Specialists vs. All-arounders: So, FIG seems to be trying to work to advance all-arounders and positions for specialists at the Olympics. It pushes for all-arounders on the team, and so gymnasts from top nations who can qualify teams will be pushed to be all-arounders so a)those nations can have viable teams and b) those gymnasts will want to be on the team. It definitely encourages gymnasts from teams who can't qualify full teams to drop events if they aren't a top all-arounder because getting a top spot on an event at Worlds or a World Cup can get them a spot at the Olympics. I do really like that individual specialists can qualify to the Olympics now. It can be a good opportunity for smaller nations because a top specialist can qualify as a specialist and advance a nation's program.
So... Olympic spots: Yes, we all know the IOC only allocates so many spots. IS FIG LOBBYING FOR MORE? If not, that needs to happen yesterday. It is a tier-one Olympic sport. Track and field had over 2,000 Olympic spots and swimming had almost 950 in London. Shooting and judo both had at least 390. I know gymnastics functions differently than the other two tier-one sports, by why does artistic gymnastic have fewer than 200 spots? FIG did not say they are lobbying, and they need to.
Nominative vs. Non-nominative spots: The spots from Worlds are nominative and those from the World Cups are non-nominative. I suppose it would be expected gymnasts who make Worlds finals deserve a straight-ticket shot to the Olympics. Also, the World Cup system is where team nations can qualify specialists, so perhaps FIG is thinking team programs will have more options for specialists. To bring up the ever-popular ASac example, she would have been able to go even though she couldn't compete in the World Cups because the spots are earned for programs, not individuals.
Specialists on the team: So the team is 3 up, 3 count and not 4 up, 3 count like I thought from what I first read (that's qualifications). I doubt any of the Big Four will take anything other than 4 all-arounders for their team, but lower-ranked nations will probably be more likely to be willing to risk bringing a specialist.
The qualifying system: Alright, so there are aspects of this part I love. But first, let's talk about how the teams qualify. I don't know how I like that. All the medalist teams from the 2018 Worlds will qualify a team to the Olympics, and then the top 9 teams excluding those 3 will qualify at the 2019 Worlds. I don't know what I'm so hesitant about for this, but it just seems... off to me. Alright, the aspects I love. First, any country who wants can send a full team to the 2019 Worlds. Thank goodness! I hate the trickle-down aspect of it in several ways. First of all, a team that doesn't qualify for the pre-Olympic Worlds could very well have a team that places higher than the teams there that year. Secondly, I hate how it makes Worlds competition just pre-Olympic formalities. Each year's Worlds should be a competition in its own right. Also, I like how there are 3 spots from each event final at Worlds and how they have a down-the-line method. Anyone who makes a Worlds event final should be in the running for an Olympic spot. This could definitely make specialist spots more open.
Questions I Still Have
- In the 2011 Worlds, not a single gymnast who qualified to the bars, beam, or floor finals was from a nation who didn't qualify a team. Where do those 9 spots go? I would assume they shift to the World Cups. Do there still have to be 12 specialist spots from teams that haven't qualified a team or can those spots be up for grabs for team nations? Has FIG even realized this has happened?
- How many events are gymnasts in the specialist spots allowed to compete? To go back to the ASac illustration, would she have to have competed vault only or would she have been able to compete both vault and beam?
- Are the gymnasts who earn spots at Worlds allowed to compete on more than one event or can they only compete the event on which they qualify?
- Are the non-nominative spots earned in the World Cups open specialist spots or are they event-specific? To use ASac again, would she have been allowed to fill a spot Anna Li earned or would it have to have been filled by a bars specialist?
- Is there a limit on how many individual athletes a non-team program can send? If, for example, say, Mexico had and all-arounder in qualifying position each at Worlds, continental championships, and World Cups as well as two specialists, would all five be allowed to compete at the Olympics?
- Why did changing the qualification system and opening more specialist spots have to come at the cost of four-person teams? What made that strictly necessary?
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