Videos have cropped up from the recent SE Queensland regional championships and state trial, many thanks to the YouTuber who went to the effort.
Check out some stars from the sunshine state here.
Also (swinging by Perth for just a moment), it was reported in The West Australian today that senior Emily Little has withdrawn from Commonwealth Games selection trial but has not abandoned her campaign to compete in Delhi altogether.
The report explained that she has strained elbow ligaments after an awkward landing on a bars dismount. It's not serious, although she will apparently be petitioning through to the second Worlds team trial in addition to the Commonwealth Games team selection. Liz Chetkovich said (forgive me if this quote is not verbatim) that she, "imagines [Emily] will be selected based on her performances earlier this year, but with the proviso that she will have to show fitness before the team's departure for India". The injury will prevent her from doing weight-bearing exercise for three weeks, leaving her just a couple of weeks to get ready for the Games selection trials. It is believed this would be too short a time period, thus they felt the need to withdraw Emily.
Liz is confident Emily will be back in training before Nationals, but in the meantime she is working on leg strength, flexibility and overall choreography.
Lauren Mitchell is back to "95%" and should be ready for trials, despite her tumbling and vault work still being done on soft surfaces to protect her ankle.
And if you hadn't spotted it earlier (I thought people had been talking about some other person named Olivia, duh), Olivia Vivian is returning home (!!!) to compete as part of WA's National Level 10 team. Click this link to read more about her thoughts on the event. Oh yes, there WILL be an AC/DC floor routine at Nationals.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
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81 comments:
Natty-J is looking more and more like her older sister! Is it possible we could have 2 Joura's on the 2012 Olympic team?
Gosh Larrissa looks a little rough. Hope she can get it together before CWG selection trials.
Am I the only one who much preferred Amaya's previous FX choreo?
I really liked Bridget Beattie's routines. She reminds me a bit of Chloe Sims. I hope she can make nationals.
Liv's ACDC will sit very nicely with Maddie Green's Metallica routine.
Rock on seniors!
Maddi Green, what is she doing. She has not taken part in any of the Victorian Trials yet, is still planning on qualifying for Nationals?
Amaya's new FX choreo suits her. She is still as strong on beam as ever.
Katie has the framework of a really great beam routine in place. She only has 4.7 right now, but she could have, in the next couple of years,
aerial cartwheel + layout stepout (0.2) (upgrade from bhs to layout)
onodi + side somi (0.1)
front aerial + sheep (0.1)
switch leap + back tuck (0.1) (swap split jump for back tuck and do a jump series elsewhere)
switch ring (so great on floor, logical for beam in future)
D dismount
That would be 6.2 if I'm not mistaken, an improvement of 1.5 in DV, by only adding a couple of things.
Natalia's bars are awesome.
Natalia is a great bar worker. She really attacks the apparatus, going for maximum extension and amplitude on everything she does. It's great but a little risky at times.
Natalia looks awesome on beam and floor, as well! She looks so confident in her beam connections (I'm loving the immediate rebounds!). I also love her floor -- she brings her own style to Olivia's old one! I don't remember her having this much sass in her choreo -- must be something she's developed with maturity.
Would LOVE to see two Jouras on the 2012 Olympic team!
I also like Shar-lee on BB and FX; Amaya...most of the juniors looked strong.
All those double turns need to go.
Larrissa's bars are going to be awesome when she gets it all hitting in one routine. I hope she persists, because it is potentially medal-worthy and a great boost for out team score. Her beam, though, needs LOTS of work on form, etc.
Really loving all the QLD'ers choreography and presentation skills -- puts the majority of our Pac Rim team to shame.
Quite encouraging for the future, on the whole.
Thanks so much to the video provider, and to Mez for pointing them out!
:)
Didn't know you could trial by video review for a nationals team. Does this happen often?
I wouldnt say Larrissa needs to improve her form. She by far had the best FORM and Quality of the comp. Consistency yes. But form and quality is quite strong in comparison to other girls.
Larrissa's bhs loso was hideous. There is no other way to describe it. You could not put that routine out on the world stage while it is that rough.
