2013 NCAA Gymnastics - 'Cause it's Always a Good Time!

[BigB08822]

Scoring was ridiculous this weekend. LSU was at NC State and saw some very suspicious judging on vault. Florida lost at Utah and the entire Internet is abuzz about how overscored Utah was. Now your story. Something MUST be done. These judges need to be held responsible.

[Fridge_Break]

I've been reading up on comments about the judging this week (particularly Utah/Florida) and it is sad to hear about what has happened. I've probably been to close to 100 NCAA meets in the last several years, and I have seen my fair share of whacked up judging, both high and low, for teams at the top and teams on the bubble. Right off the top of my head, I can name a few routines that I've seen live that scored a 10 (or a 10 from a single judge) that had a visible error. I know I've bitched endlessly about some of the overscores at UF's home meets I have been to this season... I've also vouched for some of the away teams getting completely shafted. When I was attending Michigan State's meets regularly, there were plenty of scoring discrepancies. I know it's going to happen with a sport that is determined by humans and not a time clock.

Unfortunately, I think part of the problem is that judging NCAA (or any level of gymnastics, for the matter) is not a full-time job. Most have other full- or part-time jobs that most likely they've had before they became judges, and judging is more or less just a hobby for a lot of them. I believe I read that judges are paid around $200 per meet, plus travel expenses are covered. Considering that meets are typically only on weekends and usually most judges only judge one meet a week, and the gymnastics season doesn't run year-round, that's not enough to sustain a decent living (and it isn't even a guarantee that they'll be selected for judging on particular weeks -- judges submit their availability beforehand, plus the distance they are willing to travel, and then are selected from a pool based on those two criteria, and then altered based on restrictions as to how many times a judge can score any given team).

Another problem is the lack of judges readily available, and a lack of interest in getting new judges certified and at the judging table. I am actually in the process of studying to get a level 7/8 judging certification, and it is a LOT of work. My career post-college has not taken the path that it should have, nor that I was hoping it would, and I figured that I might as well try some new things and see how I like them, and gymnastics was atop the list. The studying involved just to pass the certification test is ridiculously complicated -- you have to know each skill in the code of points, it's value, and it's shorthand symbol (and there are some CRAZY symbols), combination values, exercise restrictions (for the lower levels), etc. It's like learning a whole new language. Never mind all of the specific deductions and minimum/maximum deductions for certain errors. It actually feels like I'm taking a college course again, with no professor. There are clinics that are held by USA Gymnastics, but they are only in select locations a few times per year. On top of that, once you pass your certification test, you then have to become a paid member of the judging association, USA Gymnastics, and pass the safety course. Additionally, you have to be judging a minimal of 4 or 5 years before you can even work your way up to NCAA. You're required to judge one year minimum at each level, after which you can test up to the next, assuming your "judges rating" is good. There is some formula in place that determines how accurate your scores are in relation to the other judges who scored the same routine. I don't know too much about that yet, unfortunately. It's a long process, and a rather expensive process, I am really not surprised that there is a lack of interest in people becoming judges, especially considering that it's not anything that's going to warrant any full-time jobs. I'm working for it just because I love the sport so much, and when I see judging travesties happen, it makes me wish that I could do something about it. I might be rather biased when I am sitting in the stands (then again, who isn't?) but I feel that if I was sitting at the judges table, I'd be able to be fair with the scores.

[Fridge_Break]

I'm hopping a flight up to East Lansing tomorrow to attend the Big Ten Championships with several of my college friends! I'm super excited, it's going to be a great meet. It will be broadcast live on BTN (for those who get it) on Saturday at 1pm (first session) and 6pm (second session).

[BigB08822]

SECs are today and no one can watch it unless you are in attendance. It is pathetic that in this day and age, and when every other Championship going on today has it, the SECs can not have live video.

So now I have to figure out what to do. Do I just listen to the LSU audio which is not very exciting and then wait a week or two for the footage to air? What I really want to do is avoid any results and watch it air but that's about impossible, I have too many LSU gymnast friends and will have to avoid a lot of place on the internet. This is just extra frustrating when all season long you have better footage for small dual meets than you do for a major Championship. I guess I will just follow the audio if I am home on time tonight and pray for live stats. In the past we didn't even get live stats...can you believe that!?

[skipaway]

Shocking how empty the stands are at Big Tens

[jkl]

Hi Brian,
I am sitting in Verizon Arena waiting to cheer for Hall's floor. Her mom is sitting on front of me. I will cheer extra loud for you!
Julie

[BigB08822]

Wow, what an SEC meet!!! Florida won with a 198 Alabama second with a 197.800 (they had a 197.9 but lost a tenth for an out of order lineup) LSU 3rd with 197.700 and UGA with 197.325 (they had a 197.625 and asked for a video petition on a score and lost, losing a video petition incurs a 3 tenth penalty).

LSU rocked the meet of their lives. Only 3 tenths behind a team like Florida? Incredible. Courville tied Sloan for the SEC AA with a 39.750. She won vault with a 10!!! She also won beam! Hall won floor!! Savona also tied for the floor title which THRILLS me because I felt all season long she had been getting low balled for her very difficult routine.

This is probably LSU's most successful SECs even though the team didn't win. They won or shared 4 of the 6 titles.

