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Rewriting the Code of Points - the missing link

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There has been quite a discussion about the Code of Points going on at the Gymnastics Coaching blog - with particular reference to the safety angle - there have been 35 comments to date from all corners of the world, so it's an interesting read.

In the meantime, I have been looking back at the 1989 edition of the Code.   I found this introductory section:

'It is the responsibility of the judges, based upon the present Code of Points, to grasp in its totality:
  • the construction of the exercises as a whole
  • the difficulty value of elements and connections
  • the flow of the movements
  • the synchronization of the music with the floor exercise
while sufficiently considering, aside from the technical perfection of execution, the harmony and strength of expression as well as the aesthetics of presentation'   

Doesn't this somehow encapsulate so much of what is missing from the current, highly deconstructed, Code?

PS  I also did a little review of the current Code - a word count with the help of the search tool.  For what it's worth,  I found the following:

'Artistry' appears 16 times
'Deduction' 68 times
'Bonus' 0 times
'Originality' 2 times
'Harmony', 'Risk' 'Virtuosity' 0 times
'Amplitude' 5 times
'Choreography' 3 times
'Dance' 26 times
'Elements' 154 times

I make no claims as to the validity of this method in extracting the overwhelming focus (or lack thereof) of a text.

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Comments

  1. usa reel deal6 September 2011 at 07:19

    Agree to you girl, Personally, I thought Rebecca’s bad landing off Beam was extremely dangerous, too. She really did looked primed for injury at VISA Championships.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Queen Elizabeth6 September 2011 at 11:26

    Gymnasts' bodies will wear out when the Code demands quantity, not quality.

    Re-introducing a requirement to assess the whole routine and its appearance would reward time spent on choreography (body alignment, amplitude, etc) and integration of individual skills into a consummate routine (all four apparatus. We need to reward originality in such a way as to encourage the development of single moves of new difficulty. Such an emphasis on performance would help to mitigate the risk of injury and also make the sport better to watch.

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