Vault D-Score Guide: Yurchenko vs. Tsukahara Compared

In artistic gymnastics, the vault difficulty score (D-score) is one of the most decisive factors in a gymnast's final result. Under the FIG Code of Points, every vault skill is assigned a fixed difficulty value — unlike floor exercise or high bar, where athletes build their own routines and accumulate difficulty across multiple elements. The two vault families that dominate modern competition are the Yurchenko family and the Tsukahara family. This guide breaks down the technical differences between these two systems, lists their difficulty values by skill, and explains how the 2025 Code of Points revision has reshaped the competitive landscape.

How Vault Scoring Works: D-Score, E-Score, and Fixed Difficulty

Artistic gymnastics scoring is divided into two components: the D-score (Difficulty Score), which rewards the complexity of the skills performed, and the E-score (Execution Score), which reflects how cleanly those skills are executed. A gymnast's final score is the sum of the two.

What makes vault unique among all apparatus is that the D-score is entirely fixed. A gymnast declares which vault they intend to perform before competing, and that vault carries a predetermined difficulty value regardless of how well or poorly the skill is executed. There is no opportunity to accumulate difficulty across multiple elements as there would be on bars or beam. One skill, one D-score — the execution panel then judges everything else.

According to the FIG Code of Points, vault skills are categorized into groups based on three variables that determine their difficulty:

• Body position: Tucked (piked/tucked) → piked (straddle) → layout (stretched). Difficulty increases as the body becomes more extended.
• Number of twists: Each additional half-twist (180°) adds to the difficulty value.
• Vault family: Even when body position and twist count are identical, different entry techniques belong to different groups and carry different difficulty values.

The E-score starts at a perfect 10.00 and is reduced by deductions for errors such as a step or hop on landing, flexed feet, bent knees in flight, a crooked block on the table, or failure to reach the required height and distance. The landing zone is heavily scrutinized: a single large step can cost 0.1 points, while a fall deducts 1.0 point from the E-score.

Because vault is a single-skill event, there is no way to compensate for a poor D-score selection with additional elements. The choice of which vault to perform — and which family to train — is therefore one of the most strategically significant decisions a gymnast and coach make.

The Yurchenko Family: Round-Off Entry and Its Origins

The Yurchenko vault family takes its name from Soviet gymnast Natalia Yurchenko, who, working with coach Vladislav Rastorotsky, pioneered a completely new approach to the vault run-up in the early 1980s. The vault was first displayed internationally at a 1982 meet in Moscow, and after Elena Shushunova successfully performed the full-twisting layout version at the 1985 World Championships, the family rapidly spread across elite gymnastics worldwide.

The defining technical feature of all Yurchenko-family vaults is the round-off entry onto the springboard. Rather than approaching the table facing forward, the gymnast performs a round-off (a cartwheel-like skill that reverses the direction of travel), lands on the springboard facing away from the table, and then executes a back handspring onto the vaulting surface. This backward entry onto the springboard is what allows the gymnast to generate an exceptionally powerful and high-arcing post-flight phase, making the Yurchenko family the platform for the most spectacular and highest-difficulty vaults in the sport.

Under the 2022–2024 FIG Code of Points, Yurchenko-family vaults are classified as Group 4.

The family's potential was dramatically illustrated in 2021 when Simone Biles debuted the Yurchenko double pike — a round-off entry followed by a piked double back salto — at the U.S. Classic. The skill was awarded a difficulty value of 6.6, the highest ever assigned to a women's vault, and was subsequently named the "Biles II" in the FIG Code of Points.

On the men's side, Japanese gymnast Kenzo Shirai extended the family's reach by developing "Shirai" variations that incorporate an additional twisting element in the pre-flight phase before the table contact, enabling extraordinary total twist counts. These innovations demonstrate that the Yurchenko family continues to evolve at the highest levels of the sport.

Yurchenko Family: Complete Difficulty Score Table

The following table lists Yurchenko-family vaults and their assigned D-scores under the 2022–2024 FIG Code of Points. Difficulty increases systematically as body position becomes more extended and as twist count increases.

