The Judges Matter
Part 2
Our job is to create strong, independent, and confident young women who can recognize and stand up to the negative influences of other people, even people in power.
This is why judges matter.
In my story about my gymnast, two judges had the power to make or break the psyche of a child. It didn’t take long before this gymnast quit gymnastics altogether.
I had a couple of other experiences with judges that made me understand just how much they had to do with the culture of gymnastics.
Example 1: At a meet at the beginning of the season, one of my Level 7 gymnasts scored a 9.5 on her front handspring vault. I was so happy for my gymnast, and she was thrilled because she had recently really focused on improving her run so that her vault was more powerful. As I was picking up the score cards from the judges, I smiled, and one of the judges said, “Nice vault.”
I thanked her and said, “Yes; it’s time to upgrade.”
She simply said, “Well, it’s not the 9.8 that we’re looking for.”
Example 2: Because there was such a big jump between the requirements in Level 7 and Level 8, I encouraged my Level 7’s to add more difficulty in their routines, if they could, in order to gain experience competing higher-level skills before they competed all-around in Level 8, so it wasn’t such a huge step. I wanted them to gain experience in competition. At a meet, as I picked up the score cards from the judges, a judge asked me, “Why does your gymnast do a back walkover back handspring instead of just a back handspring?”
I responded, “For experience for next year when she competes Level 8.”
To that she said, “I’d take it out. She’s just going to get deducted.”
Example 3: I was having a conversation with one of the judges about the Larry Nassar scandal — many survivors had just read their victim impact statements at his sentencing hearing. It was no secret that USA Gymnastics had it’s problems by this time. I asked her, “What do you think will change in USAG as a result of this?”
She responded, “It was just one man, Mary.”
I was floored.
Although these experiences are not representative of all judges’ beliefs, all three of these examples demonstrate the shortsightedness that judges in this gymnastics culture can have, and how they can influence the culture. If judges are not included in the paradigm shift that we are seeking in our sport, then not much will change.
A judge has the final say. Gymnasts respect judges and their gymnastics lives are painted with the judges’ brush. Judges choose what to reward, and it’s their prerogative push a certain agenda in a meet. Some judges reward high relevé, some judges reward a stuck landing. All judges direct the undertone of a meet, a season, and they way that gymnastics is seen in the eyes of coaches, gym owners, and gymnasts.
One judge held Christy Henrich’s life in the balance for years. Her story appears in Joan Ryan’s book Little Girls in Pretty Boxes:
“Fifteen-year-old Christy Henrich could think if little except her weight on the long flight from her gymnastics meet in Budapest. When she spotted her mother waving by the boarding gate at the Kansas City airport, she didn’t say hello.
“‘I’ve got to lose weight,’ she announced.
“Sandy Henrich looked at her daughter. Christy weighed 90 pounds and stood 4 feet 11 inches. Lose weight?
“‘A judge told me I’d never make the Olympic team if I don’t lose weight,’ Christy explained.”
Three years later, Christy died of multiple organ failure.
The officials matter. What they say, what they look for, and what they reward matters.
To have a new gymnastics culture, we need everyone’s input: parents, coaches, and judges. Our job is to create strong, independent, and confident young women who can recognize and stand up to the negative influences of other people, even people in power.
We need a new gymnastics culture that focuses on the individual… one gymnast at a time.
