Unfortunately, I never got around to doing an NCAA Nationals post (or a Euros post... *sigh*), but the NCAA world is making it up to me by giving us a ton of post-season news to pore over!
Florida
Rhonda has left Florida, in case you live under a rock and haven't heard about it yet. She's now Senior Vice President of the Women's Program at USAG. There is some speculation that her role is putting her in place to take over for Martha when she eventually decides to retire, and I would really like to see that happen. With all the broken athletes he coached at WOGA, the idea of Valeri taking over makes me cringe. I'm already panicky that he's been given athlete development. The program Rhonda built at Florida definitely shows promise for a future NTC. They have difficult, precise, and aesthetic gymnastics, and they have a well-rounded distribution of talent across all four events. In other words, in case you can't tell, I really want Rhonda to be next in line for Martha's role!
Florida's new head coach will be Jenny Rowland of Auburn. This I'm not as happy about. Sure, she's great, and Florida's in good hands but- I wanted Auburn to break into the national champions pack (and LSU, and Stanford, and a bunch of others but those three for now) and so I'm a bit leery of what that might do to them.
The thing I'll be most interested to see is if there will be a watershed of gymnasts leaving for other programs. So far, the army of future elites looks to be secure, but I'll be keeping my eyes peeled.
Tabitha Yim is my new least favorite person
She's now at U of A, which means we are now enemies. Not much else to say really. Rene's skill on beam will be a big help to ASU's future, as will gymnasts not being injured this season. And they have some good recruits. Grrr, down with U of A.
Elites are responding to my desires
As in, they are going to schools other than Florida and UCLA! Polina Shchennikova is going to Michigan, which honestly kind of surprises me. I don't know, I just don't think of Michigan as a Polina team. I would have picked UCLA or Oregon State for her. But I like Michigan better than both and I like Polina, so I don't mind too much. Or at all. I'm definitely looking forward to her bars and beam with NCAA perfection. And, more excitingly (for me, at least), Alexis Vasquez has committed to Denver! All the good things! The sadness for me here is she's retiring from elite. I personally prefer Alexis to Norah (and Rachel, for those who are Rio-eligible), and I was really looking forward to seeing her this year, especially seeing as Martha seemed to like what she saw from her. I get that Worlds was likely to be out of the picture, but she definitely could have made a PanAms team! But on to the good, DENVER! Denver is one of my favorite teams and I love the progress they're making. Yes, Alexis is going to Denver! Not necessarily a team I would have picked for her either, but that's not what I care about when a gymnast I love is going to a school I love.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Scoring System Idea....
This is just an idea that's been floating around in my mind a bit recently. It's an idea for a 10-point scoring system- BUT, instead of being calculated like the old system, this would be an average between a 10-point execution score and a 10-point ROV score.
The E-score would work much the same as the E-score does now (though I'd still want it to be less rigid). The ROV score would have a 5-point D-score (or I guess it would be R-score) and the remaining five points for originality and virtuosity (with artistry included in there, of course). I can hear the complaints now: "Difficulty is being given a higher advantage over artistry!" But the D-score would be similar where eight A elements would still earn a score, if only a nominal one. A gymnast with a full 5 in difficulty(/risk?) but only 1.2 for originality and virtuosity would score lower than a gymnast with the same execution but a 4 in difficulty but a 3.8 in originality and virtuosity. Hopefully the top gymnasts would be scoring higher then 3.8 in originality and virtuosity, but even that with 4 points of difficulty can beat a full difficulty gymnast who is very poor in originality and virtuosity.
How the risk score would be calculated is a bit interesting to think about. First of all, what to do about CR? Should they be included in the risk score or deducted from the total risk score afterward if not fulfilled? Obviously, they shouldn't be .5 apiece in this system, as that would be half the risk score. .3 apiece would be 1.5 total and leave 3.5 to be earned, and .2 would be 1.0 and leave 4 points to be earned. .2 apiece would seem like the option that is best for requiring high difficulty from the gymnasts, but would it make fulfilling all the CR worth it? That's the trickiest part of it for me. Then the question becomes how to calculate the score. Ultimately, it would be similar in difficulty of elements and combination bonus. It should be hard enough to earn a 5 that the average gymnast can't but attainable enough that the top gymnasts on each event can. Perhaps there can be base scores for routines (all A/B elements, all C elements, half D half C elements, etc.) with bonuses for more difficult elements. Or, there could, of course, just be a variation of the current system. Also, perhaps the risk score should encourage risk more then the current D-score and reward gymnasts who do rare combinations of the same skill difficulty value as other more common combinations (Onodi+Yang Bo vs. front aerial+sheep, Ellie's 5/2 to double vs. 3/2 to 5/2) or just add touches of risk such as Catherine Lyons's balance before her full Y-spin.
The originality score would do just what it says- reward originality. These could be the same instances as mentioned above about different combinations of the same difficulty value as common ones and including balances before spins, etc. This could also encourage doing unique mounts/dismounts on bars and beam. Ultimately, this would just reward those who make their routines stand out and dare to be different. It would give gymnasts a reason to put together routines that are exciting and eye-catching when an easier route to the same difficulty is available in the COP. It would reward gymnasts who don't just have a cavalcade of cross split dance skills, who use non-toe-on Shaposh variations, who use high-low transitions other than Paks and bails, and who generally make a statement with their routines.
