Ahhhhhh!!!! Nooooo!!!!

[GetaGrip]

For then first time ever, I went to watch a college gymnastics meet. And I do have to admit that it was pretty cool. I saw some pretty unique routines and some amazing skills (one handed back handspring into a layout step out). One routine specifically was very interesting in my mind. It was on beam, and a girl had a decent routine, maybe a mid 8 or so, as the 180 degree splits were not hit and there was some bent knees and flexed toes. But then the girl fell on her series. I was sitting there thinking "Oh now she's out of the placing", but when the score came up I was shocked to see that it was a 9.2! And this didn't just happen once, it happened around 5-10 times!!!! What is the difference between JO judging and college judging?

 

[gymdog]

Very different. 9.2 wouldn't "place" at a lot of a college meets. It's more like 9.5 is "solid" and 9.8+ is "good." The "best" routines in college are in the 9.95 (or even 10 range).

It's just a completely different judging culture. It's a spectator sport and the possibility of a 10 adds excitement. When you get to teams like Utah, they can get like 18,000 fans at a home meet. The whole cheering, showy floor routines, high scores aspect of NCAA is more fan geared than other "streams" of gymnastics.

 

[GetaGrip]

WOW.... That's so surprising! I saw quite a few 9.8's as well. So the scores are just to make the spectators happy? Something that really shocked me was floor. A girl did her routine, which in her first tumbling pass her feet were really far apart, she went low, and 3 feet crooked in her front tuck at the end. Her leaps were obviously below 180 degrees, and everything was relatively bad. But the score she got, a 9.8 was even worse!!! Is that how people get 39's in college gymnastics?

 

[coachmolly]

Just like in club, there are some areas of the country known for some pretty elevated scores in NCAA. But I think for the most part it's pretty standard. Usually those getting big scores are showing big skills and clean gymnastics. There are, of course, exceptions when an okay routine scores in the 9.8 range, but it's generally pretty consistent. NCAA judging is generally level 10 scoring with some modifications, but judges typically aren't as strict with the little things. All of the big deductions are the same (fall, hands down, extra swing, etc.)
The big scores are just part of the atmosphere of college meets and the way the system has worked for many, many years. Unlike elite, they don't feel the need to make significant changes every 4 years which is really refreshing to fans, both those who are knowledgeable gymnastics fans and the casual observer.
As an NCAA fan, you get used to the scoring after following for a while and learn what to expect. It's just a different mindset when watching than you have for elite or JO levels.

 

[gymdog]

WOW.... That's so surprising! I saw quite a few 9.8's as well. So the scores are just to make the spectators happy? Something that really shocked me was floor. A girl did her routine, which in her first tumbling pass her feet were really far apart, she went low, and 3 feet crooked in her front tuck at the end. Her leaps were obviously below 180 degrees, and everything was relatively bad. But the score she got, a 9.8 was even worse!!! Is that how people get 39's in college gymnastics?

No...the judging is generally pretty consistent. A routine that scored a 9.8 was probably pretty good. There generaly just aren't as many deductions taken as in JO/FIG. It's a different system. It doesn't seem to have hampered the "top" of the system at all. Watch a couple routines from a Georgia/Utah/UCLA line up...some of the best gymnastics I've EVER seen. Many aren't throwing a billion tricks in there like some you might have seen in the Olympics, but straight up gymnastics quality wise I would say Grace Taylor's recent beam routines are some of the best gymnastics I've ever seen. Much more confident, clean, and poised than much of what I watched from Beijing.

I was just watching Susan Jackson on floor (of back headspring fame) on floor. Her double pike finish - WOW. Absolutely gorgeous. You didn't see very many double pikes like that at Olympics trials. True, they might have been doing one, even two more passes, but still - I like seeing GOOD gymnastics nonetheless and I don't mind the criticism that the "stuck" focus of NCAA gymnastics has restricted difficulty to some extent. It's nice to see top NCAA routines that are fabulous quality gymnastics for what they do throw. It's a tradeoff. When the focus is absolutely stuck routines, there's going to be somewhat less difficulty than open-ended system where you want to rack up SV points. But the routines are still excellent for the most part. The 9.8 NCAA routines I've seen are, for the most part, not the best out there (again, 9.9-10 is hardly unheard of in the top levels of this system) but are very still very nicely done routines.

I follow NCAA more than I follow FIG - I often find I enjoy it more. Look up Vanessa Zamarripa's new vault (RO entry, half on, laid out front half off). Beautiful. Enough to put a smile on my face...I need more of a life...