Artistic gymnastics – Glossary
| Blind landing |
The description used when a gymnast only sees the ground at the last second before landing. |
| Code of points (COP) |
The official rule book by which judges evaluate routines in major international competitions. Issued by world governing body, the FIG, the guide is updated each quarter, culminating in an Olympic Games, to revise rules, regulations, and skills. Separate CoP are issued for men and women. Gymnasts and coaches scour the document each cycle to maximise start value. See also, wolf turn. |
| Composition |
The structure of a gymnastics routine. |
| Connection value |
Combine difficult elements together and the gymnast can receive bonus points. The skills must be performed without pause or interruption so look out for dubious connection attempts. |
| Deduction |
Points are taken off a gymnast’s score for errors. A fall from the apparatus is the big one, with a whole mark being deducted. |
| D-Score (Difficulty) |
The difficulty score is open-ended with no maximum value – but typically ranges from 5 to 7 at the Olympic level. |
| E-Score (Execution) |
The E-score evaluates the performance of a routine, with bent knees, poor toe point or a stumble on landing all examples of poor execution and starts with 10. Two panels of judges score each routine, and the final score is the combined total of the E- and D-scores. |
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