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NCAA News Archive - 2001
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The Women's Gymnastics Committee addressed uniforms in competition during its annual meeting June 18-22 in Indianapolis and temporarily approved a one-year trial policy that allows short sleeves and tank uniforms as long as no alterations are made to the competition number.
The uniform issue is a sensitive one, and the new policy is a departure from traditional dress that gymnastics spectators have come to expect. The committee's concern centered on the appropriateness and overall appearance of body art for the arena and television audiences, as well as concern about the decreasing uniform size during recent years. The committee wanted to uphold the integrity of the championships, yet still compromise with gymnastics coaches who have asked for a change.
In the past, only long-sleeved uniforms were allowed for competition.
In addition, the committee voted to disallow swim attire during practice or competition sessions because the competition number cannot be displayed on such a small area of the back of the uniform.
In scoring matters, the committee will recommend to the Division I Championships Competition/Competition Cabinet in September that the event champions from each regional competition advance to the finals regardless of their score. Currently, a minimum score of 9.8, in addition to winning the event, is required to advance to the finals.
The committee also recommended regional and finals sites for 2003 and 2004. The recommended regional sites for 2003 are: West -- Oregon State University; North Central -- University of Denver; South Central -- Arizona State University; Central -- Louisiana State University; Northeast -- Pennsylvania State University; Southeast -- West Virginia University. The recommended site for the 2003 finals is the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. The recommended site for the 2004 championships is the University of California, Los Angeles.
The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, will host the 2002 national championships.
In other action, the committee changed the first-come, first-serve practice assignments that had been used for the practice sessions during the national championships. Starting in 2002, the practice assignments will be determined by the competition session and the starting event, which are drawn at random, as suggested by the women's gymnastics coaches.
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