Gymnastics Explained

Connection value

A difficulty bonus of +0.10 or +0.20 for performing certain skills directly linked, with no pause or extra swing. It applies on women's bars, beam and floor, and men's floor and horizontal bar.

Connection value rewards linking skills, not just performing them. When certain skills are performed directly one after another — with no stop, extra step, loss of balance or extra swing — the D-score earns a bonus of +0.10 or +0.20, depending on the skills involved.

Where it applies under the 2025–2028 Codes of Points:

DisciplineApparatus
WomenUneven bars, balance beam, floor
MenFloor, horizontal bar

Some examples: on women’s bars, two D-value skills linked directly earn +0.10; on beam, a C + C acrobatic connection earns +0.10; on men’s floor, a D-or-harder skill linked with another D-or-harder skill earns +0.2.

Two differences between the disciplines: in women’s gymnastics, skills used for connection value don’t have to be among the eight counting skills, while in men’s they do. And in both, a fall cancels the connection. Women’s beam adds a separate series bonus for three or more linked skills.

Pommel horse, rings and parallel bars have no connection value — continuity there is judged as part of execution instead.

Related guides

  • What Is a Gymnastics Connection?

    A connection is two or more skills performed back-to-back with no pause; on apparatus where connection value applies, certain connections add difficulty beyond the sum of the individual skills.

  • Connection Value on Uneven Bars Explained

    On uneven bars, linking certain skills — especially release-to-release combinations — directly together without a pause adds bonus difficulty defined by the Code of Points.

  • Connection Value on Balance Beam Explained

    On balance beam, linking acrobatic skills into a continuous series — with no extra step or pause between them — earns bonus difficulty defined by the Code of Points.

Related terms

  • D-score

    The difficulty score: the value of the skills performed plus credit for composition and connections. It has no upper limit.

  • Series bonus

    On balance beam, an extra 0.10 for linking three or more skills together (at least B + B + C), on top of connection value.

  • Empty swing

    A swing on a bar apparatus that doesn't lead to a skill. It's deducted from execution and, on women's bars, cancels connection value.

Sources