Landing Deductions: Steps, Hops, Deep Landings and Falls

Key takeaways

Landing is judged on its own merits, separately from how well the skill before it was performed.

Small corrections (a step, a hop, an arm swing) cost less than larger ones (a very large step, a deep squat, a hand down).

Without a fall, women's landing deductions on one skill are capped at 0.80; in men's gymnastics, steps and hops are capped at 1.0 in total.

Some landing failures also cost difficulty: in women's gymnastics, a skill not landed feet first gets no value.

A perfectly executed skill can still lose marks on landing — it’s judged as its own, separate part of the skill.

What’s deducted

The landing faults listed in the 2025–2028 Codes of Points include:

Feet apart on landing
Extra arm swings to stay upright
Lack of balance
Steps and hops — the men’s Code deducts 0.1 for each small step or hop
A very large step or jump — the women’s Code’s guideline is more than shoulder width
Body posture faults on landing
A deep squat — the men’s Code describes a “low landing” with the hips below the knees
Brushing or touching the apparatus or mat with the hands without falling
Support with one or both hands
A fall — to the knees or hips, or on or against the apparatus — which costs 1.00

The caps

Landing deductions add up, but only so far:

Women’s gymnastics: if there is no fall, the landing deduction on a skill can’t exceed 0.80.
Men’s gymnastics: steps and hops on a landing are capped at 1.0 in total.

A fall is deducted separately, at 1.00. See how falls affect a score.

When a landing costs difficulty too

Most landing faults only affect the E-score, but a few go further:

Not landing feet first. In women’s gymnastics, failing to land feet first from a skill means it gets no difficulty value, and it can’t count for connection value, composition requirements or the dismount bonus.
Dismounts. Every men’s routine must end with a dismount landed feet first, and a dismount landed with a fall loses the women’s 0.20 dismount bonus.
Landing out of bounds. On floor, landing outside the boundary — and on vault, outside the marked corridor — is penalised from the final score by the D-judges, as well as anything the E-judges deduct.

The stick

The opposite is rewarded in men’s gymnastics: a “stuck” landing — no movement of the feet — on a dismount of at least C value, or a vault with a salto, earns a 0.1 bonus, except on pommel horse. Feet apart or arm waving don’t cancel it, but raising the heels to keep balance does.

Why it’s judged separately

A gymnast can show excellent height, shape and rotation in the air and still lose marks if the landing isn’t controlled — the two are assessed as distinct parts of execution, which is why commentary often separates “the skill” from “the landing”.