University of Georgia Athletics
SEC Gymnastics Championships Scoring Issues Explained
March 30, 2008 | Gymnastics
However, unlike a few reports, no judges’ scores were changed after the competition. All confusion stemmed from scoring system input error that had nothing to do with the alteration of any original scores from any judges.
In the fifth rotation, Georgia posted its highest event score of the night and a meet-best 49.500 on uneven bars. One of Georgia’s top performers on that event was Tiffany Tolnay, who tied for the SEC title on bars with a 9.950.
Scoresheets passed out following the fifth rotation showed Tolnay’s 9.950 and also Georgia’s 49.500 team score on bars.
The Gym Dogs next went to balance beam, and as a team posted a 49.300 to finish the competition. Tolnay’s score, though it was the lowest on the team and did not count for the beam total, was a 9.800.
That beam total made Georgia’s overall score a 197.350.
However, unofficial scoresheets passed out following the sixth rotation listed Georgia’s overall score as just a 197.200, a full .150 away from what Georgia personnel had calculated as the team score.
Associate head coach Jay Clark looked over Georgia’s results and noticed a major discrepancy. It listed Georgia’s bars total as a 49.350, when he knew his team had received a 49.500. There, under Tolnay’s bar score, the individual entering scores on the computer had overwritten her beam score a 9.800 over her actual 9.950. That explained the .150 discrepancy in the scoresheet.
With that corrected, Georgia’s team score was a 197.350 as originally calculated and enough to beat both Alabama and Florida, who each earned a 197.325. And once the mistakes were corrected, officials had to verify all scores, which lengthened the usual time taken to finalize results.
“We want people to know that scores were never changed,” Georgia head coach Suzanne Yoculan said. “We always had a 49.500 on bars, and it was a computer input error that had us lower on that event and thus lower for our team title. Because competition was so close, that would have made the difference.
“As I said last night, all three teams at the top were great, and whoever won that meet would have deserved it whether it was us, Florida or Alabama,” she continued. “We ended up having the score to win it, and despite all of the confusion surrounding the final result, it was not due to any score changes but instead an incorrectly inputted score on the computers.”
