Jade Carey and her Oregon State gymnastics team came to play in the first session of the 2025 American Gold Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Classic on Saturday. The team scored a total of 195.775 to outperform No. 10 UCLA (195.250) but lost to No. 4 California, who received a total score of 196.225. This was a battle of the best and the best came out to play and the Oregon State Beavers were not left behind in this well-contested event.

Jade was simply superb, if not for the want of a better word. The NCAA gymnastics star wowed everyone as she clinched the all-around title with a stunning 39.625. Her beam routine scored 9.950, leaving a little room for improvement, and she was absolutely amazing on the floor, receiving 9.900, the highest of the session. In vault, she scored an impressive 9.875, and in bars, she scored 9.900 to finish third in both categories. Though she scored fabulously, Jade Carey and her coach think that the scoring was a little tight, but now the coach has cleared the air around it.

Jade Carey’s coach Tanya Chaplin’s POV on stringent scoring

In a recent video by OSU Beavers Athletics, Jade Carey’s coach, Tanya Chaplin, praised her athletes’ performance. She said, “Our performance, I think they did a great job. We have a new code this year, we have a new evaluation system for the officials.” She noted that “the scoring was definitely probably tighter than what most people thought was going to” and that the 195.7 score, which placed them in the top 10, was “surprising for a lot of people compared to maybe last year’s scores.”

Tanya emphasized, “It’s really about the performance. We talked about that going into it,” adding that they prepared by having athletes watch “some of the judges’ education videos before so they knew what was going to be taking place and what the officials were going to be looking at.” The 3x Olympic medalist proudly stated, “I think it helped our athletes prepare for that competition so when they walked out there, they weren’t looking at the scores, they were just really focused in on the performances.” Tanya Chaplin was proud that they didn’t let the scores coming up “implode their performances.”

Jade Carey was totally on the same wavelength as her coach, Chaplin. She shared, “Yeah, I think that, like Tanya said, us not really focusing on scores… I know my whole time here, scores have never been a big thing for us to focus on as a team. It’s more just our performance as a team.” She explained how this mindset helped keep everyone grounded: “So I think that really set us up to stay focused and dialed in,” adding, “We could have looked at our first score after floor and been like, ‘Uhoh, we don’t belong here,’ but we just took it head-on.” She emphasized how the team kept their cool and pushed forward: “Just focused on doing the best gymnastics that we could, and we ended up in a great spot.”

Not even the fans could remain silent on the scoring spectacle; some of them rolled their eyes and pointed fingers at the NCAA judges. One of the commenters was very blunt with their opinion and even tried to make the system a bigot. They said that scoring changes appeared to target West Coast teams while helping SEC athletes. Their X post called it out loud and clear: “Seems pretty clear @NCAA @InsideGym changes in NCAA Gymnastics scoring is still only affecting West Coast teams while these judges are still over scoring the @SEC.”

This dissatisfaction is not an isolated complaint. Many from the community have raised issues of scoring concerns—noting that the most complicated routines are frequently overshadowed, while other teams seem to score effortlessly. Fans; athletes, critics, and coaches have complained about the system and criticized it for its inefficiency, unfairness, and opacity. With all this buzz, it begs the question: What is this new policy and scoring rule change?

NCAA Gymnastics sees a new change!

The NCAA Women’s Gymnastics opening week just hit us with a plot twist: no perfect 10s for the first time in nearly four years. That’s right, the scoring drought last happened on February 6, 2021. What used to be a dream score is now barely on the radar, as the era of high-flying 10s seems to be taking a nosedive. In recent seasons, perfect 10s were basically trending—71 in 2022, 84 in 2023, and a whopping 87 in 2024. But 2025? Nada. Even gymnastics powerhouses like Oklahoma and LSU couldn’t crack the elusive 10.0 barrier.

It wasn’t just a bad day for the 10s; it was a tough opener overall. California posted its worst start in four years, and UCLA recorded its third-worst opener in 15 years. Yikes. Only five gymnasts managed a 9.90 on floor—compare that to the 27 who did it in Week 1 of 2024. These days, a 9.875 is snatching titles that once demanded nothing short of perfection. So, what’s going on? It’s not a talent issue—this roster is packed with Olympians and former national team stars. The real plot twist? Judging!

The Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) rolled out the Collegiate Judging Initiative (CJI) in mid-2024. Enter the SCORE board—a panel of eight experts cracking down on scoring disparities. Judges now rise through the ranks based on how close their scores align with target benchmarks. Translation? Tighter scoring, less room for freebies, and, apparently, fewer 10s.

LSU’s Olivia Dunne and her fellow teammates, though? Not even fazed. “Scores are always a tricky situation because they’re out of your control, and you just got to go out there and try your best no matter what and just be present in the moment with your team cheering,” she said. Classic Livvy: all about blocking the noise and bringing the vibes. Last Friday, she backed it up with a solid 9.825 on beam and went all-out dramatic on floor for a 9.875.

But Livvy’s not just about the numbers. As she put it, “You kind of just need to block that out if you don’t get a great score, but I feel like if we just keep building off what we did Friday, we’re going to be in a great position for the rest of season.” Big words from a big-game player. So, what do you think? Is this tighter judging system the shake-up NCAA gymnastics needed, or is it clipping the wings of these talented athletes?