Dismounts in gymnastics: Should scoring be reevaluated?

Eleven high school and college gymnasts who sustained 12 major knee injuries were surveyed. Seven were injured as the result of dismounts from the beam of the uneven bar. Five of the seven used a twist in the maneuver. Present dismounts scoring constitutes a significant amount of the total score of a gymnastic routine. We question the need to reevaluate gymnastic scoring to encourage less difficult dismounts in an attempt to reduce the number of significant knee injuries.