Women’s Gymnastics: Inside the Numbers – Ohio State Buckeyes
7/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
An inside perspective on NCAA scoring and how to achieve a perfect ten
By Brittany Livingston, Ohio State Athletics Communications
For those who have ever attended an Ohio State Women’s Gymnastics meet and felt overwhelmed with the scores or confused by the so-called “start value” that a judge claims the gymnast is starting from, should be able to find clarity in the following explanation of college scoring.
During a competition, six gymnasts compete on each of the four events; vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. The best five scores are taken and the lowest is dropped. Ensuring that the most consistent six girls are competing is an extremely important part of a team’s success. The average of the team’s total scores at the end of the season determines their NCAA ranking.
While it has been done in the past, it is by no means an easy task. Only four Ohio State gymnasts have ever achieved a perfect 10.0. The last was Rickee Wirtzberger on the floor exercise during a dual meet vs. Ball State in 2003. A mere four gymnasts in NCAA history have ever recorded a perfect 10.0 on all four events in a single meet.
“The perfect 10’ is the symbol of the sport of gymnastics,” Ohio State coach Bill Lorenz said. “Ohio State hasn’t seen a 10.0 in a long time, and last season there were only a few athletes around the country who scored a 10.0. While athletes, coaches and fans all would like to see more 10.0’s, the excitement that surrounds a perfect’ performance hasn’t changed. While athletes have become better, so has the judging. Scores have become fairer as a result.”
What is a 10.0 start value?
As Lorenz mentioned, the reason it is so challenging revolves around the fact that judging is continuously becoming fairer year after year, as well as the fact that not all routines are even worth 10 points. Depending on the athlete’s difficulty, their routine’s start value can vary. Each skill performed has a point value assigned to it by the NCAA. Point values are represented by letters with “A” being the easiest and “E” being the hardest. The harder a skill is, the more points the athlete receives.
Combinations of certain skills can also add to the beginning start value of 9.5. Although a routine cannot technically be worth more than a 10.0, many routines are loaded with extra skills in case the gymnast misses a skill or the judge misses something. Mistakes such as bent legs, wobbles, missed handstands, flexed feet, air position or steps on a landing are all potential deductions from the final score. Completely falling off an apparatus is an automatic .5 penalty, which is one of the largest deductions that can be taken.
What about the vault?
Vault is perhaps the toughest event for an entire team to achieve a 10.0 start value. Because it is compromised of one fast move that is generally completed within a few split seconds, its start value is established long before the athlete salutes the judge.
“Competing six 10.0 start value vaults helps separate teams,” Lorenz quoted. “Imagine having three, four or five tenths of a lead going into an event. If a team wants a shot at a Big Ten title, or a national championship, they must have all of their competition vaults start at a 10.0.”
The start value reflects the difficulty of the vault performed. A front entry vault, for example, is generally much easier than a round-off entry and is therefore valued at 9.8 or 9.9 depending on the body position or amount of twists used. Deductions are taken here just as they are from the other three events, but with a much greater emphasis on the landing. For these reasons it is extremely advantageous for an entire vault line-up to have 10.0 start values.
The future of the perfect ten
As the NCAA code of points continues to become more challenging and stipulations on start values continue to increase, the perfect 10.0 is still strived for. Just this past year senior tri-captain Maalika Moore-Thomas scored a near perfect 9.95 on the floor exercise during a dual home meet vs. Penn State.
“In the Olympics this year they will use the international system of scoring called open scoring,” Lorenz said. “In open scoring, there is no perfect score. While this may be the best way of scoring the absolute best athletes in the world, the college coaching association has made it very clear that we will stay with the 10.0 scoring system. We may see less and less perfect 10’s, but it will keep the sport understandable and exciting.”
While the reality of actually attaining a perfect score these days may seem elusive to some, it is certainly not impossible. As the Ohio State women’s gymnastics team concludes its 2007-08 season ranked 18th in the nation with the addition of five new fresh faces for 2008-09, it is safe to say that anything is possible.
### ohiostatebuckeyes.com ###