Anon 11:28 PM, Larrissa's layout step-out is usually better than that. She does always have a few leg form issues on her layouts but not as bad as here. She also usually gets more height on the skill. Please don't judge her by this competition. Remember, she's coming back from a pretty serious injury. She was obviously nervous about the layout, considering she had a mat on the beam and everything. Let's see how she does at states before giving her a hard time, shall we?
I agree with anon 11.28am. Larrissa reminds me a bit of Billy slater. Everyone loves her when she does well but god forbid she stuffs up a bit coming back from injury and everyone puts her down. Let's not forget even with watered down routines and falls she still topped the seniors. She will come back fighting fit. I know it.
@Anon June 5 10pm... AMEN TO THAT! *does the rock fingers*
The comment was in response to the assertion that Larrissa does not need to improve her form. That is clearly ridiculous, and you are delusional if you think the layout is acceptable.
That's not to say it won't improve, as I'm sure it will, but as it is NOW it certainly shouldn't be making a worlds or CWG appearance, and to say it is fine is just silly.
Maybe Larissa should just stick to being a specialist
Maybe it's a MBC thing. Georgia Roses's back leg used to be extremely bent on her loso but looking at the Germany vids it has improved tremendously and now appears straight.
Larrissa should most certainly not stick to being a specialist. She's a good all-arounder, if not the most consistent one. Give her some time to get fit and you'll see.
As for the bent legs on the LOSOs, yeah, MBC has an unfortunate record in that regard. Many MBC gymnasts have bent legs in their acro skills. Only Abbie Benstead and to a lesser extent Shar-lee Clark have straight legs in their LOSOs, I think. Benstead has beautiful form. She's going to be a lovely beam worker.
I think Georgia Rose's quality on all apparatus has improved enormously since her move to melbourne
Anon 7:21 PM. Who is Abbie Benstead? Is she a junior? from MBC? Nothing seems to come out of Queensland so it's very hard to know who is training up there.
Anon 10:15 PM, Abbie Benstead is a former QAS gymnast who now trains at MBC. If I remember correctly, she came third in the IDP 8 competition last weekend. She's an elegant gymnast with good form and flexibility.
Oh ok thank you. Sounds like we'll see more of her in the next few yearss.
Katie's floor was lovely! Definatly very Hayley-esq and almost to an extent a bit Shantessa Pama like, least that's the feeling I got from it. Was anyone else worried watching that first tumble pass though that she was VERY close to the edge? I had sudden visions of if she over-rotated there was nothing but MBC concrete/rubber floor for her head to land on!! I know it's only Regionals QLD but come on- a bit of safety perhaps! It's great to see some new. fresh QLD talent coming through again. It's been awhile. But it's a pity all the talent only ever comes from QAS/MBC or Delta. What ever happened to the girls from Barron Valley, GCGC and other strong clubs Brisbane based or not? It would seem the more clubs that can offer elite or even very high levels/IDP then the more chance QLD has of keeping the numbers high.
Georgia Godwin was origanally from gold coast gymnastics!
She is also currently working on beam:
- bhs-bhs layout to two feet
- Side ariel to layout stepout
- Double pike dismount
Vault she has a double twisting yuchenko in the works.
She is going to be the next big thing in Australian gymnastics!
Go Georgia... :)
i agree with two things, amaya's old floor routine was better then the new one. her old one had brilliant flow with the music and amaya was able to use her dance ability much more. secondly, larrissa quality does need work, not on bars though. she has great lines on this event, but the others do need work. if you look at the previous quality from QLD gymnasts such as lisa skinner, hayley wright and the tiny amber fulljames, larrissa definantly needs to pick up in this area. but in saying that she has just come back from injury and im sure she will improve as her confidence grows.
I;m surprised nobody has commented on Emily's free pass onto the Commonwealth Team. As far as I am concerned she has not earned her spot at all, given we still don't know how Mary-Anne, Shona, Georgia Bonora, Emma Dennis, Ashleigh Brennan, Naomi Russell, Britt Greeley, Fiona Coley and Gerogia Wheeler are going. They all have superior execution to Emily.
If I were the NTC I would be telling her to go off, get in shape and work on her execution, because what use is an athlete who hits but still can't bring in the big e-scores?
