In 1975, the Men’s Technical Committee published a new version of the Code of Points. Below, you’ll find some of the updates, as well as the complete English text.
Happy gym nerding!
The Big Change
There were few notable changes in the 1975 Men’s Code of Points with the exception of the scoring structure of compulsory and optional routines. Here’s what changed.
Optional Routines
- In 1975, risk, originality, and virtuosity (ROV) were applicable to all competitions (not just finals).
- ROV was set at a uniform number: 0.60 points.
- Here’s how the scoring was broken down:
- Starting Score: 9.40 points
- Difficulty: 3.40
- Combination: 1.60
- Execution: 4.40
- ROV: 0.60 points
- Starting Score: 9.40 points
Reminder: According to the 1971 supplement, ROV was not applicable to Competition 1b, which served as the qualifications for all-around and apparatus finals. For all-around finals, starting scores were set at 9.7 with an additional 0.30 set aside for ROV. And for event finals, more ROV was expected; routines started from a 9.40 with an additional 0.60 points set aside for ROV.
Compulsory Routines
- Gymnasts had to show virtuosity in order to achieve a 10.0.
- Starting score for compulsories: 9.80
- Gymnasts were eligible for an extra 0.20 for virtuosity.
Additional Changes
- Vault
- The hand placement zones were further simplified with only two distinct zones in 1975.
- Reminder: The number of zones changed over the decades. For example, at the 1936 Olympics, there were nine possible zones for hand placement.
- Holds
- A two-second requirement for all holds across all apparatus
- Reminder: In the 1968 Code of Points, some holds were two-second holds while others were three-second holds. In the 1971 supplement, some holds were one-second holds while others were two-second holds. In 1975, the length of time became standardized.
- Falls
- A fall received a 0.5 deduction.
- Reminder: In the 1968 Code of Points, a fall off the apparatus resulted in a 1.0 deduction.
- Note: The 1975 WAG and MAG Codes were in harmony, as the women also received a 0.5 deduction for falling off an apparatus.
With No Further Ado…
Here’s the 1975 Code of Points for men’s artistic gymnastics.
More on the Code of Points