Section 6: Scoring
Criteria (Articles 7.1, 10 and 14)
Judges assess the overall physique for proportion, symmetry, muscle size and quality (density, separation, definition) and skin tone. The judge favors a harmonious, classical physique with good posture, athletic bearing and correct anatomical structure. Judges should look for good skin tone, with an absence of surgical or other scars, spots, acne or tattoos, which the IFBB considers skin blemishes, as well as tidily dressed hair and well-shaped feet and toes. Assessment is a downward head-to-toe survey of each pose. Round 2 must be judged from a "fresh" perspective, because a competitor's condition may differ from Prejudging.
Elimination Round (Article 7.2)
Judges select the top 15 by placing an "X" beside competitor numbers on Form 1. Statisticians tally the selections on Form 2. Tied athletes are brought back onstage and the judges reassess the four mandatory poses to break the tie. The top 15 advance.
Round 1 (Article 9)
- On Form 3 each judge awards every competitor an individual placing from 1 to last, with no two competitors given the same placing.
- Statisticians transcribe the placings onto Form 5. They discard the two highest and two lowest scores if there are nine judges, or one highest and one lowest if fewer than nine, then add the remainder to produce the "Round 1 Subscore" and "Round 1 Place". The lowest subscore takes 1st place.
- Ties are broken with the Relative Placement method. Each judge's placings for the tied athletes are compared column by column and a dot goes to the better-placed athlete. All nine regular panel judges' scores are included, but not alternates. The athlete with more dots wins the tie.
- The top 6 advance to the Finals and start with zero points. They are announced just after Prejudging.
Finals (Article 13)
Judges place the six finalists 1st to 6th on Form 6 with no shared placings. Statisticians discard the two highest and two lowest scores (nine judges), or one of each (fewer than nine), and add the rest. Prejudging points are not carried forward. Ties in the "Round 2 Subscore" are broken by Relative Placement.
Overall Category (Article 16)
The Overall Category covers senior (up to nine champions), junior (up to four) and master (up to fourteen) divisions. Category winners perform the 7 mandatory poses center-stage, with comparisons if needed, then a 30-60 second posedown. Judges place them on Form 6, the two highest and two lowest scores are discarded with nine judges, and ties are broken by Relative Placement. The "Overall Champion" receives the IFBB Overall Trophy.
Teams (Article 17)
Best National Teams scoring at the World Championships counts the top 6 Men's Bodybuilding athletes. For Juniors it counts the top 1 from ages 15-20 and the top 2 from ages 21-23. For Masters it counts the top 3 from each of ages 40-44 and 45-49 and the top 1 from each of ages 50-54, 55-60, 60-64 and 65 and over. Calculations are detailed in Section 1: General Rules, Article 18.