NCAA gymnastics is growing but somehow, it’s also kind of crashing. Well, it’s becoming one of the most exciting women’s sports around, and honestly, it’s no surprise. With Olympic stars like Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles in the mix and social media sensation Olivia Dunne turning heads, gymnastics is attracting more eyeballs than ever before. The stands are filling up, TV ratings are climbing, and the sport is finally getting the recognition it deserves. But yes, there’s always a ‘but’ in sports, it’s not all smooth flips and flawless routines. Fans have one big gripe that just won’t go away: the commentary.
We’re only five weeks into the season, and fans are already calling for a change. Take the Georgia vs. Florida meet, where ESPN decided to switch up the commentary team. They replaced Kathy Johnson Clarke with Anastasia Webb and Samantha Beszerk, and let’s just say, the reviews were… less than glowing. A few fans summed it up pretty perfectly: “It’s like watching a magic show and the magician refuses to acknowledge that the rabbit is clearly just chilling in his jacket pocket.” Ouch. Fans noticed the mistakes, the over-scoring, and the awkward use of phrases. It’s like they were watching the same routines but with a completely different understanding of what was happening.
And then there’s the issue of explaining the same gymnastics rules over and over. Fans get it—the first meet of the season? Sure, go ahead, and explain all the rules for the new fans. But by the fifth meet? Fans don’t need the rundown every time. Fans are tired of hearing, “This could get a 10!” When we can all see that the gymnast is about as far from a 10 as the floor is from the vault.
Curious …What would you like to see more or less of in gymnastics commentary?
— Margzetta (@MargzettaF) February 5, 2025
Some fans even know what they’re talking about, bring the energy, and break down the routines in a way that gets fans hyped. But for the most part? It’s the same repetitive commentary that feels like it’s missing the point. Fans are asking for a little more insight, a little less fluff, and a little more honesty. Like when a gymnast makes a mistake, let’s just call it out! And fans aren’t staying silent about it either. Margzetta, a gymnastics fan on X, posted a simple but powerful question: “What would you like to see more or less of in gymnastics commentary?” The replies? Let’s just say they were brutally honest—and, honestly, spot on.
Gymnastics fans want more honest commentary
Gymnastics fans have spoken, and they’re not holding back! One fan pointed out, “Definitely more of the technical stuff-pin pointing deductions more. Less of the comments of that beam is four inches wide stuff. That sentence is over used.” Another fan added, “I would like to see more discussion of deductions (even if judges aren’t taking them). There is no need to treat viewers like they’ve never watched a gymnastics meet before – football announcers don’t explain the very basics and people manage to watch that just fine.”
Gone are the days when judges would hand out 10s just because a gymnast was an Olympic star. Take 2024, for example, when Trinity Thomas, one of Florida’s top gymnasts, did a perfect one-and-a-half twisting backflip off the beam. She nailed almost everything, except for a slight shift in her right foot, which was enough to make the announcers groan. Yet, she still scored a perfect 10.0. But as we all know, things are changing.
Then the new system introduced by the WCGA in May 2024—the Collegiate Judging Issue (CJI)—was designed to bring more consistency and fairness to the scoring system. Implemented in January 2025, the new approach evaluates judges based on how closely their scores match a target score. The goal is to create a level playing field, and this has led to some surprising results. This could explain why we’re seeing fewer 10s this season, but it’s definitely changing how we view scoring in NCAA gymnastics. So, even if commentators are quick to call something “perfect” when it’s clearly not, it won’t count. Fans are calling for the truth to be shouted loud and clear—mistakes and all!
One fan chimed in with a plea: “PLEASE stop telling us the beam is 4 inches wide!!!!” Another added, “More pointing out deductions, less talking during floor routines .” Honestly, if you’ve been watching gymnastics for more than five minutes, you know the balance beam is 4 inches wide—it’s practically common knowledge at this point.
To break it down for the uninitiated, it’s 16 feet long and sits 4 feet off the ground. So, when commentators keep repeating the basics like this, it’s a bit like hearing the same old joke! Especially since even a tiny mistake on that narrow beam can cost a gymnast valuable points. Fans want to hear about the stuff that really matters—the deductions, the nuances of each routine, and not the same beam fact over and over again.
Another fan summed it up perfectly: “More: technical info, explanation of faults and technique problems that led to them (like Liz Chetkovich at Jr. Olympics 2014), correct skill names. Less: loud partisanship for gymnasts from your country, and commentary acting dumb on purpose to trigger basic explanations.” Another fan added, “We don’t need to know about the mat and how it is a deduction. We all know. Would like more commentary on actual opinions on deductions during the routine—‘Oh, she didn’t hit that handstand,’ ‘That shuffled foot,’ etc. You guys have different angles than we do live, so that helps.” It’s clear: fans want deeper insight into the routines, not the usual surface-level chatter.
The post Frustration Mounts Over National Commentators as NCAA Gymnastics Fans Point Out Major Flaws in 2025 Season appeared first on EssentiallySports.
