With the final season of COVID-year eligibility behind us, we looked back at freshman appearances during the 2021 through 2025 seasons, which we’ll call the COVID-year era. We used this data to better understand how this change in eligibility rules impacted first-year athletes’ ability to compete.
All winter athletes who were on a roster in 2021 were allowed one extra year of eligibility to account for teams and individuals who opted out of the 2021 season due to risks associated with the spread of COVID. Gymnasts who were freshmen in 2021 just completed their fifth seasons, marking the end of this automatic extra year of eligibility. Before the 2025 season, we looked at the impact of the additional year of eligibility on lineup appearances, with a focus on upperclassmen and COVID-year athletes. Now, with COVID years behind us, we’re looking at the impact of this extra year of eligibility on underclassmen. Did freshmen compete less frequently in 2022-2025? Did gymnasts who were freshmen during the COVID-year era break into lineups later in their careers?
First, we looked at roster spots by class year. We analyzed data from 2018 through 2025 to see if trends changed during seasons with COVID years. The chart below shows each class’s percentage of roster…
