2025 - 2028 WAG COP - A Deeper Dive

[Concorde]

The purpose of this thread is to summarize the WTC presentation on the 2025-2028 WAG COP per the slides from the judges' course available via STS / FIG judges' training software.

I will break out the various sections below and included highlights of changes, with an emphasis on clarifications on criteria for awarding credit on elements or evaluating the execution of skills. Therefore, I am not including things such as the one Jaeger limitation on uneven bars, or the increase of B + D direct acro CV on floor exercise. Some information is not new, but I have included it below because the WTC has either highlighted something or provided rationale for a rule.

 

[Concorde]

Section 8 - Technical Directives

A. 8.1.3 - Falls on Landing (Criteria for Awarding DV)
- When there is a fall, contact with the ball of the foot is required for DV to be awarded

B. 8.2.1 - Rewarding DV for turns

1. Credit for Turns in Tuck Stand / Wolf Turns

• If the leg / foot is placed on the beam before the hips and shoulders complete the turn, then recognize another element in the COP (e.g. Mitchell / triple turn in tuck stand -> double turn in tuck stand)
• Hips must be no higher than slightly above knee level for the body shape to be credited in a turn in tuck stand

2. Credit for Illusion Turns

• The degrees of turn are determined starting from the moment the turning foot is placed on the beam / floor and ending upon completion of the illusion
• Hips and shoulders must be fully rotated before placing the free leg down

C. 8.2.2 - Credit for Turning Dance Elements

• When element lands on two feet, the position of the front foot is decisive (similar to landing of twisting saltos)
• When element lands on one foot, the hips and shoulders are decisive

D. 8.3 - Requirements for Selected Dance Elements

1. Scale

• No DV awarded if gymnast grasps under the beam

2. Pike Jump

• Legs must be above horizontal to avoid body shape deductions
• Legs at horizontal -> Small fault, 0.1
• Legs below horizontal -> Medium fault, 0.3

3. Ring Elements

• Shoulder must be in line with the buttock (demonstrates sufficient arch)
• When gymnast reaches maximum amplitude of ring position, but front leg is at 45 degrees or below, credit as split ring leap, with body shape deduction of 0.5.

Example:

• Switch Ring Leap with ½ turn does not require the turn to be performed after the ring shape is attained to receive credit (note this is different from the split ring leap with 1/2 turn where the ring position needs to be attained before the 1/2 turn for the element to receive credit)
• Stag ring jump is now downgraded to a stag jump if no arch and head release or back foot below crown of head (Previously, no DV was awarded if these criteria were not met. This change is due to the stag jump reentering the COP.)

E. 8.4.3 - Circle Elements with Turn on Uneven Bars

• If element does not reach 10 degrees of handstand and turn is obvious/necessary for a safe landing prior to fall, do not credit as circle with turn

Example:

 

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Section 9 - General Faults & Penalties

A. 9.3 Table of Deductions

1. Bent Arms/Bent Knees

• Slight bend of arms is permitted to absorb landing (e.g. in back handspring)

2. Legs or Knees Separation

• 0.1 deduction defined as when external part of knee is still in line with the shoulders
• 0.3 deduction defined as when internal part of knee is shoulder width or more

3. Body and/or Leg Position in Elements (Non-Dance)

• Hollow position will be credited as stretched, but will receive deduction for body alignment

4. Landing Deductions

• When feet are parallel on landing, they are permitted to be slightly apart with no deduction
• Uncontrolled landings in pirouettes and dance elements landing on one foot receive deduction for lack of balance
• Uncontrolled landings in dance elements landing on two feet receive deduction for steps, or hops/jumps

 

[makam]

So, no banana double layouts on UB?
(I still want the deduction for dumpy switch splits to be tripled. I also watched the video and yeah, my angle is different from the judges but I was still wrong on so many of them. You'd think they could have their own judges camera for teaching deductions instead of having to rely on venue cameras.)

 

[Concorde]

Section 12 - Balance Beam - D Score

A. 12.4 Connection Value (CV) and Series Bonus (SB) and Dismount Bonus

1. Arm Movements Between Elements

• Lifting of arms between elements to slightly above horizontal is acceptable provided that the rhythm of the connection is good.

Example:



B. Technical Requirements for Specific Elements

1. Side Split Jump 1/2

• 1/2 turn must be performed either before or after the split position is shown
• 30 degree tolerance for split position is permitted

2. Side Straddle Jump 1/2

• 1/2 turn must be performed either before or after the straddle position is shown
• 30 degree tolerance for hips and shoulders in straddle position is permitted

3. Turn with free leg held in 180 degree split / 'Y' turn

• 45 degree tolerance allowed to attain split position

4. Illusion Turn

• Turning foot must be placed in-line / parallel to beam

5. Front pike

• Assess pike position when gymnast is inverted / head down

Section 12 - Balance Beam - E Score

A. Balance Errors

1. When multiple balance errors occur on a single element, the largest deduction prevails. Therefore, the maximum lack of balance deduction for a single element is 0.5.

