Olympics: What's wrong with gymnastics (and other sports with scoring judges)

(Warning for West Coast and Mountain Time Zone readers -- proceed at your own risk)

Gymnastics is certainly a sport, but there's something kooky about a sport where the results are determined by judges who can sometimes give out baffling scores. Take the men's final high bar performance, where Russian gymnast Alexei Nemov (a Val Kilmer lookalike) did an absolutely stunning routine, with six separate release elements. Now I realize that I'm hardly a gymnastics expert -- I tune in every four years -- but Nemov's performance was the one that had the audience gasping with delight. Yet, the judges gave Nemov a lower score than two earlier performers who had technically proficient but generally forgettable performances.

The audience booed and hissed for ten minutes, and finally the judges changed some scores, though not enough to change the standings. So not only did the judges show that they can be pressured by the audience, but they didn't even correct the injustice.

Finally, because the audience wouldn't quiet down, Nemov had to get on the stage and show gratitude to the audience for supporting him but motion them to shut up so that American Paul Hamm could perform. And Hamm delivered a technically proficient performance, perhaps one even deserving of a medal -- but not better than Nemov's.

As I say, I don't know that much about how the routines are scored. But there's something seriously wrong with the system when the audience's reaction is so different from the judges'.

Meanwhile, Nemov showed himself to be an amazingly classy performer. He deserved better from the judges.

UPDATE (8/24): For a defense of the judging of Nemov's performance, check out the comment by a former gymnast, who makes a good case that Nemov's score wasn't unfair. I think she makes an especially good point about the danger of scoring by "wow" factor: that gymnasts will strive for more and more dangerous routines rather than perfecting their skills.

Comments

[Grace Cretcher]

I was just surfing the net and came across your blog, and this entry, and had to make a comment. I was a gymnast for 7 years and am now a NCAA diver, and so I know very well the ups and downs of sports in which the results are, in all honesty, pretty much completely subjective. I also know a lot about what judges in gymnastics should and should not take deductions for. Therefore, I must say that although Nemov's routines was ABSOLUTELY more crowd-pleasing and stunning than Hamm's, that really has very little to do with how the scores fall. If you break down how Nemov's routine went, you will see that in reality, even the very first score that the judges awarded him was not unfair. He took quite a large step on his landing, a step that should have been a 2-tenth deduction. If you take that deduction away from his 10.0 starting value, that leaves him with a 9.8. The first score he recieved was a 9.725. The judges therefore took .075, less than one tenth of a point, off of his score in addition to the deduction for the step. That is the equivalent of one tiny, almost imperceptible knee-bend or toe-flex. Although Hamm's routine was less of a "WOW!" moment, he too achieved a start value of 10.0 and had a much more solid landing. Alexei's breathtaking difficulty, while quite amazing and entertaining, went above and beyond what he needed for a 10.0 start value and therefore really did nothing to help his score. If gymnastics scoring was only based on the "wow" factor, and not how well-executed and "technically proficient" the skills are, it would be reduced to a circus of gymnasts performing dangerously difficult skills instead of striving to perfect their routines. While I can see how, as a person not extremely well informed about gymnastics scoring, you would come to the conclusion that you did, I just couldn't resist putting my two cents in as a person who does know a bit more about gymnastics.

A thank you for the comments made by the former gymnast. As usual most of the clatter about the results of gymnastics judging is being made by people who tune in to gymnastics once every four years and don't really understand the sport. I found it very disturbing that the reaction of the crowd to Nemov's routine pressured the judge's to change his score. Judges will soon find it impossible to effectively judge if they are fearful of audience reaction.

[Sebastian Holsclaw]

"Alexei's breathtaking difficulty, while quite amazing and entertaining, went above and beyond what he needed for a 10.0 start value and therefore really did nothing to help his score."

Which only shows that gymnastics might want to consider going to a difficulty multiplier like diving rather than a start value system.

[Renaissance]

I am not knowing any detail or high level of gymnastic. No matter what's happened of the judges......as my personal point is, Nemov has been won the REAL METAL of all his fans(a lot of audience)heart....on 08/23/2004 it has been shown the achievement of Nemov been the athlete for over 10 years ago....I beleive that he did the best. Also all athletes in 2004 Olympic did the best too!

[Deek]

I disagree with Grace Catcher's comments regarding Alexi Nemov's Olympic finals High Bar routine. I would have only deducted one tenth for the step. It wasn't THAT big.

What REALLY got Nemov deductions was on his release moves combination. On two of them his toes came apart just a little bit. That is easily a tenth if not two (either half tenth off for each or a whole tenth off for each). The other deduction he had was on I believe his last releast skill where he caught it low and had to bend his arms. A tenth there. So far we are at at least 3 tenths. He got a generous score.

