The next step in my capstone project is doing an interview with someone that knows a lot about my topic. I was having a lot of trouble finding someone. I tried like 15 people, not exaggerating and it was the night before my deadline to find someone to interview and I found someone just in time. I was so relieved. Her name is Janice Cooper and she was a competition director for the gymnastics Olympics in 1984, 1996, and 2008. This was really good for me because my main inquiry question is about how the judging and scoring evolved over time and that is exactly what she could answer so that was really good.
I had twelve questions. They were:
1.What was your role and responsibilities in the Olympics?
- What were some of the main differences that you saw between the two Olympics that you worked at?
- How has the process of judging and scoring in the gymnastics Olympics evolved over time?
- How do the judges know what to focus on?
- How do the judges know when to take away points and how many to take away?
- How are the scores determined for each gymnast’s routine?
- What problems has the scoring system caused to gymnasts?
- What happens if the judges come across a tie?
- What do you like most about your job?
- What was the most challenging or frustrating thing about your job working at the Olympics?
- How do the gymnasts handle their stress?
- Is there additional information that you would like to share with me that you think would be helpful?
We went back and forth a couple of times to find a time that worked for both of us. But eventually, we found a time over the weekend that worked for both of us. I was really happy with the person that I found.
One of the questions that I asked her was my main inquiry question. I decided to ask her because I didn’t know what she was going to know and she actually had a lot to say about this question. A sub-question that she really helped me with was sub-questions 1 and 5. (the first and last one) Something that she taught me that was really interesting was that every year, the judges are tested so the people that are testing them can see what level that person should judge.
Overall, my interview was a huge success. I think that the information that she gave me will really put my project over the top! She was the jackpot!