Score vs Place: Food for Thought

[TumbleBunny]

I have noticed a trend in our area to post place standings vs scores. Posting I am referring to club websites,facebook pages, and local newspapers. I am confused by this because why not post both the place and the score. Many times a gymnast will score lower but receive a higher place standing. For Example Susie receives a 8.85 on bars and receives 3 third place,Chloe a teammate receives a 9.35 but ends up in 8th place. Girls are competing in different age groups. All that is in print is Susie's third and Chloe's 8th place. Is this policy fair to both gymnast? I'm sure this could be spinned in different directions. Just food for Thought

 

[NGL780309]

Personally, I wouldn't care either way. Scores don't mean much to people who don't know anything about gymnastics. The place means more to them. I do see your point though. The head coach at DD's old gym used to make a poster after every meet advertising the results of the meet and post it in the lobby. You could only get on this poster if you were 1st-3rd place. You should have seen the drama because of that exact reason. Girls in less competitive age groups would always get on there with lower scores.

 

[my4buffaloes]

Hmm, I can see it both ways. Personally the scores matter to me because whatever my daughter's place is, I can tell whether she is improving individually by scores. However, scores are so subjective and the judging is different at every meet that sometimes scores don't matter at all, but the place does. I say why not list both? As in Susie got 3rd place with a score of 9.1, etc.

 

[virginiacoach]

Some gyms just choose to emphasize different things we only post placements because our philosophy is to focus on the gymnastics and not the scores which can fluctuate hugely depending on who is judging , where you are competing etc. We are just happy that our kids get a lot of press of any kind!

 

[AlexsGymmyMom]

The scores can fluctuate from meet to meet however if all the girls are at the same meet the judging should be consistent between age groups at that meet. I personally like the scores vs the placements as that to me is a better indication of how my DD is improving. SHe could be at one meet and get 1st place with an 8 but get a 9 at a different meet and only place 8th. A number to me is a better indication as it is not going to differ as greatly as placements based on how many girls are in a age group and such. IDK, it seems my DD is always in a much tougher age group than others her team so she scores higher and places lower. Just my opinion.

 

[angelturbo]

For us, the paper here won't print the article if it is too jumbled with so many numbers. So, we found that we get our article in the paper and in the paper faster when we just list places. I know it doesn't seem right in the gymnastics world, because I completely see your point. Maybe the person writing the article could word it in way that the reader would get. For example, "Competition was so close that even though Susie and Chloe scored one of the highest scores on floor, they did not place, but contributed to the team placing 2nd." We like to get out gym visibility at least so the community knows we exist.

 

[cher062]

Around here for the local newspapers it's a matter of room. those extra numbers do take up extra space. As for the gym those really aren't posted by the gym but by the booster club on the booster club site for the gym parents only. Its more incase we missed something at the meet.

Let's face it the score really doesn't mean alot because they are subjective and from meet to meet the same routine infront of different judges can have huge score values. So long as the scoring is consistant during the meet and everyone is judged either hard, middle of the road or easy then I guess its ok. the place to me if it mattered that much to me would be more significant.

I just want my girl to first and formost to have FUN and do her best. The extra stuff I would want would be to once in a while hit the podium and get a trophy or two during the season.

 

[GymnastJoy]

I am one who publicizes our girl's results when asked (mostly within the gym for team and rec parents). As a mom, my preference is to list scores instead of placements. We are a small gym and try to focus on individual goals and accomplishments rather than placements. If a girl got her personal best whether it be a 9.0 or an 8.0 we celebrate it. It's like I tell my own dd. So long as she tries her best then that's all she can do. If she places, great, that's an added bonus. She cannot control how her score will place her in the standings. Oftentimes a personal best for her will not be recognized during awards. But that shouldn't take away from her hard work to acheive the score that she did. Bling isn't everything.

 

[TumbleBunny]

I agree with not focusing on just scores. Personal goals and personal achievement is very important. But "love" it when gyms say we dont focus on the scores. Well ,without a score there is no "place" for a meet. They are connected whether you admit or not. Thank you for the responses.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

Just my $0.02, but I always say we have age groups for a reason. Different age groups perform and train differently...that's just life. Also, scores differ from meet to meet and judge to judge so the most accurate way to judge success is by placement and performance (i.e., at a harsh-judged meet, an 8.6 could win floor, but what matters most is that you worked on your split leaps, went hard for the tumbling, etc).

 

[Peppermint]

Our coach focuses on placement more than scores. Especially if she isn't there for a meet. Meets where the scores are wildly high or low happen every now and then, places are an accurate way to see how a gymnast did among her competitors. She doesn't share this info with the team, the only time anything gets posted is when the team as a whole comes in 1,2 or 3rd. If my dd comes in 2nd at several meets in bars and then places 8th, the coach will revisit what skills may have gotten sloppy.