Competition structure and Judging

Competitions:
Some information for novices to the competitive aspects of the sport

A trampoline competition run under BG rules may offer up to 10 grades of competitive activity, A-I, plus novice. Competitions that offer that range are usually 'Open' or 'friendly' competitions organised within the Region (East for us).

Grading competitions are run in the Region and offer graded competition from D-G. National 'Gala' competitions are run all over the country and offer competition at grades A-C.

The grades H, I and Novice are offered through club competitions and 'Open' competitions. These are the entry levels grades for all people who wish to compete. G, H, I and Novice competitions do not include difficulty tariff, (see below), so the competitor just has to concentrate on completing their routines. Usually, the novice competitions are 5 bounce routines and are aimed at our youngest members, the 3 - 5 year olds who get the biggest 'ahhh' factor. You can download the routines and additional competition information here

Each grade has Age group categories, at regional level in the Eastern region we offer Under 11, Under 13, Under 15, Under 18 and Seniors. At national level the categories are Under 15, under 18 and Senior. All grades and age groups are split into male and female groups, The age groups are calculated based upon the year you reach the transition age. For example a 10 year old in 2010 who's birthday is in 2011 will remain in under 11's for 2010. However, if the same 10 year had their birthday in 2010, then they must move up to the next age group, under 13 or under 15.

At some Open competitions, these grades, age groups and in some cases gender are amalgamated to ensure there are enough competitors, so you may find at an Open, your 10 year old girl is competing against a 14 year old boy.

At each level of competitive activity, individuals are awarded style or form marks for their performance, (see judging below). Each competitor must complete two routines, usually a compulsory routine (also known as 'set'), set by British Gymnastics and a voluntary routine, developed by the performer and their coach. The compulsory routine has no difficulty marks and everyone in that grade up to and including grade E performs that routine. For competitors in grades A-D, they develop their own routines, but they must contain a set number of somersaults and specific skills. The voluntary routines gain difficulty marks for their routine, the harder the skill, the higher the mark. Difficulty is capped to prevent performers trying to achieve more than they are capable of, (see difficulty tariff below).

Style or form marks are decided based on a deduction of between 0.0 and 0.5 for each skill they perform up to a maximum of 10 skills. Therefore the best a performer can score is a perfect 10, the worst, assuming they complete 10 skills is 5.0. There may be additional deductions for stability at the end of the routine.

All judges have to go through courses to become qualified to judge, although we do 'blood' our novice judges at Open or friendly competitions before encouraging them to take the judging courses.

There are 5 form judges who decide independently on their mark, based on the judging criteria. The highest and lowest marks are discarded and the three middle marks are added together to provide the form mark. In round 1, the compulsory’s, that is the full score for that round. In round 2, the voluntary's, the 3 form scores are added together along with the difficulty tariff. This provides the second round score. The two round scores are added together to find the total score. This score is used to determine whether a performer has achieved the qualification marks required for grades E-G.

At grades A-D, a performer who has achieved a placing in the top 20% will score +1. A performer placed in the middle 60% scores 0 and a performer who is placed in the bottom 20% scores -1. If a performer scores 2 points, then they are promoted to the next grade. If they score -2 then they are relegated. A competitor cannot be relegated from D.

Any performer in grades A-C who is placed in the top 40% at any Gala competition automatically qualifies for the National Championships.

In some competitions, finals are held. This is usually the top 8 performers after round 2, or if there were less than 8 performers, then its the top 66%. At regional and national competitions, the scores from rounds 1 and 2 are carried forward into the final and a 3rd round is undertaken which is marked in the same was as round 2. At international competitions, including the Olympics and World Championships, zero based finals have been introduced. This means that once a performer has qualified for the final, all the previous round scores are zeroed and everyone starts off on the same score.

Team competitions are available to clubs who are able to enter 3 or 4 competitors in the same grade and age group. Team scores are calculated by adding together the best 3 scores in each round. The team with the highest overall score wins.

There is also a potential for a Synchronised competition. This is trampolining at its most spectacular, especially at the highest levels. Here, two competitors perform identical routines on two trampolines set-up side by side. As in individual competitions they have to perform a compulsory routine and also a voluntary routine. But an added complication is that they have to do it at the same time, mirroring their partners performance throughout. And as well as their marks for form and difficulty, they are also marked on their synchronicity, the more they mirror the better the score.

Officials
To successfully run a competition you need officials. Every competition has a competition organiser, plus a team to assist. This is not a small job as prior to the competition start, after the close of entries, the organiser and their team have to create a programme for the day including a running list of competitors in each grade, a list of officials and a time-table, which is hoped will be accurate.

Each panel will require a minimum of 5 form judges, 1 (usually 2) difficulty tariff judges, 1 chair of judges, 2 recorders (1 computer, 1 manual), 1 competition marshal and 2 warm-up marshals. That’s a total of 13 people required for each panel and with competitions typically running 2 or 3 panels that's 26 people. Plus many officials are unable to stay all day to officiate, so replacements may be needed throughout the day. Although replacements are not allowed during a grade, only when each competition has been completed can replacements be made.

