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Qualifying StandardsCommonwealth Games 2010 Qualifying Standards Commonwealth Games Selection Criteria 2010 for Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Introduction This report contains detailed proposals and considerations for the selection criteria for a men’s artistic gymnastics specialist for the Commonwealth Games 2010 and beyond. It is set out according to the guidelines set by the Commonwealth Games Association of Jersey. It refers to the selection criteria of other competing nations in 2010 and sets out and refers to the scores of the last Commonwealth Games and the British Championships 2007. Introduction to Men’s Gymnastics Men’s gymnastics consists of six pieces of apparatus, namely; Under the reformed structure, judges now sit in two panels, known as the A Jury and B Jury. In brief, the B Jury start from a score of ten and analyse the routine making the standard deductions accordingly (such as for bent legs, hesitation, poor landing etc). The A Jury’s task is to determine the starting value for the routine. Routines must have a minimum of seven elements, which must all correspond to the approved elements shown in the Federation of International Gymnastics Code of Points. Elements are categorised in the Code and those elements with most difficulty acquire the highest value. The A Jury must determine the overall sum of all the values of all the elements in the routine, and this will be added to the score awarded by the B Jury to give the final score. An Outline of a Gymnast’s Development Standard and ability in men’s gymnastics can be simply represented by the gymnast’s scores in competition. As gymnast’s progress, they can add new elements to their routines and increase the starting value for their routine. Gymnasts can constantly be improving. However, although technical ability may improve in the short-term approach to a competition, there will be limited improvement from adding further difficulty to routines, as the gymnast must practice the routines they are to perform. This is a significant point as it illustrates how too many competitions can be disadvantageous to the gymnast and hamper the gymnast’s improvement in training. The strengths and preferences of apparatus varies considerably from gymnast to gymnast. As gymnasts reach senior, and higher standard competitions, it is common to compete only on their strongest apparatus. This also allows a gymnast to concentrate on their best piece of apparatus in training, allowing them to reach the highest standard they can attain. The criteria below pays particular attention to specialist gymnasts because a small island such as Jersey, with such limited facilities, is unlikely to produce a gymnast that will reach commonwealth standard on all six pieces. Qualifying Criteria for the Commonwealth Games There is no set qualifying criteria to compete in gymnastics in the Commonwealth Games. Therefore, national bodies must impose their own criteria. This system allows for the best competitors from each nation competing. Outlined below are some examples of selection criteria for the Commonwealth Games currently used in the UK. Scotland Below is a table of results from the British Championships 2007 on rings and parallel bars. This provides an example of the scores of the top gymnasts in Britain and clarifies the requirements of the Scottish Commonwealth criteria. Top 10 scores on rings 2007:
Top 10 scores on parallel bars 2007:
Wales Isle of Man The qualifying criteria for overall gymnasts in the Isle of Man are reasonably straightforward. The criteria concentrates on scores from the previous Commonwealth Games and concludes that an overall score (on 6 pieces) of 70 would be suitable. The criteria also contains a list of competitions of a high standard in which such a score should be demonstrated at least once before the Commonwealth selection, with at least two scores hovering around that score. Perhaps more significant is the criteria set by the Isle of Man for specialist gymnasts. A specialist gymnast must be close to the bottom reserve score (explained below) of the apparatus final in the previous Commonwealth Games. It is emphasised that ‘It is not too soft to allow that they are not quite at final standard because gymnasts do improve after qualification and unexpected events do occur in competition which can and should be taken advantage of’. Also of significance are the expectations on specialist gymnasts regarding whether one apparatus is enough for qualification. It is stated that ‘Generally a specialist will do more than 1 apparatus and for this reason it is usually enough to allow qualification on the grounds of 1 high score in the knowledge that the gymnast does also compete on other apparatus and will do so at the Commonwealth Games themselves’. It is also emphasised that ‘To ask a Manx gymnast to be close to final standard on 2 individual apparatus does not seem realistic’, although it is clear that in this criteria a gymnast competing on two apparatus is preferred to a gymnast competing on only one apparatus. The Isle of Man criteria for specialist gymnasts therefore requires the gymnast to achieve a score in that individual apparatus within the top 15 from the previous Commonwealth Games. Analysing the Qualifying Criteria. How do they work? Reference has been made to the reserve scores for the final in the Commonwealth Games, and this must now be explained. In the Games, the gymnasts with the top 8 scores for each apparatus will enter the final for that apparatus. A further two gymnasts (9th and 10th) will be reserves for the final. The lower reserve scores for the apparatus finals in 2006 were: Floor - 14.400 The Isle of Man require specialist gymnasts to show a potential of meeting these scores, and a score within the top 15 shown in at least three competitions. The top 15 scores from 2006 in the all around qualification were as follows: Floor - 13.850 What Countries Compete and How Does the Standard Vary? In the Commonwealth, the strongest gymnasts are from Canada, followed closely by Australia. In order of decreasing standard then come England, Scotland, Malaysia, South Africa, New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka. The standard of gymnastics does vary quite considerably. Most of these countries take a team of six competitors to compete in the team competition. However, many nations take one or more specialist gymnasts to compete only one or two apparatus. For example, Cyprus, Scotland, Wales, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Malaysia all took specialists in 2006. It is clear from the differences in results in the 2006 Games that there is a variation in the qualifying/selection criteria set by each nation. Below is a table showing the highest/lowest score for each apparatus in the 2006 all-round qualification:
Timescales for Achieving the Standard It must be stressed here, as is in the Isle of Man criteria, that a selection policy should take into consideration the fact that gymnasts improve between selection and competition. Therefore, improvement will be seen right up to the Games. There should be no strict early deadline to meet the proposed scores, because with the development and improvement of the gymnast, the gymnast should improve with each competition and more experience. Also, where scores are not at the expected level, competitions are a good learning experience to show what must be concentrated on to improve the score. This may require small changes in training which result in dramatic changes to the score in competition. It must also be taken into account that too many competitions may disrupt training and developing routines, and so a small number of high standard competitions should be sufficient. Criteria for Jersey It must be emphasised that criteria based on position rather than score is the most suitable because scores change as the sport develops. In general, scores are slowly increasing and the standard is improving. Therefore, a criteria based on score would continually need to be assessed as the sport develops. Such a criteria is currently used by Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man. We therefore propose that a Jersey men’s specialist gymnast must show a score within the top 8 in the British Championships on their chosen apparatus. If this isn’t achieved, he may qualify in at least two of the other events within the following list of ‘relevant competitions’. It would be hoped that this score would come close to a top 15 position from the previous Commonwealth Games thereby indicating a clear potential to meet that score in the Commonwealth Games. Relevant Competitions The qualifying scores must be achieved in competitions with an appropriate standard of gymnastics and, most importantly, an appropriate standard of judging. The Isle of Man suggest only considering scores from the Island Games and Manx Championships where the judging is of a high standard (national judges and above). Below is a list of competitions which are an appropriate standard and are currently used by other nations in their qualifying criteria; - British Championships Other national and international competitions should also be considered where high standard judging is shown. Jersey Gymnastics Association
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