Judging: Open-Ended Scores

In 2005, officials did a complete overhaul of the scoring system in artistic gymnastics. Today, the difficulty of the routine and the execution (how well the skills are performed) are combined to create the final score:

• The difficulty ("A") score starts at 0.0 and increases with every difficult skill performed. In this new system there is theoretically no limit to the score a gymnast can achieve. The top performances right now are receiving scores in the 16s.
  
  
• The execution ("B") score begins at a 10.0, and the judges deduct for errors in performance such as a fall off the beam or a step on the landing of a dismount.
  
  

This new scoring system is considered controversial by many who felt the perfect 10.0 was an integral part of the sport. Others in the gymnastics community have expressed concern that the difficulty score is weighed too heavily in the final score, and therefore gymnasts are attempting skills that they can't always complete safely.

Poll: Do you like the new scoring system (no 10.0 top score)?

• Yes
• No

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