University of Minnesota Athletics
Men's Gymnastics To Host "Flashback Friday" 10.0 Meet
2/3/2020 6:39:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
It has been 13 years since the possibility of a "Perfect 10" has been present in men's collegiate gymnastics. But that changes this weekend at Maturi Pavilion.
The Gophers host the Washington Huskies on Feb. 7 for "Flashback Friday," with the meet operating on a 10.0 scoring system.
While gymnasts will be judged according to the FIG open-ended scoring system, scores displayed in the Pavilion will be converted to a 10.0 scale. A gymnast must score a 15.0 or higher to earn a 10 in the converted system, along with sticking their dismount. Conversion tables will be accessible to those in attendance to keep track of both the open-ended and 10.0 scores.
"When a gymnast does a really good routine and scores a 15.1 on a routine with a start value of 16.0, the general public, and even many gymnastics aficionados who may have competed under the 10.0 system, really aren't completely sure if that's a good routine or not," Minnesota head coach Mike Burns said. "They may say 'Wow, that looked good" or 'Man, he did that set really nicely," but no one really knows how close to 'perfect' that might have been. In the old system, if a 10.0 was flashed everyone knew exactly what that meant - it was perfect."
The FIG system has been a critical component in allowing gymnasts to be rewarded for increased difficulty and in training men's collegiate athletes for international, and oftentimes Olympic, competition.
Combining FIG scoring with the 10.0 system in-arena is a move that will hopefully provide a more understandable and entertaining product for both longtime and casual fans.
The historic and thrilling performances of several gymnasts, from Nadia Comeneci, Valeri Liukin, Peter Vidmar, and Tim Daggett to Minnesota's own Lexy Ramler, exhibit the power of the "10."
Ramler made Gophers history on Jan. 25 and put up the first perfect 10 score by a Minnesota women's gymnast in Maturi Pavilion. The men's team looks forward to the possibility of a similar magic moment this weekend.
"The thing that ties these all together is the absolute excitement seeing a 10.0 brings to those who get to witness it," Burns said. "Everyone understands what they just saw - an absolute perfect performance!"
This Friday's meet is set for 7 p.m. at the Pav, with single meet tickets available through Gopher Sports.