Who said she had a free pass? If there is someone better when the time comes she won't be selected. She isn't the first athlete to petition for selection because if injury.
I understand what anon 1:04 was saying. Liz C appeared to basically say that Emily will be selected for Commonwealth Games if she was fit because of her performances this year. There will only be five gymnasts competing at commonwealth games. It can be assumed that Lauren will be on the team providing she is not injured. Georgia B seems to be coming back well, Shona, Emma D and Ashleigh are getting back to full fitness. Georgia Wheeler and Mary Anne Monckton may be considered, Larrissa for bars, there are many capable gymnasts around.
I agree too about Amaya's floor, I was quite disappointed to see they changed over to something worse than the old one. I know she can do so much better.
I saw her old floor live at Vics last year and loved it. She was sassy and confident.
The new one was a real yawn. She didn't have any chance to let loose and move, it was all just some random hand movements with her feet glued to the floor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCTlI9w1EAQ
Even if this wasn't perfect it had actual passages of meaningful choreo rather than nothing. And it had a way of building with the music whereas the new one is just a flat plateau. Even when the music speeds up in the new one the movements are still slow and sparse.
The CWG team hasn't been selected yet. Why are you worrying about this already? Emily can petition -- doesn't mean she will make it.
The job of the selectors is to put the best team on the floor for Australia. IF that meant Emily, I would have no problem with that.
If we replaced the name Emily Little with Lauren Mitchell, would this even be a discussion?
Another thing -- does anyone know if there is any thought of saving certain gymnasts for Worlds? Will Australia try for two separate teams or try to send the same girls to both comps?
And same question for the men?
Thanks for linking to her old floor. I hadn't seen it before and I have to say that she's making herself look like an Emily Little type dancer when she is really able to do much better than that. It's a shame.
Sometimes I wonder why choreographers and gymnasts don't seem to have much ambition to be original, and push the boundaries. Amaya has way too much potential to be lumped with that cliched Egyptian choreo.
Don't forget that selectors favour certain athletes over others...certain programs over others. If the funded state HP programs aren't getting athletes on teams for CWG and Olympics, the funding is jeopardised.
A team of WAIS and VWHPC athletes is going to look a lot more appetising to GA than a team made up of club athletes from MLC, Waverley, and MBC.
Where is the evidence that the selectors favour certain programs? Didn't we have 2 (3 if you count the reserve) Waverly athletes on the last Olympic team? 2 MLC athletes on the PACRIM team? Why do people say these things. Are there actual instances of this favourtism?
The selectors have a difficult job to do and I think they do a pretty good one. I can't think of any teams which should have been selected differently. Can anyone else?
I agree - it is a ridiculous comment. The funding for Institutes and High Performance centres is to provide elite training facilities for gymnasts so that they don't have to go to the AIS - not all clubs where gymnasts begin offer elite levels. AIS and Institute of sport funding is open to all athletes that meet the criteria regardless of where they come from
I agree, even look at last years world championships team, Lauren was the only one from a state funded program. I would be very surprised if there weren't a least a couple gymnasts from club programs on CWG/Worlds team. I do believe that selectors do usually send the best possible team of available gymnasts regardless of where they are from.
its true the selectors do favour certain programs. well what i mean to say is they favour 'programs' over 'clubs' bcoz clubs are self funded and if they produce better gymnast and make up international teams more then the programs then it will make the government and GA funded programs look bad.
Maybe there's bias, maybe there's not, but even if there was, no situations spring to mind where it was a deal breaker. As has been pointed out, I can't think of a single team in recent years that has included undeserving gymnasts.
The only one people seemed to have a problem with was Olivia over Emma for Beijing but in the end I don't think anyone can deny that it was the right decision at the end of the day.
I think Peggy, picks the best team. You are not giving Peggy credit for her insight and knowledge. If you think girls get penalized in the club environment than make sure your gymnast isn't at one of them. Then you won't have an issue. Everyone choses where they want to go they are not forced.
i think once a senior, they should all be funded by the sports commission regardless where they are training. They have all worked hard and deserve to be looked after,whether they are are in an institute or a program - then it would not matter where they train.
You need to ask Morgan, Bonora, Wheeler and Miller how much they received in ASC funding this year, I think you would be surprised how much support they are on. The athletes are funded, no matter what program they are from.