Virtuosity is where I believe artistry would be rewarded. The virtuosity score would be about rewarding the icing on the cake: amplitude, oversplit on simple leaps and jumps, exceptional toe point, releve, carriage, flexibility, floatiness (especially on bars), and, yes, artistry. The virtuosity score would reward routines full of confidence and where not even a fingernail seems out of place. This score would encourage gymnasts to go above and beyond in their presentation and to focus on the details- though, ultimately, a routine with huge, obvious errors but great details such as those listed shouldn't be getting a full virtuosity score either. This is the Eythora Thorsdottir score: clean, precise, artistic gymnastics.
So, here's what I'm thinking about how it could break down on each event:
Bars:
R- 5.0
O- 3.0
V- 2.0
-1.0 amplitude
-1.0 general virtuosity
Beam:
R- 5.0
O- 2.0
V- 3.0
-2.0 artistry
-1.0 general virtuosity
Floor:
R- 5.0
O- 1.5/2.0
V- 3.0
-2.5 artistry
- .5/1.0 general virtuosity
The one sticking point then becomes vault. How would scoring for that work? Ultimately, each vault would need a set originality score, and having so much set aside for originality and virtuosity seems a bit excessive. Perhaps originality could be factored into the risk score, and then have (ROV score/2)+(E-score*.75). Then that just leaves the question, what to do about virtuosity? Should that just be left alone in the vault score? Should the risk score just be out of 4/4.5 and then have the rest for virtuosity? That's the one place that would really be confusing and difficult to call. Any ideas?
So, like I said, this is just an idea that I've had for a little while. It's definitely not a finished COP, but I think it could be interesting and might really provide some more reward for the full-package routine. Any thoughts?
The E-score would work much the same as the E-score does now (though I'd still want it to be less rigid). The ROV score would have a 5-point D-score (or I guess it would be R-score) and the remaining five points for originality and virtuosity (with artistry included in there, of course). I can hear the complaints now: "Difficulty is being given a higher advantage over artistry!" But the D-score would be similar where eight A elements would still earn a score, if only a nominal one. A gymnast with a full 5 in difficulty(/risk?) but only 1.2 for originality and virtuosity would score lower than a gymnast with the same execution but a 4 in difficulty but a 3.8 in originality and virtuosity. Hopefully the top gymnasts would be scoring higher then 3.8 in originality and virtuosity, but even that with 4 points of difficulty can beat a full difficulty gymnast who is very poor in originality and virtuosity.
How the risk score would be calculated is a bit interesting to think about. First of all, what to do about CR? Should they be included in the risk score or deducted from the total risk score afterward if not fulfilled? Obviously, they shouldn't be .5 apiece in this system, as that would be half the risk score. .3 apiece would be 1.5 total and leave 3.5 to be earned, and .2 would be 1.0 and leave 4 points to be earned. .2 apiece would seem like the option that is best for requiring high difficulty from the gymnasts, but would it make fulfilling all the CR worth it? That's the trickiest part of it for me. Then the question becomes how to calculate the score. Ultimately, it would be similar in difficulty of elements and combination bonus. It should be hard enough to earn a 5 that the average gymnast can't but attainable enough that the top gymnasts on each event can. Perhaps there can be base scores for routines (all A/B elements, all C elements, half D half C elements, etc.) with bonuses for more difficult elements. Or, there could, of course, just be a variation of the current system. Also, perhaps the risk score should encourage risk more then the current D-score and reward gymnasts who do rare combinations of the same skill difficulty value as other more common combinations (Onodi+Yang Bo vs. front aerial+sheep, Ellie's 5/2 to double vs. 3/2 to 5/2) or just add touches of risk such as Catherine Lyons's balance before her full Y-spin.
The originality score would do just what it says- reward originality. These could be the same instances as mentioned above about different combinations of the same difficulty value as common ones and including balances before spins, etc. This could also encourage doing unique mounts/dismounts on bars and beam. Ultimately, this would just reward those who make their routines stand out and dare to be different. It would give gymnasts a reason to put together routines that are exciting and eye-catching when an easier route to the same difficulty is available in the COP. It would reward gymnasts who don't just have a cavalcade of cross split dance skills, who use non-toe-on Shaposh variations, who use high-low transitions other than Paks and bails, and who generally make a statement with their routines.
Virtuosity is where I believe artistry would be rewarded. The virtuosity score would be about rewarding the icing on the cake: amplitude, oversplit on simple leaps and jumps, exceptional toe point, releve, carriage, flexibility, floatiness (especially on bars), and, yes, artistry. The virtuosity score would reward routines full of confidence and where not even a fingernail seems out of place. This score would encourage gymnasts to go above and beyond in their presentation and to focus on the details- though, ultimately, a routine with huge, obvious errors but great details such as those listed shouldn't be getting a full virtuosity score either. This is the Eythora Thorsdottir score: clean, precise, artistic gymnastics.
So, here's what I'm thinking about how it could break down on each event:
Bars:
R- 5.0
O- 3.0
V- 2.0
-1.0 amplitude
-1.0 general virtuosity
Beam:
R- 5.0
O- 2.0
V- 3.0
-2.0 artistry
-1.0 general virtuosity
Floor:
R- 5.0
O- 1.5/2.0
V- 3.0
-2.5 artistry
- .5/1.0 general virtuosity
The one sticking point then becomes vault. How would scoring for that work? Ultimately, each vault would need a set originality score, and having so much set aside for originality and virtuosity seems a bit excessive. Perhaps originality could be factored into the risk score, and then have (ROV score/2)+(E-score*.75). Then that just leaves the question, what to do about virtuosity? Should that just be left alone in the vault score? Should the risk score just be out of 4/4.5 and then have the rest for virtuosity? That's the one place that would really be confusing and difficult to call. Any ideas?
