The women's training camp and trial is on as we speak in Canberra and a few tidbits are arising. Thanks to everyone for sending them my way.
You can read about the MLC girls trialling at camp here. Barring some disaster (not wanting to jinx anything), I think Georgia Wheeler is a lock!
And thanks to the Anon for the scores:
Vault
1. Britt Greely - 14.00
1. Emma Collister - 14.00
3. Georgia Wheeler - 13.70
Bars
1. Georgia Wheeler - 14.302. Larissa Miller - 13.90 (fell maybe?)
3. Emily Little - 13.50
Beam
1. Emily Little - 14.30
2. Angela Donald - 14.10
3. Georgia Wheeler - 14.00
Floor
1. Amelia McGrath - 13.95
2. Amaya King Koi - 13.85
3. Emma Collister - 13.50
Day 2- MLC has another report up, looks like Georgia and Amelia McGrath did well again.
The team will be announced on Friday. I hope that Good Friday means Good PacRim News!
ETA: A couple of observations from a source on the scene. Many thanks!
* Katie Wurth vaulted a Yurchenko layout, a little piked. Her bars routine includes a Deltchev, reverse giant half and a double tuck dismount. Not a stellar routine from the report, but competent. Stuck her 2.5 twist ending on Day 2 floor after falling on it Day 1.
* Georgia-Rose Brown vaulted a Yurchenko full on Day 1, landed feet first "but practically on her stomach" so did a Yurchenko layout on Day 2, with running steps backwards to land on her backside.
* "Mez" Monckton still with boot on leg.
Day 2 scores:
1. G Wheeler 109.25
2. E Little 107.6
3. B Greely 104.85
4. A McGrath 104.2
5. G R Brown 101.55
6. R Collister 100.25
7. A Donald 99.95 TIE
7. E Nedov 99.95 TIE
9. A King Koi 99.05
10. K Wurth 98.95
The competition lots have been drawn; see the draw here.
(Wow - 87 comments and counting! You guys are fired up! Can't wait to have some smashing conversations at the event. Don't forget that the official PacRim Facebook page also has a discussion topic about potential team line-ups.)
131 comments:
Do people think they will be really strict with the camera policy? It says no SLR cameras or recording devices, which is really stingy.
I think thats Hi-Sense policy for televised events. I've never known GA to stop people using cameras ever. My advice? Go for your life
Ribbit
Those scores seem really low. I hope we can send our best three seniors- Lauren Larissa and Someone, it seems injuries are really bothering Aus at the moment
Lauren is not trialling
The scores aren't bad. If you look at results from recent international meets, most scores are in the 13s right now.
Besides, we have many fantastic other seniors who aren't even trialling and who are just as good or better than Georgia Wheeler.
Mary-Anne, Zoe, Georgia Bonora, Shona, Lauren, Emma Dennis, Fiona. That is a lot of girls to choose from later in the year.
And then there are a few more others who could possibly impact in future but are not ready right now - Naomi, Ashleigh B, Sophie Budack, Ashley Cooney.
We seem to be building a solid base to develop some depth I think.
The only worry is vault - a pike front 1/2 (worth 4.6) getting third place is a bit scary.
To anon 11.56 - I'll give you Bonora, Morgan, and Mitchell but Georgia Wheeler will give anyone else a run for their money. When has Fiona Coley scored 55 AA, which G Wheeler apparently did yesterday? Maybe a fit Mary-anne will beat anyone but we've been waiting years for that.
Also, a pike half on vault has a start value of 5.
I've been told by an event source that the competition is not being fully televised; however NBC will be airing some highlights so their cameras will be there. Otherwise, from what I'm told, spectator filming should be ok. Mind you, I asked GA and they never replied!
Does anyone know if the event is going to be televised?
Probably not... *unhappy face*
But the scores are alot lower because the Code has been changed but they're good scores!
Fair enough about the scores- I guess i didn't realise 13s were good now. I think I was worrying a bit that the MLC site said that the girls were doing layout yurchenkos and pike front halves. When up against the DTYs from other countries that will put us a bit behind. Vault has always been a bit of an issue for us- I was just hoping that we'd be improving in that area.
Regardless I'm pretty excited for the comp in Melbourne- glad I have tickets
oh and with Lauren not trialling does that mean she definitely won't be in the team- how freaking annoying
In the past, some countries typically send their B Team to the PAC event - to gain experience and exposure.
I'm not saying Australia is sending a B Team, but I can definitely understand why Lauren and others would be sitting out of this comp. This year is such a big year - we have both Worlds and Commonwealths at which to peak. I could be wrong, but I don't think PAC would be Peggy's highest priority, and I doubt it's Lauren's.
I think Lauren's injury may be why she is sitting out Pac Rim. Although this is a big year and a lot of countries send their B team to Pac Rim, Australia does normally send its best or close to its best team. Its in Australia this year and Australian gymnasts do not often get a chance to compete at international level in Australia. I thought Lauren was at the launch last year and said she wanted to compete at Pac Rim.
