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Issue Date: August 8, 2004
Meet an Olympic judge
America's representative on the women's gymnastics panel tells us how to score a 10.
A former gymnast herself, New Yorker Linda Chencinski, 56, returns for her third Olympic Games this year seated at the judges' table. She's the only American who'll judge individual and team contests in women's gymnastics. We got her thoughts on judging this year's American team, one of the strongest in years, and what we can expect from the judges in Athens:
What is the biggest change in judging in the past few Olympic Games?
They've tried to make the rules for the women and men more similar at the international level. For the women, we had to lower our start value [the score received for meeting all the technical requirements] to 8.8 [from 9.0]. If you look at the scores in the last Olympics, you'll see that the women's scores were lower for the winners. People sometimes say gymnasts aren't as good as they used to be, which isn't the case at all -- the rules have been made harder for the women.
Is that why there aren't as many "perfect 10s"?
Yes. And the problem you run into is that the closer you get to 10, the harder it is to differentiate. In an Olympic Games, you're going to have a lot of kids who don't have a 10.0 start value [which includes bonus points for performing difficult moves]. They might be beautiful and look wonderful to the audience, but their routines just don't have the extra difficulty.
How is the makeup of a judging panel decided?
There are at least 24 countries represented, and they can all send one judge.
So you represent America! Doesn't that turn up the pressure?
Pressure in judging is a self-imposed state of mind. You have to go there, and you just do the best job you can do.
In light of the scandal about alleged bribes at the 2002 Winter Games, how do gymnastics judging rules keep things honest? I realize judging rules differ from sport to sport.
[A technical committee] evaluates a judge's score compared to the average, how they rank the winner and their closest competitor, and how they place athletes from their own country compared to other athletes. [You can] see if a particular judge seems to be manipulating scores. As time goes by, and the number of scores given by a judge increases, you have more information.
Is there a single American female gymnast leading the way?
We've got 12 kids who can beat each other on any given day. Over the past two or three years, you have a person like Carly Patterson who seems to be at the forefront. But you still have kids getting in there like Courtney McCool or Courtney Kupets. These kids really can change from day to day, and the good thing is, they can change equally.
What's been your most memorable judging moment so far?
Well, I think watching our girls win the championship in Atlanta [in 1996]. The noise in the stadium and the applause was deafening -- one of the most exciting moments I can remember.
What makes it worthwhile?
It's really a privilege as a judge to be able to work with these children, who are so dedicated. It gives [them] the ability to cope with adversity. So many go on to be leaders of their communities in different ways, and it's really great to be part of something like that, especially when you hear so many negative things about kids these days.
-- Judi Ketteler
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