My understanding is that the 'funding' for club based gymnasts is almost worthless as it is provided in terms of training and physio hours at the state based centre.
With the large number of hours the gymnasts spend at their own gyms as well as juggling school/uni etc, the travel time makes the 'funding' useless as they cannot fit the additional travel into their schedules.
You are speaking of the Institute scholarships. The above reference was to National team funding, in ADDITION to any scholarship a gymnast training at a club may have earned. Be careful of posting non-factual information, people are working very hard to provide for the much deserving gymnasts and coaches.
ToAnon June 7, 2010 10:08 PM
The reason I started my post with "my understanding" is because I was unsure.
Thanks for your 'suggestion' that I be careful with my posts, I believe I am capable of doing this without your assistance.
Details and factual information are hard to come by in the gym world.
If you are aware of factual information and can back it up, perhaps you could share your reference or identify the source so we can all be informed.
After all, this is an opportunity to share.
Is the selection criteria / procedure for worlds and cwg clearly written anywhere? If so could someone please post it.
selection criteria is on the ga website - here is the link http://www.gymnastics.org.au/site/gymnastics/national/downloads/gymsports/wag/pdf/Selection%20Policy/Part%20C%20WG%20June%202010.pdf
there are so many politics that go on behind the scenes of gymnastics(and every other sport) that ordinary fans and even coaches dont hear or know about. but i myself knowing what i know about politics in gymnatics would not post this information on the internet and in discussions because that would be unfair on the sport and its athletes. but what i will say is that a lot of people who are leaving comments about funding etc only know half the story! besides for the majority of us apart from coaches etc this should not be any of our interest and the focus should be on the actual gymnastics!
to anon june 5 9:16 bridget beattie is nothing like chloe sims! totally different style of gymnastics and much more elegant. i trained with her and that is such an odd observation.
anon 11.10 you are absolutely right
Far too many self proclaiming experts make comments on this blog that does little to seperate the wheat from the chaff and serves no useful purpose leading to confusion and innuendo. Stick to the facts folks.
I think people just want fairness in the sport as all the gymnasts work very hard and as we have always been told develop at different stages. I think funding should come into play once you are a senior. All should be AIS scholarship holders. This sport does not put all girls on an even playing field. People are allowed to vent their frustrations.
Well said anon 8:16
As we speak today there are Seniors getting paid yearly retainers (quite substantial amounts) that have not competed for two years and Seniors that have competed over the past two years that are getting nothing.
THIS IS A FACT.
When my daughter reaches Senior level in a few years I would like to think that she will be rewarded by getting some sort of help in the way of funding. I don't think it should be dependent on whether she is winning or not, the fact that she has stuck it out and made it to the top level should be enough.
It's kind of a sticky situation. Back in 2009 Dasha Joura got something like $12,000 specifically from CWG people to train for the Commonwealth Games, more than any other gymnast. Now Joura clearly isn't going to be at the CWG, but who could have known that before?
okay so i have two things to comment on! firstly they can not fund all gymnasts at senior level wether they or good or not/ competing or not! the ones that have the potential to go far are the ones they want to keep around and so the focus is on them. also they want to fund the ones that will bring results to the sport, boosting the sport and revenue in australia. it would be a waste to give money to a gymnast that will not be able to represent the country and get results. for the most part, for coaches etc. its about the RESULTS and their reputations. good results, will earn more money an advertisement. besides there isnt a a lot of money to be thrown willy nilly anyway. it would be nice if all senior gymnasts could be funded but australia does not have the funding. secondly, yes it is wrong that gymnasts who havent competed in 2 years tht 'were' good get funding and those who have competed do not. they have to be smart about this one because if they give money to a gymnast who is senior and competing but that is not and will not be international standard it would be pointless and a waste of money. it would be put to better use if they used the money for advertisement or needed gym equipment in programs.
it could also be a waste if they gave money to a good gymnast who hasnt competed in awhile. for this to happen it generally goes on previous results and future potential and sometimes the gymnasts will have fairly earned this money for all their results and contributions to the sport wether they retire or not. but still that money could be used for other investments and sometimes regardless of the above, the money has to be used and distributed there and then. so once again wether it is sport, jobs blabla dollar signs are in everyone's eyes. most will turn a blind eye but gymnasts are part of a 'circle of life' but in gymnastics terms (out with the old, in with the new) and only certain gymnasts will leave their marks on coaches and the public. wow that was a long comment hope im making some sense!
