Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Heard on the Squad Grapevine

The AIS/Gymnastics Australia Olympic squad listed as per yesterday's post consists of the eight WAGs who will attend training camp at GA's expense (i.e. who will have all their necessary expenses covered). They have been deemed the only fit seniors and 'almost-seniors' GA currently have. However, as several here have suggested, there will be visiting athletes and they will be welcome to try out for the World Championship team.

It is believed that six other experienced members of the WAG program have been invited to attend camp on the proviso that they themselves or their clubs/training centres pay their way.


Speaking of squad members, Her Greeleyness appeared in the student newspaper S-Press this week. Not the best photo but *shrug* what can you do, eh...

46 comments:

nade00 said...

Thanks for clearing that up. Fingers crossed some extra challengers will make an appearance at camp.

And how slack are Spress! They took that pic of Britt from my Flickr account and cropped it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39264633@N03/3648074472/

Mez said...

They could've used her squad profile photo from the GA wesite where she's looking at the camera and smiling. The cropping of this action shot doesn't do her justice, hence my comment about Not The Best Photo, as you now can't even tell what she's doing (or looking at).

And yeah, buncha jerks for not crediting you with it. Contact them! State your rights, demand by-line credit etc etc etc!

Anonymous said...

I can confirm that the following gymnasts have been invited to attend the camp as "Self/Program funded Other". They are..

Geogia Bonora
Ashleigh Brennan
Fiona Coley
Emma Dennis
Amber Fulljames
Daria Joura

I assume that means they pay their own airfare and accommodation. There is no suggestion that any or all are fit to trial or that any thought to have retired, have returned. I'd be very surprised (happily) to see Ash or Dasha there.

Anonymous said...

I don't think there would be any point Dasha going there because she will still be in ther cast, won't she? So by the sounds of it Ash hasn't retired yet. I would think that the other four girls will probably be there.

Anonymous said...

As far as i know Ashleigh is working at a dance school in Berwick

Anonymous said...

Is she only working there part time? isn't she still at school? Someone mentioned in a previous post that she was spotted at Prahan whereas others thought she had retired but I guess nothing is official yet considering she is still in the senior national squad.

Speaking of Dasha too, did her surgery go well? I know it will be a number of months until it is known whether she can compete again, but does anyone know anything?

Anonymous said...

I actually am wondering if GA will fork out to send a team of 4 if it turns out Emma and Georgia aren't ready. Peggy has said she will only send top standard even if it is less than 4, and obviously the 2 AAers will be Shona and Lauren barring any unusual circumstances. That leaves Britt and Larissa to divide up the 4 events between them, and neither has any chance of making an EF without some serious upgrades between now and then.

By the way, does anyone know if Georgia Rose is a 1994 girl or 1995 girl?

Anonymous said...

Ashleigh is parttime teaching.I'm not sure but i keep hearing she is retired.

Anonymous said...

Anon 3:34: I wouldn't entirely rule out Larrissa for a spot in the UB final. Especially if it's true that she is working on an Adler to Jaeger, as rumoured.

I admit an event final seems unlikely for either Britt or Larrissa, but stranger things have happened.

nade00 said...

Re Larrissa on UB, I have to say that it is unlikely anyone will be in contention for UB EF with a score under 15.0 - and Larrissa has been scoring around 14.0 tops.

It is unrealistic to expect her to be scoring more than a point higher in a space of 2-3 months.

I'd love to be proven wrong but I don't see it happening. UB is the deepest event right now - you have He Kexin, Liukin, Brinker, Tweddle, Zgoba, Semenova, Koval, Downie, Dufournet, Tsurumi all with huge a-scores and consistently strong execution.

Anonymous said...

... not to mention Jiang Yuyuan, who is also capable of pretty high UB scores.

I know, Nade, I know. I was just saying. :)

Anonymous said...

Bars is going to be very strong, almost as trong as last year. Like it was said before I dont think Larissa can improve enough in 2 and a half months to make the final. I really can't see Britt going close to making any finals. When there is no team individual finals are the major goal obviously. If Peggy is serious about only taking people up to world championship standard then I think she may consider only taking Lauren and Shona, if Emma and Georgia aren't ready, although she does seem to like Britt.

Anonymous said...

I'm surprised we all are not more outraged at the rediculous selections in the AIS/GA Olympic squad. I mean really, what is possibly going on. We are beeing fed a bunch of cow poo with that squad. Even worse is publically announcing that 6 other seniors including Dasha and Ashleigh are invited to trial. Clearly both are not training and in no way can represent Australia. It is simply a deception. Really, it's about time Peggy and her buffoon selectors were run out of town. I can't stand the GA lies any more.

