The FIG introduced its open-ended scoring system in 2006. The revised Code of Points replaced the traditional perfect-10 ceiling with separate difficulty and execution components, allowing the total score to rise above 10.
The change followed judging controversies at the 2004 Athens Olympics and concerns that the old system did not distinguish clearly enough between routine difficulty and performance quality. The new approach gave judges a D score for difficulty and an E score for execution, with deductions applied to the execution score.
The revised code received its most visible early test at the 2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. It remains a common source of confusion because the 2006 reform did not eliminate the number 10 entirely: execution scoring still uses a 10-point starting value, but the overall routine score has no fixed maximum.