I'm here! I'm here!
Brindabella's texting me dutifully so here goes...
******************************
Warm-up notes:
* McGrath having difficulty with comaneci saltos
* Arena boasting its biggest crowd of the competition today
Competition gets underway...
* Dennis VT 1 13.650 VT2 12.125
* Budack VT1 13.675 VT2 13.350
* Chung and Nedov both suffer a fall on bars
* McGrath messy on bars but gets through it. 11.300
* Chung UB 12.125
* Donald prepares for bars, looks confident. 13.625
* Shar-lee Clark UB 11.950
* Joura UB good routine, 13.425
>>> Donald 1, Joura 2, Possibly Chung 3
* Miller out of BB/FX final? Looks good for UB warmup.
* Great beam from Nedov (questionable sheep jump), one step back on dismount.
Mez's dilemma - both laptop and phone are running out of battery and I have only one powerpoint at a convenient distance. Gaaaaaah.
* Morgan lands UB dismount to knees. Wheeler over-arches on handstand on low bar, hits feet on floor. Over-arches on high bar, falls, then falls on dismount.
* Amaya King-Koi hits a nice beam set despite fall on first series.
* Miller hits foot on the high bar (Brindy's unsure what skill it was), seems to really rattle her. Does a fine dismount, if a little off centre.
* Exum BB fall
* Wheeler UB 10.950
* King-Koi BB 11.825
* Miller UB 13.200 with a difficulty level of 6.2
* Nedov beam 13.550. McGrath BB a nice routine but overtime again. 12.900 revised to 12.800
* Budack UB 11.800 with difficulty score of 4.3
* Monckton UB 13.550 good routine, 5.6 difficulty
* Chung BB 12.500 Joura lots of bobbles for 12.050
* Brooks UB falls on dismount
* Bonora UB a few leg separations, sticks dismount for 14.300
* Donald BB a few wobbles but no falls
* Morgan called out for beam finals but is not there???
I text after a few minutes- "did she show up?"
The reply: "No!"
>>> Bonora has "definitely won bars by a mile!" Looks to be Miller 2, Monckton 3
* Morgan has scratched from beam final.
* Budack BB 9.925?
* Katie Wurth FX 12.950. King-Koi headbutts floor on last pass. 12.500
* Dennis great beam set 12.700 (not 13.300 as I originally wrote, folks, sorry about that)
* N Joura FX nice . 13.300
* Sanders FX lovely, "sky high tumbles!" 12.650
* Bonora BB fall 12.575. Wheeler BB 12.325
* Monckton BB falls on mount but stuck dismount. 10.825
* Laura Hingston FX 11.350
* Donald FX 13.025. McGrath FX out of bounds second and last passes.
* Wheeler FX out of bounds third pass. Not a stellar weekend for her. 12.650
* Wurth looking good in vault warmup.
* Budack OOB first FX pass 12.375
* Joura great vaults, VT1 13.100 VT2 12.237
* McGrath BB score altered to 13.100 (apparently Ade announced that it was a change to the difficulty score)
* Ashleigh Kittl VT 13.200
* Natasha Hamman "Great FX... Looked like she really enjoyed herself and she totally nailed the first pass". 12.775
* Wurth VT1 13.575 VT2 13.312
* Bonora "solid FX!!!" 13.850
* Exum VT1 13.550
*Bridget Beattie FX 11.900
* Nedov VT1 13.00 VT2 12.662
* Chung VT1 13.475 VT2 13.262
Results as they are announced!...
JUNIOR VAULT RESULTS:
1. Exum 2. Wurth 3. Chung
JUNIOR BARS RESULTS:
1. Donald 2. Joura 3. Sanders
JUNIOR BEAM RESULTS:
1. Donald 2. Nedov 3. McGrath
JUNIOR FLOOR RESULTS:
1. Joura 2. Donald 3. Wurth
SENIOR VAULT RESULTS:
1. Budack 2. Hamman 3. Wheeler
SENIOR BARS RESULTS:
1. Bonora 2. Monckton 3. Miller
SENIOR BEAM RESULTS:
1. Dennis 2. Bonora 3. Wheeler
SENIOR FLOOR RESULTS:
1. Bonora 2. Hamman 3. Wheeler
AUSTRALIA'S YOUTH OLYMPICS REPRESENTATIVE WILL BE ANGELA DONALD!