Yesterday Courville was announced as the SEC Gymnast of the Year and Sloan won Freshman of the Year. Faehn won Coach of the Year. How appropriate that all 3 won. Courville and Sloan tied for the AA and Faehn's team won. The voters got that one right, didn't they?

[Fridge_Break]

Shocking how empty the stands are at Big Tens

I was there and thought it was a great turnout It's hard to gauge because the sessions were split and most fans only went to the session of their team. Had all 8 teams been going at once, that place would have been PACKED.

Have to say it was a great competition! The energy was ELECTRIC, even in the first session. Michigan State had a fantastic meet, and were hanging on to 2nd for most of their session until Ohio State passed them in the last rotation. Highlight of the first session was freshman Lisa Burt's UB routine that went for a 9.9 -- possibly could have even gone higher. Her score held up throughout the second session as well and she finished in a tie for second overall.

Highlight of the second session had to be Nebraska's vault rotation. They had one vault that had a step, but everything else was stuck cold. 9.95's and 10's were being thrown around everywhere. They went into the last rotation a few tenths behind Michigan, and ended up powering away and winning by 6 tenths. Emily Wong also got 10's from individual judges on UB and FX (not sure if she was one who got them on vault as well).

I was very impressed with Illinois and Minnesota. Ohio State had a weak vault rotation and had a scary injury in UB warmups, but they pulled things together really well to place 5th. Penn State looked very flat to me. I didn't pay much attention to them the last two rotations because they were falling out of the picture. Michigan looks a little worn out. They've been going big and hard all season long, I wonder if it is catching up to them. Poor Iowa only had 2 clean beam routines, both of which were under 9.7. They also had a huge crash on FX. They pulled it together towards the end, but they were completely out of it 3 routines into the meet.

One of the most exciting parts of the day was seeing Jordyn Wieber -- she was there to commentate for a rotation with Big Ten Network. We walked right past her and her mom while we were choosing where to sit for the second session. No one seemed to recognize her, it was nice to see her not be mobbed by 8 year old girls. After we picked our seats for the second session, the entire MSU team and coaches ended up filing in right next to us to watch the action, which was super fun We got to congratulate the girls on having a great meet. Unfortunately they've missed out on Regionals Rankings haven't come out officially, but they came up just short, I fear in 37th place I can guarantee that this team won't be missing it next year, though. The team is so young and good that they are only going to get better.

[BigB08822]

LSUs high-light video. Courville's 10 on vault is a little questionable. She has a rebound but I don't think her feet left the mat. It is just shocking that 3 out of 4 judges would throw a 10 for that. I honestly don't think that would have ever gone 10 at a home meet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx_N6sjh5gU

[jkl]

The SEC women's gymnastics competition will be shown on ESPN this Saturday night (March 30) at 7pm Eastern 6 Central

[HeatherC]

YAY!!! I got my tickets for the Columbus Regional earlier this week so we're officially going to be there to see UCLA, LSU, OSU, Arizona, Central Michigan, and NC State compete to go to Nationals! We have pretty awesome seats and I will definitely be making sure my batteries are fully charged for my camera. I've always wanted to see UCLA compete in person (YAY Val Condos!!) and seeing LSU and the Buckeyes in person will also be pretty awesome. SO EXCITED!!!

[BigB08822]

Cheer a little extra for LSU for me!!! Have fun! Make sure to watch for Lloimincia Hall on floor from LSU, she will bring the house down.

[BigB08822]

SECs are currently airing on ESPNU if you get it and are home. It will also air on Saturday, maybe on regular ESPN.

[HeatherC]

Cheer a little extra for LSU for me!!! Have fun! Make sure to watch for Lloimincia Hall on floor from LSU, she will bring the house down.

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing her after hearing so much about her all season! It should be a fantastic competition!

[BigB08822]

Regionals are tomorrow! Some will have 4 feeds going, one for each event so you can follow any team you like. I can't wait! In some ways it is better than being there, assuming the feeds are reliable.

[rudi]

Regionals are tomorrow! Some will have 4 feeds going, one for each event so you can follow any team you like. I can't wait! In some ways it is better than being there, assuming the feeds are reliable.

Thanks for the heads up! Was thinking of taking a ride up to UF, but after a long work week, I decided to stay home and do chores instead (clean house, do taxes, etc.)
Do you know the link to the website?

[BigB08822]

If you google Wwgym message boards (make sure not to go to the archives which I always where google tries to send me to) or College Gymnastics Board (yuku) you can find links. I am not at home or I would share them. I will be home before 5 and will post them as soon as I get on my computer in case you haven't found them yet.

[BigB08822]

Links to Live video. I am linking to the thread because they have all the links they could find and I don't have the time or patience to copy and paste every single one of them. I am not sure if you have to join to read threads, I don't think you do but if you do, let me know and I can send you the link you are specifically looking for.

http://www.wwgym.com/forum/showthrea...908#post331908

[skipaway]

or try this

http://www.collegegymfans.com/

[BigB08822]

LSU struggled on bars with a rare fall from Courville for a 48.975 UCLA had a decent score on vault but if their scores are any indication, LSU should outscore them on vault easily if they do their job. UCLA began with a 49.225