Vault Entries

Having grown up in this sport I forget that the average person doesn't know the difference between vaults.  I know that when I watch ice skating I can't tell the difference between a toe loop or a toe lutz so how should someone who isn't a gymnast be able to decipher between a Yurchenko and a Tsukaraha?  Hopefully this post will help provide some clarity.

There are three main entries into a vault.  An entry is how a gymnast actually gets onto the vault table(the flat part of the vault).

Yurchenko Entry

The first vault we'll review is called a Yurchenko.  (yur-chain-co) Yurchenkos are names after Natalia Yurchenko who revolutionized vaulting with this new entry in the early 1980's by being the first ever to compete this vault.  Gymnasts who compete entirely new skills at an International Level are honored by having the skill named after them.  In this vault the gymnast sprints down the runway, places his hands in front of the springboard and round-offs (a cartwheel that lands on two feet) onto the springboard.  From here, with his feet on the board and his back to the vault, he does a back handspring from the springboard and places his hands on the vault table.  From this position he will flip off.  If you had trouble understanding that feel free to watch the video below.  The important thing to note when specifying that the vault is a Yurchenko is that the gymnasts hands are on the runway in front of the springboard before he flips onto the vault.  (Ignore the coach talking in this video,simply watch how the vaulter is getting onto the vault.)

Tsukahara Entry

That basically covers Yurchenkos.  The next vault I'll be explaining are Tsuakaharas.  (sue-kuh-hahr-uhs)  In the gymnasts world we shorten this down to Tsuks (sue-ks). The first Tsukahara vault was performed by (and therefore named after) Mitsue Tsukahara in 1972. A Tsuk entry is when the gymnast sprints down the runway, jumps with both feet onto the springboard, and then somewhat cartwheels onto the vault.  At this point the gymnast is sideways on the vault (in the video you will see the vaulters stomach) from here they must  perform a 1/4 turn so that their chest is facing the vault. Once their chest is facing the vault they will flip. Again, ignore the coach, merely watch the video to see how the vaulter is getting onto the vault table.

Front Handspring Entry

The last entry that we will look at is a front handspring entry.  In a front handspring entry vault a gymnast sprints down the runway, jumps onto the springboard with both feet, and then jumps forwards to her hands.  Once they are upside down on the vault with their hands on the vault and their feet in the air above them the gymnast will flip off of their hands forward.

Keep reading further down on Chalked Up to learn more about vault!

Vault: Start Values,Shapes, & Twists!

Now that we know what entries there are to vault let's talk about the cool flips out of them!  That's the exciting part!

This particular video features a Yurchenko to a tuck flip.  The 'tuck flip' specifies what shape the gymnast came off of the vault in. When she flips off of the vault she bends her knees.  Flipping with your knees bent is called a tuck.  Since she performs the Yurchenko entry and then flips in a tuck shape we know that this is a Yurchenko tuck.   A Start Value (SV) is the number that judges start taking deductions from.  So if a Yurchenko tuck has a SV of a 9.5 the highest score a gymnast can receive for performing a Yurchenko tuck is a 9.5.   (See blog post on Start Values for more answers regarding Start Values)

This video is a Yurchenko to a pike flip.  A 'pike' is similar to a tuck with the exception that the knees are straight in a pike.   A pike is kind of an 'L' shape.  This vault is harder then a tuck so its SV is a 9.6.

This particular video features a Yurchenko to a layout flip.   A straight body flip coming off of the vault is called a layout. A Yurchenko layout is more difficult then a tuck and a pike because it is harder to rotate a completely straight body. Therefore a Yurchenko layout has a higher SV then a Yurchenko pike.  In college this vault has a Start Value of a 9.7.

So we've gone over the basic shapes, tuck, pike, and layout.  Now things get tricky.  When gymnasts start twisting in these shapes the SV gets higher.  I hope by now you have recognized the correlation that exists between more difficult gymnastics equalling higher SVs.  

