A D1 gymnast is a gymnast who competes at the Division 1 level of college athletics, as sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) . Division 1 is considered the most competitive category, with the best athletes and teams. In womens gymnastics, there are only 81 gymnastics programs in the country, home to over 1,000 gymnasts, and most of them—62 schools—compete at the Division 1 level. Typically, all Division 1 gymnasts start their routine at a 10.0 and aim to achieve a perfect 10. The top Division 1 gymnasts score near 9.900 or higher. Other Division 1 gymnasts typically receive scores around 9.800.