The sport's governing body, the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), made the changes after the 2004 Olympics to prevent the kind of controversy that marred the men's competition there. In theory, it allows judges more wiggle-room in differentiating performances.
"Before, the space was so tight between a 9.6 and 10.0 value for a routine, it was hard for judges to clearly delineate," said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics.
Still, the change, which took effect at the 2006 world championships, has been criticized by some of the sport's most recognizable figures, including Karolyi.
"Why they did it?" Karolyi, the legendary Transylvania-born coach, asked during an interview this week. "Why? Why take the simple perfect 10 out? It was so understandable. It was our trademark. The gymnastics trademark. It gave us such visibility and recognition.
"Now they pull it out and push in some complicated [stuff] that nobody understands. Not even the ones who are every day in the sport understand it. Just the other day I had a chat with coaches. . . . They have no idea what's going on. It's terrible. Terrible."
According to the FIG, most of the scores then being compiled by elite gymnasts were crowded into such a tiny numerical range - how, for example, did a 9.6 differ from a 9.7? - that distinctions became harder and harder to rate.
"So where you had instances like you had in Athens, where controversy developed based on how audience perceived a routine and how the routines were being judged, [the FIG] felt like it was time to open things up," Penny said.
"The sport had gone beyond the 10-point system. Now they're able to easily quantify the skills without having to squeeze it into this one little space."
