“In the seniors, Georgia Bonora is looking really solid, she’s a good all-arounder. She’s looking really strong for the national all-around title.
“In the juniors, Angela Donald and Georgia Rose-Brown from Melbourne, both have been looking good.
“Emma Jane Nedov, who just got back from her first international assignment in Germany and won balance beam over there, she could be a sleeper.
“It’s all really exciting because these juniors are all eligible for the 2012 Olympics and will make their impact next year.”
If ANYONE reading this will be in attendace with a video camera, I would love to see (among other things) Ashleigh Brennan's bars... if only for the dismount...
I'll also be on Twitter throughout the night (@ozgymblog, disregard anything you might come across from my personal Twitter!) so join in the chat and twobservations by using the hashtag #ausnationals!
See you round the traps!
*****************************************
Coming to you live, via me, via other people sitting inside in Challenge Stadium... it's NATS TIME!
Warm-up observations...
Mitchell, Simpson and Little spotted chatting to AGB'S Best Friend Liz Chetkovich.
Natalia Joura present, debuting in her Queensland leo.
Emma Nedov warming up floor alongside Tierra Exum and Georgia Rose Brown.
Larrissa Miller having difficulty on vault, stacking multiple attempts.
Collister twins in the stands.
Dasha joins the on-lookers.
(Nikki Chung, WA. Photo via Brindabella)
Miller finally stands a vault up. Emma Dennis working hard on bars, solo, as Victorian teammates have left the arena.
Amelia McGrath looking 'great' in floor warm-up
Miller's vaults getting better and better with each attempt. Ash Brennan's double layout bars dismount looking stellar!
IT BEGINS!!!!!!!!!!!
* Katie Wurth shows a strong vault with one slight step backward.
* Larissa Miller stuck vault
* Svetlana Sanders almost OOB on floor but saves it.
*Nightmare run for Victoria on bars!? Bonora falls onto face(!) on bars dismount for 13.20 Brennan scores a 12.300. Good routine from Wheeler but then fell onto back on dismount. 12.250
* Natalia Joura 13.075 beam. 12.725 for Angela Donald on floor
*Brown FX:
"Lovely. (12.400)"
* McGrath falls on second fx pass for 12.325. Emma Dennis 12.550 bars. Nedov falls twice on beam and shows a less than stellar sheep jump. 11.150
* Chung FX 11.125
Kittl BB 11.225
McGrath VT 12.825
Dennis BB 12.100
Monckton two UB falls
Joura FX out of bounds first pass
Donald VT 12.950
* Bonora BB one step back on dismount otherwise steady for 13.600. Beattie UB 10.225
* Brown sits down vault for 12.075. Miller scores a 13.450 on bars.
*Wheeler's beam a 'meltdown'? Major fall on dismount. Budack UB 12.200
* Brennan BB falls on side somi but 'great' dismount (double pike as usual?)
* Exum VT 13.450 Chung VT 13.525
* Monckton a nice 'second' bars routine? No falls, only a small hop on dismount. 12.775
* Brennan BB 12.975
* Morgan falls on beam but, like Bonora, showed solid dismount. Monica Sloan disasterous fx.
*** Apparently progressive scores are not being announced, how helpful ***
* Good floor warm-ups for Bonora and Morgan, all tumbles nicely performed. Brennan and Wheeler not so much - Wheeler OOB.
* Natalia Joura stuck vault.
* Bonora waiting to go on floor, "bopping along to Georgy Girl" as it plays!
* Natasha Hamman "not having a good night".
Amelia McGrath looking 'great' in floor warm-up
Miller's vaults getting better and better with each attempt. Ash Brennan's double layout bars dismount looking stellar!
IT BEGINS!!!!!!!!!!!
* Katie Wurth shows a strong vault with one slight step backward.
* Larissa Miller stuck vault
* Svetlana Sanders almost OOB on floor but saves it.