Even in her chalk talk thingo on the GA website she alluded to the fact that she would be doing PACs. Its good to give the other girls some exposure and I totally understand worlds has to be a priority but it sucks a bit for us spectators who rarely get to see our top girls live in action
GA are really doing spectators a disservice by publishing those articles that pretend Lauren will be there. There will be disappointed kids for sure.
On the bright side, apparently China is sending a WAG team afterall.
an athlete must:
(a) have achieved a minimum score of:
116.00 pts for Senior All Around (two day combined score)
OR
110.00 pts for Junior All Around (two day combined score)
OR
14.80pts - Vault (on either day)
OR
15.20 on one or more apparatus of uneven bars, balance beam
or floor exercise (on either day)
this is from the PAC Rim selection policy. Does it look like any of the seniors are going to do this? If Emily lands her DTY maybe she could? I wonder what will happen if no one meets the score. The selection policy makes provision for Special consideration athletes (injured athletes who apply for special consideration) and additional athletes (athletes who don't meet the scores but who are sent anyway). The way I read it, they would have to include anyone who makes the qualification scores (unless more than 3 + 3 do) but then can fill the team with who ever they think is best for the team (or possibly the squad). I wouldn't rule Lauren or Larrissa out on account of their injuries, nor would I rule Georgia in because of a first day win. She will need 61 today to meet the AA qualification score. Good luck to all the girls but maybe if Larrissa and Lauren can prove they are fit they will get the senior spots and either Emily (if she can show that DTY) or Georgia for the 3rd senior. Angela and Amelia seem well placed for Juniors. Can't wait to see who makes this team!
I know, it's a dumb policy as nobody will be reaching 58.00 for one day AA. Only the top AAers in the world can do that! Probably just so they can handpick the team.
I wish Katie Wurth and Georgia Rose Brown had done better but I'd be thrilled to see a junior team with Angela and Amelia on it.
does anyone else think that AUS is running short on fit gymnasts with high difficulty? i really back team Australia but atm there appears to be some cracks! lets just hope everything goes to plan and the girls do some awesome second day performances!
I know, it always seems that girls are never ready when they become seniors, they usually need another year to actually be competitive, and then by the time they finally are, they retire.
They need to accelerate IDP skill learning, and have double bars at IDP 8. We should not be putting people in international comps with layout yurchenkos, even if they are juniors.
I could understand if we had some great event specialists with layout yurchenko, but when every 15yo junior does that vault (some even piked!) it is just crazy. It should be a requirement that you need a 4.6+ vault to make it to nationals for juniors and 5.0+ for seniors, otherwise you do IDP 10.
Anyone care to add other rankings/scores/skills if they know? These 2 are obviously locks. Seems team inevitably Britt, Emily, Georgia, Amelia, unknown, unknown.
News:
Amelia McGrath and Georgia Wheeler both had another excellent competition on Day Two of the Pacific Rim trial.
Georgia hit her vault again today, did a very strong bar routine with a clean Arabian double pike dismount. On beam she performed a better routine than Day One, but had a short landing on her double pike and fell forward to her knees. Probably her best event today was Floor – with her highest score ever on floor; great height on all her tumbling passes and very clean landings. Overall Georgia has finished up the trial as the top ranked athlete, and achieved a personal best on every event this week. Georgia has shown not only an increase in difficulty in the last three months, but also the ability to handle this program well under the pressure of competition.
Amelia had a fantastic day hitting all four events. She started on floor with her best floor routine ever and her highest start score, finishing with the best floor score of the day. She performed her Yurchenko layout today better than yesterday, and hit a clean bar routine, catching her Jaeger to have her highest bars score. Amelia finished on beam today with a great routine, hitting all her connections and a personal best score. Overall Amelia finished today in 3rd position, and with both days combined she has finished up 4th, the highest ranked Junior. As with Georgia, she has hit a personal best on every event this week and has handled her step up to Junior level exceptionally well.
The team for Pacific Rim will be announced on Friday in Canberra.
Congratulations to both gymnasts, their team-mates and coaches!
Hope Angie is still in the running
Maybe
Angie
Milly
Emma C
would be a good junior team
Does anyone know how the trial went today? Who's looking fit and ready for pac rim?
I believe Kate Wurth and Georgia Rose scored quite well today
I am dying to know about how the juniors went. If Katie and Amaya did well that would make my day!
Thanks to MLC for keeping us updated. There are people out there who really appreciate your effort in providing quick and thorough reports on the progress of the girls!
I think Georgia Wheeler fell on her yurchenko layout, bringing down her score becuase her pike half was good.
The pike half is the score that counts. Yurchenko was second vault and would be averaged with the pike half if it was an apparatus final.
To anonymous 4.16, the new qualification rules require a 4.4 vault (such as Yur LO) or higher.