So, like I said, this is just an idea that I've had for a little while. It's definitely not a finished COP, but I think it could be interesting and might really provide some more reward for the full-package routine. Any thoughts?
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Old Events on YouTube
I've found a great collection of old meets on YouTube I thought I'd share with you guys. There may end up being a part two of this, I've recently been finding a bunch more too! The channels are all great resources, so you should go subscribe.
1966 Worlds EF (Tribute2the80s)
Such a gem! Not only does it have the gymnasts (check out the pre-1968 drama Vera Caz and Natalia Kuchinskaya showdown), it's got COMMENTARY! Such an exciting find! Only a few gymnasts per event and there's a big glitch in one of them, but good quality and it's only about half an hour, so it's great if you don't have too much time.
1972 Olympics EF (dudnik and chocdave)
The first two have all the EF routines, and the second two have CBS coverage of the UB and FX final. Check out the crowd reaction to Olga Korbut's placement! Also, have to love Tamara Lazakovich's floor. I'm sure I found the beam final once, but I can't find it again...
1977 Euros EF (thelegendofNeshka)
All routines, absolutely fabulous! Not the greatest sound quality (TONS of background white noise), but still all routines from the 1977 Euros. Nadia, Nellie Kim, Emilia Eberle, Elena Mukhina, and one of my favorite Soviets who is totally underrated, Maria Filatova. Lots of good East Germans too. And so many Korbut-style skills on bars!
1977 World Cup
This one has at least ten parts, so I'll only post the first one. Filatova and Mukhina on display again, and Shaposhnikova joins them too. All right, I lied a little, this channel isn't as good for videos, but still a great competition here!
1978 Worlds EF (thelegendofNeshka, again)
This one's especially great because it cuts straight to the routines, so you get to watch all the gymnastics without it lasting forever. All the same Soviets, Nadia, Steffi Kraker Vera Cerna, and some great early Americans- Marcia Frederick wins the USA's first Worlds gold and Kathy Johnson has her beautiful balletic floor here.
1979 Euros EF (Fallen Star)
The same crowd again, Mukhina wowing with her bars, Nadia surprising with her medals- but what is really exciting about this one is it has Eberle's acid-trip routine with her music! The only instance of it I've been able to find. Easily the highlight of this one for me.
1966 Worlds EF (Tribute2the80s)
1972 Olympics EF (dudnik and chocdave)
1977 Euros EF (thelegendofNeshka)
1977 World Cup
1978 Worlds EF (thelegendofNeshka, again)
1979 Euros EF (Fallen Star)
Monday, April 6, 2015
Euros Predictions
I've just realized Euros are RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER (I was expecting more buzz on The Gymternet, TCG, etc.), so I'm getting down to making my predictions!
All Around
1. Giulia Steingruber
2. Erika Fasana
3. Maria Kharenkova
Con of Aliya and Larisa missing Euros: No Aliya and Larisa
Pro of Aliya and Larisa missing Euros: This is going to be one crazy final
I do think Giulia will end up with the title- high difficulty vault and floor, respectable bars with good combinations, and improved consistency on beam. I do also think Fasana will leave with a medal- I said it on my Jesolo post and I'm sticking to it! Kharenkova did well at Russian champs, and I'm not as concerned about her imploding as I am everyone else. Others in contention are the British all arounders, Laura Jurca, Diana Bulimar, Marta Pihan-Kulesza (PLEASE), Eythora Thorsdottir, Vanessa Ferrari, Alla Soz, and maybe one of the Germans or one of the French girls. Too exciting! My dream podium would be Marta, Amy Tinkler, and Eythora. For now, anyway- too many good choices!
Vault
Finalists:
Alla Sosnitskaya
Giulia Steingruber
Noel van Klaveren
Ellie Downie
Claudia Fragapane
Teja Belak
Tjasa Kysselef
Noemi Makra
Podium:
1. Alla Sosnitskaya
2. Claudia Fragapane
3. Giulia Steingruber
I'm hoping for Pavs still, but not holding my breath. Unless Giulia has added a DTY recently, I don't think she'll be able to go beyond bronze. Her position there might be in jeopardy too. Teja Belak's been doing well for herself recently. Ellie Downie might also have a chance, her DTY is lovely.
Uneven Bars
Finalists:
Daria Spiridonova
Noemi Makra
Jonna Adlerteg
Ana Filipa Martins
Marta Pihan-Kulesza
Andreea Iridon
Ida Gustaffson
Becky Downie
Podium:
1. Daria Spiridonova
2. Jonna Adlerteg
3. Becky Downie
I know, I know, but Becky's just been having so many troubles with bars this year! British champs always make predictions so annoying because it's always a splat-fest, and you never know whether it will actually carry into competition. I do think Daria will be the champion, she's been on fire on bars this year! I think Jonna will land on the podium; she has such nice bars and has been cracking this year! I feel like I'm missing out on someone obvious in the finalist predictions, and Bulimar and another Russian could also kick someone out.
