There is more to a perfect 10 than meets the eye — which is why the Gators have accomplished the feat only 17 times in the program’s 41 years of existence.
But on Friday, Bridget Sloan and Kytra Hunter made it look easy.
Sloan and Hunter’s back-to-back floor performances scored perfect 10s with the judges in Florida’s first home meet of the year against Georgia.
In collegiate gymnastics, the key to a strong scoring floor routine is balancing acrobatics and choreography.
There are some basics all floor routines follow. Gymnasts can choose any instrumental song, which is cut down to no more than 1:30 minutes. Each floor routine must include at least two acrobatic series, and one of those must contain two saltos or somersault. Tumbling passes, leaps and jumps are also required.
If a routine does not meet these standards, it’s an automatic .10 deduction. Other deductions can come from as small of a mistake as stepping out of bounds or having a concentration pause longer than two seconds.
Within these guidelines, gymnasts are allowed more freedom than in any other event. With that freedom, Hunter and Sloan demonstrated their ability, creativity and desire to have fun.
When it comes to Sloan’s routine, not much has changed. Sloan said her passes are all the same as the passes from her freshman-year floor routine, but this season, she is having more fun.
“The floor routine that I do here — it’s not really all about the difficulty, but it’s about showing it off,” Sloan said.
“The one that I have right now, it get’s the crowd into it.”
This year, Sloan utilized her song choice — the White Stripes’ hit “Seven Nation Army” — as a way to get the crowd involved in her performance.
Sloan’s routine follows her song’s lead — it starts slowly and then builds. Sloan starts out lying down on the ground and does not stand until the 20-second mark of her 1:30-minute routine.
“When my music starts, everybody knows that song,” Sloan said. “I get this intense look and sassiness going. I think the beginning is my all-time favorite.”
Sloan’s first pass may not look as difficult, but it is just as hard as Hunter’s, coach Rhonda Faehn said.
She added that both first passes are considered “E,” which is the highest degree of difficulty for collegiate gymnasts.
The most notable moves in Sloan’s routine include a front double twist, back one-and-one-half twist to front layout and a double pike (a seated move where the gymnast is bent only at the hips).
“Her execution is near perfection,” Faehn said.
“Every single time she gets up there, there’s not much for the judges to deduct.”
While Sloan is working on being sassy, Hunter’s theme is power.
“I am powerful, so I’m worrying about not over-rotating or going too hard,” Hunter said.
This year, Hunter’s floor routine is set to “Damage Intended” by Gramatik, an electronic producer. Hunter has used Gramatik’s “Solidified” for her sophomore-year floor routine. In 2012 and 2013, Hunter’s floor routine scored as high as 9.975 each year.
As for what made the difference this year, Hunter said she’s having more fun on the floor.
Her routine includes a double layout with a one-and-a-half twisting front layout into a Shushunova (a straddle jump to land in a front-lying support), as well as an open double tuck.
“Kytra has just an incredible amount of power and she’s doing probably the hardest tumbling in a floor routine in collegiate gymnastics,” Faehn said.
“She’s combined some great artistry in there with it and her dance has really been a highlight, so I think that combination of that helped her this past weekend.”
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Kytra Hunter performs her floor routine on Friday in the O’Connell Center. Hunter scored a perfect 10 on the routine. Her performance followed fellow UF gymnast Bridget Sloan’s perfect floor routine — the first back-to-back 10s in an event for UF in almost 18 years.
