a gymnast have to do on the rings?
- What does a gymnast have to do on the parallel bars?
- What does a gymnast have to do on the horizontal bar?
Where these rules come from
| Tag | Document |
|---|---|
| FIG WAG plus section number | Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, 2025-2028 Code of Points, Women's Artistic Gymnastics. Read for this set: sections 2 (gymnast's duties), 6, 7 and 9 (scoring) and the general parts of sections 10 to 13 (vault, uneven bars, balance beam, floor) |
| FIG MAG plus article number | FIG, 2025-2028 Code of Points, Men's Artistic Gymnastics. Read for this set: articles 2.3, 6.1 to 6.3, 7.1, 7.2, 9.2 and the exercise description, presentation and D-score parts of articles 10 to 15 |
| R | "Why the rule exists", or a point reasoned from the rule, not stated in it |
| C | Common usage or general knowledge, not a rule |
All checked on 14 October 2026.
One set for men and women. The two codes share the scoring method, so the first file covers both and says where they differ. The second file covers the vault (both codes) and the three other women's apparatus, and the third the five other men's apparatus. If the founder would sooner have men's and women's artistic as separate sub-types, the first file would need to be split.
The lost numbers. Both codes print many deduction amounts as coloured symbols, and the text copies lose them. The pages give an amount only where the text states it in figures. Where a page says an amount is lost, the PDF has it and a person needs to read it there.
Not covered: the tables of elements and their values (most of each code); the apparatus-specific deduction tables; the Technical Regulations (team sizes, who reaches each final, tie-breaks, whether scores carry over); the General Judges' Rules; inquiries and appeals against a score; the apparatus dimensions (FIG apparatus norms); junior rules beyond two mentions; the women's artistry tables in detail.
Not covered: the tables of elements and their values (most of each code); the apparatus-specific deduction tables; the Technical Regulations (team sizes, who reaches each final, tie-breaks, whether scores carry over); the General Judges' Rules; inquiries and appeals against a score; the apparatus dimensions (FIG apparatus norms); junior rules beyond two mentions; the women's artistry tables in detail.