The Yurchenko layout double twist (D 5.00) represents one of the highest-difficulty vaults regularly performed in elite competition under this code. The "Shirai 2" — which adds a pre-flight half-twist before the table, resulting in an equivalent of three layout twists in post-flight — is listed separately in the men's Code of Points as an even higher-valued variation, reflecting the ongoing progression of this family at the international level.

The difficulty progression follows a clear logic: each additional half-twist adds approximately 0.4–0.6 points of difficulty, and switching from a tucked to a layout position adds 0.6 points at the base level. Coaches and gymnasts use this structure to plan long-term training pathways, typically beginning with a tucked or piked entry before progressing to the more demanding layout versions.

The Tsukahara Family: Quarter-Turn Entry and Japanese Innovation

The Tsukahara vault family is named after Mitsuo Tsukahara, one of Japan's greatest gymnasts and a multiple Olympic gold medalist. Tsukahara developed and debuted his signature vault in international competition during the late 1960s and into the 1970s, introducing an entirely new mechanical approach to post-flight vaulting that distinguished Japan's technical gymnastics tradition on the world stage.

The fundamental structure of a Tsukahara-family vault involves a forward run-up onto the springboard, followed by a quarter-turn (90°) twist during the pre-flight phase — the brief airborne moment between the springboard and contact with the vaulting table. This quarter-turn rotates the gymnast's body so that they arrive at the table in a sideways-to-backward orientation, allowing them to block off the table and execute a back salto in post-flight. The result is a vault that begins facing forward and finishes with a backward airborne phase, a fundamentally different mechanical pathway than either the front-handspring or Yurchenko families.

The key technical distinction between the two major families is therefore the springboard takeoff orientation:

• Yurchenko family: The gymnast takes off from the springboard facing away from the table (backward), having completed a round-off to reverse direction.
• Tsukahara family: The gymnast takes off from the springboard facing toward the table (forward), executing the directional change during the pre-flight airborne phase via the quarter-turn.

This distinction has significant implications for the difficulty values assigned to each family, as the quarter-turn executed in pre-flight adds a layer of technical complexity that the FIG Code of Points recognizes with a 0.20-point premium across comparable skills.

An important sub-family of the Tsukahara group is the Kasamatsu, named after Japanese gymnast Shigeru Kasamatsu. Rather than a quarter-turn in pre-flight, the Kasamatsu involves a three-quarter turn (270°) in pre-flight, causing the gymnast to arrive at the table facing forward rather than backward. The post-flight salto is therefore performed in the forward direction — the opposite of a standard Tsukahara. Because of this distinction, Kasamatsu-family vaults are sometimes referred to as "front-salto Tsukaharas." Under the 2022–2024 Code of Points, both Tsukahara and Kasamatsu vaults are classified within Group 3.

Tsukahara Family (Including Kasamatsu): Complete Difficulty Score Table

The following table lists Tsukahara-family vaults — including Kasamatsu variations — and their D-scores under the 2022–2024 FIG Code of Points.

The Tsukahara layout double twist (D 5.20) is the highest-difficulty vault in this family under the 2022–2024 Code of Points and is one of the most demanding vaults performed in elite men's competition. The consistent 0.20-point advantage over the equivalent Yurchenko vault reflects the FIG's recognition of the additional technical demand imposed by the quarter-turn pre-flight element.

The Tsukahara family is particularly prevalent in elite men's gymnastics, where the physical demands of generating explosive block power and controlling a precise quarter-turn in a very short pre-flight window are well-suited to athletes who have developed the necessary upper-body strength and spatial awareness through years of apparatus training. The layout Kasamatsu (layout full) is one of the most commonly performed high-difficulty vaults at international men's events.

Comparing the Two Families: D-Score Differences and the 2025 Code Revision

Side-by-Side Difficulty Comparison

The table below presents a direct comparison of Yurchenko and Tsukahara difficulty values for equivalent body positions and twist counts, based on the FIG Code of Points (2022–2024 cycle).

The Tsukahara family consistently carries a 0.20-point difficulty advantage over the Yurchenko family at every comparable level. While 0.20 points may appear marginal in isolation, its significance on vault — where a single skill determines the entire D-score — is substantial. A gymnast performing a Tsukahara layout double twist starts with a 0.20-point advantage over a gymnast performing the equivalent Yurchenko layout double twist, and in competitions where final scores are often separated by fractions of a point, this structural difference can be decisive.