This video is a Yurchenko Tuck-half.  Let's break that down.  So we have the basic Yurchenko entry, and we know what a tuck is, so the half is referring to a 180 degree twist in the middle of the flip.  This vault is worth a 9.8.

Next we have a Yurchenko Tuck-full.  So we are staying with the tuck shape (the knees are bent) but now we are performing a full twist, or a 360 degree twist in the middle of the flip.  This vault is worth a 9.9.  This video is in slow motion so really watch for all of the parts, the Yurchenko entry, the tuck shape, and the 360 degree twist.

This video is of a Yurchenko layout-half.  We are going back to the layout shape, the straight body, but we are adding a 180 degree twist.  This is very difficult and is therefore with a 10.0.

This is a video of a Yurchenko layout-full.  Again we are sticking with the layout shape but this time there will be a 360 degree twist.  This is also worth a 10.0.

 This first video is a Tsuk tuck.  If we recall what a tuck is from previously it is a flip with your knees bent.  Although Tsuks are a different entry then Yurchenko's they mainly follow the same SV rules.  Therefore a Tusk tuck has a SV, or is worth, a 9.5.  

Here is a Tsuk pike.  Valued at 9.6. Again, a pike is a 'L' shaped flip, or a tuck with straight knees.

Tsuk layouts (Tsuk entry to a layout flip) is worth a 9.7.  

Tsuk tuck-half.  (Tsuk entry to a tucked flip with a 180 degree twist).  Valued at a 9.8.  

Tsuk tuck-full. (Tsuk entry to a tuck flip with a 360 degree twist).  Worth 9.9. On the video keep watching because the fist person to go messes up, it's the second person in the video who perfoms a Tsuk tuck-full.

I have intentionally skipped over Tsuk Layout-halfs.  This vault is rarely competed in college and therefore is difficult to find a good vidoe of.  Instead I moved on to Tsuk layout-fulls. (Tsuk entry to a layout flip with a 360 degree twist). SV is a 10.0.

At most college gymnasts meets you will usually only see two shapes.  A front handspring entry to a front tuck, and a front handspring entry to a front pike.  This vault is tricky and therefore even though they are only performing a tuck/pike flip they are valued higher then a tsuk/yurchenko tuck/pike.  

A front handspring front tuck is worth a 9.8.

A front handspring front pike is worth a 9.9.

These are the most common vaults that you will see at a collegiate level.

Vault Judging

So what do the judges actually look for?

Several things actually.  They watch your arms when they are on the vault.  The more bent they are the more deduction they can take.  They watch to see how high you are when you're flipping.  They can deduct if you land too close to the vault, or if you are really crooked in your landing.  Most people look at gymnastics and think that if they stick the vault then it must have been perfect.  Although this is can be true it is not always true.  If a gymnast is supposed to be performing a layout but she isn't in a perfectly straight body shape then the judges can continue to take tenths away.  If the gymnast fails to land the vault i.e. falls, then that is an automatic five tenth(.5) deduction.  In college gymnastics when a single tenth sometimes separates first and second place a five tenth deduction is a huge blow to the team score!  Judges watch to see how in-control you are of your gymnastics.  Usually the more controlled the gymnasts is the  better they score.  If they go flying all over the place it is likely that the score will be lower.  Judges also consider basic form, meaning, were the gymnasts toes pointed, were her legs together, if she is performing a layout were her legs completely straight?  Let's compare two Yurchenko layout-fulls.
1.                                                              

2.

On the first vault the gymnasts legs are separated, she takes a hop on the landing, and she is not in a perfectly straight line in her layout shape.  These are all deductions.  The second vault is significantly better.  This is actually a vault that received a perfect 10.0!!