*Nightmare run for Victoria on bars!? Bonora falls onto face(!) on bars dismount for 13.20 Brennan scores a 12.300. Good routine from Wheeler but then fell onto back on dismount. 12.250
* Natalia Joura 13.075 beam. 12.725 for Angela Donald on floor
*Brown FX:
"Lovely. (12.400)"* McGrath falls on second fx pass for 12.325. Emma Dennis 12.550 bars. Nedov falls twice on beam and shows a less than stellar sheep jump. 11.150
* Chung FX 11.125
Kittl BB 11.225
McGrath VT 12.825
Dennis BB 12.100
Monckton two UB falls
Joura FX out of bounds first pass
Donald VT 12.950
* Bonora BB one step back on dismount otherwise steady for 13.600. Beattie UB 10.225
* Brown sits down vault for 12.075. Miller scores a 13.450 on bars.
*Wheeler's beam a 'meltdown'? Major fall on dismount. Budack UB 12.200
* Brennan BB falls on side somi but 'great' dismount (double pike as usual?)
* Exum VT 13.450 Chung VT 13.525
* Monckton a nice 'second' bars routine? No falls, only a small hop on dismount. 12.775
* Brennan BB 12.975
* Morgan falls on beam but, like Bonora, showed solid dismount. Monica Sloan disasterous fx.
*** Apparently progressive scores are not being announced, how helpful ***
* Good floor warm-ups for Bonora and Morgan, all tumbles nicely performed. Brennan and Wheeler not so much - Wheeler OOB.
* Natalia Joura stuck vault.
* Bonora waiting to go on floor, "bopping along to Georgy Girl" as it plays!
* Natasha Hamman "not having a good night".
Katie Wurth, Queensland.* Miller BB 11.475
* Brennan still with the Cold Case floor music. Good routine overall for13.175. Morgan "fantastic" floor (hurray).
* Donald UB stuck dismount for 13.175, Budack falls off beam
* Morgan FX 12.925
Nedov VT 12.575
Wurth VT 13.550
* Monckton falls from beam, 12.500
* Dennis FX 12.650 "but it deserved better than that".
* "Nikki Chung has the coolest bars!"
* Strapping!Alert as we go to rotation four: Dennis shoulder and ankle. Miller ankles and right leg.
* Karina Brooks' floor music = Britney Spears!?
* Dennis VT 13.200. Miller "lovely, graceful" floor well performed:
* Bonora VT 13.900. Brennan VT 13.300
* Donald BB 13.950
* McGrath's beam still punctuated by pauses. Wheeler VT 13.075
* Morgan lands vault almost to knees
* 11.175 Budack on beam.
McGrath beam 14.050!
* Svetlana Sanders "a stunner", 12.775 beam
* Beattie lands last floor pass to head. Joura loses grip on top bar and falls awkwardly, but continues on to finish with a good dismount. 11.900
* Nedov UB 11.500.
(Maryanne Monckton, NSW. Scored a 12.600)
* Chung "doing beautifully on beam but just fell"
* "Little gymmies next to me putting out their hands for high-fives. Ash does it, G-Bo does not.
Ash: Did you not high-five them, George!? Get back there and give them a high-five!"
SERIOUSLY PEOPLE IT'S COMEDY GOLD. YOU CAN'T WRITE THAT STUFF.
*****************
Junior gold: Victoria
Junior silver: Queensland
Junior bronze: New South Wales
Senior gold: Victoria
Senior silver: Queensland
Congratulations and well done to all the gymnasts on this first night of International Stream competition!
* Brennan still with the Cold Case floor music. Good routine overall for13.175. Morgan "fantastic" floor (hurray).
* Donald UB stuck dismount for 13.175, Budack falls off beam
* Morgan FX 12.925
Nedov VT 12.575
Wurth VT 13.550
* Monckton falls from beam, 12.500
* Dennis FX 12.650 "but it deserved better than that".
* "Nikki Chung has the coolest bars!"
* Strapping!Alert as we go to rotation four: Dennis shoulder and ankle. Miller ankles and right leg.
* Karina Brooks' floor music = Britney Spears!?
* Dennis VT 13.200. Miller "lovely, graceful" floor well performed:
* Bonora VT 13.900. Brennan VT 13.300
* Donald BB 13.950
* McGrath's beam still punctuated by pauses. Wheeler VT 13.075
* Morgan lands vault almost to knees
* 11.175 Budack on beam.
McGrath beam 14.050!
