Jul 22, 2010 10:38:49 AM

The National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships will continue with the Super Six format after the Women's Gymnastics Committee recommended to the Championships/Sport Management Cabinet that the format not change.

The cabinet voted last month to maintain the Super Six.

The decision means the 2011 championship will not be conducted with a four-team final. In 2009, the committee recommended that the national championship format change so that the top two teams (rather than three) advance from each semifinal, resulting in four teams competing for the national championship, effective with the 2011 championships.  The change would have eliminated byes, aligning it more closely with the regular-season format.

At the time, the committee noted the change also would continue to increase the sport's popularity with the general public by simplifying the conduct of the competition and creating more excitement with head-to-head competition.

Initially, the coaches association supported the change and an additional modification of the scoring system to "six-up-six-count." The committee and coaches believed that change would also make it easier for fans to follow the competition.

The current system sends six gymnasts to compete on a single apparatus and counts only the five highest scores. The Championships/Sport Management Cabinet took no action on the scoring adjustment, requesting further review from the coaches association and the Women's Gymnastics Committee.

The coaches association decided it wanted to pull back from the approved format change and examine the future of the sport – and the entire format of the championships.

"We want to ensure that we are fulfilling the goals of collegiate women's gymnastics and upholding the principles of the student-athlete experience," said committee chair Paul Plinske, athletics director at Wisconsin-Whitewater. "Our coaches association and the committee wanted to make sure that our decisions resonate and that when one decision is made, it works well with other decisions for the betterment of the sport, beginning with regionals through the individual event finals."

Plinske said the coaches association and the committee will continue to work together to improve the sport and its championship.

"We need more time to review potential format changes and scoring concepts and make sound decisions that will positively impact our sport," Plinske said. "We have a great product to offer, and it's our hope to build on an already great championship experience for our student-athletes and fans."

The organization will use the 2010-11 academic year to analyze the sport and make recommendations for future championships.