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Judge’s Inquiry: Breaking Down February’s Perfect 10s Part 2

Buckle up, folks because you’re in for a ride! This month, we had 35 perfect 10s, but as fans, athletes, commentators, and seemingly everyone other than the judging panel has acknowledged, not all 10.0s are created, or distributed, equally. Here I’ll break down the deductions I saw when watching the videos in real time, and rank the 10.0 from one to five stars. As a reminder, here’s my rating scale:

⭐ This was clearly not a 10.0 routine (but still very good!)
⭐⭐ There was definitely a deduction there, but maybe the judges blinked?
⭐⭐⭐ 10.0 vibes, but not actually perfect
⭐⭐⭐⭐ It was a “college 10”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 100% a perfect routine

With there being so many 10.0s this month, we split this month’s breakdown into two parts. Check out the first part here, and the second part below.

Vault

Katherine LeVasseur, Oklahoma (Feb. 24)

Watch the Vault

Deductions

Distance (-0.050)

It’s a beautiful vault from LeVasseur, but she did not get the distance we normally see in a big Yurchenko one and a half. Generally, I take a distance deduction if it looks like she could lie down and touch the base of the table. I’d say this qualifies, with the caveat that this is a terrible angle to try and evaluate distance. This reminds me of Louisa Blanco’s 9.925 vault in Week 6, which also was beautifully executed but lacking in distance.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jaedyn Rucker, Utah (Feb. 24)

Watch the Vault

Deductions

The rules say athletes can land with their feet hip width apart, and as long as the heels slide (not lift) together following the controlled stick, it’s not a deduction. I’d say Rucker walks a fine line with that amount of turn out to get her heels together, but she did get the job done.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Haleigh Bryant, LSU (Feb. 24)

Watch the Vault

Deductions

Leg separation (-0.050)

This show-stopping, sky-high vault from Bryant is definitely capable of scoring a 10, but her legs separate after her half twist and were pretty obvious even at full speed.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Maddie Quarles Minnesota (Feb. 25)

Watch the Vault

Deductions

Leg Separation (-0.050)

Shoulder angle (-0.050)

Failure to join heels on landing (-0.050)

Quarles has some significant leg separation on the horse, but it’s clear that neither judge was able to see it well enough to take it from their side angle. However, she also never actually closes her feet together at the end of this clearly stuck vault, which is a flat half-tenth deduction that should have been taken.

Rating: ⭐⭐

Bars

Sunisa Lee, Auburn (Feb. 10)

Watch the Full Routine

Deductions

She kept her legs together on her Pak to Maloney! An undeniable 10.0 from one of the best bar workers in the world. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Emily Lopez, Boise State (Feb. 17)

Watch the Full Routine

Deductions

The execution of this bar routine was exemplary—the first 10.0 on bars in program history for the Broncos. I was debating whether or not her release would get an amplitude deduction, but the expectation is that her hips reach a height above the high bar, which she does. Her double layout dismount is stunning, with perfect leg form and body position in the air. A couple of her handstands may have been borderline short, but it’s hard to tell since the camera angle isn’t direct on the side. If the handstand positions were more precise, it would be a five-star 10 from me.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jade Carey, Oregon State (February 24)

Watch the Full Routine

Deductions

Leg separation (-0.050)

I see a lot of people give Carey a hard time on bars, but her NCAA routine is actually very clean, especially in this instance. Her arms are even straight on her giants, and her toes are pointed through her dismount. The only thing I saw is that she may have been short on her last low bar cast, but from the camera angle in the video, it was impossible to tell. She had a very small amount of leg separation on her Van Leeuwen, but the judges would not have seen it from the side. It’s definitely a college 10, and one of her most deserving 10s of the season.

Beam

Maile O’Keefe, Utah (Feb. 11)

Watch the Routine

Deductions

Flexed feet? (-0.050)

This routine was absolutely gorgeous, and also makes it clear that her 10.0 from the previous week wasn’t the best beam routine she could do. O’Keefe’s leap connection was seamless and the full turn was stunning. I can’t tell if her feet are flexed or not when she’s upside down because they are moving so fast, but this was definitely a well-deserved 10.0 from the Utah beam anchor. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Aleah Finnegan, LSU (Feb. 17)

Watch the Full Routine

Deductions

This absolutely beautiful beam routine gave Finnegan her third 10 on three different events in three weeks. Her arms were even straight in her back handspring! Her foot form, execution and tight landings were textbook perfect. Congratulations, on a truly perfect beam routine!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Trinity Thomas, Florida (Feb. 17)

Watch the Full Routine

Deductions

Lack of precision (-0.050)

Failure to perform turns in high relevè (-0.050)

Flexed Feet (-0.050)

This beam routine was definitely a college 10, but until she does a full turn with a definite arm/leg position in relevè, it will not be a 10 from me.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lilly Hudson, Alabama (Feb. 24)

Watch the Full Routine

Deductions

Leg bend (-0.050)

Balance error (-0.050)

Small hop (-0.050)

Hudson hit a solid beam routine, but the deductions on her front aerial and her landing were pretty obvious without replay or slow motion. I absolutely loved her rhythm and the execution of her switch leap series, but the other clear errors make this not a 10 from me. 

