A score traditionally associated with gymnastic excellence — the perfect 10 — has been replaced with a new scoring system that is drawing mixed reactions at this week's Pacific Alliance Gymnastics Championships in Honolulu.

"When you think of a perfect 10, you automatically think gymnastics — it's Nadia Comaneci," said Ron Galimore, a 1980 U.S. Olympian, who currently works for USA Gymnastics. "It will be interesting to see what the crowd reaction will be."

The new scoring system — designed in part to reduce judging errors that hurt the 2004 Athens Olympics — will take some getting used to from spectators accustomed to the traditional 9.8s, 9.9s and 10s in artistic gymnastics.

Fans will now see higher scores in competitions.

"I think it's going to be a little more exciting, but a little more confusing," U.S. gymnast Nastia Liukin said.

The Pacific Alliance Gymnastics Championships is one of the first international events to use the new rules poised for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The three-day Honolulu event begins today and is considered one of the world's premier international gymnastic competitions, drawing top athletes from Pacific Rim countries.

The new scoring system combines a "difficulty score" with an "execution score." Generally, a score in the range of 14 to 15 is good, with 16 or higher considered great. There is no upper limit, and therefore no perfect score.

"It's different when you see 15 instead of 9.5," U.S. gymnast Jana Bieger added. "You have to think a little bit."

For example, U.S. gymnast Carly Patterson's final balance beam routine that scored 9.725 at the 2004 Athens Olympics would translate to 15.7 under the new rules.

It remains to be seen how the scoring system affects U.S. gymnasts, many of whom have trained all their careers under the old rules.

"You take it in stride," U.S. gymnast Brett McClure said. "It's kind of complicated, but for some athletes, it's going to be good for them."

The system favors athletes who perform difficult and clean routines, and gives harsher penalties for those who make mistakes.

"The common mistakes are going to kill you more than they did before," USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny said. "So athletes are very focused on hitting good routines."

In addition to gymnasts, judges are also learning the new scoring system that has computations galore.

"It's a tough time to be a judge," Galimore said. "They have a lot of work to do."

Gymnastics has undergone minor scoring changes in the past, but never this big, Galimore said.

"It was an effort by our international federation to try and separate the top gymnasts in the world," he said. "There were things that happened at the Olympic Games in Athens that many don't feel were a good reflection on the sport."

In the 2004 Olympics, Alexei Nemov's high bar score was changed by judges after spectators booed. The booing delayed U.S. gymnast Paul Hamm's high bar routine for several minutes. Hamm eventually won silver. Also, Hamm's all-around gold medal was disputed in a scoring flap with South Korea's bronze-medalist Yang Tae-Young. Officials have since clarified the inquiry process.

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com.