In 1968, the Men’s Technical Committee published its Code of Points, which introduced the concepts of risk, originality, and virtuosity (ROV) for apparatus finals. In the decade that followed, the MTC continued to tinker with the formula for ROV.
Meanwhile, the Women’s Technical Committee continued to discourage excess difficulty. In fact, in 1973, the Women’s Technical Committee unsuccessfully tried to prohibit a few skills that Olga Korbut popularized at the Munich Olympics.
But all that changed in 1979 — the year when ROV were finally added to women’s artistic gymnastics.
Who pushed for the inclusion of ROV in women’s artistic gymnastics?
The Soviet Union. Here’s what is recorded in the minutes from the FIG Congress in Strasbourg:
SOVIET UNION
[…]
B) Women’s Code of Points
Insert a bonus for risk, originality, and virtuosity in executing the exercise.
FIG’s Bulletin of Information, No. 3, 1978
How was ROV first codified in the 1979 Women’s Code of Points?
Virtuosity and execution were lumped together in one bucket worth 4.0 points while 0.5 points were set aside as “bonus points” for risk and virtuosity.
Here’s the general breakdown of the scoring for optional routines in the 1979 Code:
| Value Parts | 3.00 pts. |
| Bonus Points | 0.50 points |
| Combination | 2.50 points |
| Execution and Virtuosity | 4.00 points |
| Total | 10.00 |
Now, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty, going line by line from the table above.
Difficulty Requirements (Value Parts: 3.00 points)
The requirements for the routines changed, depending on the competition. Competition IB (Team optionals), Competition II (All-Around Finals), and Competition III (Event Finals)
| 1B | II | III | |
| A Parts | 6 As 1.20 pts. | 4 As 0.80 pt. | 2 As 0.40 pt. |
| B Parts | 3 Bs 1.20 pt. | 4 Bs 1.60 pt. | 2 Bs 0.80 pt. |
| C Parts | 1 C 0.60 pt. | 1 C 0.60 pt. | 3 Cs 1.80 pt. |
| Total | 10 Parts 3.00 pts. | 9 Parts 3.00 pts. | 7 Parts 3.00 pts. |
Bonus Points (0.5o)
In the Code of Points, there were four difficulty values for skills: A, B, C, and CR. The CR skills were considered the riskiest skills. (The men’s Code of Points in 1979 also included CR skills.) One way to get bonus points was through CR skills. The other was for originality.
| Originality | Max. 0.20 pt. |
| Risk through CR skills | Max. 0.20 pt. |
| Additional C -OR- More than 1 CR skill | Max. 0.1 pt. |
Examples of CR skills:
- Clear hip to handstand with a full pirouette on the uneven bars
- A Deltchev
- A gainer layout stepout on beam
- A double front on floor
- A triple twist on floor
The Combination (i.e. the Routine Construction, 2.50 points)
| Progressive distribution of elements; Dismount corresponding to the value of the exercise | 0.50 |
| Composition from various elements & connections | 1.00 pt. |
| Space & direction | 0.60 pt. |
| Tempo & rhythm | 0.40 pt. |
Execution & Virtuosity (4.0 points)
| Virtuosity | 0.20 pt. |
| Technique / Amplitude / Posture | 3.8 pts. |
In addition to the aforementioned changes, the 1979 Code of Points for women’s artistic gymnastics became a lot, lot longer.
Enjoy reading 248 pages!
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