* Svetlana Sanders "a stunner", 12.775 beam
* Beattie lands last floor pass to head. Joura loses grip on top bar and falls awkwardly, but continues on to finish with a good dismount. 11.900
* Nedov UB 11.500.
(Maryanne Monckton, NSW. Scored a 12.600)* Chung "doing beautifully on beam but just fell"
* "Little gymmies next to me putting out their hands for high-fives. Ash does it, G-Bo does not.
Ash: Did you not high-five them, George!? Get back there and give them a high-five!"
SERIOUSLY PEOPLE IT'S COMEDY GOLD. YOU CAN'T WRITE THAT STUFF.
*****************
Junior gold: Victoria
Junior silver: Queensland
Junior bronze: New South Wales
Senior gold: Victoria
Senior silver: Queensland
Congratulations and well done to all the gymnasts on this first night of International Stream competition!
So there you have it! Night 1 done and dusted.
Many thanks to Brindabella for her tireless texting and tweeting. Couldn't have done it without you!
GA have now put up photos at Facebook (I LOVE the one of GBo waving).
I probably won't be home to do coverage tomorrow night due to personal commitments but I'll try and post what I can while 'on the road'. Sleep tight, now.
69 comments:
The golden video nugget has to be Emma Nedov's BB! I am dying to see that 2 foot layout!
i will be there recording 2 girls I will try and capture more depending on rotations
looking forward to this - and if anyone reading is watching RG live we'd love some updates there too
What is the deal with Emma Collister? I assume same injury she had at Vics?
Amazing the twins went all the way over to Perth to watch. Can girls petition for selection to the youth olympics without competing this weekend?
how was the app w/up? any news yet? who's looking good who isn't.
Fingers crossed GA will actually do some quickhits and not just vague posts every hour saying 'some routines looking good!'
where do you get the quick hits from?
another epic Perth crowd lol
I am getting them from someone inside the arena.
GA *may* be doing quick hits at Facebook/Twitter once the comp gets underway...?
Poor Gbo. That could open the door for Shona.
Please thank Brindabella heaps for her coverage because GA has again failed to deliver anything of value! Without her we'd have nothing!
That's the sound of Georgia Wheeler's CWG hopes fading away - a real shame because if she had hit here she would have had a really good shot I think, and I was hoping she would make it!
what was Larissa's VT score?
YOU GO GEORGIA ROSE!
Sounds like a horrible meet already. Why is it that our athletes are never well prepared for nationals? It was exactly the same last year, a total fall fest. I can't even remember the last time Amelia M fell on floor.
The scoring seems harsh too, but maybe it is just an honest reflection of the lower quality we have this quad.
I salute you Natalia Joura, a 13.075 for an opening beam routine seems pretty good compared to the floor scores.
is it possible at rotation to give us top 3 in each division?
This is dismal. I can't wait to hear what Peggy says about this, surely she must be horrified that Australia will lose Commonwealths to B teams from England and Canada?
I don't want to be picky but when it says Brennan ub 12.975 is it supposed to be brennan bb 12.975.
Given the amount of falls I can now understand why Emily is considered a lock for CWG.
These scores are probably a welcome wake up call. Fact is you need great execution to get great scores as 2009 worlds showed. It is no longer good enough to just stay on the beam, which is a good thing I think.
I do however find it very disappointing that nobody can stay on any apparatus. I don't know if you can put it down to lack of preparation since we're not in the gym with them every day but it is baffling to me that after such great performances at Vics and in Germany everyone is falling to pieces here. I expected falls, but not this many from the veterans especially.
Seriously, this is trials for Commonwealths, probably second only to the Olympics, and nobody seems to have their game face on?
Sorry, have changed it.
Mistakes happen when you've got four internet windows open at once and have text messages coming in as thick and fast as you can copy them out.
Thats okay Mez. We know you must be really busy. I was just letting you know to avoid any confusion.
No harm no foul. ;)
do you have natalias fx score?
These performances are really unacceptable. Step up girls, this is serious stuff! You are competing for the chance to represent Australia at one of the most important events of your careers. We want to see you put your best foot forward.
It's been irking me for a couple of years now that there is this culture in Australian elite gymnastics where falling is made out to be acceptable if you tried your best or if you were having an off day. Falling is never ok, yet we constantly have athletes counting multiple falls on several apparatus at nationals. Go to US nationals and you will see hardly any falls.