Why do they have an extra day of training tomorrow before announcing the team Friday? Does how well they do in training influence the final decision or must it only be on the verification routines?
There is plenty of scope in the selection criteria for things like attitude to training, ability to add to team score and so on.
This is from the PAC RIM selection policy;
The athletes to be selected to the team for the Event, will be chosen by the
Selection Committee which may consider all or some of the following factors
(not listed in any order of priority) and the Selection Committee may give
such weight to any or all of these factors as the Selection Committee in its
complete discretion sees fit:
(i) Results from the Pacific Rim Selection Trial (2 day combined scores)
held during the National Training Camp 28 March – 2 April 2010.
(ii) Training consistency, athlete attitude/behaviour and verification
competition results during previous National Training Camps (over
the preceding 12 months)
(ii) Past National & International results (over the preceding 12 months)
(iii) Possible team composition and the ability to compliment the team
considering athlete attitudes, team cohesiveness and apparatus
strengths
(iv) Likely contribution to overall team score and likelihood of individual
all-around or individual apparatus medals
(v) Any accepted special consideration applications or additional athlete
considerations
It even says that the criteria are not in any order of priority so I'm sure they would need at least a day to decide the team! I wonder who would be on the selection committee. I certainly wouldn't want the job!
the juniors could be difficult to pick. There seem to be many girls who have 1 or 2 great events but then the other events are weak.
We might see someone totally random get on the team based on an EF worthy routine on one event. When you have 3 decent AAers for seniors it doesn't matter so much if the juniors are not AAers. I think a good junior bar worker might be useful; if Georgia Rose did well on day 2 then maybe she can get in based on that. Her routine is 5.0+.
Seniors, pretty easy. One reason I suspect they may go with Britt over Larrissa is VT. We need at least 3-4 good scores on vault - if the 3 seniors are Emily, Georgia and Larrissa then we need 2 good vaults from the juniors and none besides the Collisters have anything that will score sufficiently high. Britt on the other hand can contribute a Y1.5.
Does anyone know the order of finish for the 2 days? How did Emily and Nikki from WAIS place?
Did Georgia trial? Iheard she was
doing some lovely beam work.
Larissa got into the 15's today on Bars. Very good score, she did a great routine. :)
Does Amelia have a proper beam dismount yet, or is it still just a layout?
Amelia has flic flic double twist dismount. Larissa scored above 15.2 for bars which should give her automatic selection according to selection policy.
Is it possible for Lauren to make the team without having to trial?
I haven't read any article that indicates that she wasn't intending to go to Pac Rim. Even the recent Chalk talk article on the Gymnastics Australia site failed to mention her not going.
So I'm wondering whether she's been told that she doesn't need to trial and should instead continue training as normal as her past achievements have already earnt her a place on the team? Or is it a case of her still being injured and being underprepared for Pac Rim?
Still injured. only done bars at camp.
Why do'nt GA give the results? Do they like to keep secrets? I think Laurens ankle injury has been one of the best kept secrets!
I know, it makes the whole process more transparent. Or even if they just had a set of notes about routines and skills, that's not hard to do and would satisfy people. I'm just tired of their crappy dark tiny photos and their shallow reporting.
For last years nationals they didn't even post results broken down into day 1/day 2, let alone the breakdown of d-score and e-score!
Not to mention the Lauren thing, which is misleading the public and plain dishonest. I can't believe they would publish an article alluding to her competing at the event if there's no chance it will happen!
I wonder if Peggy and friends will be wise enough to tell Georgia Rose to drop vault and focus on training high UB/BB a-scores for 2012.
No offence but that is a bit silly. Her vault will come.
No it's not, she will never be throwing a DTY and we are super weak on bars so why force her to waste time training an event she won't need to be selected for teams.
It's through strategy like this that China won in 2008. They didn't force He Kexin to waste time training AA in the leadup, they have never bothered to make Cheng Fei train bars either.
Lauren has an ankle injury?
All good when you've got a population of a billion. We need to explore every all around option we have.
Not a major injury. Probably why no one has mentioned it. You wouldn't expect a report on every ache and pain a gymnast has. Who would you expect to announce it? And why would they? What I'm trying to say is, what purpose would it serve to announce the injuries that gymnasts have, with the exception of major injuries that look like sidelineing a particular gymnast for a significant period of time? Or an injury which occurs in competition which will effect the outcome of the competition. Minor injuries happen all the time in training and are managed accordingly.I imagine there is psychology behind the strategy of keeping injuries fairly quiet so as not to make a big deal of them and keep the focus on what the gymnast CAN do. It's not a secret. It just isn't news.
Georgia-Rose's vault has improved by leaps and bounds over the last year. She may never be the world's greatest vaulter or floor worker, but she certainly has all-round potential. Give the girl some time...