Rules Regarding Landings

Rules regarding landings are fairly standard on every event.  If you stick, i.e. don't move you're feet at all when you land, then there is no deduction taking directly on the landing.  If you take one small step forward or backwards that is either half of a tenth (.05) or one tenth of a deduction(.1) depending on the size of the step.  A large step backwards or forwards means that the judges can take anywhere from one tenth (.1) up to three tenths(.3) depending on the size of the large step.  If you hop with both feet, like the girl in the first Yurchenko video that we just watched, that is a two tenth (.2) deduction.  Again, a fall is an automatic five tenth (.5) deduction on top of any other deductions that the judges take for the vault.

Last Comments on Vault

There are a few other important things to note on vault.  

• College gymnasts have 2 chances to vault, but only one of those can actually go over the vault.  So if a gymnast is standing at the end of the runway, salutes, and starts running and suddenly trips, as long as she does not touch any of the equipment, i.e. the springboard or vault, then she can go back to her starting spot for a second try where she will re-salute the judges and then perform her vault.   
• If a gymnast only puts 1 arm or no arms on the vault table then vault is considered void and a score of 0.0 is given.
• Judging is subjective!  This is so important because sometimes one judge will have a better angle then another or one judge will judge more strictly.  Having at least two judges per event allows the score to turn out more fairly.  In normal competitions, i.e. not National/Regional Championships, each judge flashes the score that they believe the gymnast deserves and then the two scores are averaged. The averaged score is the score that the gymnast receives.

I am aware that this is a lot of information, but I hope it was helpful to those of you who are new to Collegiate gymnastics!

Training

Several people have asked me when gymnastics is over for the year.  My answer?... "It's never over."  It's true, gymnastics is one of the few sports that doesn't have an 'off-season.'  Here at Seattle Pacific University we receive one week off after our National Championships are over and that is considered our 'off-season'.   Competition season lasts from the middle of January through the middle of April.  So what do we do the other 9 months of the year?


Preseason:  September-December
Can you say 'CONDITIONING?!'  That's right, sometime around the middle of September the  gymnasts come back from their summers and kick off the year right with 'hell week'.  'Hell week' is dedicated to finding out who did their summer conditioning and see where gymnasts are strength-wise vs. where they need to be for competition season.  After hell week the rest of preseason is dedicated to building up strength so that gymnast's will have the strength and endurance to get through their competition routines.  Repetitively doing routines during season breaks down the body a lot so it is important that gymnasts build their muscles up so that they last through the three grueling months of season. Check out the Utah girls conditioning in the video that is posted on the sidebar.   The opening is about 30 seconds of them competing some awesome gymnastics (a yourchenko with a one and a half twist!) but what follows is the important part.  Many Universities have similar programs that include weight training and cardio circuits.


Season: mid-January to mid-April
Gymnasts put on their game face for this time of the year.  With competition's nearly every weekend it is a very taxing, but extremely fun and rewarding 3 months.  NCAA athletes have to work especially hard to balance their athletics with their education.  From personal experience during my sophomore season I missed 1/3 of my classes during our competition season.  That's probably the last time I'll ever try to take 18 credits while competing.  As far as traveling goes, personally I think that traveling is where teammates really get to know each other.  When your with the team for 4-5 straight days, eating, sleeping, flying, driving, competing, and living together you get some awesome bonding and usually some really funny stories.  A normal week during season looks like this:


Monday: At home training routines
Tuesday: At home training routines
Wednesday: At home training routines:
Thursday: Travel day
Friday: Compete
Saturday: Travel home
Sunday: Rest day


And then you do it all over again.  Week in, week out.  One of the amazing things about traveling is all of the amazing places that we get to see while we are in other states.  Below is a picture of a few of us on the travel team at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Spring Training: Mid-April to mid-June
This is an interesting segment of training.  In some ways it's dedicated to resting and repairing all of the little injuries that we got throughout the season but didn't have time to take care of.  It's also a time to strengthen our bodies which inevitably means more conditioning.  The vibe in the gym is much more relaxed during Spring Training.  The pressure of competition season is gone and we get to start upgrading skills!  


