From the Judge’s Chair: Marian Dragulescu!

From the Judge’s Chair…Marian Dragulescu

I’ve decided I would like to periodically do some posts entitled “From the Judge’s Chair” in an effort to increase awareness about how some of the top routines in the world are being judged on both the men’s and women’s sides.  My main focus will be on the D-Score (Difficulty Score), since that is certainly the most complex and the most difficult for even us seasoned fans to calculate in our heads.  The sport has now reached a level of intricacy in which constant education is necessary for even the most hardcore followers of the sport to understand where in the heck some of these scores are coming from.  The E-Score (Execution Score) is obviously going to be the subjective one of the two, and although I won’t necessarily be focusing on it as it much in these posts, I will point out important points about the E-Score when I feel it’s necessary.

Since I have access to all of the D-Scores awarded in the finals of the 2009 World Championships, I decided that would be a great competition to start with. My goal is to use some of the best routines in the world to demonstrate exactly how the D-scores are calculated – from the element groups, to the skill values, to the connection points.  Let’s get started!

Marian Dragulescu Floor 2009 Worlds Finals

Step 1: Calculate the Element Group Total

-Each EG is worth 0.5.

-The dismount must be a D to get the 0.5.

-A “C” dismount is worth 0.3, and anything lower is worth 0 points.

EG 1: Non-acrobatic skills

EG 2: Forward Acro Skills

EG 3: Backward Acro Skills

EG 4: Sideways/Arabian Skills

EG 5: Dismount (at least D value for full credit)

The wide-arm press counts for EG 1.

The front full counts as EG 2.

The double layout full out counts as EG 3.

The tucked Thomas counts as EG 4.

The double-double dismount fully fulfills EG 5.

EG Total: 2.5

Step 2: Calculate the Skill Value Total

Count only the ten best elements (must include the dismount).

A’s:             0.1

B’s:             0.2

C’s:             0.3

D’s:             0.4

E’s:             0.5

F’s:             0.6

G’s:            0.7

Skill Value Total: 3.8

Step 3: Calculate the Connection Points Total

D + C or lower value skill = 0.1 connection

D + D or higher value skill = 0.2 connection

Front full + full twisting front 1 ¾ = 0.1 connection

Back 1 ½ + front double full = 0.1 connection

Back 2 ½ + Rudi = 0.1 connection

Connection Points Total: 0.3

Step 4: Add all three totals together

2.5 + 3.8 + 0.3 = 6.6 D-Score

His E-Scores ranged from an 8.9 to a 9.3.  He really just had a few 0.1 deductions here and there, so I would have been closer to the 9.3 than the 8.9.  His final score of 15.7 seemed very fair to me.

Pretty easy, huh?