Beam
Finalists:
Maria Kharenkova
Laura Jurca
Diana Bulimar
Eythora Thorsdottir
Sanne Wevers
Marta Pihan-Kulesza
Claire Martins
Carlotta Ferlito
Podium:
1. Maria Kharenkova
2. Diana Bulimar
3. Eythora Throsdottir
I feel like, with this one, there's Maria at the top and then a bunch who score high 13s-low 14s. Eythora and Sanne HAVE to hit it out of the park!!!! Diana is super solid on beam and really beautiful, so I think she'll be medaling. Eythora's routine is beautiful and her form is perfect and it's so artistic and she doea have a 2.5 dismount and she HAS to get a medal, and I'm restraining myself by only putting her in bronze because I can't get my hopes too high. Same with Sanne off the podium. We all know Maria has the gold in the bag, with such little tough competition she can relax with this one. So many beautiful beam workers at Euros who won't get to shine at Worlds, I'm so glad we get to see them here! If Ellie Downie miraculously breaks her my-scores-look-like-they-came-out-of-the-2004-quad streak and actually hits a routine, she should be in here. My dream podium would be Sanne, Eythora, and Claire.
Floor
Finalists:
Giulia Steingruber
Claudia Fragapane
Erika Fasana
Ksenia Afanasyeva
Alla Sosnitskaya
Diana Bulimar
Amy Tinkler
Vanessa Ferrari
Podium:
1. Ksenia Afanasyeva
2. Erika Fasana
3. Giulia Steingruber
I think this one should be close between Erika, Giulia, Amy, and Claudia for silver and bronze. If Afan goes clean, she should take the gold fairly easily. This should be a good floor final, really close and lots of beautiful work. I think Marta might kick out Vanessa if she's having an off day, which she has displayed this season.
So, how wrong do you think I am? Which final are you most looking forward to? Who is that incredibly obvious bar worker I'm totally missing?
All Around
1. Giulia Steingruber
2. Erika Fasana
3. Maria Kharenkova
Con of Aliya and Larisa missing Euros: No Aliya and Larisa
Pro of Aliya and Larisa missing Euros: This is going to be one crazy final
I do think Giulia will end up with the title- high difficulty vault and floor, respectable bars with good combinations, and improved consistency on beam. I do also think Fasana will leave with a medal- I said it on my Jesolo post and I'm sticking to it! Kharenkova did well at Russian champs, and I'm not as concerned about her imploding as I am everyone else. Others in contention are the British all arounders, Laura Jurca, Diana Bulimar, Marta Pihan-Kulesza (PLEASE), Eythora Thorsdottir, Vanessa Ferrari, Alla Soz, and maybe one of the Germans or one of the French girls. Too exciting! My dream podium would be Marta, Amy Tinkler, and Eythora. For now, anyway- too many good choices!
Vault
Finalists:
Alla Sosnitskaya
Giulia Steingruber
Noel van Klaveren
Ellie Downie
Claudia Fragapane
Teja Belak
Tjasa Kysselef
Noemi Makra
Podium:
1. Alla Sosnitskaya
2. Claudia Fragapane
3. Giulia Steingruber
I'm hoping for Pavs still, but not holding my breath. Unless Giulia has added a DTY recently, I don't think she'll be able to go beyond bronze. Her position there might be in jeopardy too. Teja Belak's been doing well for herself recently. Ellie Downie might also have a chance, her DTY is lovely.
Uneven Bars
Finalists:
Daria Spiridonova
Noemi Makra
Jonna Adlerteg
Ana Filipa Martins
Marta Pihan-Kulesza
Andreea Iridon
Ida Gustaffson
Becky Downie
Podium:
1. Daria Spiridonova
2. Jonna Adlerteg
3. Becky Downie
I know, I know, but Becky's just been having so many troubles with bars this year! British champs always make predictions so annoying because it's always a splat-fest, and you never know whether it will actually carry into competition. I do think Daria will be the champion, she's been on fire on bars this year! I think Jonna will land on the podium; she has such nice bars and has been cracking this year! I feel like I'm missing out on someone obvious in the finalist predictions, and Bulimar and another Russian could also kick someone out.
Beam
Finalists:
Maria Kharenkova
Laura Jurca
Diana Bulimar
Eythora Thorsdottir
Sanne Wevers
Marta Pihan-Kulesza
Claire Martins
Carlotta Ferlito
Podium:
1. Maria Kharenkova
2. Diana Bulimar
3. Eythora Throsdottir
I feel like, with this one, there's Maria at the top and then a bunch who score high 13s-low 14s. Eythora and Sanne HAVE to hit it out of the park!!!! Diana is super solid on beam and really beautiful, so I think she'll be medaling. Eythora's routine is beautiful and her form is perfect and it's so artistic and she doea have a 2.5 dismount and she HAS to get a medal, and I'm restraining myself by only putting her in bronze because I can't get my hopes too high. Same with Sanne off the podium. We all know Maria has the gold in the bag, with such little tough competition she can relax with this one. So many beautiful beam workers at Euros who won't get to shine at Worlds, I'm so glad we get to see them here! If Ellie Downie miraculously breaks her my-scores-look-like-they-came-out-of-the-2004-quad streak and actually hits a routine, she should be in here. My dream podium would be Sanne, Eythora, and Claire.
Floor
Finalists:
Giulia Steingruber
Claudia Fragapane
Erika Fasana
Ksenia Afanasyeva
Alla Sosnitskaya
Diana Bulimar
Amy Tinkler
Vanessa Ferrari
Podium:
1. Ksenia Afanasyeva
2. Erika Fasana
3. Giulia Steingruber
I think this one should be close between Erika, Giulia, Amy, and Claudia for silver and bronze. If Afan goes clean, she should take the gold fairly easily. This should be a good floor final, really close and lots of beautiful work. I think Marta might kick out Vanessa if she's having an off day, which she has displayed this season.
