When fans are judging gymnasts at their best from the comfort of their own homes, it’s easy to catch the few small steps or form breaks and get a pretty good guess at what the score might be. However, when things go wrong, scoring a routine can become tricky, as the deductions just keep coming. It’s even harder when something unusual happens, such as an equipment malfunction, an injury, or an incomplete routine.
This week, I’ve found an example of a routine on each event where judges really had to earn their judging stipend. I break down all the different rules and deductions that apply to demonstrate the challenge of remembering and correctly applying all the deductions in such a short amount of time.
Vault
Watch the full routine (timestamp 9:02)
This vault was intended to be a Yurchenko full, but the gymnast’s hand slips on the table, and she’s not able to get a good enough block or height to make it around to her feet. As a judge, at least in my experience, when you see something like this, it’s very shocking and can make you forget everything else you saw in the vault, making judging difficult. I often replay the vaults in my head to try to get all the deductions. Here’s what I saw:
Pre-flight
No deductions
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