NCAA may change women's gymnastics championships

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA women's gymnastics committee is recommending changes to the national championship format: It wants four teams to compete in the finals instead of the current six.

According to a proposal disclosed last week, byes would be eliminated and the competition would be shortened, something the committee believes would make the event more appealing to fans and television.

Thirty-six teams would still compete at regionals and 12 would still advance to the championship round.

Other recommended changes include counting the score of each gymnast on each apparatus toward the team's final score, instead of throwing out the lowest of the six individual scores. The format would only be used in regional and national championships.

The changes still need final approval before they would be implemented in 2011.

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