Apparatus codes and gymnastics terms.

Apparatus codes

VT

Vault — one of four WAG apparatus, six MAG apparatus.

UB

Uneven Bars — WAG only.

BB

Balance Beam — WAG only.

FX

Floor Exercise — WAG and MAG.

HB

Horizontal Bar — MAG only.

PB

Parallel Bars — MAG only.

SR

Still Rings — MAG only.

PH

Pommel Horse — MAG only.

Scoring

D-score

Difficulty score — the routine's structural value, calculated from skill values and connections. Post-2006 (open-ended Code of Points). No upper cap.

E-score

Execution score — the judges' assessment of form, starting from 10.0 and deducted from. Post-2006.

Perfect 10

The maximum score under the pre-2006 Code of Points, when the routine was scored out of 10.0. Comăneci scored the first one on uneven bars at Montreal 1976.

Code of Points (CoP)

FIG's rulebook defining skill values, deductions, and scoring procedure. Revised every Olympic cycle; the 2006 edition opened scoring beyond 10.0.

Competition structure

AA

All-Around — combined score across all apparatus. WAG athletes total four; MAG athletes total six.

EF

Event Finals (also "apparatus finals") — per-apparatus medal events, contested after qualification by the top 8 (typically 2-per-country max).

TF

Team Final — the team-medal event. Format varies by era: since Tokyo 2020 the Olympic format is 3-up-3-count per apparatus (three routines go up, all three count, no drop). World championships currently use 5-up-4-count. Pre-Tokyo Olympics ran 4-up-3-count; older eras varied more widely.

Qualification

The first round of a meet. Top athletes advance to AA, EF, and team finals. Qualification scores don't carry forward into finals.

NCAA vocabulary

Lineup

The five (sometimes six) athletes assigned to compete on each apparatus in a team meet.

Leadoff

The first athlete in a team's lineup on a given apparatus — usually a steady, scorable routine to anchor the team total.

Anchor

The last athlete in the lineup — the team's strongest scorer on that event.

Drop score

NCAA's 6-up-5-count format drops the lowest of six routines per event from the team total. The dropped routine is sometimes called the "drop."

Exhibition

A non-counting routine performed outside the scoring lineup — often used to give walk-on athletes competitive reps without affecting the team total.

Disciplines

WAG

Women's Artistic Gymnastics — the four-apparatus discipline (VT, UB, BB, FX).

MAG

Men's Artistic Gymnastics — the six-apparatus discipline (FX, PH, SR, VT, PB, HB).

RG

Rhythmic Gymnastics — women-only discipline with hoop, ball, clubs, and ribbon apparatus. Includes both individual and group competitions.

Trampoline

The Olympic trampoline event (individual and synchronized). Joined the Olympic program at Sydney 2000.

Acrobatic gymnastics

Partner-based discipline contested at Worlds and European Championships; not in the Olympic program.