At least Georgia Rose Brown is a pleasure to watch with her long,lean and elegant lines.Similar is Georgia Simpson and gymnasts like Lauren, Zoe, Mary-anne and of course Dasha have personality out on the floor. I am sorry, but Georgia Wheeler, Emily and the Collisters may have big skills but they are like watching robots perform.
I agree, Georgia's floor choreo looks very awkward right now. I am sure there is a better style out there for her, maybe in the vein of Chloe Sims. She showed that you don't need to be a ballerina to be expressive.
I am surprised the same choreographer did both her and Georgia Roses's new routines because Georgia Rose's is like a Soviet rebirth and Georgia W's is just so lifeless.
It's a real shame we won't be seeing Georgia Rose's floor at Pacrim.
Anon 10.35 Super weak on bars? look outside the bubble you are focusing on, there is alot of talent out there. We keep our gymnasts healthy and injury free ( which is near to impossible) we have a good field of strong gymnasts
After Day 2 of Trial:
1. G Wheeler 109.25
2. E Little 107.6
3. B Greely 104.85
4. A McGrath 104.2
5. G R Brown 101.55
6. R Collister 100.25
7. A Donald 99.95 TIE
7. E Nedov 99.95 TIE
9. A King Koi 99.05
10. K Wurth 98.95
Don't know the rest.
was that Rachel or Emma that came 6th - if Rachel then where did Emma come?
Maybe GA haven't added a report because anyone who would write the report is still at camp and in the middle of training.
Emma must have been struck down by a last minute injury or not done AA - it's the only explanation since she's the best junior we've got and she wouldn't place that low.
Georgia Rose has done well considering her apparent vaulting mishaps. 5th through 7th is so tight, I don't know how they'll decide. I didn't think of Nedov but she is a really nice gymnast too.
It seems Emma competed day 1 though, placing on both vault and floor.
The best junior combo is clearly Amelia (BB,FX best), GRB (BB,UB best), Emma Collister (VT, FX best, good on UB.
Fingers crossed Emma isn't injured, that would really suck.
Even if you look at 5th to 10th, the difference is only about 1.5, basically nothing over 8 routines. They will pick any two they like out of those girls based on their best events.
Re Georgia Rose-Brown's vaulting ability: don't forget, everyone, how weak Allana Slater was on vault in her younger days! And perseverance in HER case led to a CWG medal on vault.
Emma didn't do beam due to not being ready, which could hurt her chances of selection if Larissa is in the team. That would mean 2 of the 6 team members would not do beam requiring the remaining 4 to not make a mistake (6 in team, 5 up, 4 to count)
Georgia Wheeler may not be graceful on floor, but power is her strength. I agree GRB looks beautiful but she was still beaten on floor by GW both days.
GRB was choreographed by Stacey, GW was choreographed by Lisa Bradley (I think). If you ask me, GW's current routine is miles better than her last one.
If Larrissa is on the team, she may well do beam as well as bars. She has a pretty decent beam routine when she hits it, and she has another month to get it competition-ready, which might just be enough.
Will E.Colister be ready on beam in a month? Its cutting it a bit close probably. Though I think we NEED her vault/floor scores looking at the scores in the original post.
Hey everyone...don't forget that gymnasts, coaches, parents etc read this blog. Being anonymous doesn't give anyone the right to be critical and personal. Remember who is reading this and think if you would like to be commented in this manner.
Anon- I don't think anyone has been mean in this thread, just discussing the prospective team etc. Most comments have been quite positive
Except for saying three girls perform like robots...
Yes I think everyone here supports the girls a lot, after all, we wouldn't be here if we didn't care. I think most comments have been fair; nobody is saying that Georgia Wheeler is a bad gymnast, they are just noting that she needs to work on her presentation and/or hire a new choreographer, which is a fair assessment. Poor artistry does get deducted after all.
Can anyone shed light on how Britt actually performed? Did she fall? I thought she would get in the team no worries, but she seems less ready than expected going by her scores. I would still take her over Larrissa, Larrissa doesn't need the experience, only has one event to contribute, and is going to the World Cup. Britt is a solid AAer with a strong vault/beam/floor for the team total, and I think she has earned this chance. Using Britt also means Emma Collister won't need to do beam if she's not prepared.
I think Britt will make it.
The meet is 6-5-4.
You would think Amelia, Emily, Georgia W and Georgia Rose are in (GRB was 1.3 clear of Rachel even with her poor VTs, so must have scored well on UB/BB/FX) So that leaves 1 junior and 1 senior spot.
Emma Collister clearly deserves the 3rd junior spot given her strong VT/UB/FX. They would be mad not to send her.
So as it is the usable counting scores will likely be
VT
Emily
Georgia W
Emma Collister
(need another or we will count a layout yurchenko)
UB-
Georgia Rose
Emily
Georgia W
Emma
BB-
Amelia
Emily
Georgia
Georgia Rose
(need another for padding)
FX
Amelia
Georgia W
Emily
Emma
So basically Larrissa does not fit in with this team at all. We need an extra beam routine, and an extra vault. We cannot count a layout yurchenko, that would be embarassing and damaging to the team total. And we need the 5th beam, it is likely that there will be at least 1 fall.
