With the changing of the Code of Points in 2006, it seems that we may have lost more than just a scoring system.

In the days when gymnasts could score perfect tens, gymnastics was much easier than it is today. There is no doubt that the sport does need to advance every four years. It is important for the Code of Points to be revised to make gymnasts test their limits and push the envelope of the sport. Without that push, competition would become mundane and boring. But is there a breaking point? Can the sport push its athletes too far?

Truth be told, the doing away of the perfect ten started thirteen years ago in 1993. The Code of Points was changed so that it was harder to receive a perfect ten. The highest score at a World Championships from 1993-1996 was a 9.950. Several gymnasts scored 9.900, 9.912 and 9.937. With most of these routines, it is hard if not next to impossible to spot any errors. It was almost as if the judges were afraid to give them a perfect ten for fear of controversy. The highest score at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics was a 9.887. Still, the one thing that did not suffer as a result of the loss of the perfect ten was the quality of the work.

The closest we have come to seeing a perfect ten since the 1990s was Marian Dragulescu of Romania at the 2004 Athens Olympics during the men's vault event final. He scored a 9.900 on his first vault that was out of a ten. Four judges gave him a 9.900 and two gave him 9.850 and a 9.950. But the highest and lowest scores are thrown out, leaving him with just a 9.900 with many gymnastics fans feeling it was one of the worst calls in the history of the sport. 

The new Code of Points has pushed gymnast to an all new level. It is great for innovation, but it fails to keep the beauty of the sport intact. It is harder for gymnasts to keep form during elements. And the harder they go, the higher they fly. What goes up must come down and for gymnasts these days, landings can be brutal. Even with three inches of foam. More injuries are being seen at the highest level of the sport. For every six gymnasts on any given team, there are usually at least two of them who are currently injured but able to compete and at least one who is coming back from an injury.

It is true that in this new Code a gymnast can receive a perfect ten in execution or their A Score. The highest was a 9.800 from Nastia Liukin at the 2008 Pacific Alliance Championships on beam. After 2008, the New Code had its first restructuring which now makes it even harder than before to receive a ten in the A Score. The highest we have seen so far is a 9.675 at the 2009 World Championship. There were a handful of 9.200 to 9.600 A Scores during the men's vault final at last years World Championships. And Anna Porgras scored an 8.866 in execution in the beam event finals which was good enough to win the gold last year at Worlds as well. If gymnasts are good, they usually score a 9.200 or 9.300 at the highest. 

Watching gymnastics in 2011 is exciting to say the least. But it is good to remember what the sport started as. Beauty mixed with strength. It offers a unique look at athletics and art in one package. And maybe, one day, it will return to that.



The last perfect ten awarded in the history of the sport.