The ones who should have won (the medals, though I couldn't say in which placement order) that even (that I saw on TV) are the Hamm twins and Isao Yoneda of Japan. He was the only one I saw on that final that didn't bend his legs on the dismount, an error the judges continually ignore. The only reason your legs should bend on High Bar are for dismouns and release skills, and this is AFTER you let go of the bar.

You know who REALLY got a generous score was the guy who won. I wouldn't even have given him fourth place. Nemov's routine was better. The guy just won because his release skills, though they were fewer, were bigger than Nemov's (though much sloppier). He's the only one in the world who can do a laid-out Kolman, which is a double flipping lay-out with a full twist release skill.

However, the rest of Grace's post I do wholeheartedly agree with.

What FIG needs to do is three-fold:

1) Distinguish between technical perfection and aesthetics. For example, Xiao Qin of China is WAY better on Pommel Horse than Paul Hamm, yet the score difference for Quin's routine compared to Paul in the team finals was .125, yet there was a stark difference between the level of execution. I mean, Xiao Qin is the best Pommel Horse swinger in the world (despite the lack of that title). He swings like a god! That's not right to me. They need to fix this somehow or just take aesthetics (virtuosity) out of the picture all together.

2) Make the Code so guys don't do the same d*mn skills in every routine! How many of you are tired of the ol' Peach to handstand, Belle combo on Parallel Bars? Or how about how at least 80% of the good vaulters at national/international competitions do a Tsuk 2 1/2 laid-out full vault (or Kasamatsu 1 1/2 which is almost the same thing)? Routines are almost the same nowadays. H*ll, Kim Dae Eun of South Korea's (the silver medalist All-Around gymnast of the last Olympics) routine is almost the EXACT same as Blaine Wilson's (of the U.S.). The ONLY difference is they do their press at different points of the routine, and it is the same press. All the same skills are in both of them. Point is men's gymnastics needs some variety.

3) Actually make the judges judge how they should. No, I'm not just talking about the whole Yang Tae Young/Paul Hamm controversy. I'm talking about the fact that judges don't deduct for obvious mistakes, such as bent arms on a Peneda/Bhavsar on Rings, the bent legs I mentioned above on High Bar or the legs coming apart/bent on the pre-flight on vaults (especially Tsuk/Kasamatsu vaults). Imagine Alexei Nemov getting a 9.4 on Highbar instead of that generous 9.750 or whatever it was. He bent his legs on the tap for 2 of his release skills and his dismount.

Well, I await your guys' reponses.

[Mauricio]

I am alexei nemov's biggest fan...he's my idol...however, I don't think he had a medal winning performance at the olympics. Don't get me wrong, I would have loved for him to have done a flawless routine which i know he could do, but he didn't. And the guy that did win had way bigger skills, and did them well. But hey, getting to an olypmic finals is big either way, and nemov has enough medals already (if their is such thing as enough.)

And about the suk 2 1/2 kas 1 1/2 thing, what is the difference??? all I can tell is that the kas is more like a tinsica front hanspring and the suk actually leads to a back flip off the vault...is that the difference? cuz that guy from china who does the supposed suk tripple, actually does a tinsica front hanspring layout 2 1/2, which, by the way, are worth the same...although tinsica fronts are not really in the code...so its just considered a hanspring entry vault i guess, or to the judges a suk/kas. So, in conculsion, nemov is awsome but wasn't up to par, and if anyone knows the differences btwn a suk and a kas, let me know!

[Elana]

I think that you are completely right. It is so unfair that the judges give out such bad scores. I used to live in Houston and went to Gymtex. I was there when I was four. I am ten now. My birthday is Valentines Day. It was frustrating and painful, but still fun,. Come check out my blog, I left and URL for you.

[Devin DeBacker]

[A little background: I'm an Elite / NCAA men's gymnast, coming up on senior year of college at the College of William and Mary; have been a nationally ranked judge for 5 years, doing gymnastics for 19 years.]

A few corrections:
- There's no virtousity at the FIG / International level.
- There's more than one person in the world who can do a laid-out Kolman (I have a teammate who hits it 50% of the time, and can think of about five others who compete or have competed it regularly).

As per the Hamm / Yang Tae Young controversy, the media skewed it quite a bit when they stated that Young should have started at a 10.0 instead of a 9.9. Actually, Young should have started at a 9.8 with an additional 0.2 deduction for a fourth stop / hold in his parallel bar routine (gymnasts are limited to no more than three). Hence, Hamm still should have won the gold, all other disputes aside.

[Girls Gymnastics Leotards]

Having coached gymnastics for twenty years, I can say this...the athlete typically earns the score they deserve. Alexi's routine was more difficult than it needed to be. He knew the risks he was taking, but wanted to demonstrate his ability. My experience has been that very rarely does a judge just toss a score out there. As a coach, I always had the right to see what they took the deduction for. Fans, and parents, don't always understand the sport and as a result may feel like the athlete was slighted. Most of the time they have not been.

Cheers.