How embarrassing would this be if anyone important from the CWG federation or AOC was watching. Maybe we should be grateful that this event is away from the media glare becasue the funding would be cut in an instant.
Queenslander in photo is Katie Wurth I think
Any scores for Natalia Joura on floor and vault?
we will find out who the queenslander is when results are posted - cause you can see her no. clearly
It is definitely Katie Wurth. That is the opening pose of her routine. I guess she dyed her hair brown.
Yes is Katie Wurth - she has dyed her hair.
did she dye it between states and nationals ?
well obviously since it was blonde at states and is now brown!
What are Natalia and Katie's scores????
I wonder what vault Shona did. Lord, please don't tell me she is tanking FTYs.
@10:58 yes i looked back at the podium photos thanks for giving the answer :D
I think its interesting thst its nationals and the most interesting topic of discussion seems to be Katie Wurth's hair.
where is the audience?
Well I can't say I really feel like discussing what are evidently very poor, disappointing performances from our country's best.
I think Katie's hair looks nice :)
seriously what's the point of following this meet if nobody can hit a routine and give us some hope that we won't be clobbered at commonwelaths.
The audience is behind the member of the audience taking the photos...duh?
maybe some of the level 10 girls should have competed senior and trialed for Comm Games...seriously may it be the equipment?
anon 11:09pm - i was referring to all the empty seats in the photo of Mary-anne Monckton above - it's nationals yet the place doesn't even look half full
Equipment is just an excuse. Adapting to equipment is part of elite gymnastics. As far as I am concerned this is poor effort and laziness in preparation.
There is no excuse for falling, especially given many are doing watered down routines already.
Anon 11:12, at many competitions where ticket sales have not been spectacular only one side of the arena is open to the public. So what little audience there is, is obviously sitting behind the person who took the photos.
I am shocked at how low the scores are. Barely any over 13? Not a promising sign.
Frankly, if I were Peggy I would want to slit my wrists right now. She must be very disappointed that nobody has delivered a decent performance. My sympathies to her.
Just want to say thanks to Brindabella and Mez for their efforts tonight! Fingers crossed for a better meet tomorrow. Until tonight I was feeling quite positive about the prospects for worlds and Commonwealths but now I am not really sure what to expect.
No worries, guys. We're lucky to have such a generous Perth-based source in Brindabella!
I have a feeling this is a repeat of last year's competition: big stuff-ups across the board on day one, big improvements on the subsequent days.
At least... that's what I'm crossing my fingers for! ^_^
What happened top Gerogia Rose? She has a floor score, and we know she vaulted, but none of her other scores counted? Or did she get injured?
They only post the counting scores in team event. So although she competed the other app. the scores did not count towards the team.
Only top three per apparatus counts for team event.
I know about the 3 count thing, but the counting scores are shockingly low, so I was wondering if there was another explanation besides her tanking majorly. She would usually score over 11.225 on bars in her sleep.
On the topic of meltdowns, poor Georgia Wheeler. At that start of the year she was being raved about, and now she is just barely on the radar. Only counting score a 12.125. I should cry that that is actually a top 3 score as well.
Seriously, what happened to all these athletes? I can't believe this was the all they could do at trials for such a major meet.
Our numbers are low, our skill level is low, our quality is poor. This is a problem across all our elite gymnasts. Our IDP 6 and 8 girls are ok in quality but difficulty needs a major increase. This is what comes from 12 yr old still competing on a single rail without a release. Do we magically excpect our Jnrs to pull out a min 2 releases of high quality with such limited grounding.
In the case of Georgia Wheeler..the hype was premature and probably unwarranted. This sport is so eager to find the next big thing...it raves and acclaims far too quickly!
Don't even get me started on the single bar! Number one problem for our girls? LB-HB transitions with a lack of counter-rotation and amplitude. Single greatest cause? Having a single bar way too long. It is so much more logical having them work on double bars and adding a compulsory toeshoot from low to high at the beginning of the exercise.