So, how wrong do you think I am? Which final are you most looking forward to? Who is that incredibly obvious bar worker I'm totally missing?
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Routine of the Week
This routine is by Michelle Goodwin at the 1982 World Cup. She was a very prominent gymnast in the American gymnastics scene in the early 80s, but didn't make the Los Angeles Olympic team. I tend not to like routines on the close-set bars after about 1980 because I absolutely HATE giants on them, but this routine has nary a giant in sight! The mount is breathtaking! I also love the hecht half release she does straight away. The transition series from 0:14 is so quick, and all the changes are really exciting. She finishes with a great stuck dismount over the low bar, which just always seems so daring. This is what I love to see on the close bars- lots of movement from high to low, unique skills, and perfect flow.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
What the heck was up with that floor?
Right, so I'm not even going to pretend I'm intending this post to be anything other than a USA debrief, so...
Not US
And now to the meat of the matter, the US (the official team only pretty much because we saw almost nothing of Desch, Shild, and Skaggs):
The Great Simone Attacks Again!: Once again, OVER 62!!! AND 15 ON EVERY EVENT!!! No 16s this time, but two 15.950s!! She tied her vault score on floor! She qualified first into every event final! She won by over TWO-AND-A-HALF points! This competition was not at home!!! Her beam was absolutely perfect except for one tiny wobble! She almost stuck that Amanar! My response to her DLO 1/1 was "Oh, come on!" because HOW DO YOU FINISH A DLO 1/1 15 FEET OUT FROM THE CORNER?! THIS is why Simone always gets called in for extra drug testing!
I've figured out why Martha always sends a team to Jesolo: I can't think of any other competition which allows federations to totally disregard the format so much. Six-person teams! But, hey, if you want to send more, go ahead, they can compete as individuals. 6-5-4 format! But sure, put up all your gymnasts in the all around, why not? Martha basically gets to do whatever the heck she wants at Jesolo, which is precisely how she likes it.
What the heck was up with that floor?: Hey, I guess Kyla decided, If I'm going to fail, I'm going to fail EPICLY. Not just a casual fall for her, no sir, she needs to fly off of the floor and almost take out the photographer in the process. Followed up by a giant bound backwards on a double pike and a caught foot in her leap series. Seriously, who possessed Kyla before the fourth rotation, because that was NOT the Kyla Ross any of us knows. Ugh, I felt that one in my soul. A bad routine for Kyla is a bad competition for me. And the curse of strange mistakes that come out of nowhere and make no sense followed Maggie Nichols as she fell setting leap. Apparently she rolled her ankle, so that's actually pretty serious. Even Simone was not immune to the floor curse as her hand slipped on her final pose and she had to finish her routine sitting instead. At least her score wasn't drastically lower as a result. Seriously, that ended up being one of the strangest floor rotations I've ever watched.
Bailie's senior debut: *Sigh* Not as awesome as we all were expecting this time last year. Not even a single event final for her, though she did come close. Stupid injury! But, for a mediocre meet, what a meet! Easily got the silver, her lowest score was 14.400, very strong routine on her "weak" event, overall clean and precise gymnastics, just beautiful work. Her bars especially stood out to me, so clean and such an incredible improvement from last year! The Ricna+Pak is splendid! Just a bit of wonkiness on her Stalder full, but overall, it left a big impression on me. Can this meet finally push KZB to ditch the BHS+BHS+layout? It totally screwed up her beam! I'm campaigning for a BHS+LOSO+LOSO, but there are plenty of options. She also really needs to ditch her wolf turns. She's not Simone or Sarah Finnegan, those are not smooth and have form issues. Plus they messed up my favorite part of her floor!
They're BAAAACK: They being Aly and Gabby, of course. Gabby's bars were a bit disappointing (the backswing from the Chow- or was it a Moloney?- cam NO WHERE near horizontal) considering, and I'm not throwing my support behind the composition, and Aly still has wonky vault form and decent-at-best bars, but oh so strong! There were bumps in the road, but those were early-in-the-season bumps in the road, not coming-back-after-two-years bumps in the road. ALY DID THE SACRED FIRST PASS!!!! And killed floor in general, hi 15.200. I was pretty impressed with her bars. They were, well, Brestyn bars, but better Brestyn bars, methinks. Love the Moloney+Tkatchev, even though the Maloney has form breaks. I really liked the Kalinka floor, she's really found her niche in folk music. We NEED to talk about Gabby on beam! She was like a different athlete. She totally went out and just killed it without holding back. Not the easily flustered inconsistent gymnast from 2012. And that perfect standing full was LIFE-GIVING! Both had good starting-point competitions. I'd love to say they shut the haters up, and they rightfully should have, but we all know the fact they didn't end 1-2 means the haters will still be running at the mouth. Alas.
Dark horses?: Like I said, we saw almost NOTHING of Skaggs and Schild (and Desch, but she's pretty much put herself out of "dark horse" territory), but they both have that potential. I think that even though she had the bigger issues, Schild has the bigger chance of shaking up the national team. She had a good bars score and has a ton of power, so I think me just might see big things from her this summer.
