Dyaaaaw, best fwends.Wait a minute.
Wait a gosh darn cotton-pickin' uniform-infraction-deductin' minute.
Are you... are you joking me? Are those velour tracksuits on the MLC girls? What is this, a J-Lo fashion show!? If there was one abomination I never thought would penetrate the Australian gymnastics scene, besides that 'Crazy Frog' song being used as floor music (which I did see once, tragically) it was frickin' tactile tracksuits straight outta Plano, Texas! *sigh*
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!
Buckets of thanks to the MLC gym mum who forwarded me their latest newsletter featuring results and information from the team's sojourn in Canda. Here are some little nuggets about each girl that might interest you...
Provincial 5 Novice Division:
Kristina Ostojic, Year 7 - 11th vault, 3rd bars, 4th beam, 3rd all-around. Some great results for this little one. This was Kristina's first ever optional competition, and her first competition since the Victorian championships in 2008.
Isobel Looker, Year 8 - Isobel only competed floor (7th) and beam (10th) and did so battling injury. She is also working on new skills to add into her repertoire.
Optional National A Division:
Alex Byers-Armstrong, Year 9 - Placed 1st(!!!) on vault with a layout Yurchenko, and 4th on floor with a double pike and double twist.
Georgia McIntosh, Year 10 - Placed 8th all-around and 10th on both vault and floor. Georgia had minimal training for the event as she had a sore hand prior to leaving Australia and had to water down some skills in the competition.
Clare O'Donnell, Year 8 - 12th floor and bars, 15th all-around. Competed a double-pike for the first time and two new beam skills. Hopes to compete a new vault in the coming weeks.
Gymnix International Cup:
Emily Little, WA - Em was dealing with new skills in the competition, and reportedly suffered a one-day flight delay and minimal training before the competition.
Chloe Turko, Year 11 - 11th all-around, 12 floor and 13th bars. She competed 2 'D' skills successfully on floor for the first time and managed a new release on bars.
Georgia Wheeler, Year 9 - This was Georgia's first ever international junior comp so she should be proud of placing 3rd on vault and in the top 20 all-around. She competed a double front and double pike on floor for the first time and has beam upgrades to come.
Amelia McGrath, Year 9 - Like Georgia, her first ever international junior comp. Had a 5.0 difficulty score on floor, including a double tuck mount and a double pike dismount. She tied for 3rd on the event in qualification and went on to finish 4th. Apparently the competition was 5 hours long(!) so to stick it out for that long and make a good routine is a great achievement. She also added a change leg ring to her beam routine and a Stalder on bars.
The girls will now head to LA for the Gliders Invitational which takes place on Saturday, USA time.
Good luck to the girls in the green and the black!
28 comments:
That is one gorgeous switch ring...
The MLC girls have had velour tracksuits for a while now and trust me i have seen once much worse than those - they actually look quite smart - even though i don't really like velour myself
Tracksuits look far better than the drab Australian tracksuit. This is evident in the photograph. Also, MLC produces gymnasts with lovely technique and lets hope they produce and increase their difficulty. I think their quality is far better than other programs. Well done MLC!
"Crazy Frog" ???
Is that like the chicken dance?
Waverley also have velour tracksuits for their elites.
Looks good on that body shape but I always feel for the coaches.
Velour is NOT forgiving!
Nice Ring leap....is That Georgia?
According to GA's photo captions, the leaper is Chloe Turko.
I think my primary issue with the trackies is that they don't seem to provide the comfort and cushioning normal tracksuits provide. I mean... any time I've worn a velour or velvet jacket I have found it stiflingly hot and it catches on things. It's not helpful. To me, it seems they've picked fashion over function. It's like they're a glittery calisthenics team, not a professional sports team (please, calisthenics fans, don't send me letters). I HATE the ones that crop up in NCAA and American invitationals.
Plenty of other athletes wear the usual 'parachute' material; it insulates well and cushions your appendages. I don't know why gymnastics is suddenly moving away from that. I find the velour trackies too thin-looking and 'clingy' for the body.
Hey, it's just me. If the gymnasts find them easier to work in, that's great. Good on 'em, stick with what works. But I'm NEVER going to be a fan of them as sports attire.
Hee! I actually think these velour trackies look quite nice. They're not too small or too tight on the girls, and the colour and design is stylish. They look good.
If I wore a velour tracky, it would be a trashy abomination. But on these MLC gymnasts? Very nice indeed. I think it all comes down to body shape and appropriate sizing for these unforgiving fabrics. :-)
Wolfie.
Mez i agree with you on the tracksuits
they dont look to good, although they can pass it of because being elites the're tiny :)
BTW does anyone know of any other photo's i could find of the event especially of the Optional National A Division girls
MEZ!
The Gymnastics Australia website has been updated telling everybody to watch Biggest Loser this Tuesday but they are not allowed to say why!