Arrgh!!

Anonymous said...

What's wrong with that squad? If you're going to whinge, at least articulate the problems you have with it. And they didn't publically announce the extra 6 seniors, it has not been published by them in any official capacity. I'm sure invitations were extended to Ashleigh and Dasha to acknowledge their place in the national squad. Nobody said they were ready to compete for Australia. I agree that neither one will show up for reasons we all know but still, I really have no idea what you're on about. How is it deceptive at all? Britt, Shona, Lauren and Larrissa are the best healthy seniors right now, and Georgia, Zoe, Mary-Anne and Emily are the best 1994 girls.

Anonymous said...

I agree that Ashleigh and Dasha were invited to attend the camp to acknowledge that they are still in the national squad. Whilst people keep saying Ashleigh is retired, it is not official yet and until it is she is likely to remain in the national squad. Dasha has said that she wants to continue after she recovers and if she can back to her best (or near her best) then I think she will get back in the team. I hope she does because I think Australia needs her, particularly if her they are going to do well at next year's Commonwealth Games.

It is true that there probably isn't a lot of depth in the current GA/AIS squad but I don't think anyone is to blame for that. They are just a lot of ijuries and it is a rebulding phase at the moment. Lauren and Shona baring injury should give a good account of themselves at worlds. I personally hope Georgia and/or Emma can make the team because and no disrespect intended but I just don't think that Larissa and Britt up to world championship level. They may prove me wrong and I hope they do the best they can.

Anonymous said...

I agree that maybe Britt needs a little more time to develop her sets before attending a big meet like worlds. I think she will be a great gymnast for Australia in future but I wouldn't say she is ready for it now.

She cannot go with an UB routine that routinely scores in the 11s or 12s, and she is still doing simple routines on BB and FX by world championship standards. Especially on floor, she really needs to upgrade her dance skills because they are very low-valued right now, and I'm sure she can come up with something better than a switch leap. A double twist is also a very weak pass at such a high level.

Anonymous said...

can someone please clarify why on earth Mary-Anne and Zoe are even on the squad as they are both injured. I heard in Perth that Mary-Anne is out for another couple of months due to her injury and is only doing very light training (bars only).

I read earlier on this blog that to be eligible for the AIS/GA Olympic squad the gymnast has to be injury free and be able to participate in the upcoming camp. Clearly Mary-Anne will not be able to participate in the full camp program if she is only working bars. With Zoe I am not sure as she didn't attend Nationals.

Anonymous said...

It is strange that they would put two injured juniors ahead of seniors like Georgia and Emma who I think are recovered from their injuries but working on fitness and skills. Does anyone know what is wrong with Amber? I have decided not to take too much notice of this squad.

Anonymous said...

I hope Amber is not retiring or anything. I would miss her.

Anonymous said...

About Amber Fuljames, I thought the article gymnastics australia posted announcing her pull out was a little strange. Usually if injury is the reason they say that. Maybe a relative died or she could be considering if she wants to continue gymnastics.

Arrgh said...

Dear Anon (7:16pm),

I want to say up front that I aplogise to those people who might find some of my comments offensive. In giving my opinion as to why the announced AIS/GA squad is so rediculous, I have to call a spade a spade, I'm sorry.
I specifically have a problem with..

[1] The inclusion of Maryanne Monckton who although she has been given plenty of opportunity, has rarely produced more than a glimpse of her undoubted talent. She simply has not put the runs on the board long enough or strong enough to justify her selection. If she was selected on the basis of Nationals then God help us. She competed only one apparatus managing to place second last in the Juniors!! She is also injured atm limiting her to bars only. What exactly warrants her inclusion?

[2] The inclusion of Zoe Lorenzin who did not compete at Nationals at all due to injury. I cannot find any results from actual competitions that could support her selection. Surely you have to do more than be age eligable.

[3] The exlusion of Georgia Bonora who is clearly on the come back following surgery. She recently competed beam at Vics, has travelled to Worlds twice and competed once and less than one year ago, posted our best ever AA WAG result for Australia at the Olympics. Her selection for Worlds in October is marginal. Does anyone seriously believe that Maryanne, Zoe and several others named in the squad are more likely to be stronger contenders for Comm Games selection next year?

[4] The exclusion of Emma Dennis who also competed only one apparatus at Vics. She placed 1st in Vault and is clearly aiming for a Vault spot in the October Worlds team. Although a competant all-rounder, she is an excellent vaulter and she showed us that at the Olympic trials last year where she competed Yurshenko 1.5's and DTY's. She too must be wondering how it can be that Maryanne, Zoe and others have been deemed a better chance of Comm Games. The evidence simply does not support it.