Britt is the best person to fit those spots, and she can also do a good floor in case of mistakes, and an ok bars if an emergency. It would be crazy to send Larrissa based on the fact she only hit 1/2 bar routines, and can't do any other events.
This is ARTISTIC Gymnastics!
Big skills and power are only part of it.Flex, elegance and most of all being injury free to be able to develop your program are important too.We have many very talented gymnasts who are injured and I would hope they will get an opportunity to showcase what they can do.I hope GA dont put all thier eggs in one basket and keep selecting the same girls over and over as they are not immune to injury!
I wouldn't exactly call a pike front 1/2 a power vault.
Anon 4.13pm, who knows what Larrissa will be able to do a month from now? She has resumed training on all four events. Just because she only did bars at trials doesn't mean she won't be ready to do more events in Melbourne.
They can't select her tomorrow based on the off chance she might be ready for other events in a month, the decision should be made on what she can do now, just as Emma Collister should be selected under the assumption she can't do beam.
Otherwise it's unfair, other girls might have improved in a month too but it's their performance this week that will determine whether or not they are picked.
Yes they can. The selection policy allows the selectors to select the team they think has the best chance of results. As long as the gymnast has gone through the process for special consideration (or additional athlete) they can consider past performance, attitude, team cohesiveness and apparatus strengths. Trial performances are only one of 5 main factors which are considered (in no order of priority!). Fair has got nothing to do with it. What is important is the National program and what is best for it. After all if they select a girl who turns out not to be ready or is still injured - they can replace her at any time before the competition. This has been done many times before and no doubt will be done in the future. I know that competition performance is an inportant factor but since no one reached the qualification score I think many of the other factors will come into play.
YES!!! finally someone has made sense, Thankyou. This is about putting the best team together and hopefully medalling at a home comp.
Georgia RB's routine was in fact choreographed by Lisa Bradley, not Stacey. And lay off GW's choreography, it is a huge improvement on her last one and she has been making a huge effort improving it.
Even if they did take onto account other possible events for Larrissa, it's not going to make that much difference - her best event after bars is floor where the others are already good enough, and she has never in the past shown herself to be noteworthy or even consistent on vault or beam
... There is someone else who made a worlds bar final that you know of? who scores over 15? This is not the interschool carnival. Sometimes the National interest has to come first. All these girls work very hard and many of them will get an oportunity to represent their country. Even those who don't will have many great experiences to look back on and skills that they might not have developed if not for the sport. At least that's how I hope it goes. Please stop sledging gymnasts on here. It's just not cool!
If you think it's in the national interest to count a layout yurchenko and have a beam lineup where nobody can afford any mistakes, then so be it. This is not the right meet for a one event specialist, it's a team competition.
C'mon people - our best TEAM (the gymnasts who could seriously challenge team results) is injured. If you know who is coming over ie Bross, Sloan plus China and Russia just to name a few, then it is crazy to think we will be in contention for a team result. This is no insult to the current trialists, just realism. If we want any result at all - Larissa is our best chance.
Anon 7.47
I wasn't really arguing one way or the other. I don't have an opinion about who should be on the team. I have my favourites but I'm not going to use this space to sledge some and promote others.
There is a selection Committee and from what I can see of our recent results they probably get it right most of the time. With so many things to consider, no doubt some choices could go either way. I also just noticed that you were talking about others being good enough on Floor. I misread that to read that the others were equally good on bars (as Larissa). Sorry, my mistake. This is why I made the comment about her bars, which doesn't really make sense anymore. sigh. I hope we get an announcement soon so we can start getting excited about the competition and stop speculating about things we have no control over.
I think the team will be Larissa, Emily, Georgia Wheeler and Amelia, Georgia Rose Brown, Angela. Good mix of chance of a medal from Larissa with some experience into the 3 juniors.
ANON 8:46! FInally someone is making some sense!!! I watched both days of the trials and I believe if we want any chance at medaling it will be Larrissa!!
Thanks anon 8.56.
ANON 8:54, After watching both days of the trial...THAT is the team I am thinking too!!
Anon 6.54pm, while it's true that Larrissa has never shown herself to be particularly consistent on beam, I wouldn't say she isn't noteworthy. Those same long lines that make her so beautiful on bars stand her in good stead on beam as well, and she has some good skills, too. Now if she could only get a little more consistent...
Anon 8.54pm, I like your team, which is a good mix of power and elegance. GA could do far worse than pick that team.
Anon at 9:01, I am curious as to why you count out Emma Collister?
I didnt...I said Wheeler, Miller, Little, Donald, Brown, McGrath
ANON 6:32. Watching Georgia W's floor routine is like pulling teeth, it's so robtic. Where have all the 'pretty' gymnasts gone?