Balance Error (0.1) + Brush Against Apparatus (0.3) = 0.4
Balance Error (0.3) + Brush Against Apparatus (0.3) = 0.5
Balance Error (0.5) + Brush Against Apparatus (0.3) = 0.5
Balance Error (0.1) + Grasp Apparatus (0.5) = 0.5
Balance Error (0.3) + Grasp Apparatus (0.5) = 0.5
Balance Error (0.5) + Grasp Apparatus (0.5) = 0.5

B. Adjustment

Defined as:

• More than one step without choreogrpahy
• Step/s to touch end of beam
• Unnecessary steps
• Adjustment of feet prior to an element

C. Rhythm and Tempo

1. Rhythm: Defined as variation from slow to fast.

2. Tempo: Defined as connection between movements and elements. There needs to be a fluency which is predominantly dynamic, displaying very little interruptions

• If missing one component, deduct 0.1
• If missing both components, deduct 0.2

Example routine showing good rhythm and tempo:



Example routine showing good tempo / fluency but insufficient variation in rhythm:



Example routine showing insufficient variation in rhythm and tempo:

 

[Concorde]

Section 11 - Uneven Bars - D Score

A. Element Recognition

1. Pak salto

• In case of deep knee bend (i.e. 90 degrees or more), still credit as Pak salto, but apply 0.5 deduction for bent knees

B. 11.4 Connection Value (CV)

1. Hit on apparatus does not break a connection

Section 11 - Uneven Bars - E Score

A.Specific Apparatus Deductions

1. Underrotation of Flight Elements

• Criteria for avoiding deduction has been specified as when body is at a 45 degree angle in relation to the high bar just before regrasp

B. Directives for Specific Elements

1. Shaposhnikova Type Elements

• Bent hips during flight from low bar to high bar, deduct 0.1 for body alignment
• No visible lifting of the body's center of gravity, deduct 0.1 for insufficient height
• Shoulders near high bar height upon regrasp for Shaposhnikova 1/2 elements to avoid deduction for insufficient height
• Unlike empty / intermediate swings, the backward swing on a Shaposhnikova may receive execution deductions (e.g. bent kness)

2. Ezhova

• Insufficient height deductions using same criteria as Pak salto
• Highest point above high bar height (0.0)
• Highest point at high bar height (0.1)
• Highest point below high bar height (0.3)

 

[Denn]

So this is –0.5. I mean, it's not the best, but 0.5???????

This is –0.1. Why??

 

[Denn]

–0.5.

–0.3

 

[Denn]

–0.1. Leg bend doesn't matter so much I guess.

 

[Denn]

–0.5. Her back upper leg is a LITTLE low. MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Denn]

At this point, the Women's Technical Committee is a terrorist organization.

Seriously, how can anyone WANT to punish gymnastics this harshly? They are taking away for certain small errors the same 0.5 they would reward a gymnast for a back layout on floor to a double layout.

I would feel FILTHY carrying out some of these deductions.

 

[Denn]

So is this 0.1 deduction for shoulders not being both above the bar on regrasp?

 

[Denn]

These definitions are total garbage. The words "rhythm" and "tempo" have actual meanings. You can't just make shit up like this.

1. Rhythm: Defined as variation from slow to fast.

2. Tempo: Defined as connection between movements and elements. There needs to be a fluency which is predominantly dynamic, displaying very little interruptions

 

[Concorde]

So is this 0.1 deduction for shoulders not being both above the bar on regrasp?
View attachment 11472

The shoulders only need to be near the height of the high bar and not above to avoid the insufficient height deduction on the Shaposhnikova 1/2 type elements, so Jones should be fine. I took the shot below from STS. Also, they include a full script of her routine from event finals and she did not receive a deduction for insufficient height on this skill.

 

[Denn]

I just feel like this should not be a requirement for the skill. As long as they catch the bar and swing out smoothly, there's enough height.

Likewise, I feel like pike jumps and straddle-pike jumps should require horizontal legs, not above — which, to me, is almost an error.

 

[KristyJ]

"Near the high bar" is extremely imprecise verbiage, as well, and I'm sure won't be applied evenly because of that

 

[RichardL]

I feel like I'm being micro-managed and I'm no longer either a gymnast or a coach

 

[Denn]

I agree that fans of gymnastics are being led, along with coaches and athletes, to look at gymnastics with different eyes — sinister, miserable, almost hateful eyes that Donatella Sacchi and the Women's Technical Committee seem to have.

Seriously, do these people HATE gymnasts? Two of them, Burda and Davydova, have a couple of Olympic gold medals. Chusovitina is the athlete rep — and maybe it's time to replace her because she has never once said a public word defending the athletes against this kind of clobbering.

None of them were treated this way when they were winning Olympic medals. Do they not realize they are shitting on the gymnasts by creating some of these rules? Or do they know it and just not care?

 

[KristyJ]

I will say that I appreciate some of the clarifications- for instance you can now have a slight arm movement up between a connection, and the foot being all the way around on illusions will be helpful (I thought it was already the standard but I suppose people were just judging by the hips?)
But I do agree that others are just silly. Have we seen many gymnasts at all get a Ezhova as high as they want?

 

[Big_rock_show]

Makes me glad to no longer be a coach!