Alyssa's beam: Alyssa did well for herself in this competition, but her one real standout was BEAM! She was such a diva up there, absolutely nailed it. I'm thinking she wants to connect the Onodi to the aerial, which would be divine. And I loved the Arabian!
New skills/combos: Like I said earlier, I love the Ricna+Pak for Bailie! It was so beautiful! And not a fan of the wolf turns, especially on floor. Gabby's Memmel wasn't fully rotated, but I'm absolutely down with the addition! Her inbar full was also lovely. I did get a bit bored with the Stalder skills on the low bar, and I don't really see the room for upgrading (it's only 6.3, right?) Kyla's opening bars combo was killer, though I would prefer it didn't open with the toe-on. It's just there until she gets the Bhardwaj down, that's what I'm telling myself! I still like my composition I came up with earlier but whatever. I'm definitely a fan of the double front dismount! I was getting concerns with the DLO last year, and she had a nice lack of cowboying. Definitely think it was a smart move.
New floor routines: Well, obviously Aly and Gabby both have new routines. Like I said earlier, love the Kalinka for Aly! I'm not sold on Gabby's new routine, though. The music-mashing seems kind of random as does the choreography. She was working it, though. We didn't get the best view of Kyla's routine today, but I was impressed with what I saw. It seemed to have a lot of variety and was really a mature composition. I do mourn the loss of the whip-whip, though! And still four passes, bah. I also am on board with Maggie's. Some of the moments of choreography I found a bit awkward, but in general she owns the floor and just looks like she's having SO. MUCH. FUN! I hope she's back for the domestic season, I really want to see this again without the curse of strange mistakes that come out of nowhere and make no sense.
Obscenely early and unnecessary Worlds talk: Looking at just the Jesolo scores, the three highest scores on every event were earned by just five gymnasts (or six, if we're going to count Gabby with her tie on beam), Simone, Kyla, Alyssa, Bailie, and Aly, so a potential team right there. The score they would have earned would have been over 3.5 higher than the US's team score last year. Alyssa got the third-highest vault score, which was kind of surprising to me. Just super strong and unbelievable depth.
Not US
- I love Marine Brevet. That is all.
- Once again, Fasana's floor is life-giving. I'm calling it, she'll be on the all-around podium at Euros. You heard it here first.
- NO not a fall on beam!! But Ellie's floor connections are still glorious.
- And NO Enus not that crash on bars!! *Sigh* I was so excited for her to turn senior last year...
- It seems to be a trend to add jumps into the leap series now. What's the point, don't they specifically not count? Not that I'm complaining; I LOVE IT!
- Double Arabian bars dismounts!!! YAS!
And now to the meat of the matter, the US (the official team only pretty much because we saw almost nothing of Desch, Shild, and Skaggs):
The Great Simone Attacks Again!: Once again, OVER 62!!! AND 15 ON EVERY EVENT!!! No 16s this time, but two 15.950s!! She tied her vault score on floor! She qualified first into every event final! She won by over TWO-AND-A-HALF points! This competition was not at home!!! Her beam was absolutely perfect except for one tiny wobble! She almost stuck that Amanar! My response to her DLO 1/1 was "Oh, come on!" because HOW DO YOU FINISH A DLO 1/1 15 FEET OUT FROM THE CORNER?! THIS is why Simone always gets called in for extra drug testing!
I've figured out why Martha always sends a team to Jesolo: I can't think of any other competition which allows federations to totally disregard the format so much. Six-person teams! But, hey, if you want to send more, go ahead, they can compete as individuals. 6-5-4 format! But sure, put up all your gymnasts in the all around, why not? Martha basically gets to do whatever the heck she wants at Jesolo, which is precisely how she likes it.
What the heck was up with that floor?: Hey, I guess Kyla decided, If I'm going to fail, I'm going to fail EPICLY. Not just a casual fall for her, no sir, she needs to fly off of the floor and almost take out the photographer in the process. Followed up by a giant bound backwards on a double pike and a caught foot in her leap series. Seriously, who possessed Kyla before the fourth rotation, because that was NOT the Kyla Ross any of us knows. Ugh, I felt that one in my soul. A bad routine for Kyla is a bad competition for me. And the curse of strange mistakes that come out of nowhere and make no sense followed Maggie Nichols as she fell setting leap. Apparently she rolled her ankle, so that's actually pretty serious. Even Simone was not immune to the floor curse as her hand slipped on her final pose and she had to finish her routine sitting instead. At least her score wasn't drastically lower as a result. Seriously, that ended up being one of the strangest floor rotations I've ever watched.
Bailie's senior debut: *Sigh* Not as awesome as we all were expecting this time last year. Not even a single event final for her, though she did come close. Stupid injury! But, for a mediocre meet, what a meet! Easily got the silver, her lowest score was 14.400, very strong routine on her "weak" event, overall clean and precise gymnastics, just beautiful work. Her bars especially stood out to me, so clean and such an incredible improvement from last year! The Ricna+Pak is splendid! Just a bit of wonkiness on her Stalder full, but overall, it left a big impression on me. Can this meet finally push KZB to ditch the BHS+BHS+layout? It totally screwed up her beam! I'm campaigning for a BHS+LOSO+LOSO, but there are plenty of options. She also really needs to ditch her wolf turns. She's not Simone or Sarah Finnegan, those are not smooth and have form issues. Plus they messed up my favorite part of her floor!
