08-25-2004, 12:02 AM
I understand that. But, I guess I feel like it could also be Hamm's place to lead a movement towards less personal interpretation in judging. That is, "I feel like I won the event, but because of the current judging format, there will always (unfortunately) be people who doubt that." rather than just "I won and I'm tired of people saying I didn't."
I don't know too much about the specific standards that are used, but it seems clear that they're not specific enough. Are judges allowed to watch replays before scoring? Are they encouraged to? It seems like gymnastics might be a place where replays could be used well (as opposed to, say, basketball where every play could potentially get bogged down if referees always had to go to the tape). The announcers kept talking about how participants weren't given much credit for attempting new techniques that were more difficult than the ones currently used. Since the sport has moved forward, and many moves that used to be daring have become commonplace, perhaps it's time to reconsider the starting scores assigned to routines? There were a lot of tie scores. If difficulties were spread out further, it would be easier to differentiate between the good routines and the great ones.
Mind you, I know next to nothing about gymnastics. So, take my opinion with a grain of salt.
I don't know too much about the specific standards that are used, but it seems clear that they're not specific enough. Are judges allowed to watch replays before scoring? Are they encouraged to? It seems like gymnastics might be a place where replays could be used well (as opposed to, say, basketball where every play could potentially get bogged down if referees always had to go to the tape). The announcers kept talking about how participants weren't given much credit for attempting new techniques that were more difficult than the ones currently used. Since the sport has moved forward, and many moves that used to be daring have become commonplace, perhaps it's time to reconsider the starting scores assigned to routines? There were a lot of tie scores. If difficulties were spread out further, it would be easier to differentiate between the good routines and the great ones.
Mind you, I know next to nothing about gymnastics. So, take my opinion with a grain of salt.
Why can't we all just get along
--Pete
--Pete