Rating: ⭐

Maile O’Keefe, Utah (Feb. 24)

Watch the Full Routine

Deductions

Flexed feet (-0.050)

Balance error (-0.050)

Balance error (-0.050)

Failure to perform turns in high relevè (-0.050)

Of O’Keefe’s three perfect 10s this month, I’d rank this one second of the three. She has almost the exact same errors as her February 3 routine, except that her leap pass, while still unsteady, was a little better. Judges are told not to look up athletes’ routines before they compete, and O’Keefe is a great example of why that rule exists. If you watched her Metroplex 10, this routine was not as strong, so logically it shouldn’t get a 10, right? But judged in isolation, it’s easy to forgive the small errors when the overall routine is so beautiful, and it seems that the NCAA judges have been forgiving two of two times.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 

Floor

Jade Carey, Oregon State (Feb. 18)

Watch the Full Routine

Deductions

Step forward (-0.100)

Posture on landing (-0.050)

Bent legs (-0.050)

As many of you surely noticed, Carey stepped forward out of her back tumbling pass, which is a deduction. A step is not a deduction on floor when it is into a controlled lunge and in the direction of the tumbling pass. Since she stepped forward after a backward pass, it’s a deduction. Also, you have to consider why she had to step forward, and it was because her chest was low, which is an additional deduction. 

Rating: ⭐

Aleah Finnegan, LSU (Feb. 24)

Watch the Full Routine

Deductions

Step back (-0.100)

Tour-jetè half (C)

Incomplete turn (-0.100)

Finnegan took a step backward after a front tumbling skill, which incurs the same deduction as Carey’s step forward from a back tumbling skill. Although she looked fully rotated, going for the stick should have cost her due to the step back. She also underturned her tour-jetè half by close to 90 degrees, based on her foot and hip alignment on the take off. 

Rating: ⭐

Jordan Bowers, Oklahoma (Feb. 24)

Watch the Full Routine

Deductions

Incomplete turn (-0.050)

I know you are all probably sick of me pointing out the dance passes of all your favorite athletes, but here’s another one that overturns the first skill, and underturns the second. She’s pretty close, but with being a little over on her switch half and a little under on the wolf full, it should have been a deduction. Her tumbling and extension in her leaps was absolutely beautiful. It’s definitely an NCAA 10, at least until the judges start consistently taking deductions on dance passes.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Jade Carey, Oregon State (Feb. 24)

Watch the Full Routine

Deductions 

Incomplete turn (-0.050)

This was definitely Carey’s best floor routine so far, with her chest up on her Silivas and a controlled step back, as well as a beautiful double pike to finish. But just like Bowers, she’s overturning her switch half and underturning her second jump. 

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

READ THIS NEXT: Judge’s Inquiry: Breaking Down February’s Perfect 10s Part 1


Article by Rhiannon Franck

Rhiannon Franck is a former national-rated NAWGJ women’s gymnastics judge with over 15 years of USAG judging experience and nine seasons judging NCAA gymnastics. Outside of gymnastics, Franck works at a university as a nursing professor and loves to travel. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

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6 comments

  1. Rhiannon, I don’t disagree with your assessments, even though you claim my favorite gymnast (Maile) isn’t a perfect, perfect. LOL And thanks for acknowledging that Jaedyn’s first official 10 was really a 10 (she has had several vaults as good as this one that didn’t receive the coveted mark.) The problem I have, is with the premise of your series. There is a HUGE problem with the scoring in the NCAA. It is across the board and needs to be fixed, in fact a total overhaul is probably in order. But I feel that mentioning scoring issues by the gymnast’s name causes pain and poor feelings. These women go out and perform to their best ability each meet. The judges, score those performances. “Jordan should not have received a ten” leaves a much different impression than, Rebecca Calaway, clearly missed an obvious hop on a vault. If you and others chose to make the judges infamous, rather than calling out the gymnasts, there might be some change. This is my “take,” it might not be as fun or get as many “clicks,” but I hate to see all these women work so hard and then get smeared by the “gymternet.”

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