They're BAAAACK: They being Aly and Gabby, of course. Gabby's bars were a bit disappointing (the backswing from the Chow- or was it a Moloney?- cam NO WHERE near horizontal) considering, and I'm not throwing my support behind the composition, and Aly still has wonky vault form and decent-at-best bars, but oh so strong! There were bumps in the road, but those were early-in-the-season bumps in the road, not coming-back-after-two-years bumps in the road. ALY DID THE SACRED FIRST PASS!!!! And killed floor in general, hi 15.200. I was pretty impressed with her bars. They were, well, Brestyn bars, but better Brestyn bars, methinks. Love the Moloney+Tkatchev, even though the Maloney has form breaks. I really liked the Kalinka floor, she's really found her niche in folk music. We NEED to talk about Gabby on beam! She was like a different athlete. She totally went out and just killed it without holding back. Not the easily flustered inconsistent gymnast from 2012. And that perfect standing full was LIFE-GIVING! Both had good starting-point competitions. I'd love to say they shut the haters up, and they rightfully should have, but we all know the fact they didn't end 1-2 means the haters will still be running at the mouth. Alas.
Dark horses?: Like I said, we saw almost NOTHING of Skaggs and Schild (and Desch, but she's pretty much put herself out of "dark horse" territory), but they both have that potential. I think that even though she had the bigger issues, Schild has the bigger chance of shaking up the national team. She had a good bars score and has a ton of power, so I think me just might see big things from her this summer.
Alyssa's beam: Alyssa did well for herself in this competition, but her one real standout was BEAM! She was such a diva up there, absolutely nailed it. I'm thinking she wants to connect the Onodi to the aerial, which would be divine. And I loved the Arabian!
New skills/combos: Like I said earlier, I love the Ricna+Pak for Bailie! It was so beautiful! And not a fan of the wolf turns, especially on floor. Gabby's Memmel wasn't fully rotated, but I'm absolutely down with the addition! Her inbar full was also lovely. I did get a bit bored with the Stalder skills on the low bar, and I don't really see the room for upgrading (it's only 6.3, right?) Kyla's opening bars combo was killer, though I would prefer it didn't open with the toe-on. It's just there until she gets the Bhardwaj down, that's what I'm telling myself! I still like my composition I came up with earlier but whatever. I'm definitely a fan of the double front dismount! I was getting concerns with the DLO last year, and she had a nice lack of cowboying. Definitely think it was a smart move.
New floor routines: Well, obviously Aly and Gabby both have new routines. Like I said earlier, love the Kalinka for Aly! I'm not sold on Gabby's new routine, though. The music-mashing seems kind of random as does the choreography. She was working it, though. We didn't get the best view of Kyla's routine today, but I was impressed with what I saw. It seemed to have a lot of variety and was really a mature composition. I do mourn the loss of the whip-whip, though! And still four passes, bah. I also am on board with Maggie's. Some of the moments of choreography I found a bit awkward, but in general she owns the floor and just looks like she's having SO. MUCH. FUN! I hope she's back for the domestic season, I really want to see this again without the curse of strange mistakes that come out of nowhere and make no sense.
Obscenely early and unnecessary Worlds talk: Looking at just the Jesolo scores, the three highest scores on every event were earned by just five gymnasts (or six, if we're going to count Gabby with her tie on beam), Simone, Kyla, Alyssa, Bailie, and Aly, so a potential team right there. The score they would have earned would have been over 3.5 higher than the US's team score last year. Alyssa got the third-highest vault score, which was kind of surprising to me. Just super strong and unbelievable depth.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Simone Attack, Russian Championships, and Team Announcements
I've been gone for a week and a half, so I missed the American Cup (or Simone Attack, as I am rechristening it) and have only just been able to catch up with it and the videos from Russian Championships.
Simone Attack
I couldn't help but read the #ATTAC hashtag as "attack," and so, with Simone dominating (62.299!?!), I shall now officially be calling the 2015 American Cup "Simone Attack".
Simone is Not Human Yeah, we all already knew that and it was made official at Classics last year, but with a 62.299 and a SIXTEEN on floor, it needs reiterating. Plus, I was really impressed at Simone Attack by how good her bars are her technique on them is despite not being natural swinger.
JLo Breaking My Heart And everyone's. Oh, why did she fall on that layout? Her beam was so good otherwise!! And those errors on floor! Speaking of floor, I think I like last year's better, but a lovely routine still.
Fasana Is Awesome I love that floor. I really do. It's just so different and... awesome. No other word for it, really. But yeah, such a great achievement for her to come in third and beat Ferrari! She really is becoming a favorite of mine.
Fragapane's New Floor Yeah, not her best outing, she had a bad day, whatever, it happens. What we REALLY need to talk about is that floor! Very cutting-edge, and I think it actually has a greater quantity of choreography than last year's had. I think I might end up liking it better than her old one, but I'm going to hold off decision until she's competing on a day where she's got a bigger goal than "don't die". Oh, and that leotard! Seriously can't figure out what's going on there. Needed about half the design it had to be removed.
The Boys YESSS! Oleg won!!! We need to appreciate how Tim Daggett was fangirling over him too. I want Supreme Overlord Kohei to win every AA title until he retires unless the one to dethrone him is Oleg. Then I'm down.
Russian Championships
Afan's Floor Yes, no more Christina Aguilera howling for the music! Dramatic improvement over the one from DTB/Voronin for that reason alone. *Sigh* But the inevitable Rod-era choreography. It's nice, but so, so underwhelming! CONDITION YOUR ATHLETES!!!
