New to NCAA Gym?

Are you just discovering NCAA gymnastics? Are you mainly a fan of elite gym and have fallen down the NCAA rabbit hole? Are you a new gym fan getting into NCAA after watching viral floor routines? Here are some questions that might help you understand the sport a little better.

## What is NCAA gymnastics?

NCAA gymnastics is gymnastics under the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States. College teams across the country compete against each other in consecutive weekends from January to mid-April.

## What's the scoring system in NCAA gymnastics?

Lucky for you new and casual gym fans, NCAA gymnastics uses the "perfect 10" scoring system, which is easier to understand. NCAA gym operates under a different set of rules than gymnastics you see at the Olympics. The routines are easier, since the gymnasts have to compete them every single weekend, and can really only throw skills they can compete consistently. Click here for more information on the NCAA Code of Points.

## Does NCAA gymnastics exist in other countries?

It does not. This is unique to the United States. However, NCAA coaches do recruit outside the U.S., mainly in Canada, but you'll also see NCAA gymnasts from Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Venezuela, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, Germany, and the Netherlands.

## Will we see any NCAA gymnasts at the Olympics?

99% of the time, no. As stated above, because NCAA gym is under a different set of rules, the routines are easier and nowhere near Olympic-level difficulty (with one or two exceptions). Balancing two different Code of Points is extremely difficult, and the high level of difficulty in elite can increase injury risks. More often than not, you'll see Olympians retire from elite gymnastics after their Olympics are done and then compete in NCAA (if they haven't turned pro).

This does not mean NCAA gymnasts never go to the Olympics during or after their college careers. Oklahoma's Kelly Garrison-Steves was a 1988 Olympian, UCLA's Mohini Bhardwaj was a 2004 Olympian, Denver's Jessica Lopez was a three-time Olympian for Venezuela, and Cal Berkeley's Toni-Ann Williams represented Jamaica in Rio 2016. For those NCAA gymnasts that do make it to the Olympics, it's more common to see them represent a different country, especially if said country doesn't have a big gymnastics program. Any American NCAA gymnasts who want to make the Olympic team will often defer for a year to do this instead of juggling both, as seen by Oklahoma's Brenna Dowell and Utah's Mykayla Skinner. Currently, there are three gymnasts competing in both NCAA and elite in the United States: Florida's Leanne Wong, Oregon State's Jade Carey, and UCLA's Jordan Chiles.

## What is "turning pro"?

When an elite gymnast turns pro, they essentially become professional gymnasts. They can accept sponsorships and endorsements, and make promotional and media appearances. Unfortunately, this goes against NCAA rules, as athletes have to be amateurs to be eligible for competition. Gymnasts like Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Gabby Douglas, and Simone Biles are pro gymnasts, and therefore unable to compete in NCAA.

One notable example is Jordyn Wieber. She had already committed to UCLA prior to turning pro in 2011, which made her unable to compete. Instead, she managed to be part of the team by acting as team manager, and later a volunteer assistant coach.

In late 2019, the NCAA board voted to allow athletes to profit from their names, images, and likenesses. This is official as of June 30, 2021.

## What is redshirting?

When a gymnast gets injured after competing for less than 30% of the season, they have the option to redshirt. This means they can take the rest of the year off to recover and prepare for next season. Not only that, but they're also granted an extra year of competition, provided they stay enrolled at their school as a student. Gymnasts who have competed for more than 30% of the season before getting injured are not eligible for another year of competition.

Usually, a gymnast is given up to five years of competition eligibility, in case they have to redshirt. However, UCLA's Peng Peng Lee is a rare case. She missed competing her first two years at UCLA due to knee surgeries both years. At first, it seemed like she would only get to compete for three years, but was granted a rare sixth year of eligibility due to her unusual circumstance. Also, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, athletes were given an optional fifth year of eligibility, which they could take that their school or transferring somewhere else.

## What is a bye rotation?

Due to the fact that there are only four events in women's gymnastics, if a competition has more than four teams competing, bye rotations exist to accommodate those extra teams. Byes are basically breaks where a team doesn't compete for an entire rotation. In the days of the Super Six, the rotations would be vault - bye - bars - beam - bye - floor. Every team would get a chance to compete all four events, two teams would finish on a bye, meaning they would have their full team total before the last rotation ended, and in some cases, the competition would already be decided based on how the teams finishing on a bye did.

## What is the Super Six?

The Super Six is the old format for the team final at the NCAA Championships from 1993 to 2018. Twelve teams would be split into two semifinal rounds, where the top three teams from each semifinal would advance to the Super Six. Starting in 2019, the format changed to only allow the top eight teams into the semifinals, where the top two teams from each semifinal would advance to what is now called Four on the Floor.

## Why aren't the all-around and individual event titles as important as the team title?

The team title is considered the crown jewel in NCAA gym. Elite gymnastics is an mostly individual sport, but because NCAA gym is part of a school's athletic program, it's by nature a team sport. This is how NCAA sports work in general, not just gymnastics. This doesn't mean that gymnasts turn their noses up at individual titles. They appreciate them, but the team title is what everyone chases.

## What is an All-American?

All-American is an honor gymnasts can earn either through academics or athletics. In gymnastics, there are different categories of All-American honors.

* Regular season All-American, which is determined when the National Qualifying Score (NQS) rankings are in. The top eight gymnasts in each individual category make first team All-American, and the next eight gymnasts (ranked 9th through 16th) make second team All-American.
* Post-season All-American, which is determined after the semifinals at Nationals. The top four gymnasts in each individual category make first team All-American, and the next four gymnasts (ranked 5th through 8th) make second team All-American.
* Academic All-American, which is based solely on academics. Unlike the first two honors, gymnasts have to be nominated by their schools. They are nominated regionally, and then nationally. There's first, second, and third team Academic All-American.
* Scholastic All-American, which is based on GPA and awarded by the Collegiate Coaches Association. In Division III schools, only the seniors are eligible.

## I'm pretty sure some schools aren't in the NCAA, so why is it called NCAA Gymnastics?

Most fans call NCAA Gymnastics that as a blanket term, as the national championships are called the NCAA Championships. Though it's not technically the correct name to call the sport if you are talking about it as a whole, it's become commonplace to call it as such, though it's not weird to call it college gymnastics. This wiki using the term NCAA Gymnastics and College Gymnastics shows that both terms are accepted and mean the same thing.