Every club that makes an entry must provide officials. The more entries a club makes the more officials they must provide. Only the Chair of Judges and Judges need to have qualifications and even then at Open competitions it is an opportunity to train potential new judges. This is why the club is always seeking new people (parents, members, anyone, to train as judges.)

What can you do if you're not a competitor?
Well hopefully we'll get you trained as a Judge, but before then we can train you as a marshal or recorder. A marshal’s job is quite simple, whether it’s a warm-up marshal or a competition marshal, the latter being slightly more complicated. A warm-up marshal looks after one trampoline during the war-up period for that grade. They hold the warm-up cards for each competitor on that trampoline and call out the name in order they have the cards. After each warm-up, the box on the card is ticked to show that the competitor has completed an attempt at the routine. 4 attempts are allowed and the marshal should stop the competitor having more than one go at the routine at a time, unless they have only completed a few of the moves, then common sense should prevail. The competition Marshall looks after the competitors during the rounds. A good competition marshal makes a competition run very smoothly, as the competitors are all warmed-up on time and ready to compete when the Chair of Judges finishes with the judges marks.

A recorder's job is slightly more involved, there are two recorders usually required, the manual recorder and the computer recorder. Both record the marks shouted out by the Chair of judges and record them either on the recorder sheets or the computer. The manual recorder must then identify the top mark and the bottom mark and discard those, then add together the middle three marks to give the round score. If there is a difficulty tariff to be added, as in voluntary routines (and Grade A set routines), these are recorded then added to the round scores. To totals after each round are added together to get the Total score, this may include a final if there is one. The computer recorder has less to do as the computer program does the calculations for them, but they need to enter the scores and the difficulty tariffs and then compare the scores with the manual recorder to ensure both are correct. At the end of the competition, the recorders must ensure they get the recorder sheets signed by the Chair of judges.

A competition day
What can you expect from a competition?
Well hopefully you will have received a copy of the programme via email, usually the week of the competition. Your coach will hopefully have told you when you must arrive, which is usually at least 30 minutes before the publicised start time. The Club will have appointed a team manager for the day, usually Tony, though not always. Tony or another club official will give you a warm-up card when you arrive. You will need this as this allows you to warm-up prior to the competition start.

Find the panel you are competing on, hopefully the team manager or fellow members can help you here, they should be signposted with the grades for that panel or at the very least Panel, 1, 2 & 3 and the programme will give information as to which grade is on which panel.

Usually you will have two trampolines to choose from. They tend to be top competitive trampolines at least Grandmaster Euro tramps with 6mm beds, probably Grandmaster Elite Euro tramps with 6x4mm beds, (these are the ones at Sawston). A tip, choose the trampoline furthest away from the judges, the closer you are to the judges, the easier it is for them to see bent legs and poor shapes. Of course, if you don't like the far trampoline, then change to the other one.

Each competition bed is marshalled during warm-up and you have 4 go's in-turn. Your name will be called by the Marshall and you are allowed one attempt at your routine. You should do 2 set routines and 2 voluntary routines during your warm-up.

After warm-up you will be marshalled into competition order by the competition marshal. There will then be a 'controlled warm-up'. If you are in the first 5 competitors, then you will get 1 further warm-up prior to competition starting. If you are later in the group, your controlled warm-up will occur as the competition progresses.

The 1st competitor is called to the trampoline by the marshal. If it's you, you must take your own spotters with you, so make sure you have friends or coaches around to spot. You need at least 2, maybe 4 depending on how the trampolines are set-up. Sit on the cross on the bed and wait for the Chair of judges to confirm your name and ask you to begin.

At this point you need to concentrate, control your breathing, clear your mind of everything else and think of your routine. Present to the judges and start your pre-bounces. You have 1 minute to start your routine from when you start bouncing, so there is no rush. If you are out of control in your pre-bouncing, stop and start again. You have plenty of time.

Once you start, aim to complete all 10 bounces. Even if you forget your routine, try to count how many skills you have performed and try to complete 10. At the end of the routine STOP and count to 3 seconds. Then turn, present to the judges and hopefully dismount to congratulations from your friends and coaches.

If you’re not in the first 5, between each competitor, a warm-up occurs. So between competitor 1 and 2, competitor 6 will warm-up and so on, until everyone who is competing is warmed up between competition routines. If you are warm-up, I suggest you wear a t-shirt or shorts over your leotard so as not to confuse the judges, who may think you are competing. But don't forget to remove them for the competition, (see competition attire below).

After each competitor, while the warm-up is being performed the judges are adding up their scores and the chair will ask them to display them (see below).