Vika's Jager Can she just go ahead and do a pike now? Has it ever actually been laid out? And she definitely shouldn't be getting credit for it anymore.
Maria Winning AA Suffice it to say I didn't expect that to happen... Seda needs to up her game. The question is how she will fare at Euros with only an FTY. And what her beam scores will look like... Not too steady at Championships.
Daria is the New Russian Bars Queen At least, she's the front runner for now. We can't say with certainty until Aliya is back with a coach. But she's definitely outdone Vika. Monster routines, and she kills them! So pretty!
Russian Euros Team
So, Kharenkova, Afan, and Daria are going, with the last spot between Soz, Seda, Vika, and Bee Farm. Soz is the provisional fourth, and I really think she's the most logical. I don't think Bee Farm makes any sense to bring. Soz beat her on vault by a big margin and has potential in the AA and on floor as opposed to Bee Farm who came in third on bars, but really isn't good enough to justify being brought for that event. Seda unfortunately didn't show much at Championships to make a case for herself, but taking her could be a good investment for Worlds. Her difficulty and consistency both need improvement, though. Vika also doesn't have the difficulty or the consistency to really justify being brought as a specialist. She won't be getting 15.000 for a routine like that internationally. to me, Soz is really the only logical choice.
US Jesolo Team
This is actually looking to be an incredibly interesting team. First of all, of course we have Balie's senior debut. What a debut! However, that's the least of my cares on this team. Aly and Gabby are making their comebacks! I can't wait to see what these two have up their sleeves! What we've seen in their USAG videos has been very interesting, and I really want to see how they fare in competition again. Gabby's potential as an all arounder for the US will be especially of note. And then there's the inclusion of Emily Schild. We know almost nothing about her, having been unable to compete domestically the last two years, but there must have been something Martha saw. I'm very intrigued by what we'll see from her.
Simone Attack
I couldn't help but read the #ATTAC hashtag as "attack," and so, with Simone dominating (62.299!?!), I shall now officially be calling the 2015 American Cup "Simone Attack".
Simone is Not Human Yeah, we all already knew that and it was made official at Classics last year, but with a 62.299 and a SIXTEEN on floor, it needs reiterating. Plus, I was really impressed at Simone Attack by how good her bars are her technique on them is despite not being natural swinger.
JLo Breaking My Heart And everyone's. Oh, why did she fall on that layout? Her beam was so good otherwise!! And those errors on floor! Speaking of floor, I think I like last year's better, but a lovely routine still.
Fasana Is Awesome I love that floor. I really do. It's just so different and... awesome. No other word for it, really. But yeah, such a great achievement for her to come in third and beat Ferrari! She really is becoming a favorite of mine.
Fragapane's New Floor Yeah, not her best outing, she had a bad day, whatever, it happens. What we REALLY need to talk about is that floor! Very cutting-edge, and I think it actually has a greater quantity of choreography than last year's had. I think I might end up liking it better than her old one, but I'm going to hold off decision until she's competing on a day where she's got a bigger goal than "don't die". Oh, and that leotard! Seriously can't figure out what's going on there. Needed about half the design it had to be removed.
The Boys YESSS! Oleg won!!! We need to appreciate how Tim Daggett was fangirling over him too. I want Supreme Overlord Kohei to win every AA title until he retires unless the one to dethrone him is Oleg. Then I'm down.
Russian Championships
Afan's Floor Yes, no more Christina Aguilera howling for the music! Dramatic improvement over the one from DTB/Voronin for that reason alone. *Sigh* But the inevitable Rod-era choreography. It's nice, but so, so underwhelming! CONDITION YOUR ATHLETES!!!
Vika's Jager Can she just go ahead and do a pike now? Has it ever actually been laid out? And she definitely shouldn't be getting credit for it anymore.
Maria Winning AA Suffice it to say I didn't expect that to happen... Seda needs to up her game. The question is how she will fare at Euros with only an FTY. And what her beam scores will look like... Not too steady at Championships.
Daria is the New Russian Bars Queen At least, she's the front runner for now. We can't say with certainty until Aliya is back with a coach. But she's definitely outdone Vika. Monster routines, and she kills them! So pretty!
Russian Euros Team
So, Kharenkova, Afan, and Daria are going, with the last spot between Soz, Seda, Vika, and Bee Farm. Soz is the provisional fourth, and I really think she's the most logical. I don't think Bee Farm makes any sense to bring. Soz beat her on vault by a big margin and has potential in the AA and on floor as opposed to Bee Farm who came in third on bars, but really isn't good enough to justify being brought for that event. Seda unfortunately didn't show much at Championships to make a case for herself, but taking her could be a good investment for Worlds. Her difficulty and consistency both need improvement, though. Vika also doesn't have the difficulty or the consistency to really justify being brought as a specialist. She won't be getting 15.000 for a routine like that internationally. to me, Soz is really the only logical choice.
US Jesolo Team
This is actually looking to be an incredibly interesting team. First of all, of course we have Balie's senior debut. What a debut! However, that's the least of my cares on this team. Aly and Gabby are making their comebacks! I can't wait to see what these two have up their sleeves! What we've seen in their USAG videos has been very interesting, and I really want to see how they fare in competition again. Gabby's potential as an all arounder for the US will be especially of note. And then there's the inclusion of Emily Schild. We know almost nothing about her, having been unable to compete domestically the last two years, but there must have been something Martha saw. I'm very intrigued by what we'll see from her.
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