If GA want to encourage an air of confusion and disillusionment within the real contenders for Comm Games, they could not have done a better job. Selection into the AIS/GA squad means funding. To fail to fund the tier 1 athletes when it critically counts proves yet again that the selectors are wasting our time and making Australia an international laughing stock. Instead we are asked to believe that our Comm games athletes can be found among gymnasts who have about 12 months to add up to an additional 20 AA marks to their routines to be remotely competitive.

As for Ashleigh and Dasha being named in the current Senior squad, they may as well have also included Holly Dykes and Trudy Mackintosh. Oh yes, GA are playing games with their squads and we are all letting them get away with it.

Arrgh!

Anonymous said...

Anon,I do have to agree with your point about funding. I think emma and georgia deserve funded spots IF they are in shape and certain to attend. However it seems nobody is actually certain of their plans or their current fitness level and therefore it seems dumb to rant on about others being chosen over them. Someone posted the other day that emma was doing double twist yurchenkos into the pit. That makes me think it is unlikely she will be seriously trying for the team, because this is only 1 month befor worlds trials. Besides, for all we know they could have both abandoned their plans for worlds anyway.

Anonymous said...

Anon 11:24pm I agree with some of the things you are saying but certainly not all of them. Georgia Bonora did not post Australia's BEST EVER AA finish at an olympics last year. I believe she came 13th, Lisa Skinner 8th in 2000, Allana Slater 10th in 2004, I believe.

I think comparing Ashleigh and Dasha's inclusion in the squad to Hollie Dykes and Trudy McIntosh being there is a bit ridiculous. Ashleigh has probably retired but it is not official yet. You mention Commonwealth Games a few times and you are saying squads should reflect those that are likely to make the team for the Commonwealths. If Dasha can recover from her injury then I would think that she would be a reasonable chance of making that team and you are saying she shouldn't be in the senior national squad. I know she is not going to be competing for quite a while if she ever does again but I can understand why GA still the a triple national all around champion in the senior squad to be considered for the future when she has stated numerous times that she wants to compete again.

Anonymous said...

Word around the traps is that Dasha is very unlikely to continue on. She has been out of the game for a long time now and to expect her to come back to competitive form is a bit unrealistic. I would LOVE to see her return to her best but it is extremely doubtful. Don't hold onto that hope people coz I highly doubt it's going to happen.

Anonymous said...

To include Mary-Anne is a joke. Mary-Anne WAS a great gymnast but as previously stated she has really not posted anything great over the past two years.

Not only is she injured, I heard at the last competition that the reason for her not competing a change from high to low bar was nothing to do with her injury, in fact it was because she does not have a change from high to low. Considering that she was injured at Youth Olympics in January, it is now six months since she has done any real training apart from skills on high bar.

Please Explain why she is on the squad over less injured gymnasts who are clearly closer to getting back to full capacity??????

Mez said...

So... I've been MIA for a day and am getting up to speed with how this news was received.

I just want to say that I value all your opinions and suggestions and am interested to see the topic become so hot-button (seriously, where were you people at Nationals last year? We could've had some cracking round-table discussions!) but can we please try to steer away from personal comments about gymnasts? Particularly the ones that are not Seniors? Thanks.

Carry on.

Mez said...

"I think emma and georgia deserve funded spots IF they are in shape and certain to attend. However it seems nobody is actually certain of their plans or their current fitness level and therefore it seems dumb to rant on about others being chosen over them."

Not as a direct reply but as a general clarification and further point to the discussion, I believe Georgia is coming back stronger than we think. As I've previously mentioned she has got her back salto tumbles on floor happening, and about a week ago had very successful control tests on every(!) apparatus.

Emma is also working on her bars difficulty so trust me it's not just her vaulting that's well on track!

Shona is confirmed as looking towards Worlds team trial.

Anonymous said...

GA/AIS Olympic squad can have up to 10 and at the moment only has 8I think they should have had Georgia and Emma in there and then there would have been 10. Of the other four invited, Fiona Coley, not trying to critical but I don't think she is up to world championship standard, Amber, the GA article about her withdrawal from Nats and Japan Cup was very strange so who knows what is going on with her, Ashleigh & Dasha probably retired/retiring. If Georgia and Emma were in the Squad then all possible worlds members would be funded.

Anonymous said...

It is beginning to sound as if Emma and Georgia were shortchanged - I hope they turn up to camp and make the team with Shona and Lauren!

Anonymous said...

I hope the World team is Lauren, Shona, Georgia and Emma also. That could be a sweet team and if it stayed that way for CWG and you just added on a few capable younger girls that could be an all right team.

