ESTIMATING HORIZONTAL DISPLACEMENT DEDUCTION IN TRAMPOLINE GYMNASTICS BY MEANS OF CONSTANT AND VARIABLE ERRORS OF LANDING POSITIONS: A NEW GOLD STANDARD?

Abstract

The final result in competitive trampoline gymnastics is composed of different subscores. These contribute differentially to the final score and result in a gymnast’s ranking. The present study was designed to investigate the impact that alternative score calculations of the horizontal displacement of the landing positions on the trampoline’s cloth would have on the final competition result. Different approaches for determining a precision measure were compared to the current standard of horizontal displacement deduction. These approaches for calculating precision measures were: (a) “total distance,” (b) the “convex-hull approach,” and (c) the “error approach.” Results showed that an alternative approach was more precise and differentiated better between gymnasts. The resulting changed rankings are compared to the official final score of the competition in order to demonstrate the impact of alternative calculations.

Keywords

• trampoline gymnastics
• constant error
• variable error
• performance