MODELING THE FINAL SCORE IN ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS BY DIFFERENT WEIGHTS OF DIFFICULTY AND EXECUTION
A recently published research study by Cuk I., Fink H., Leskosek B.
One of the authors is Hardy Fink, the man more than any other who birthed our current open-ended Code. He’s crunched the numbers more than any other alive, I reckon.
The goal was to …
… investigate how different calculations of the final score may change the ranking orders among gymnasts. Fourteen different calculations were taken into consideration and then compared with official results from the 2011 Men’s European Championships in Berlin. …
Results?
… In the Code of Points it is emphasized that the exercise presentation is the most important part and it should never be compromised for difficulty.
In the practice of competitions we often see exactly the opposite philosophy from gymnasts and their coaches. At this moment, the proportion between difficulty and execution is, on some apparatus, already above 70% (pommel horse, high bar).
If we look at other sports it is clear that the most risky sports (diving, aerial skiing) have very low contributions from difficulty towards the final score while the most aesthetic sports (synchronized swimming, rhythmic gymnastics) have a more balanced proportion …
I chose that quotation because it matches my personal opinion, and the majority opinion, that current FIG rankings reward difficulty too much, execution not enough.
Gymnasts like Louis Smith (Pommels) and Ali Raisman are not penalized much compared with those who have superior body line and stretched feet.
Read the entire article (PDF). That comes from Vol. 4 Issue 1: Science of Gymnastics Journal.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 