Expertise in women's gymnastic judging: an observational approach.

Observation was used to study expertise in gymnastic judging. 10 expert and 10 novice gymnastic judges were videotaped while judging at actual competitions. Analyses showed that novice judges, as compared to expert judges, spent less time looking at the gymnast perform, spent more time looking at the scoring paper, and were less able to engage in the dual-task demands required in gymnastic judging.