I think there is enough money in the pot for all senior gymnasts to have their fees paid for. Girls at the AIS don't pay fees regardless of their level. The AIS should be funding the senior gymnasts as they have worked hard and put in the years. Injury should not come into play. All seniors are talented and have potential to make Australian teams - if they are not they should not be there, but should be told they don't have a future. However if Lauren Mitchell listened to her coaches we would have missed out on a fabulous gymnast.
So lets get behind these girls and give them support as they ALL work hard.
I think there is enough money in the pot for all senior gymnasts to have their fees paid for. Girls at the AIS don't pay fees regardless of their level. The AIS should be funding the senior gymnasts as they have worked hard and put in the years. Injury should not come into play. All seniors are talented and have potential to make Australian teams - if they are not they should not be there, but should be told they don't have a future. However if Lauren Mitchell listened to her coaches we would have missed out on a fabulous gymnast.
So lets get behind these girls and give them support as they ALL work hard.
coaches in programs do not tell gymnasts who they know will not have a chance at the big time that they should choose a different sporting avenue. it would be silly of them because only a very few have the potntial and chance and if they did that, clubs wouldnt have the money to run. no gymnasts (talented or not) no money!
also, there is NOT enough money to be thrown around it has to be used wisely. the government cut much funding to sports in 2009, even swimming does not get as much. personaly i think it is wrong, as australia is such a proud sporting country. heck...we aren't the best in the world at soccer but we have one of the biggest support teams that have travelled to africa to cheer on our boys and country! so i say more money should be given by the governemnt to ALL sports and perhaps more to the sports that we arent as 'good' at so we can improve!
anyway i hve also heard that the AIS gym will be closing end of 2010/ beginning 2011. and thegym will be used only for camps.
I read recently that GA was given a large amount of funding for gymnastics (via the AIS), so the money is available.
My daughter spoke to one of the AIS gymnasts in Melbourne at PACRIM and was told that the AIS paid for all the WAG gymnasts not only to travel to PACRIM, but also for their accommodation.
The rumor that the AIS will close and only be used for camps has been hanging around for a while, but I don't think this will happen, even though it would make sense.
A lot of the funding that the sport receives goes to supporting the AIS. They have two coaches and one administrator (all full time) for the WAG program. THis is not to mention the numerous doctors and physio's that are paid by gymnastics. All this for 10 WAG gymnasts. Where is the sense in this?
to anon 10.57
Where do you get 10 gymnasts? I only count 6 WAG gymnasts on the AIS website. Which is even more disturbing.
im pretty sure its a fact thatAIS will close. people have already begun moving or are planning their move!
I do think the resources spent on the AIS program could be better used. In my opinion all national squad gymnasts should be given an equal stipend based on what is available.
I just hope that the AIS girlies can find a new home where they are happy when the time comes. It would be sad if Australian gymnastics lost athletes like Mary-Anne, Jazzy Casis and Naomi Lee to the whole saga.
yeh it would be almost like another QAS saga but with the whole gym closing, not just the coach changing! so many good talents were lost like hayley wright, kayla winch,amber fulljames, steph waters, naomi although now she is back, chantelle turnbull, nikola photinos and i could keep adding. so sad that these things happen!
So true. I'm a proud QLDer and seeing that list of 'lost' stats makes me angry! We've had such lovely gymnasts and while not as strong as say the Vic HPC in it's day we always seemed to have a few girls pushing for Senior selection. Lisa & Chloe (obviously) but also Tanner, Rebecca Wilson years ago, Zarnay etc. Now we have Larissa who is awesome but could have so many more. Fingers crossed the girls out at Chandler are happy now.
I have a question for people in the know. If you had a daughter at the AIS right now, what club would you move to when it shuts? There are no other choices in ACT, and few within NSW for senior elites.
Westfields are unable to produce really high quality elites from what I've seen, but Castle Hill and Epping sem ok.