So much for 'live updates' from Gymnastics Australia. Why must they let down fans over and over. All they posted was 'great to see Ash Brennan back in action' and something about SA leotards, then nothing until the end of the meet. That does not count as 'live updates'. Additionally, they have not provided any AA progress scores. And their photos are abysmal. Ugh. What a trainwreck.
This must be close to one of the worst nationals ever. I can't recall a year where the event was so dismally covered and the performances so horrifically bad. i have enjoyed watching these girls progress and want to be supportive, but this is so disappointing from the perspective of soemone who has invested time and energy in supporting Australian gymnastics for many years. At the end of the day, if you know the meet is going to be full of falls and unprepared athletes, why make the effort?
I was disappointed with floor. There seems to be a large number of girls competing the same tumbles - double tuck, double twist, double pike and front layout-front full. The dance was lacking artistry and a number of girls had difficulty with leaps and jumps.
However I do think the number of gymnasts competing and the standard has improved since last year.
Monica Slone fell during touch on bars and landed on her knee which was being iced all night. So she was nursing an injury on the other 3 rotation. Noticed Ashleigh Kittl taking tape of her elbow so she was not 100% either which is sad most of her routeens missed the skills that were on 1st NSW Comp at Westfeilds. Emma JAne had a couple of falls on Beam. Her floor looked nice as well.
The Collisters had already booked tickets etc so went as a family holiday regardless of injury
On a more positive note, can anyone in attendance tell us about some of the bright spots? Anyone with cool choreography or skills that was unexpected?
Has anyone heard about what Peggy and TPTB thought of the meet? It always interests me to know whether their expectations were met. I wish Peggy would write the quickhits or provide meet commentary!
It was not all that bad guys! In terms of atmosphere, athlete attendance, performance and audience numbers it was way up on last year. Trust me, I was sitting front row, right where I was last year.
I really think tonight was a result of first night nerves. Remember a lot of these girls have been injured or retired or just away for a really long time and this was their first big thing back.
I was so impressed with Shona and Georgia Bonora - they are so solid and sooo on the CWG/worlds team. It's awesome how they have come back from injury.
Natalia Joura and GRB were looking lovely, as was Milly.
Nikki Chung has a very unique bar set although I couldn't name skills for you because impressed not good with the technical speak (I was stoked that I was able to identify foe Mez that Ash Brennan fell on her side somi!) but it was so good that the crowd was gasping!
Larrissa worked shockingly hard at vault tonight as did Emma Dennis on bars. Larrissa and MaryAnnes floors are so gorgeous and graceful. They are such ballerinas and it suits them, especially larrissa.
Angela Donald is a little star - watch out for her!
I predict Georgia Bonora will win the AA and probably Angela or maybe Milly will win junior AA.
Teams for this year will be as I predicted I reckon - Lauren, Larrissa, Georgia B, Shona and Emily or Ashleigh. Maybe Ash for CWG and Emily for worlds.
Sorry my photos are such rubbish - all I have is an iPhone and it doesn't zoom! :(
More tomorrow night!
Brinds
Was Larrissa still doing her watered down tumbles from QLD states or has she upgraded
Svetlana is in 2nd AA behind Angela! Goes to show that if you hit your routines anything can happen.
I think we all need to remember a few things here.
1. Do you really understand (or take into account) how much more difficult the code is now, compared to say 2000?
2. We don't have the numbers to enable us to have the depth that would see 'top' performances regardless of injuries, etc. to our stars.
3. Given that ... do you realise that we don't have the money in the sport to give us the 'proper' coaching ratios in IDP6 and 8 to develop the skills the way they should be developed. All the programs are working a ration of 6:1 or 8:1l, and that's just not realistic. It should be a maximum of 4:1 and that's never going to happen. Not enough kids = not enough money. Straight mathematics.
4. And on that subject, there was much bitching here about ticket prices etc. If you are not prepared to pay the cost of a bleedin' ticket, don't be surpised that the money ain't there. No bums on seats = no sponsors = no money = no results. Again, straight mathematics. You can't expect the government to fund a minor sport just because you like it ..... but not enough to buy a ticket.!!!
I personally support gymnastics by giving up 10 days of my time to be here, and help make it a great event.
Less whinging and more positivity from you lot wouldn't go astray.
Rant over ...
