Baseball introduced a unforgivable rule change, placing a runner on first and second in any inning that goes past 11, but Olympic gymnastics may have topped all ridiculous rule changes.
A perfect 10 in gymnastics is no longer a perfect 10. Sort of.
Forgive me, gymnastics experts, for being so alarmed by this rule change that's been around for a year-plus, but i've just learned. The 10.0 system, which has only been in place for 80 years, is no longer. During these Olympic games, there will be no ceiling on points.
Confused? I sure hope so. So how does the new system work?
Gymnasts now receive separate marks for degree of difficulty and for execution in each event. The two are added to obtain the overall score, which usually ranges from 14 to 17 for top-level gymnasts.
It is only possible, but not probable, for a gymnast to score a 10.0 in the execution appraisal.
OK, then. That doesn't make any sense. As you might imagine, many are not pleased with the new system, including the indelible Bela Karolyi:“It’s crazy, terrible, the stupidest thing that ever happened to the sport of gymnastics. How could they take away this beautiful, this most perfect thing from us, the one thing that separated our sport from the others?”
Others, namely those competing currently are learning to accept the new rating system:
“I like it because it separates the good gymnasts from the really, really good gymnasts,”
Here's an idea: stop giving out so many perfect 10's. Mary Lou Retton's performance (above) in 1984 was 10 worthy, but many others haven't been. Then again, it seems so many high scores come for the home team. This new system seems ripe for many, many controversies during the Beijing Games where I doubt even the current judges completely understand what's being asked of them.
Most disappointing, is that the allure of a perfect 10 has completely vanished. Isn't that why we even bother to pay attention to the sport every four years?
A 10 Isn’t Necessarily Perfect in New Scoring System for Gymnastics [NY Times]
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