I hope some of them consider moving to Victoria where there's a better high performance culture.
Epping have the better coaches
myself once being an elite, i would say send your gymnast (if you couldnt move to far) to epping or if you could move, to Waverely gymnastics club. waverley gymnastics is such a great environment and less pressure is put on the athletes so they tend to perform better. but i never trained at waverley so im not being bias i just have a lot of contacts with elite gymnasts and the waverely girls always seem to be the happiest and least stressed. plus the have FUN, something a lot of HPC gyms tend to forget about
I always find it amusing that people write comments such as above (anon 8.19am) what makes you think that HPC girls do not have fun? Do you see them at training 6 days a week? The girls i know that are from HPC's are bright, funny girls who enjoy their training and their time together.
well said.
ummm actually yeh i do see the girls traing 6 days a week, i see their expressions during training and i was one of them! i have also visited a couple of clubs like waverely and they just seem more thrilled to be in the gym. and btw it wasnt john who wrote that comment infact i dont even live in melbourne but i dont want to say my name for obvious reasons!
COWARD! Put your money where you mouth is. Maybe you are bitter and didn't fulfil your own potential in a HPC environment.
i hardly think john would leave such a comment on a sight like this. waverely is already a popular club within the broad gymnastics community.
anyway i think it is up to an individual to decide wether they like clubs or hpc's.
So you're not from Melbourne - there is no HPC in NSW which only leaves QLD and WA and both of those are known as institutes of sport!!!
no i call tem either clubs and for institutes programs.
I have got to say I am not surprised to see the AIS closing as this has been on the cards for a number of years now. I feel for all the gymnasts and parents having to look at where to move.
If my daughter was going to the AIS and it was closing it depends on what level she is to where I would be moving. If she was a Level 10, Junior or Senior I would look at what programs has little Senior/Junior gymnasts.
Victorian Institute has a number of Seniors and Juniors, as does both clubs in Victoria. QAS also has a load of Senior/Junior/Level 10 gymnasts. Moreton Bay only has a few. SASI has only a few Senior/Juniors as does WA.
So, if I had to pick I would be choosing either SA or WA or even Moreton Bauy as they all have great coaches and little numbers in the upper levels. Epping also has a great program and seems to be getting results with Emma Nedov.
I hope this helps the AIS parents. I do not envy you as moving is always such a big venture, especially if the whole family is moving.
i say go where the results are or even better go where you know you child would suit the environment, coaches etc. its hard to say because you might think you are moving to the right place and after a few weeks your child decides she/he doesnt like it. a whole family move can be crucial. if ur child is old enough and you are willing for her to move on her own that would be easier to some extent on the whole amily, but maybe litle hard on mum :P
and although it may sound harsh you have to consider the true potenial of your child 'making it', after all that is the aim in elite gymnastics. although i do not a agree with parent carpark chit chat perhaps it would help if you spoke to the other parents who are facing the same drama and find out what thier plans are which might help you in making the decision
I disagree that this would be the way to do it. Obviously the programs who have numbers in the IDP 10-Senior levels are doing something right, and this is where I would then want my daughter to be. Athletes need other athletes of their level around them to push them. Training by yourself, as only one of a few makes it hard for the girls to work together to push the level. I would place my daughter is a progrm that has proven history, results and structures to support my daughter to reach her potential
thats pretty muh what i said at the beginning. i just added a few other suggestions
WA has a proven program and has low numbers in the higher levels. I would be going there just because you would be sure of getting the time needed when moving from one program to another as all coaches have their own way of doing things.
SA also has new coaches and considering their results with their int 8 and int 6, i think the coaches there are going to produce some champions in the future.
Having more gymnasts to compete with is good, buy I think having more one on one coaching is better for development.
One on One coaching is good, but having a team of athletes around each other, is what makes a good athlete ever better! It is also good for a club to not put all their 'eggs in one basket' as we have seen in the past, it is not always the most talented girls that make it, a lot of the time it is the one that has worked hard to gain a spot in the team of girls and persisted to get to the top, this is what a team of girls can do to help each other
Ddnt stella from Epping make the choice recently to go to Wais. Does anyone know whether she is still there?
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