I heard that Ashleigh is going into the VIS twice a week but that is all :(

Anonymous said...

Gosh, it kills me to think that horrible Olympics was probably Dasha's last meet.

Anonymous said...

I know its very sad

Anonymous said...

I think I remember reading that Peggy said Dasha decided her 09 schedule or something like that when she first got injured in Beijing and of course now there is going to be no 09 for her and probably not competing again.

Anonymous said...

Just have to hope by miracle she finds the fire again. I know so many fans everywhere would miss her. In my dream world she makes a spectacular comeback and wins the 2010 Commonwealth Games all around title (which would not have been unrealistic for her at all).

As recently as 2 or so months ago she said she still wanted to be back for Pacific Rim, so it's disappointing to hear she doesn't seriously intend to come back. I hope if it's true she announces her retirement sooner rather than later so our hopes aren't raised.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you completely. 2 months ago she was talking about competing again in April next year and now she is not coming back at all. Maybe surgery didn't go well. In her interviews prior to surgery it just seemed as though she wanted to try and continue. I would understand her struggling for motivation and I mean she may not have be able to get back in shape even if she tried and her ankle may not stand up but it seems strange that she would not try at all given whst we heard two months ago. I had also hoped she would do well at next years CWG. I will miss her too.

Mez said...

"Word around the traps is that Dasha is very unlikely to continue on."

Which traps, may I ask? I don't want us to latch on to something that's not confirmed either by her or anyone representing her.

Peggy just needs to hold a press conference and end all this to-ing and fro-ing!

Anonymous said...

Have you ever thought of contacting Gymnastics Australia/Peggy herself and asking to interview her? You never know, she might say yes. Your blog is pretty well established now so you've gotta be getting some cred from them.

Anonymous said...

I don't know why people are so angry at these selections - unless it effects you personally. The junior girls listed in the AIS/GA olympic squad are all going to be senior next year and the other juniors are not and that is more than likely the reason as these other juniors will not be age eligible for comm games. This is a squad selected at this moment in time and will change again next year and the year after that and so on. It doesn't mean that Emma Collister is not considered it's probably just an age thing. The selection criteria allows for gymnasts to apply for consideration if they have an injury and the girls are watched year round so Peggy knows their capabilities regardless of injury.

Anonymous said...

I know a few people are angry but I think it is more confusion thsn anything else for most of us. But is guess we don't know what is really going on with any of the seniors or juniors expect for those who competed at nationals.

Anonymous said...

A couple of typos in my post.

Anonymous said...

"I don't know why people are so angry at these selections - unless it effects you personally"

That is exactly the problem. These selections are crucially important to the top girls who at their peak, need a lot of support to continue. If they are continuing to do the work towards the bigger goals then they should expect to be supported by GA. Unexplained and unjustified omission from the AIS/GA squad does not teach them a lesson for missing Nationals but causes them to think that it is all just too hard. That is what is wrong and I suggest is one reason why so many of our top girls retire prematurely. That consistency is absent with the selectors and I think they just dont get the damage they do. Ultimately we are all losers.

Anonymous said...

what makes you think omissions are unexplained just because you don't know it doesn't mean it hasn't been explained to the gymnasts

Anonymous said...

what makes you think omissions are unexplained just because you don't know it doesn't mean it hasn't been explained to the gymnasts

Anonymous said...

What makes you think that it has been explained to the gymnast. I beg to differ that some gymnasts are being kept in the dark and being held back too from my observations, and u might say what am i talking about - some have higher scoring routines and some do not even thought they are all at and in the same international level and competence, pretty obvious at the nationals. Also if we are to compete at international level why are they not practicing the required moves that every other country is already practicing and executing, so that they get plenty of time to perfect them before hitting the international comps.
I think lots of explaining on why and how some get preference and others do not - is there favouritism being show because it seems like it to me that there is. As I say there is more than one way of holding back a gymnast - either through their routine or just pushing others forward.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it up to the program and the gymnast to decide which skills to develop? Are you saying that there are programs holding their own gymnasts back? That doesn't make much sense. Or are you suggesting that the National coach is going around the country forbidding coaches from increasing the difficulty of their gymnasts routines? Or are you suggesting something else entirely, which I have missed, and which actually makes sense???

Anonymous said...

It has never been up to the gymnast, the coaches make the final decision and now with the new set up of the way Ideal testing that seems even more in their control of who does what. I just wish the gymnast would be given a bigger say in their development because it seems obvious to me from looking at their skills that some should be developed more. I am saddened that the girls are being pigeonholed as there is so much more talent out there from my observations. Lets be honest here, the girls deserve better!