With the girls who trialled, that would be the best team. I cant wait until Nationals where we will see the girls trialling for Comm Games and Worlds. Some girls we didnt see trial for Pacifc Rim who are elegible for Comm Games and Worlds include:
Shona Morgan
Georgia Bonora
Mary-Anne Monckton
Lauren Mitchell
Ashley Cooney
Gerogia Simpson
Cant wait to see these girls at nationals!!!
What about you?
Anon, not including her on the team is counting her out! why would Angela be chosen over Emma? I'd prefer Angela but Emma scores so much better on vault and floor. Since you saw the trial I'm just curious as to what made Angela a better choice.
I agree Emma could score better on Floor and Vault. However, knowing Peggy she wont take Emma, seeing as she didnt show AA...
Ashley Cooney is not a 1994 birth so she is not eligable for CWG or Worlds.
Don't forget about Zoe Lorenzin either- she is going to be a star.
I hope they all get thier chance to be a STAR, they all work very hard.
I admire thier commitment and dedication, especially gymnasts who dont seem to get the opportunities because of injuries like Mary-anne, Zoe, Georgia S, Ashley, Emma D and others.
It can be a cruel sport!
I hope they all get thier chance to be a STAR, they all work very hard.
I admire thier commitment and dedication, especially gymnasts who dont seem to get the opportunities because of injuries like Mary-anne, Zoe, Georgia S, Ashley, Emma D and others.
It can be a cruel sport!
I know, I wish they could all get international opportunities, and I wish they got more publicity.
For example, I have heard several times on here that Georgia Simpson is an amazingly beautiful gymnast but because GA never provides any videos/highlights/stream of nationals I have never seen any of her gymnastics, and may not ever. It kind of saddens me to think that a gymnast can spend their whole career unseen if they do not compete in any big meets.
I am still hoping that maybe this year being in Perth and with the Commonwealth and Youth Olympics trials built in they may stream nationals a la 2008, or at least film and put up videos at a later date. Surely they would have quite a market for that with all the families/friends/clubs/fans of the athletes that live in other parts of Aus.
What is happening with the other MLC seniors? Chloe Turko and wasn't Georgia Mc Intosh selected for a senior camp last year. Georgia had good technique on all apparatus and presence on floor, ?What happened to her? maybe once again it is national v international as she tried to cross over. Do we know any gymnasts that have been able to do this?I think Lydia Lassila , who recently won an olympic gold medal tried.Why do we make it so hard to cross between the two streams?
In regards to the other MLC Seniors: Chloe Turko was at camp but is still recovering from shoulder surgery and a foot injury, Georgia McIntosh quit last year and Alex Byers Armstrong is still recovering from a back injury.
I heard on the grapevine that georgia mcintosh quit last year after pressure from michelle?
The team is going to be announced today!!! YAY!
I really hope that GA post it on the website! *Fingers Crossed*
They probably won't do it until Wednesday because of the easter break. I can't wait that long!
Yey so excited and I have A tickets to the WAG team comp - the session the Aussie Girls are in - we should do a blog meetup :)
Nichole
I was wondering whether they would announce the team today given its Good Friday, I wouldn't see why they would wait until Wednesday, Tuesday isnt a holiday.
The girls leave camp today (I think the WA girls leave a day later though). I wouldn't think they'd want them all to wait til they got home. That's a bit cruel, isn't it!?
I'm sure we'll know by the end of the day. Sure as I am that a chocolate wombat beats a chocolate bilby.
PS- I am my own 100th comment on this post!
Pac Rim Team is Georgia Wheeler, Emily Little, Larrissa Miller, Georgia Rose Brown, Amelia McGrath & Emma Collister.
Awesome Team... I love that 5 out of the 6 girls come from Club Programs!!! Good Luck for Pac Rim :)
*sitting on the edge of my seat in anticipation*
I can't wait to hear these results!
I think it's a real shame that Australian gymnastics is shoved into the cupboard. People actually want to see gymnastics so even though MORE people want to see football, they should still broadcast it so we atl least have the option of watching it.
And what's more I think that the WVHPC should have gotten some publicity from when they had the open day...
Good luck to all who trialed!
go wheeler and mill!
yey - I can wear my gymnastics QLD jacket that night :)
Hope to see yous there
Nichole
I am not confirming any names until GA, an association/club site or the Pacific Rim page does.
fair enough
wow so no britt? looks like peggy has moved on !
Britt hasn't really upgraded her tumbling at all since 2008. I think she needs to get her difficulty a little higher and add a few 'wow' skills. We have seen her train lots of cool stuff - double arabian, rulfova, tkatchev - but none of those skills have appeared in her routines yet.
I am sure it was a very tough decision between her and Larrissa though, as people have said, there were advantages and disadvantages in selecting either girl. All up the potential numerical result won't be much different from a team perspective as long as Larrissa hits.
