The 2011-12 Varsity Scoring System is out and they have made a few changes and adjustments. The move to have all 2-day events weight day 1 worth 25% and day 2 worth 75% was surprising. I think allowing different brands to have different weights let teams choose events that match their preference. Since they decided to have each event weigh the days the same I like that they went with a significantly higher weight for day 2 so it has a “finals” feel. I also like the score sheet being weighted a little more towards building than other skills. Building requires more teamwork than other elements of the score sheet and should carry more weight.
The grid itself didn’t change much. An “Upward Twisting Transitions” element was added as a requirement to score 8-9 (Level 5) in pyramid difficulty, Level 5 jumps were split into “Minimal Jump Combinations” (7-8 Range) and “Maximum Jump Combinations” (8-9 Range), and some of the wording on the grid was adjusted, but none of the new wording should have a significant impact. I was surprised there weren’t more adjustments to Level 4 and 5 stunts, specifically what falls into “Advanced” and “Elite” categories given the rules changes.
The 2011-12 system cut the deductions for “Athlete Bobbles” and “Athlete Falls” in half, making a tumbling bobble a 0.25 deduction and a tumbling fall a 0.50 deduction. I think reducing deductions for individual skills is a good move. Last season having one tumbler land on her seat was the equivalent that team being 1 level lower in that tumbling category. I think they should have raised the deduction for a pyramid collapse to 3.0 or 4.0, but should have kept the stunt collapse limit at 2.0.