Gymnastics has come a long way. From Nadia Comaneci’s graceful sinews to Simone Biles‘ lithe steps, we’ve seen it all. But one thing that comes with the territory is the pall of gloom known as inconsistent scoring. NCAA Gymnastics bore the brunt recently. Olivia Dunne and the LSU Lady Tigers have more to show, as they powered through to the NCAA Championship Final. Delivering a stellar performance in Thursday’s semifinal at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, the team achieved a score of 198.1125, marking the program’s second-highest score at the NCAA Championships. This impressive showing has successfully secured their place in Saturday’s final showdown.

Although Olivia Dunne was seen warming up, she did not compete in the semifinal. As the team progresses to the finals, there is growing curiosity and discussion among fans regarding a scoring error observed during the semifinals. This has sparked questions about the reliability of the scoring system used in the competition. What were the deeper practicalities of the matter, though?

Scoring controversies cast a bad omen over LSU’s repeat NCAA Finals appearance

LSU is set to face off against California, Utah, and Florida in the championship finals, marking their second consecutive year at this stage. However, amidst the celebrations, concerns about the scoring system have surfaced, casting a shadow over the semifinals. An incident involving UCLA athlete Chae Campbell, who delivered a flawless floor routine, highlighted this, nailing every landing with precision, yet received a score of 9.900, which many believed should have been a perfect 10. This incident, which sparked outrage among fans, was discussed extensively in Reddit.

This is not an isolated event; earlier inconsistencies include a controversial tiebreaker that allowed BYU to advance over BSU, further fueling debates over the fairness and reliability of the gymnastics scoring systems. Fans expressed their disappointment vocally on Reddit.

Reddit users express anxiety over scoring discrepancies 

In a Reddit thread filled with nervous anticipation about the NCAA gymnastics championships, users voiced concerns over the scoring system’s potential impact on the results. One user encapsulated the anxiety shared by many: “I’m so nervous about wacky scoring costing a more deserving team the NCAA title today. These four teams are so close it has me so nervous it will come down to a hundredths. Is anyone else concerned?”

The debate intensified with specific grievances about the performances and scoring from the semifinals. A commenter felt that Florida should have ranked higher, saying, “100%. I really thought Florida was the better team on Thursday evening, but somehow Utah won?” They also criticized the scoring of Cal’s routines on the bars, describing the low scores as “OFFENSIVE.” Another user shared their personal bias in favor of Florida and against Utah but admitted, “Utah was just on fire, especially on beam where they started out… I was actually (pleasantly) surprised that Fla was so close to them in the end.”

The discussion also touched on fears of inconsistency across different events, with a user worried about the potential for overscoring or underscoring that could unfairly influence team rankings. Another pointed out, “I generally feel this way about overcoming because 9.9 might go .05 high but the 9.75s and 9.8s can be inflated by a tenth; 9.65 by .15. and the worst is when they only score by landings,” highlighting the intricacies and frustrations with the scoring system. These comments reflect a broad concern among fans about the fairness and accuracy of gymnastics judging.