If Britt gets a DTY she will be much more usable, so hopefully she's working on that. She made an attempt at one at the open day. I like the girl, and hope she can make some big teams eventually.
She could very well have had some minor injuries that slowed her progress.
Has anyone heard how Sophie is recovering from her injury? She was looking the goods last year
Don't pin your hopes on any great media coverage out of Perth Nats...if you'd been there last year like I was and seen the absolutely pathetic way in which they advertised and ran the competition you would be expecting the same again in 2010.
I hope they prove me wrong, because this years field is sure to be way way way better than 2009's, and it'd be great if it was made into the deal it seems to be when it's held over east, but I have my doubts :(
Does anyone know for sure if Nats this year are doubling for CWG/Worlds trials?
This is from the Commonwealth Games selection Policy on the GA website.
Conditions of Selection:
2.1 Nominated Selection Events
a) 2010 Commonwealth Games Selection Trial being held in conjunction with the 2010 WG Australian Championships: 5 -11 July 2010 Perth.
The policy for Worlds is pending board approval but it indicates a second trial;
2.1 Nominated Selection Events
a) 2010 World Championships Selection Trial 1 being held in
conjunction with the 2010 WG Australian Championships on day
1 (July 8) and day 2 (July 9)
b) 2010 World Championships Selection Trial 2 (at a date and time
to be announced) being held during the World Championship
Training Camp being held at the National Training Centre in
Canberra from 12 September – 3 October 2010.
By the way anon 1.19 or anyone else who knows; What happens differently with Nationals in the East? I have heard that there is usually a proper podium which Perth didn't have, and that the announcing is usually better. What else is different? Is it advertised differently? Bigger Crowds? Last year was the only one I've been to and I thought it was basically ok, but I'm interested to know what was different/ better in the east.
To anon 11:19
Sophie was looking good last year on floor (she really has style on the floor) and vault, but was still suffering with her inconsistency on bars and beam.
I noticed her at the camp last week and her bars is much improved.
I don't think she is 100% back from her injury, although her vault, beam and tumbling were looking strong but still not back to where they were two camps ago.
In my opinion gymnasts that we haven't seen alot of over the past year like Sophie Budack, Georgia Simpson and Zoe Lorenzin could be real contenders in the middle of the year.
When I went, Perth was a beautiful city and I had a great time but Nationals is way WAY better in Melbourne. In Perth there was no crowd, even for the evening sessions, no podium, and not much atmosphere.
The setup in Melbourne at Hisense is a much better competition experience for the gymnasts with the arena, the podium and real live spectators!. The event also gets a lot of press coverage when it is held in Melbourne eg Getty Images/daily newspaper coverage.
The only issue is that now they are combining levels + IDP and it would be too expensive and difficult to secure Hisense for a whole week, they would need to have Mens elite with IDP6-Snr WAG probably and hold it over 4 days. Or I guess they could book SNHC and Hisense concurrently for 4 days and hold both WAG levels and IDP at the same time.
They should be deciding the venue for 2011 around about now so hopefully the event will return to its former glory next year. It seems they rotate it by city Sydney 2005/2006, Melbourne 2007/2008, Perth 2009/2010 - maybe Chandler next year?
I hope they just forgo that though and bring it back to Melbourne because they certainly need 2012 Olympic trials in somewhere the event will be noticed. Not to mention the fact that about 80% of the national team is made up of Victorians.
Anon at 8:59-
Doe Georgia S have any difficulty yet? She's a pretty athlete but the last time I saw her, her routines were still quite simple and not competitive at senior level yet. It'd be interesting to know what she's planning.
Thanks for the response anon. It has been a long time since Nationals was in Perth (apart from last year obviously). Maybe they will improve it this year. Not that I mind having an excuse to travel to Melbourne! Crowds are a tricky one because we just don't have that many people here. Maybe some of you in the eastern states communities could start working on getting more people to travel over?
To Anon at april 3, 10.30
I too went last year to Perth and yes its a beautiful city but Nationals were no where near as good as previous years. The crowd was way down, could be due to lack of advertising but l believe it had something more to do with the door prices. Why was there no multi session passes? I used to watch all levels seeming l had travelled so far and on my multi session pass it was affordable, but at Perth it was a straight $22 per person, per session!!
I do believe that the entry fee caused many people from the Eastern States, who like me would usually hang around and watch all levels, leave after only one session. A lack of spectators equals a dull atmosphere. That's my major gripe but the announcing & running of the comp should have been at a much better standard and they also should have had a podium for a major comp such as Nationals.
I just went onto Ticketek to buy PacRim tickets and it seems even they are a hard sell. For the 11am Friday session you can still get seats in section 18, the first on sale! One block full out of the 8 in the lower ring is kind of sad.
Announcing should improve this year.
We should see a big improvement as Ade is back at Nationals this year.
anon @ 8.59 thanks for the Sophie update. Glad to hear she is back training, I was under the impression the injury was much more serious. Hopefully she will be ready for nationals/Commonwealths.
what's happening with rachel collister. havn't heard anyone comment about how she went up in canberra at the trials?
