Frequently Asked Questions

2018-2020

Scoring

July 2017; Rule 4-1-2A, 4-1-2E (1)

SITUATION:  A routine contains two advanced high superiors, two superiors and four mediums.  The gymnast falls after performing and landing the second advanced high superior.  The judges award full difficulty but only one advanced high superior receives 0.20 credit in Bonus.  RULING:  Correct procedure.  COMMENT:  Although one of the advanced high superiors is used to replace the missing superior, the advanced high superior retains its value as an advanced high superior.  Therefore, this routine has full difficulty.  Only one advanced high superior is awarded credit in Bonus because an advanced high superior may not receive credit in Bonus if there is a fall or spot.  There is a difference in awarding advanced high superior credit in difficulty versus awarding advanced high superior credit in Bonus.  Awarding advanced high superior credit in difficulty requires only that the advanced high superior be technically complete.  Awarding advanced high superior credit in Bonus requires that the advanced high superior be technically complete and is performed without a fall or spot.

July 2017; 4-1-2A, 4-1-2E

SITUATION:  A routine contains one advanced high superior, two high superiors, three superiors and two mediums.  The two high superiors are connected for a high level back-to-back superior.  The judges award full difficulty but do not award back-to-back superior credit.  RULING:  Incorrect procedure.  COMMENT:  Although the two high superiors were used to replace the missing mediums and the routine receives full credit in difficulty, they retain their high superior value and may be used in a back-to-back superior series for Bonus credit.  In this situation, the judges should have awarded 0.20 in Bonus for a high level back-to-back superior.

Vault

July 2017; 6-1-1

SITUATION:  Prior to the start of competition, the meet referee notices that the vault table is resting on the runway strip.  The meet referee notifies the meet director to have the table removed from the runway and placed on the floor before competition may begin.  RULING:  Correct procedure.  COMMENT:  The runway is not considered a stable surface.

Uneven Bars

January 11, 2018; Rule 7-6-5, #5.301

SITUATION: A gymnast casts and swings into a giant. She falls on the upswing prior to reaching 20 degrees of vertical. The judges do not award high superior credit for a giant.  RULING: Correct. COMMENT:  A giant may receive high superior credit if it is completed within 20 degrees of vertical. In this example, the gymnast fell prior to reaching 20 degrees of vertical.

January 11, 2018; Rule 7-6-8, #8.106

SITUATION: A gymnast casts and swings downward and then upward. She completes a ½ turn at 45 degrees from vertical. The judges award medium credit for a swing with a ½ turn at 45 degrees from vertical. RULING: Correct. COMMENT: This example is not considered a giant because it does not reach within 20 degrees of vertical.

January 11, 2018; Rule 7-6-5, #5.301

SITUATION: A gymnast casts and swings downward and then upward and begins a half turn at 20 degrees from vertical but falls before the turn is complete. The judges award high superior credit for the giant, but do not award advanced high superior credit for a giant with a ½ turn. RULING: Correct. COMMENT: The half turn must be completed before a fall to get advanced high superior credit.

July 2017; Rule 1, 7-3-5c

SITUATION:  On the uneven bars, the gymnast performs a long hang kip, cast to 45 degrees, long hang kip, cast to 45 degrees into a tuck flyaway dismount.  The judges do not give credit in event requirements for a handstand; they award three superiors in difficulty but do not give credit for a back-to-back superior in Bonus because they believe that each cast breaks a series of back-to-back superiors.  RULING:  Incorrect procedure.  COMMENT:  As long as the body does not stop or there is no extra swing between elements, the casts do not break the series and the two long hang kips are considered directly connected for back-to-back superior credit.

January 12, 2017; Rule 7-3-4

SITUATION:  A gymnast does a glide kip, stop, back hip, stop, squat on.  Assuming that there are no extra small pumps, the gymnast receives a deduction for the 0.10 stop and a 0.30 extra swing for the cast into each the back hip and the squat on.  RULING:  The deduction depends on the performance. COMMENT:  1) kip-stop-back hip circle:  If the gymnast kips to a front support and hesitates/stops before the back hip circle but her legs do not come back under the bar for the cast, she just pushes back from the support to do the back hip circle, then take 0.10 for the stop.  If her legs come back under the bar after the front support and before the back hip circle, then 0.30 is taken for an extra swing. 2) back hip circle-stop-squat on:  At the completion of the back hip circle the legs may only come under the bar one time for the cast into the squat on.  If they continue under the bar due to going too far on the back hip circle and is not able to control the circle and the gymnast then gets back into a front support position and the legs go under the bar a 2nd time for the cast into the squat on, then a 0.30 extra swing deduction is taken.  If the back hip circle is controlled and ends in a front support but then the gymnast hesitates/stops before bringing the legs under the bar for the cast for the squat on, then a 0.10 for the stop (poor rhythm in elements/connections) is taken.

