WAG Do bad warmups influence judges?

[duyetanh]

...I am not trying to start arguments here, so hopefully people will be kind while they are frank.

I just would like to know. My daughter is in the horrible warmup, decent performance category....and I have always wanted to ask those 'in the know' if this influenced her scores...but I didn't know any 'in the knows' to ask! So...throw it at me.

 

[cbifoja]

I've not seen that most judges pay much attention to warm up. I just can't imagine that a bad warm up plays any role in their scoring. And that's from being a spectator and working meets where I sat at the table with them.

 

[gracyomalley]

I don't think so....all three of mine are in the get it all out during wArm up camp and much smoother during actual routines. For boys the judges aren't even always present for warm ups if they do traditional format and the girls are often warming up between routines or on one set of equipment while others are competing on the other. Mine have all competed 4-5 years and it never sees a problem

 

[duyetanh]

I should clarify. I mean nor the warmup b4 March in, but the warmup before competing. This is done right in front of the judges in my region...

 

[cbifoja]

I was assuming that's what you meant. I'm still going with what I said.

 

[MILgymFAM]

I don't know, but kinda always wondered myself. I have seen judges scratch a girl on vault after a really horrible warm up, so I know they must pay some attention.

 

[Committed]

I don't know, but kinda always wondered myself. I have seen judges scratch a girl on vault after a really horrible warm up, so I know they must pay some attention.

Wow! Really?!? That must have been some scary looking vaulting!

 

[duyetanh]

(Or at least at every meet we have gone to)

 

[Turk]

I think it worked the other way round for me once - great warmup, fell twice in the actual routine, but there was only one judge and she was looking down to write when I fell the second time. My score only reflected one fall... I like to think she just assumed I hadn't fallen while she was looking away because I didn't fall in the warmup

 

[Aussie_coach]

I don't think a bad warm up really does negatively influence the scores. Most judges have seen many, many kids warm up and perform. They would have seen many nervous kids screw up their warm ups and then perform better in the real competition. They are very aware of this as it is such a common issue.

However, I do agree that judges can and should be allowed to scratch a gymnast if nessesary. Our judges are allowed to do this, if they see a kid warming up a skill that is clearly not safe they have a right to request the coaches remove it from the child's routine. I have seen this happen on a few occasions and in most cases it benefits the child anyway as the dedications on the skill would not even be worth the value of the skill anyway.

We do need a system to regulate safety, those running the competition don't wish to be held accountable for injuries caused by coaches poor choices.

 

[gymdog]

Probably, particularly if the routines are then fairly mediocre. It's just human nature. But if a kid has spectacular form, falls in warm up, and then nails the competition routine it's not going to affect the judges.

 

[gymgal]

I think this is very individual. There are judges who never watch warm-ups. They purposely keep their head down, talk with the other judge, or are just looking somewhere else. Then there are others who are purposely looking at all the gymnasts warming up. I do feel those judges are looking for things to watch for in the actual routines. Whether or not it influences their judging, who knows, but if they have seen several times in the warm-up that legs are bent or toes not pointed, you can bet they can catch it more easily in the actual routine. Obviously, this would be more relevant in rotations where the girls warm-up just before each event.

 

[needcoffee]

Not necessarily, but I admit to having wondered this too!! At our last comp, our girls bars looked awful during the warm up. All of them. I even overheard their coach telling them to get their **** together (in a nice way!). They all ended up scoring decently.

 

[MILgymFAM]

Wow! Really?!? That must have been some scary looking vaulting!

Scariest fhs vaults I have ever seen. I don't think the girl got over a 7 something all season. I don't know why they let her compete gold, tbh, but not my kid so not my issue.

 

[raenndrops]

We had a level 7 transfer one year (came from a private club when her family moved... was repeating L7)... she had vault issues - would go over 1/3 times if she was "lucky". At one meet, she didn't go over at all in Warm Ups (balked all 3 times), but still wanted to compete it (we had 2 coaches there to spot - one in front and one behind, just in case). First attempt - a run past... didn't touch anything... all good, she gets another free shot. second time, she balked... but still had one more chance. She did the most beautiful handspring I had ever seen her do and she also got her best score of the season. One of the judges was talking to our HC afterward and said that she was worried after the warm ups and was pleasantly surprised by the actual vault!

 

[Deleted member 18037]

My girl blew every bar warm up last year. She placed well.

She has also tanked vaults and placed well

 

[Aero]

We had a level 7 transfer one year (came from a private club when her family moved... was repeating L7)... she had vault issues - would go over 1/3 times if she was "lucky". At one meet, she didn't go over at all in Warm Ups (balked all 3 times), but still wanted to compete it (we had 2 coaches there to spot - one in front and one behind, just in case). First attempt - a run past... didn't touch anything... all good, she gets another free shot. second time, she balked... but still had one more chance. She did the most beautiful handspring I had ever seen her do and she also got her best score of the season. One of the judges was talking to our HC afterward and said that she was worried after the warm ups and was pleasantly surprised by the actual vault!

My girl blew every bar warm up last year. She placed well.

She has also tanked vaults and placed well

"Hume teaches us that no matter how many times you drop a stone and it falls to the floor, you never know what will happen the next time you drop it. It might fall to the floor, but then again, it might float to the ceiling. Past experience can never prove the future."

Bad warm-ups are not always an indicator that the real performance of the routine will be bad. I've also encountered warm-ups that really worried me, but sure enough the kid ended up knocking it out of the park when they went. Some kids are super clutch right when it matters. Give them a chance.

Just be there and be ready in case things go awry.

 

[skschlag]

D has had judges make suggestions for his routines during warm ups, almost coaching, or telling him what he is looking for. iI know that one judge changed the order of his pommel routine during warm ups, and he did much better. But I don't think that a bad warm up will affect the score...

 

[z2akids]

I can't let myself worry about the possibility. Judging seems so arbitrary as it is thst the last thing we parents need is another potential reason to turn into CGMs imagining the judges are taking off tenths for every flexed foot in warm ups.

But, DD is a compulsory gymnast and every meet she attends has 2 flights with dual equipment. Flight 1 warms up on bars A while flight 2 competes on bars B. Then flight 2 competes on bars b while flight 1 of the next rotation warms u0 on bars a. So, effectively the judges really dont see much of the warm ups. The judges just rotate back and forth between equipment each flight.

I have worked L3-L7 sessions of meets for the last few years and they all seem to work that way. Now, I don't know what that looks like for upper level optionals. Could be very different as the pool of gymnasts decerases.

 

[z2akids]

I can't let myself worry about the possibility. Judging seems so arbitrary as it is thst the last thing we parents need is another potential reason to turn into CGMs imagining the judges are taking off tenths for every flexed foot in warm ups.

But, DD is a compulsory gymnast and every meet she attends has 2 flights with dual equipment. Flight 1 warms up on bars A while flight 2 competes on bars B. Then flight 2 competes on bars b while flight 1 of the next rotation warms u0 on bars a. So, effectively the judges really dont see much of the warm ups. The judges just rotate back and forth between equipment each flight.

I have worked L3-L7 sessions of meets for the last few years and they all seem to work that way. Now, I don't know what that looks like for upper level optionals. Could be very different as the pool of gymnasts decerases.

I typed that wrong and can't edit.

Flight 2 warms up on Bars 2 while
Flight 1 competes on bars 1

Then
Flight 2 competes on bars 2 while
Flight 1 from the next rotation warms up on bars 1

The judges usually have a table between the two sets of bars and just change which side they sit at depending on which flight is currently competing. So, their back is often to the flight warming up. This situation is similar for other events.