I believe Georgia S has been working on her difficulty but I dont think she trialed, maybe not quite ready? Its a long road back from injury. I think she had elbow surgery last year and 2 lots of knee surgery 2007 or early 08? Hope she will be fit and strong for Nationals.
GA finally posted the team -
Congratulations are extended to the following gymnasts, their coaches and programs:-
Georgia Wheeler
Emily Little
Larrissa Miller
Amelia McGrath
Georgia Rose-Brown
Emma Collister
An in-depth phone interview was held with Peggy Liddick yesterday and provides an overview of the selection trial and the decisions behind the team selection. A transcribe of the interview will be provided early next week.
Cant wait for the interview!
Challenge is not a bad venue, but yes, it's no HiSense clearly. I believe Nats were so poor last year because of many factors - it was the year after the Olympics (traditionally a kind of boring year), the event was practically not even advertised, the media did not get behind it and it had not been held in Perth for years and years and years.
GWA did a pretty crap job of making it a big event. I have been seriously considering writing them a letter and letting them know what I as a fan and spectator thought of their efforts.
There were multi session tickets available last year. I sat next to someone the whole 3 days who was there on a multi session ticket. She watched practically every single session of every single day. You could definitely buy them. I believe they were about $120 or so, but don't quote me on that. Individually I thought the ticket prices were pretty reasonable. It depended who you got on the door. The first night I only had to pay $12 or something to get in but the other two nights I had to pay $22 because they wouldn't let me get in as anything but an adult. Really, I thought that was pretty good. Surely you guys'd be paying heaps more to go see a session of elite at HiSense...surely!
Crowd numbers were pretty poor, but I don't think that is because 'there just aren't that many people here'. That's so untrue. Only the diehards came, loike the fans and the little gymmies and their Mums from the clubs, because frankly they were the only people who knew the event was even on because they follow the sport. I didn't see a single bit of advertising leading up to the event. No wonder nobody came. Even articles in the paper only appeared a few days before stating that Nationals were being held at Challenge and even then it was in its usual position in the sports section - buried way down the back squished in just before the horseracing where no one can see it.
I still don't have high hopes for this year but I do think that it will be better than 2009. Laurens world success really lifted the profile - when have we ever had a gymnast on the front page of the newspaper? NEVER. But after she won in London she was everywhere, including the front page of The West Australian. I think that was the turning point. So hopefully they will lift tjeir game and make a better effort this year in making it a more lively event. I look forward to the commentator everyone talks about being back and hopefully better advertising will bring crowd numbers in. I imagine a few people high up would've had a few choice things to say to Challenge and GWA after last years effort anyways.
it's a shame though that the people who did come to Perth last year from over east to watch were so disappointed that they decided right then and there they wouldn't spend the money to come again in 2010. Couldn't blame them!
I have been to Nationals in Sydney
a few times and I find it is a long way out on public transport. I dont think the venue is any better than Perth and it was always held during the school term so at finals they would fill the stadium with school kids for atmosphere.Unfortunately Perth is in the middle of school holidays when Nationals are on also in Sydney they would block of half the stadium with curtains. I thought Perth did a great job and it was nice that Perth athletes for once didnt have the long flight over East.Fatigue and cost wise that was a bonus!
In the photos on the GA site it looked like a club meet! I think the least they can do is have it on a podium so the event has a feeling of importance and prestige. These girls don't train 32 hours a week to compete on a concrete floor.
Frankly I wouldn't care where the meet was held if we got some coverage.
If it was not for the few videos on youtube from last year then there would have been absolutely nothing except for their pixelated photos and pathetic score sheet with no differentiation between days, sessions or d-score and e-score.
Every year they film ALL the routines at the competition, put them on DVD, and send them out to all the clubs.
I fail to understand why they cannot use an hour to upload the videos to their youtube account. It is easy, quick and free promotion of the sport and our gymnasts. It would let people actually see and appreciate the work of girls who get no assignments, as well as help track the progress of our top girls.
Heck, they don't even let people BUY DVD copies of these competitions when 90% of fans/family/friends live somewhere other than Perth and cannot watch the competition in person. WTF is up with that!?
They went through that phase of producing all those random montages and posting them up, but their youtube channel still has no role in promoting the sport and providing incentives for people to take an interest and support the gymnasts.
USA gymnastics posts routines up from their meets. The French federation has a free live stream of all sessions at their national champs. I realise finances might be tight, but Youtube costs them nothing.
Sometimes I think, why bother following this sport and supporting our gymnasts if every competition is conducted in secret?
WHY GA, WHY?
GA have put the team announcement up on their site
Georgia Simpson was ready to trial, however she hurt her foot the day before the trial at training, so she just did bars.
Was her injury serious or will she be able to compete nationals?
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