How much does a fall cost in gymnastics, and can the gymnast carry on?
B · Beginner · Scoring · 5 of 6A fall costs a full point from the E score. The element being performed usually earns no difficulty value. The gymnast may then carry on. They have 30 seconds to remount in the men's events and on the uneven bars, and 10 seconds on the beam, before a time penalty starts.
How it works
- Men: "Falls and spotter assistance: (deduction = 1.0 p.)".
- Women: a fall on the mat or on or against the apparatus is in the very large column of the table, at 1.00.
- What a fall is, in the men's code: falling on or from the apparatus during an element without reaching a position that allows the exercise to continue.
- The cap: 1.0 is the maximum for the fall itself. Other errors in the same element are still deducted.
- Remounting, men: "the exercise may be continued within 30 seconds".
- Remounting, women: 30 seconds after a fall from the uneven bars and 10 seconds after a fall from the beam, timed from when the gymnast is on her feet.
- In that time: the gymnast may recover, re-chalk and speak to the coach.
- Too slow: exceeding the time brings a penalty. After 60 seconds the exercise is ended.
- Repeating the element: in the men's code the missed element may be repeated for credit, unless it was a dismount or a vault.
- The value: in the women's code, failing to land feet first from an element means no difficulty value, no connection and no bonus for it.
- Spotters: help from a coach that contributes to completing an element costs 1.0 in the men's code.
- Landing on purpose: a male gymnast who does not dismount but lands deliberately on his feet at the end is not given a fall.
The glossary has the fall, the landing, the E score, the dismount and the non-recognition entry.
Tricky cases
A gymnast falls off the beam. Is her exercise over?
No. She has 10 seconds from standing up to remount without a time penalty, and up to 60 seconds before the exercise is ended.
A gymnast puts both hands down on landing but does not sit. Is that a fall?
It depends on the code. In the women's table, support on the mat with one or two hands is a landing fault listed immediately before the fall. The size of that deduction is lost in the text copy read.
A man falls from the horizontal bar during a release move. Can he try the move again?
Yes. A missed element may be repeated for credit, unless the fall was on a dismount.
A coach pushes a gymnast back up on the bars to save a fall. What happens?
A deduction as for a fall in the men's code. In the women's code, help that lets the gymnast perform the element also means it earns no value.
Why the rule exists
A whole point is far larger than any other single deduction, on purpose: it makes staying on the apparatus matter more than any one hard element. Allowing the gymnast to continue means a fall costs a known amount and not the whole exercise, and the short remount time keeps the competition moving.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Men, all apparatus | 30 seconds to continue | FIG MAG 2.3; FIG MAG 9.2 |
| Women's uneven bars | 30 seconds | FIG WAG 11.1 |
| Women's beam | 10 seconds | FIG WAG 12.1 |
| Vault | No remount. The vault is judged as performed | FIG WAG section 10; FIG MAG 13 |
From the rule book
Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, Code of Points 2025-2028, WAG sections 2, 9.3, 11.1 and 12.1 and MAG articles 2.3 and 9.2. Checked 14 October 2026. Official documents: 2025-2028 Code of Points, Women's Artistic Gymnastics and Men's Artistic Gymnastics (PDF).