Summer Training: Mid-June- September
Some Universities required their girls to stay at school during the summer holidays in order to maximize their training.  Other schools, like the one I attend, send us home with specific instructions.  We are given a list of skills to train all summer with the expectation that we will have made progress on them by the time we return to school in September.  We are also given a list of conditioning that outlines what we are to do nearly everyday in reagards to strengthening our bodies.  (Gotta love all the conditioning we do!)  We are also expected to maintain all of the skills that we competed in the previous season.  Summer is bittersweet.  Although it's nice to go home and see our families it's weird training without the teammates that we have become so accustomed to being surrounded by.  


Why don't we have an off season?
It's important for us to maintain our mental and physical abilities year round.  If we were to take month long breaks we would constantly be relearning skills instead of building on the skills that we already have.  

Changes in Start Values!

Recently there has been some discussion from the National Association of College Gymnastics Coaches/Women deciding whether they should drop the start value even lower.  For those of you non-gymnasts here's a quick run through of how scoring works currently.  This is a very basic run through and I won't go into every detail as there are too many extenuating circumstances but what follows is the basic idea.  As of now each gymnastics starts her routine from a 9.5.  Yes, you read that correctly. Not the glamorous 10.0 that many think.  Anyways, each skill in gymnastics is given a letter value.  Easy skills are considered an 'A' value, more difficult skills are considered 'B' etc,.; this continues up to the value of 'E'.  (There are F's in Olympic level gymnastics but not college).  When gymnastics combine skills, i.e. do the skills in a row, they get points.  For example, were a gymnastics to connect a straddle jump to a back flip on the beam they would receive one tenth (.1) for the connection.  This is because a straddle jump is a value of a 'B' on the beam and a back flip has a value of a 'C'.  The connection of the 'B' move to the 'C' move is one tenth (.1). In gymnastics this is called Bonus.  So now the gymnasts starts from a 9.6 because they earned one tenth of bonus (.1). By connecting skills the gymnasts is trying to earn five tenths (.5) so that they start from a 10.0.  It is important to know that college gymnasts cannot start above a 10.0.  No matter how many connections they have it is not possible to start above a 10.0 in college gymnastics.


Why does the change in Start Value Matter?
The change in start value will require gymnasts to perform even more difficult routines.  Meaning their strength, endurance, and ability till be further tested.  Some colleges hope that this will increase the distance between schools that are really good and schools that are only decent.  It would not make a drastic change on beam and floor for the Start Value to be changed.  These routines tend to be longer and therefore there is more opportunity for gymnasts to get in the extra Bonus that they need.  However, the lower start value would really affect vault and bars.  Although major Division 1 schools might be able to upgrade their vaults to reciprocate the change in Start Values there are several schools that already struggle to meet the requirements on bars and vault and the lower Start Value will only set them further apart from major gymnastics schools.


Who decides whether it gets changed or not?
Every year the schools that have NCAA collegiate gymnastics meet to discuss and vote on the different issues that have been proposed throughout the year at the National Association of College Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC/W).  The head coach from each school usually attends or sends an assistant coach in their place to represent them and cast their vote.  Each school receives one vote per issue where their options are to vote yes, no, or to abstain.  Issues that are voted yes on by the majority go into affect the following school year if they pass the other committee votings as well.


Personal Opinions?
Personally I'm a fan of leaving the scoring how it is.  With Start Values already at a 9.5 I know how difficult it is sometimes to find five tenths of Bonus.  Would it be the end of the world if they dropped it lower?  Probably not, but why change what is already working?

Alabama wins NCAA National Championship

http://www.ncaa.com/news/gymnastics-women/2011-04-16/alabama-captures-fifth-team-title


Scoring was so close at the  NCAA National Championships this past weekend! The 2011 season is over, and NCAA Champions have been crowned.  Bama won the team title with a spectacular effort, defeating defending champion UCLA.  Here's the full list of winners:

Team Final

1.  Bama 197.65
2.  UCLA 197.375
3.  OU 197.25
4.  NU 196.725
5.  Utah 196.5
6.  Michigan 196.425