July 2017; 7-2-2e, 7-3-6a (2)

Situation:  On the uneven bars, the gymnast performs a long hang swing forward with a one-half turn (180 degrees) for her dismount.  The judges do not take a deduction for the dismount.  RULING:  Incorrect procedure.  COMMENT:  No difficulty credit should be given to the dismount because it is not listed as an element in the rules book.  Therefore, the gymnast has a dismount of no value, and a deduction of 0.30 should be applied for an exercise without a dismount.  Additionally, a 0.20 deduction is taken in event requirements for no superior dismount.

Balance Beam

July 2017; Rule 8-3-3b

SITUATION:  On balance beam, a gymnast performs her routine with no acro elements and finishes her routine with a tuck jump dismount.  The judges deduct 0.2 for lack of an acro element in each of two directions.  RULING:  Incorrect procedure.  COMMENT:  The maximum deduction for lack of an acro element in each of two different directions (one must be backward and another must be forward or sideward) is 0.10.

July 2017; Rule 1, 8-3-4d (2), 8-3-6c

SITUATION:  On balance beam, a gymnast is facilitated on a back walkover.  The gymnast misses bothfeet and falls.  The judges award Value Part credit and deduct 0.50 for a fall.  RULING:  Incorrect procedure.  COMMENT:  The judges should have deducted 0.50 for the spot and 0.50 for the fall, and Value Part credit should not have been awarded because the element was not considered complete and was facilitated.

January 12, 2017; Rule 8-6-11, #11.203

SITUATION:  The judges award high superior credit for an aerial walkover dismount off the end of the beam. RULING:  Incorrect. COMMENT:  An aerial walkover dismount is a superior.  These are two different dismounts both listed separately in the rules book.  If a dismount takes-off from one foot it is an aerial not a salto.  Salto dismounts take off from two feet.  A front aerial dismount is #11.203, is a superior. A front layout salto dismount is #11.304, is a high superior.  

January 12, 2017; Rule 8-6-11, #11.203, 11.303, 11.403a

SITUATION:  During a conference regarding a dismount on beam, one judge referred to the element as a gainer front dismount and the second judge referred to the dismount as an aerial front dismount.  The two judges had difficulty communicating to each other what they actually saw as the dismount. RULING:  The second judge was correct. The judges should look at the descriptions of the dismount to determine which dismount was performed.  COMMENT:  The dismount in question is an aerial walkover dismount performed off the side of the beam.  The free leg swings backward and to the side to initiate the dismount and the landing is to the side of the beam.  There are several examples of this dismount listed in Group 11.  They are number 11.203, 11.303 and 11.403a.  All of the descriptions state that the aerial walkover may be performed from the "side or the end".  

November 22, 2016; Rule 8-4

SITUATION:  If a straddle pike jump is performed at a 25° angle is it devalued to a superior?  RULING:  No.  COMMENT:  There is no devaluing from a high superior to a superior.  A straddle pike jump is expected to have a 135° split of the legs.  There is an up to 0.20 deduction if the split is missing up to 44°.  If the split is less than 91° then the performed skill is recognized as a different element.  

October 3, 2016; Rule  8-3-3b:

SITUATION: Can a gymnast use the mount to satisfy the direction requirement on beam? RULING: Correct. COMMENT: Up to 0.10 is deducted for lack of an acro element in each of two different directions (one must be backward and another must be forward or sideward).

Requirements for the acro direction:

1. Must have one of each that both start and finish on the beam for no deduction.

             Exception:  The mount may be used

1. A tic-toc may count as a forward or backward direction element.
2. May not include a handstand, which has no direction.

Easy to remember method:

-0.10    If both directions are missing

-0.10    If one direction is missing

            a.         No acro on beam and round-off dismount

(-0.10 for no backward)

            b.         Back walkover on beam and back tuck dismount

                        (-0.10 for no forward or sideward)

            c.         Cartwheel on beam and round-off dismount

                        (-0.10 for no backward)

-0.05    If both are present but one is the dismount

            a.         Cartwheel on beam, back tuck dismount (-0.05)

            b.         Back walkover on beam, round-off dismount (-0.05)

            c.         Forward roll mount, back tuck dismount (-0.05)

September 5, 2016; Rule 8-4-5b & NOTE 4:

SITUATION:  A gymnast performs a back handspring directly connected to a back with a full dismount. The judges award HL BBS. RULING: Correct. COMMENT: On the balance beam event only, a HL BBS is awarded to an AHS+S or S+AHS.  The use of the dismount is permissible.

