Which tumbling pass would you score higher in competition?
- Punch Front, Round Off Backhand Spring, Whip, Whip, Backhand Spring, Double Full with a step on the landing
- Punch Front, Round Off Backhand Spring, Whip, Whip, Backhand Spring, Double Full with an assist on the Double Full
I believe most people would say pass number 1 because the thought of spotting someone on a tumbling pass at Nationals is absurd. Why doesn’t this line of thinking apply to stunts? The crowd would sit there stunned if Top Gun or Georgia put someone in each corner bumping and spotting their elite tumbling passes, but having a extra set of hands on every stunt is the norm and scored just as well as unassisted stunt sequences.
Why is a stunt that is assisted, by design, from lift off to landing potentially worth as much as an unassisted stunt? Better yet, why is an assisted stunt considered perfect under any standard when assisted tumbling would get you laughed off the mat?