Just out of curiosity, what are you **personally** looking at when you are judging a team? What can make or break your giving a high or low score to a team? We all hear about how judges have favorites or have an "in" with a certain gym, I myself don't really believe in that (i would hope people had a more mature approach to judging). As nationals, and worlds are around the corner, what advice would you give to teams/gyms out there?
I would be looking for a clean routine- at a level that suits most of the athletes on the team. I hate a sloppy routine- worse yet, a routine at a level that is not apporpriate for most of the athletes. For example, if a team is level 4, most of them should be throwing layouts and standint tucks..level 5- most of them should have fulls and a handful of standing fulls.
I'd also be looking for stunt, tumbling and dance technique.
Also, choreography. I like it when routines flow..not when athletes have to run to one spot to do something, then run to the next...New and creative things are also fun to see-- almost more fun to see them in the lower levels.
Id much rather see a clean. TIGHT routine than one that is a mess, and the kids are trying to do a routine that they cant stick, its no fun to watch. I love the originality that teams can have, and I love music that has lots of sound effects to sharpen up the routine. But there is nothing worse that awful choreography that DOESNT go along with the music, or choreography that the kids cant pull off. I LOVE to see smiles, facials, and when the teams' crowd gets all hyped up, while their kids are performing. Coaches that jump up and down and get just as excited as the kids do, and when they run up and hug the kids after competing, its great to see. I love a fun routine with the difficulty for its perspective level. I want to see originality and something different, weather it be the stunts the flyers are doing, tumbling, dances, jumps, transitions etc. I like a team that performs like there's no tomorrow. Have fun. If a stunt falls, you can see the moral of the team fall apart for the rest of the routine, I dont like to see that. I have seen a lot of creativity in the past few years. Gyms stepping out side of the box, I love that, its different and you feel like your watching a new routine, not one that everyone is doing. Make your routine your own.