The FIG's rationale for this premium is rooted in technical difficulty: executing a controlled and powerful quarter-turn in the brief pre-flight phase of a Tsukahara is a distinct and demanding skill that the Yurchenko round-off entry does not require. The Code of Points specifically rewards this additional technical layer.

Key Changes in the 2025–2028 FIG Code of Points

The 2025–2028 Olympic cycle brought significant structural changes to vault scoring that directly affect how both families are valued in competition.

The most impactful change was a uniform 0.4-point reduction in D-scores across all vault groups. This across-the-board reduction affects every skill in both families. Under the new code:

• The Yurchenko tucked vault drops from D 3.00 to D 2.60.
• The Yurchenko layout double twist drops from D 5.00 to D 4.60.
• The Tsukahara layout double twist drops from D 5.20 to D 4.80.

The relative 0.20-point gap between equivalent Yurchenko and Tsukahara vaults is maintained under the new code — the structural relationship between the two families remains unchanged, even as the absolute values shift downward.

The 2025 code also introduced significant reorganization of vault group classifications. Tsukahara-family vaults are now distributed across Groups 1 through 3, while Yurchenko-family vaults are unified under Group 4. Additionally, new skills have been added to the difficulty table, including the Tsukahara 2½ twist and the Yurchenko 2½ twist — vaults that represent the current frontier of elite vault difficulty for both families. These additions signal that the sport's governing body anticipates gymnasts at the highest level pushing into these extreme twist counts during the Paris-to-Los Angeles cycle.

The uniform downward adjustment to all vault D-scores reflects the FIG's broader effort to recalibrate the relationship between vault difficulty and execution quality in the overall scoring balance — encouraging gymnasts and coaches to prioritize clean, consistent execution alongside the pursuit of higher-difficulty skills.

Choosing a Vault Family: Strategic and Technical Considerations

The 0.20-point D-score advantage of the Tsukahara family over the Yurchenko family does not automatically make Tsukahara the superior strategic choice for every athlete. Vault family selection involves a complex interplay of factors that go well beyond the difficulty table.

Biomechanical fit: The round-off entry of the Yurchenko family is a natural extension of the cartwheel and round-off skills gymnasts develop from early training. For many athletes, particularly in women's gymnastics, the Yurchenko entry is more accessible and allows for an earlier transition to high-difficulty post-flight variations. The Tsukahara's quarter-turn pre-flight requires a different and highly specific skill set in terms of table contact mechanics and spatial orientation.

Execution consistency: Because vault is a single-skill event, execution errors carry enormous weight. A gymnast who can perform a Yurchenko layout double twist (D 5.00) with a consistent E-score of 8.50 will outscore a gymnast who attempts a Tsukahara layout double twist (D 5.20) but regularly incurs deductions that bring their E-score to 8.20 or lower. The 0.20-point D-score premium of the Tsukahara is easily negated by a single large step on landing.

Gender and event context: The Yurchenko family dominates elite women's gymnastics internationally, with the vast majority of top-ranked women's vault competitors using a Yurchenko-entry vault. In elite men's gymnastics, the Tsukahara family — including its Kasamatsu variants — is significantly more prevalent, reflecting differences in training pathways, physical development, and competitive tradition between the two programs.

Long-term development pathway: A gymnast who masters the Tsukahara entry early can progress through the full family — from tucked to piked to layout, and from no-twist to double-twist — building on a consistent mechanical foundation. The same applies to the Yurchenko family. Coaches generally recommend establishing a clean, competition-ready entry technique at a moderate difficulty level before adding twists, rather than attempting to maximize D-score prematurely at the cost of execution quality.

For a broader overview of how D-scores and E-scores combine in artistic gymnastics judging, see the guide to the FIG Code of Points: D-Score and E-Score Fundamentals.

Understanding the structural differences between vault families — and how each is valued under the Code of Points — provides essential context for following elite vault competition, whether at World Championships, Olympic Games, or national-level events. As both the Yurchenko and Tsukahara families continue to evolve with new named skills and increasingly demanding twist combinations, the difficulty table will remain a central tool for coaches, athletes, and fans seeking to understand the sport's technical frontier.