When you have completed your set routines, you will continue onto your voluntary routines. You will get a 2nd controlled warm-up, which will have continued on from the previous round. This will be the end of your competition, unless you have a final (see above). If you do, then the names will be called immediately after the last competitor’s scores are displayed. If you have made the final, you will be given 1 warm-up, and then you will bounce in reverse order, with the current competition leader bouncing last.

Presentations usually take place at convenient times during the day. The competition organiser will make an announcement about which awards are being presented and hopefully a crowd will gather near the podiums for the ceremony.

Trophy's are presented for 1st, 2nd & 3rd in individual competitions and medals presented to winning teams.

Photography and Video
If your family wishes to take photos or video of you compete they may, but they must record their equipment at the reception desk when they arrive. This is for child protection reasons and there will be no exceptions. Anyone found taking video or pictures who haven’t recorded their equipment is liable to be reported and have their equipment confiscated until the police are called.

PLEASE do not use flash photography. This can put someone off during the competition and cause a serious accident.

Competition Attire
To take part in most competitions, suitable kit must be worn. For females this is a club Leotard and plain white socks or trampoline shoes. Shorties can also be worn (up to Grade E). For males this is a club leotard and white gymnastic trews (trousers) and plain white socks or trampoline shoes. You can order these from the club by completing the Competition kit form and handing or emailing it to either Stuart or Adrienne. You can also see images of the kit at Kit

In novice, I, H & G competitions, competitors are allowed to compete in shorts and a T-shirt.

Up to grade E girls are allowed to wear 'shorties' (gym shorts) over their leotard, but it must be a matching colour.

Judging
Judges look for three areas of performance when considering their style marks. These are: Form, Control and Height.

Form: Considerations here are position of the arms on take-off, flight and landing, position of the head on take-off, flight and landing. The straightness of the legs and the pointed toes. The quality of the shapes, just how tucked is the tuck shape, are the knees touching the chest, are the toes pointed downwards, are the hands grasping below the knees. In the piked shape (or piked straddle) how deep is the pike, is it at 90 degrees or less, are the legs straight, are the hands grasping the shins, are the legs close together, in the piked straddle are the legs wide enough apart, without it being a box-splits. In the straight position we are looking at how straight the body is, it shouldn’t be dished or arched and the arms should be held straight and close to the body.

Control: Here the judge is looking at movement around the trampoline. Ideally, the competitor should remain as close to the centre cross as possible. On competition trampolines, there is a metre box marked out on the bed. Competitors must stay within the metre box, if they travel outside the box, forwards, backwards or sideways, then they will receive a higher deduction.

Height: Judges are looking at the maintenance and consistency of a competitor’s height during the routine. Major variations in height are penalised, but allowances are made for returns from body landings. So if a competitor has a seat, back or front landing in their routines, judges expect the height to be reduced in returning from those landing positions and marks should be calculated accordingly.

Each judge marks each skill out of 1.0, taking deductions of between 0.0 and 0,5 off for the above criteria. An excellent routine will score over 8.5, a well performed routine will typically score between 7.7 - 8.4, an average routine will score between 6.8 - 7.6, below 6.8, the routine can be considered below average.

Grading competitions tend to be marked harder than at Opens, but really Judges should mark consistently, so that competitors know what they need to do to improve.

One of the major complaints that competitors, coaches and spectators have is that they have no idea (usually) why someone got the marks they did in competition, especially when two routines looked similar, yet got widely differing marks. I can’t speak for others, but as a qualified judge with 30 years experience I would say it’s because we all have specific things we look for to award good marks, so in the absence of those aspects our marks will change. In my particular case, I like to see the head in line at all times, if I see it thrown back or forward I will make harder deductions, even though it is only one aspect of the form.

Difficulty Tariff
In trampolining, difficulty is calculated for each skill, that means every landing on the bed.
For every 90 degrees of somersault rotation (1/4 of a somersault) you score 0.1
For every 180 degrees of twist rotation (1/2 a twist) you score 0.1.

Calculation is cumulative, i.e. you add up the number of rotations and twists performed in each skill and that is your difficulty tariff for that skill. For example for a Full Twist jump (360 degrees of twist), you score 0.2. For a front landing you score 0.1.

If a skill consists of 360 degrees of somersault rotation, you score an additional 0.1, for example a tucked front somersault scores 0.5.

You also score an additional 0.1 for every 360 degrees of rotation that is performed in a straight or piked position. so a piked front somersault scores 0.6 or a straight back somersault will score 0.6. Except if a twist is performed in that rotation, for example a straight, piked or tucked barani all score 0.6. Finally, if you perform a triple somersault, you are awarded an additional 0.1 for the skill, so a Triple back somersault, tucked would get 1.6.

As the addition is cumulative, adding somersaults and twists becomes a simple calculation. For example:
Back somersault (tucked) = 0.5
Double back somersault (tucked) = 1.0
Full twisting back somersault (straight) = 0.7
Full in back out (tucked) = 1.2 (a double back somersault with a full twist in the first somersault).

I hope all that's clear :)


Tony - 13.02.10