The 2024 NCAA gymnastics season is well underway, and we have seen our share of fantastic performances from some of the nation’s top gymnasts. However, the performance of the judges, charged with evaluating these routines, has often been disappointing. It seems that we have entered a seemingly endless cycle, where every season we hope for consistency and accuracy, followed by outrage at the overscoring of one team or conference, and then disappointment from the lack of any real accountability for the judges making these errors.
As a former NCAA judge myself, I have judged alongside both fantastic officials and those who flashed scores that made me question if we had even watched the same routine. Watching some of the routines this season, where gymnasts with very different levels of quality are receiving the same score and where some are receiving impossible scores that exceed their start values, has left me with a similar feeling,
Here are some of my general observations about NCAA judging from the 2024 season.
Applying the New Landing Hold Deduction
This year, NCAA gymnastics added a new deduction to try and better evaluate whether or not athletes are in control of their landings. This requires all gymnasts to hold their dismount landing for a full second in a…