August 25, 2016; Rule 8-2-3c, 8-3-3b:

SITUATION:  A gymnast performs a round-off to a back handspring mount on the beam.  The judges award acro series credit in event requirements and give credit for a backward element to satisfy the direction composition requirement. RULING: Incorrect. COMMENT: The acro series must start and finish on the beam.  Mounts and dismounts may not be used for the acro series.  The direction requirement allows mounts to be included.  All other elements must start and finish on the beam.

SITUATION CLARIFICATION:

8.6.9 SITUATION (on Page 78):  A gymnast performs a directly connected series of two back handspring step-outs on the beam.  Later she performs a back handspring step-out into a full twisting back salto dismount.  The judges award S+S for the back handspring series, one LL BBS and an AHS for the full dismount.  RULING: Correct.  COMMENT:  The dismount series will not receive back-to-back superior credit because the third back handspring receives no Value Part credit.  A back handspring step-out is listed in the rules book as an individual element only and therefore cannot be repeated a third time for Value Part credit.

Floor Exercise

July 2017; Rule 9-2-3

SITUATION:  On floor exercise, a gymnast performs a round-off, flic-flac for her first pass.  The second pass is a cartwheel, cartwheel.  The third pass is a round-off, straddle jump backward roll.  The judges deduct 0.20 in event requirements for lack of three acro passes.  RULING:  Correctprocedure.  COMMENT:  In this case, all elements included in the passes receive Value Part credit.  The first two passes have only two elements in each pass and the passes do not include a high superior, advanced high superior or back to back superior and, therefore, do not meet the requirement of a pass.  The third pass is not a pass since all elements are not acro elements. 

July 2017; Rule 9-2-3, 9-3-3

SITUATION:  On floor exercise, a gymnast performs a round-off, flic-flac, back salto as her first pass.  Her second pass is a front handspring, salto forward stretched, salto forward stretched.  Her third and final pass is a round-off, flic-flac full.  The judges deduct 0.10 for an exercise lacking a pass in two different directions.  RULING:  Incorrect procedure.  COMMENT:  The two directions are not required to be in the same pass.  There may be a forward/sideward and a backward element.  A round-off that has no direction or an isolated acro element may not be used to fulfill the direction requirement.

November 22, 2016; Rule 9-5

SITUATION:  A tour jeté with a ½ on floor exercise is listed as an AHS.  Is a tour jeté with a full an AHS?   RULING:  Yes.  COMMENT:  Whenever an additional twist is added to the minimum twist of an AHS, the additional twist would also be an AHS.  Both the tour jeté with a ½ and a tour jeté with a 1/1 would receive AHS credit because they are two different elements.

October 17, 2016; Rule 9-2-3a:

SITUATION:  The judges award event requirement credit for a superior acro element in the last pass even though the first two passes were broken. RULING: Correct. COMMENT:  Superior acro in 3^rd pass or as last acro element ----

• If 3^rd pass meets the requirement of a pass and includes a superior – no deduction regardless of what follows
• If 3^rd pass meets the requirement of a pass and does not include a superior but there is a superior as the last acro element in the routine – no deduction
• If 3^rd pass meets the requirement of a pass and does not include a superior and no other superior acro element follows --.2 deduction
• If 3^rd pass does not meet the requirement of a pass but the last element in the intended pass is a superior with no other medium acro element following – no deduction
• If 3^rd pass does not meet the requirement of a pass, there was no superior as the last element in the intended pass and there is no superior acro element following - .20 deduction 

Whether or not the 1^st or 2^nd pass is broken has no bearing on this requirement.  Only the 3^rd intended pass and what follows pertains to this interpretation.

Examples of Superior acros in 3^rd pass or as last acro element ----

• If 3^rd pass meets the requirement of a pass and includes a superior – no deduction regardless of what follows
• Ex: Roundoff – bk hdsp – bk tuck………cartwheel to ending pose
• If 3^rd pass meets the requirement of a pass and does not include a superior but there is a superior as the last acro element in the routine – no deduction
• Ex: Front hdsp – roundoff – bk hdsp………..aerial cartwheel to ending pose
• If 3^rd pass meets the requirement of a pass and does not include a superior and no other superior acro element follows --.2 deduction
• Ex: Front hdsp – roundoff – bk hdsp……...cartwheel to ending pose   
• If 3^rd pass does not meet the requirement of a pass but the last element in the intended pass is a superior with no other medium acro element following – no deduction
• Ex: Front tuck, step, roundoff – back tuck……. ending pose
• If 3^rd pass does not meet the requirement of a pass, there was no superior as the last element in the intended pass and there is no superior acro element following - .2 deduction
• Ex: Front tuck, step, roundoff – bk hdsp………cartwheel to ending pose

Whether or not the 1^st or 2^nd pass is broken has no bearing on this requirement. Only the 3^rd intended pass and what follows pertains to this interpretation.