Also i just checked out the new channel 10 website for the HD sports channel and of course it is mostlt geared towards men - we should all start emailing them requesting they show the Australian Championships - after all if they can show sports from the US they should at least support Australian sports once a freakin year
The ring leap is actually Amelia
Anyone else find it creepy that anonymous mums are visiting a blog like this. They are usually non-achievers living vicariously through the successes of their children. Successes that only exist if publicly aired. Creepy.
Not an anonymous mum and not a non-achiever, just an interested party who is passionate about gym. Otherwise that would be creepy
Gym mums, anonymous or not, are still gym fans, why do people insist on such cruel comments. no matter how dedicated an athlete there is no success without support. i know many gym mums who are successful, well educated and talented women in their own right who are just there to support their daughters. Elite gymnasts train close to 30 hours a week and family lives are dominated by the dedication of the sport - why is it necessary to critisice their mothers?
I think gyms mums should probably be encouraged to take an interest in gymnastics - after all, the girls need the support and it can't hurt for mums to be informed about something that takes up such a large part of their daughters' lives, even if for nothing more than to understand the rigours of training and the emotional and physical needs of elite athletes.
Who says gym mums can't be fans of the sport as well?
Obviously there will be certain gym mums who are a little nutty but overall you're being pretty unfair making those negative generalisations in your comments.
I love how anonymous people criticize others for their anonimity. I wish there was more input from gym mums, gym dads, gym brothers and sisters, gym cats for gawds sake. Just good positive input. And Mez ??? watch it with the crazy frog comments!!
Ribbit
I can assure you us gym mums are very supportive of our girls and of the sport and we are not living our lives through our girls. At last years Victorian Championships for International Levels, the elite parents all supplied morning, afternoon tea and lunch for the judges at our own cost and effort, the Victorian HPC have a very active committee made up of mums who work really hard to promote the sport so that all elite girls get the recognition they deserve and the Waverley mums of international levels help run their 1-3 competitions and you always see the MLC elite girls' mums in the canteen no matter what the elevel of competition. we all work hard to promote the sport because our girls love the sport and we want to see the sport given its recognition but please don't make it sound like this is all we have in our lives. I am sure there are other gym mums who were quite offended by this comment.
Really. If your daughter were training in gymnastics thirty hours a week, seeing as this blog is one of the only decent sources of information about Australian gymnastics, wouldn't you read this blog?
I fail to see how reading a blog can be considered creepy just because one happens to be a mother.
Seriously, BitchyAnon at 9:29, get the fudge off my space. YOU'RE the one that wants attention and the last thing I wanted was to give it to you.
But I will not tolerate flaming and unsubstantiated bullshit like yours.
The gym mums I have corresponded with are very informative and caring about their daughters but not in a pressuring way. The ones I met in person are vivacious and consistently encouraging of their own gymnast, as well as her teammates. You don't know what you're on about. Clearly your perceptions of gym families and the way they operate are steeped in the same mindframes as producers of "It's Not My Dream, Mom, It's Your Dream! *door slam*" midday telemovies.
Me thinks thou doth protest too much. Struck a nerve? If you don't agree with concerns about gym mums then be calm and secure in that knowledge.
As for bitchiness, seems to be plenty of it on this site aimed at young girls from what I have read.
I have every right to defend the parties that support and contribute to this site and who encourage its presence.
To my knowledge, gymnasts have not been labelled "creepy" or "non-achievers" here, nor have their contributions here. People of late have been commenting as constructively as they can on the WAG program but not directly on the behaviour of the girls or their parents.
But to say gym mums are "usually" living vicariously through their children is ridiculous and downright insulting.
Mums like Allana Slater's put their kids in gym to keep them healthy, not because they're striving for trophies in the cabinet. I was a premmie baby myself and it helped with the development of my motor skills as I grew. I also made great friends for life. I in no way felt pressured to continue in the sport. I did it because I enjoyed it and not because someone was making me.
Honestly, are you the idiot who flamed my old youtube account? Get a life.
To anon at 10.52........
Thanks for the grub, was delicious!
Will there be a repeat in 2009?
"It's Not My Dream, Mom, It's Your Dream! *door slam*" midday telemovies.
Don't go knocking these Mez - I love daytime gym movies!!!
Thanks Shelley. Vics are all together this year and at the SHNC so we probably won' be asked.
Surely it doesn't matter who comes to this wonderful blog (or to the Aussie board) and contributes to the discussions and debates. People's backgrounds are irrelevant, right? Being a gym mum doesn't give people any special privileges OR any reason to be silent. All of us - from gym parents to mere observers - have a right to have our say. I for one am happy to see gym mothers at these sites.
Wolfie.
If anything, gym mums have been the ones primarily volunteering insight from the training centres and competitions, after the gymnasts themselves.
And after fans, they're the ones grateful to see the girls getting some coverage.
So they're more than welcome here!
PS- Anon at 2:11? Don't worry, I always secretly enjoyed 'Perfect Body' for the gymnastics on show first and the laughably bad acting second!
Hey Mez, I've just created a Wolfie account to reduce the number of anonymous posters here.
Wolfie.
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