Ribbit
Yeah, I'm with you, Frogger. I said this to... oh dear, who was it, I forget... SOMEONE during Pacific Rim... might've been something I shouted at Bridget Sloan over the barrier... that the true fans are the ones who will always be there when others are not, whatever the weather - or ticket price.
I plug gymnastics wherever I can, daggy as it might sound (and it does, believe me, I get some interesting reactions), because I know people like watching it on the telly and would be surprised to hear they can watch it close to home. You should've heard the conversation I had with 3 British backpackers on a tram coming home from Hisense after Pacific Rim!
I am sure day 2 will bring happier outcomes.
Dear Froggy,
As always, your words of wisdom make for good reading.
I believe the single biggest problem the sport has is that it promotes injury. I suspect that Ash Brennan is the only gymnast out there last night not recovering from a major injury as she has had a year off. This sport demands super high repetition, long exposure hours, fatigue, conflict with school etc, strict diet, sacrifice of any personal life, on-going pain, on-going anti inflammatories, Panadeine on comp days and heavier training days, strapped ankles and hand rips. If we were competing cats and dogs instead of humans, the RSPCA would have shut it down 100 years ago!
Elite sport requires sacrifice, but gymnastics goes way beyond any other sports (except maybe Sumo wrestling). It is the "Jumps racing" of Olympic sports. Injuries occur not just while competing but simply walking from one apparatus to the next. Every week of missed training requires a month to get back to where you were. This sport takes a terrible toll on it's athletes, particularly at a vulnerable age. It is almost impossible to be of mature mind (25yrs+) and be an elite gymnast.
Perhaps one elite gymnast in twenty is really fit and injury free. Remenber that at Nationals we are not seeing the worst of the injured girls, they stayed at home. So to select a team of six fit gymnasts, we need to have 120 injured girls. Would those six necessarliry be the best gymnasts of the 120? Almost certainly not, they were just the fortunate ones.
On the subject of money, I don't really have a problem with paying $20 a session (not sure what it is in Perth) as that would seem to be not that unusual. I believe that main reason you do not have people attend is that the audience is kept in the dark as to the competition. Although scores were flashed last night, why is it that we do not have all-around standings after day 1? The audience will see some gymnastics but they will have no idea as to how a team event is scored or that the day 1 scores will combine with day 2 for an all-around champion. This sport will never attract a wider audience until it learns to speak to people other that ex-gymnasts and their grand parents.
Gymnastics in Australia enjoys an extremely high participation rate at junior levels and GA collects fees from all of them. It cannot however see to it that our elite girls get some sort of fee relief. They only pay in clandestine arrangements in some circumstances to keep the high profile girls in the sport. Most on the floor last night will have never received anything significant from GA yet most will be paying $8,000-$12,000 per year in training costs plus travel to events such as Nationals.
In the last two years GA have made recommendations for the distribution of two chunks of money allocated by the Federal Govt for Comm Games hopefuls. GA recommendations were so unfairly managed that here we are at the selection trial where there is a rediculous range of recipients. You will have girls on the Comm games team who will have received up to $20,000 while their team mates may have received nothing. You will have girls who trained and competed for selection but missed out. Of these, some will have received up to $20,000 while others nothing. Worse still is that will have several girls who will have received thousands but didn't even make it to Nationals. It is hard to love GA in the light of such incompetence!
We should not judge our girls too harshly. Only a few of us could know the the pain and sacrifice they have endured just to be there. When they compete, they give their all. Little wonder that sometimes performances are below their own expectations. Lets get fully behind them and give them full support. This sport is hard enough without have supporters who don't fully respect them.
Stepping down of rickety soap box....
A lot of you have some interesting things to say (especially you, anon 11:32, you're more restrained about the situation than I've known others to be).
I've got some gaffa tape to fix anyone's soap boxes if they need it.
I agree with anon 11.23pm.
We have to consider the amount of major injuries our gymnasts are coming back from.
There really are a lot of things to consider that people seem tone forgetting. If you can do a better job get out there and do it yourself then!
And seriously, I got in for twelve bucks last night - how can you complain about that? Gymnastics is so rarely in Perth that I wouldve paid way more to have the priviledge of going to see it live in my home city. Stop whining.
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