Category: NCAA

the new NCAA Championship format

Spencer:

The new postseason format instituted for 2019 is an improvement over the previous system in many ways, most notably because of the elimination of those bloated and interminable six-team meets with bye rotations. It still has its faults and problems from the previous format that have gone unresolved, which we’ll all be sure to complain about at every possible moment, but it’s a step. So here’s how it will go. …

Previously, the 36 advancing teams would be divided among 6 regional sites—6 teams at each site—for a single day of elimination competition from which the top 2 teams at each site advanced to the national championship.

This year, the 36 advancing teams will be divided among 4 regional sites—9 teams at each site—for three days of elimination competition after which the top 2 teams at each site will advance to the national championship.

The four regional sites this year are LSU, Georgia, Michigan, and Oregon State. …

EXPLAINED: THE NEW NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT

Championship April 19-20
Texas Woman’s (Fort Worth, Texas)

College gymnasts – narcotic pain meds

According to the recently released NCAA National Study on Substance Use Habits of College Student-Athletes, the proportion of women’s gymnasts who reported using narcotic pain medications — nearly 18 percent — is the highest among student-athletes in any sport.

Overall, the use of pain medication, both prescribed and nonprescribed, has decreased among student-athletes since the release of the last NCAA substance use study in 2014, but health care professionals still are examining how best to manage pain among college athletes. …

NCAA

College Beam Judging

The sheep jump is also typically a disaster in NCAA. A sheep jump is technically expected to show closure of feet to head and an open angle in the hips.

No one in NCAA does this—deductions on sheep form tend to be pretty charitable …

College sticks. The college stick occurs when a gymnast hasn’t actually stuck a landing but has enough control to pretend she stuck the landing, trying to cover up the step by sliding into a salute at the same time. This tends to get .05 off, even if the step itself ends up being pretty large …

The new favorite talking point for judging in the 2019 season is the rule about pause deductions on beam, which has been revised …

WTF IS NCAA SCORING – BEAM EDITION

Collegiate Gymnastics Growth Initiative

Donations gratefully accepted.

The Collegiate Gymnastics Growth Initiative (CGGI) was formed to promote awareness in the pursuit and addition of new women’s collegiate gymnastics programs across the country, thus providing more opportunities for college bound gymnasts.

We would like to extend an invitation to gymnastics clubs nationwide to support and assist our initiative’s needs through donations.

NCAA Floor judging

Spencer:

… gymnasts attempt to get to a 10.0 start value by earning up to five tenths of bonus. Bonus is earned in two categories.

1) Skill value – Each D element earns 0.1 in bonus, and each E element earns 0.2.

2) Connection value – There are super tons of formulae through which gymnasts can receive connection bonus on floor.

Direct acrobatic connections
A+C = 0.1
A+A+C = 0.1
B+B = 0.1 (as long as the skills are different)
B+C = 0.2
A+D = 0.2

Indirect acrobatic connections
A+A+C = 0.1
A+D = 0.1
C+C = 0.2

Dance or mixed connections
B+D = 0.1
C+C = 0.1
D salto + A jump = 0.1
C+A+A (salto/dance/salto) = 0.1
C+D = 0.2

To earn the full five tenths of bonus, at least one tenth must come from each category (skill value and connection value), so gymnasts can’t load up exclusively on one category or another.

Melanie Sinclair

WTF IS NCAA SCORING – FLOOR EDITION

College Gym News – Airing of Grievances

If you’re a fan of Seinfeld, you likely know of a little holiday called Festivus and one of its annual traditions called the Airing of Grievances.

We’re taking the opportunity to air some grievances about college gymnastics and start 2019 with a clean slate of frustrations:

Judges Not Judging

Constant Complaining

Biased Fans

Athletic Departments Not Seeing the Value of Gymnastics

Inconvenient Meet Times

We Need to Talk About BTN (and the Big 12)

Nonexistent Scores

Lack of Transparency

Same Bar Release Discourse

Themed Meets

Words On Leotards

Click through for details.

The Second Annual Airing of Grievances

NCAA Vault judging is stupid

NCAA judging is stupid. But some of the craziest injustices occur on Vault.

Spencer tells us the REAL rules:

NCAA pretends that it follows the JO code of points, except it obviously doesn’t. Not even a little.

There’s a tremendous amount of subjectivity remaining in NCAA scoring, including an unwritten understanding regarding which deductions from the JO code actually count and which ones magically don’t for the purpose of scoring NCAA routines. …

WTF IS NCAA SCORING – VAULT EDITION

Bonus

NCAA 10.0 Vaults
Yurchenko 1.5
Yurchenko 2/1
Yurchenko 1.5 tucked
Yurchenko 1/2 on, front tuck 1/2
Yurchenko 1/2 on, front pike (Omelianchik)
Yurchenko 1/1 on, back tuck or pike
Tsukahara 1/2
Tsukahara 1/1
Handspring pike 1/2
Handspring tuck 1/1
FHS, Handspring front pike

Alicia agrees.

our inspiration – Maggie Nichols

On Jan. 9, 2018, Nichols, then a sophomore gymnast at Oklahoma, released an 898-word statement informing the world that she, too, had been sexually assaulted by former USA Gymnastics team physician Larry Nassar.

She let the world know that, in 2015, she and her coach were the first to report his abuse to USA Gymnastics, that she was the one who had been identified only as “Athlete A” in the reports of Nassar’s actions, which he inflicted under the guise of medical treatment on more than 300 victims. …

“I want everyone to know that he did not do this to Athlete A, he did it to Maggie Nichols,” Nichols wrote in the statement. …

2019 NCAA Inspiration Award: Maggie Nichols

Oklahoma gymnast hopes reporting abuse by USA Gymnastics doctor helps others feel empowered

international gymnasts in the NCAA

College Gym News crunched the numbers for MAG and WAG:

… The vast majority of international gymnasts have been Canadian; gymnasts from Canada total 276, or 61.6 percent of all international athletes. The United Kingdom comes in at No. 2 with 24, and Australia is third with 20.

For the women, UCLA leads the way, with 22 international gymnasts on rosters; UIC and Eastern Michigan come in second with 18 each. UCLA also tops the charts for non-Canadian internationals, tied with Towson at eight. …

In 2018, there were 88 non-American male and female gymnasts on rosters …

International Athletes in Collegiate Gymnastics

Shchennikova wins Voronin Cup

1. Alyona Shchennikova (USA) 53.825
2. Yeo Seo Jeong (KOR) 51.950
3. Anna Travkova (BLR) 51.650
full results

Alyona Shchennikova, who finished ninth at this years’ U.S. world trial, competed at the Voronin Cup in Moscow December 11-13. She took the all around title with a 53.825 and added gold on bars and silver on beam.

Shchennikova was expected to sign with Michigan last month but has not yet. When reached by email for comment, she stated that, “Michigan is still my collegiate plan.” However, she said she has not yet decided whether she will defer. …

College Gym News

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