Vics Day 4

I have been spending ten to twelve hours each day at the venue so please excuse me for any errors or ramblings. Please also excuse the brevity, I need my bed and I need it NOW. I was there at 6am today, before the outside lights were on or the doors were open and was home just after 7pm.

I spent most of the morning typing up results round-ups and media releases of the previous day's sessions, and then compiling short biographical notes on various competitors for the announcer to read out. And then it was back to mad scribbling of notes during the actual competition. Go me. *clap clap*

Everybody boo and hiss at the family that sat next to me and INSISTED on leaving their seats fifty times to go and get food or burp the children or speak to the girl they were cheering on (before her rotations were finished I might add) and who constantly made me shift in my seat to make room. I ended up moving. And then moving again after taking a phone call. I never sat in the same seat twice!


I saw Amber Fulljames sitting in the stands, with Amaya and Tianye, cheering on her Queensland IDP counterparts. As she got up to leave (senior warmup would be startng eventually) I approached her and Amaya shyly and said, "Um, hi, sorry, um, I'm a big fan of your gymnastics. I'm one of many, actually. And... we're really excited you're here and I hope you have a great competition today, good luck!" and they said thankyou. I wanted to bundle them up in my pocket and take them home as cute charms. They're great.

Unfortunately Amaya had what must have been the crash of the day, if not the competition. Early into the general warmup, she slipped on the vault runway and plummeted onto the beatboard, smacking her face. She didn't get up for a little bit. To her credit she returned for the competition sporting a big red bruise near her eye. She didn't do so great on beam, an early fall rattled her but she did really well on floor to make up for it (stuck double pike, double twist, lovely leaps).

Amber again sat down her double arabian and went OOB on her double pike on floor but her cause was helped by a steady beam routine that earned her a massive hug from G-Bo. She also caught a lovely straddle jaeger on bars and had a near-stick on the dismount.

Despite showing herself to be a cool, calm, quiet operator, Shona showed some uncharacteristic mistakes today. She had a big flappy-arm wobble on beam, sat down her 2.5 twist punch front and suddenly lurched forward on her double front bars dismount going into a roll. It was an otherwise good round for her (see below).


Alexandra Eade, poor dear. Had three false runs at vault. Not to be outdone, Amie Martin of Grips experienced music problems AGAIN (it happened on Saturday) and was presented and re-presented about four times before starting the routine.

Emma Dennis and Shona showed off double Yurchenkos, Britt did a 1.5. The final vault standings ended up being just that - Dennis 1, Morgan 2 (even though it was stuck like crazy, think Dasha in Stuttgart prelims, she had slightly bent knees), Greeley 3.

Had there been some horrible surface-to-air ginger-seeking missile launched at the venue today, Waverley's senior and junior lineups would be mostly wiped out. Thank heavens such a device has not yet been created. I loves me the redhead frecklies. Doin' it for the pale, sun-sensitive ones, woohoo!

Rachel Collister is a star of the future. Ditto Laura Hingston (filling Hollie Dykes' prima ballerina shoes), Alex Eade, Alex Byers-Armstrong, Amelia McGrath... hell, the MLC program full stop! These girls have got some big skills done with some serious style. I stood to the side of the floor while presentations were going on. I remarked to one of the MLC coaches as another girl won an umteenth medal that, "I guess it doesn't get much better than this being a coach, eh!" and she replied, "Nope, and I'm really happy, they did well today!"

On the MAG side, Luke Wadsworth, Vincent Lam, and the "Raging" Bull brothers (nickname courtesy of my non-fan friends) are proving the MAG program is not all doom and gloom. Teeny-weeny Lachlan Fitzgerald and Caelen Bacon scored some medals in the lower levels, as well as some fawning hearts, over this weekend. Them + Bambi in the same room = I wouldn't be able to stop going "fwaaaaaw...!"

In IDP 5, the visting New Zealand gymnasts took the bulk of the honours; almost all final placings had a 'residential' medallist sharing the position.

Grace Flood won the IDP 8 division, over club mate Madelaine Lleydin and Jets gymnast Isis Lowrey. Isis is the one who looks like a Russo/Larson clone, with a cute little sister to match! She has great presentation on floor, and along with her fellow all-around medallists is definitely one to keep an eye on. Grace also took out the beam, bars and *I think* vault titles with Madaleine winning floor. IDP 6 was dominated by MLC. Due to a computer error, the IDP 5 all-around was re-presented. The original winner turned out to be ranked second. Oooops!


Happy Birthday to Hannah Johnston of BTYC and Samantha Bognar of the HPC!

SHONA MORGAN is our new state all-around senior champ, with BRITT GREELEY in second and FIONA COLEY in third!!!