scores - oh so confusing

[gymgal]

Just back from dd's 3rd meet. she did very well. 1st AA. But I am just so confused by the scores - not hers, but another girl's scores. It just seems like this gymnast consistently scores higher than she should based on how the other girls' scores. For instance, she fell off the beam today and still scored higher than most of the other gymnasts (8.9). She rushes through her beam and floor routines (does not keep rythmn (or keep with the music) and still scores higher than most. I can't find anything in her routines that would cause her base score to be that much higher than the other girls to warrant still being able to outscore with such large errors (falls, off timing). This is a lower prep op level so all the girls on the team do the same routine. She's usually in the middle of the pack in terms of order to compete so it's not a "setting the pace" sort of thing

So - Do some gymnasts just naturally score better than others based on how they look when they perform (she's very thin, sleek lines, can kick very high, runs faster) even if their actual performances are about even with others?

It seems like dd and this one girl consistently battle each other for medals. This time dd won but only because the other gymanst had major trouble on the vault. Typically dd doesn't notice the scores but this time it was pretty obvious when the other girl fell off the beam and placed still higher than dd. I don't know what to tell her other than to say that she can only worry about doing the best she can and that sometimes judges see things we don't. Still, it's frustrating as a parent to not know why...

any ideas?

 

[eeyoretumbles]

I have not seen this other girl, so I don't know what could be wrong. Being off time, I don't think actually is that much of a deduction. I know that if you end off the music it's only like a tenth or something. You said she has sleek lines and can kick very high, this could be an advantage, and help her out on form. Some gymnasts like her could be very consistent, like in a routine as a whole. If she has one major fall, looking at her score of an 8.9 she must have had a consistent routine with little bobbles and good form. Form is a key part, and that may be what's making her consistent.

 

[bogwoppit]

If this girl typically has tight legs, no knobby knees, legs together and toes pointed she may well do better from just the many .10's that many girls lose from being sloppy.

Without seeing video it is really hard to say, but my guess is that she just is more poised and polished.

Great job on the AA for your DD, she must be thrilled.

 

[gymdog]

She probably has either better form or amplitude, or both. Falling doesn't really mean anything. There are a lot of deductions that can add up much faster than one fall. One of the biggest misconceptions I see with compulsory parents is that a fall is considered so disastrous, a routine without a fall will almost always be better. Amplitude and form are just as important as not falling. If you fall 6 times, even the best routine isn't going matter, but once is another story. Some of the biggest deductions in lower level beam come from split angles and handstand hold, although I don't know what prep op requirements would say about that stuff. 90% of compulsories don't have great rhythm so I'd find it pretty hard to make comparisons on that basis.

Encourage your dd to set internal goals that aren't based on score. Scores aren't a big deal in the long run. If she focuses on improving the quality of her actual gymnastics, she will progress and the scores will follow.

 

[gymgal]

thanks everyone! I really thought falls were a big deal for deductions (like a .5) and that's why I was thinking the girl must have been had a real high score otherwise and considering no one gets in the 9.5's on the beam at our level (you can, it just doesn't happen), I couldn't figure out the score. But maybe the deduction isn't that much.

I do encourage dd to think only about her scores and choosing 1-2 things in each event that she's going to try to do better than before. Like I said, usually she doesn't really notice other gymnasts' scores but with the fall, it just brought it to the forefront for her.

 

[gymdog]

A fall is an automatic .5 deduction. But wobbles are .1-.3 generally, bent arms/legs up to .2 (prep op generally uses the same form deductions although I only have JO experience, we just got prep op here this year). Amplitude deductions on skills could vary, missing a requirement would be another score deduction in the prep op system where sometimes girls may not be coming out of a full SV. These can all easily add up to more than .5 fall if there are a lot of them vs relatively little for the routine with a fall.

 

[mariposa]

Definitely must have to do with the routine with a fall not having other deductions, like balance checks, etc. My DD did her best beam routine ever this weekend and got a lower score than her best friend that had a fall. Simply because friend has more amplitude on jumps, held her handstand longer on dismount and less wobbles. It wasn't a huge difference in score, I think around .3.

Happens on bars as well. DDs friend scores higher on beam than my DD even if she has a fall and DD doesn't. It is because her routine in general is cleaner, tighter, etc, than my DDs even with the fall. I keep telling friend's mom that when M hits all her routines, she is going to rock. She just hasn't had that meet with no falls, etc, yet. She will, and it will be lovely to watch.

Interesting thread.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

Falls are NOT the end of the world - that's why coaches always say to keep going and don't give up even if you fall. There's a girl at my gym who can stay on the beam no matter what, but her bad form and wobble-wobble-wobble performance cut her down in competition. Your DD probably has some form breaks to clean up, while the other girl does better on the little things you might not be able to see from the stands. You say she kicks higher and runs faster - the run is very important in vault and floor, and your DD could be getting deductions for not kicking high enough.

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

Those form breaks and wobbles really add up. Sometimes it is even something we (parents) just don't catch. At DD's last meet I thought her beam routine looked great, score - not so great. OK, but lower than normal. When watching the video I noticed that she didn't get her foot all the way around on her snap turn, likely she got no credit for the turn at all, explaining the score. One of her teammates somehow put a sache' in between her cartwheel cartwheel tumbling pass and got no credit for the pass at all because they no longer were considered connected - hence no tumbling pass. We parents were all wondering why her score was so low ( then HC's L8 daughter explained).

Sometimes it is stuff we just can't catch from the stands.