(senior beam podium via Brindabella)
110 comments:
so glad emma hit a beam routine!
A comaneci salto for Amelia? Exciting!
I'd love to see Emma's beam, so glad she finally hit.
Fingers crossed for Larrissa on bars....
you do not 'hit' a beam set if you fall!
You want these quick hits or not, anon? Yeesh!
Emma did not fall on beam
Brinds
Mez, keep up the good work, we all understand what you mean.
Yes, Mez, we are SO appreciative. Without you and Brinds, we'd have nothing. Thank you SO MUCH!
Is there a score for Emma? Excited for her!
Shame about Nikki Chung on bars- she has a great set when she hits.
S'arright, guys, I'm cool. ;)
did amelia fall? Why is the score so low?
Woohoo Georgia B on bars!
:)
Anon 4:08 maybe the overtime thing? Dunno.
overtime deduction is usually only 0.1.....
By the sounds of it she scored 12.9 but lost 0.1 for overtime so her score was 12.8
Doesn't sound like Amelia fell, so perhaps just broken connections and/or wobbles brought the score down?
Doesn't amelia have a 5.9 difficulty? That score seems terribly low if there has not been a fall and she loses 0.1 for overtime??
Thanks Mez & Brinds for the updates. This is all we have on the other side of Australia
is Georgia's d-score on bars only 5.3? 14.3 sounds very generous, given hardly anyone cracks 9.0 e-score in international meets and she usually has considerable form errors.
Thanks for all the quick hits Mez & Brinds. You are both doing an awesome job for us fans.
You guys are lucky they're doing this after all the complaining you did about having nationals in Perth.
Huh? Why would Mez and Brinds consider not doing this, after people complained it was in Perth?
Guys, c'mon. We're not here for praise or anything like that, we're simply here to inform!
I was only calling out that initial anon because I'm adding few of my own comments, just writing what I get texted. It's all pretty much 'as is'. Brindy doesn't have to miss half this comp because she has her eyes down texting, but she does because she's kind enough to do it for me. I just don't want splitting hairs over what's being written UNLESS it's a genuine score error or typographical mistakes.
this has nothing to do with GA holding nationals in Perth. as expected, GA coverage was shit and practically non-existent
I don't think it matters WHERE Nationals are - Mez and Brinds have been kind enough to provide updates for everyone. It's not their job; they have decided to do it off their own backs.
In saying that, it IS GA's job. I don't think people would complain half as much about the location of nationals if GA provided some sort of live coverage (at the least, quick hits) or some video footage. They've put photos and results up after the event, but with technology as it is today, some sort of live coverage is not too much to ask for. They've done it before, but they just aren't consistent with it. It's frustrating.
They should've plonked Brinds down with a laptop and had her update the Facebook page...
:)
Their photos are barely worth the bandwidth to view them, they are really crap.
They pretty much completely ignored the IDP 8/10 sessions.
They said they would do 'live updates' but didn't deliver.
They are lazy and ungrateful towards fans who support the athletes and attend events.
They have no qualms in stealing photos and linking to videos uploaded or taken by fans, yet they never bother to reciprocate and put some effort in themselves.
Must say... Good on tash for picking up some medals ... good for her. Would be so difficult going from national stream to senior international and she is still going!
Congratulations to Angela Donald for her Youth Olympics selection - she is a lovely gymnast and it sounds like she has had a good week.
Thanks so much for all the updates, it is very much appreciated! So happy for Angela, she started elite gymnastics a little later than most and has worked extremely hard for those results, so glad she's being rewarded for all the hard work!
Also very happy with Emma Dennis' beam title, well done Emma!
Can't wait to hear the Comm Games team, am certain it won't please everyone, such a hard selection to make!
I have to wonder if Shona will be passed over for selection now after her only medal this week was an AA bronze which she may not have got if Ash Brennan had been competing.
I was thinking the same thing. I hope Shona is okay. I was surprised she competed one apparatus and then not the other two. Maybe she wasn't feeling well.
I wonder what would have happened if Larrissa had submitted an injury petition - she probably would have been able to just walk onto the team like Emily and Lauren. Sucks to think she might miss out now.
It is a little unfair that Emily may get to just walk on - the e-scores here were far harsher than Pac Rim it seems, and Emily would be the most severely punished for he poor splits and poor form if she were scored with the same strictness.
Larissa hit her foot on her jaeger. Her bars was quite nice otherwise.
Donald was stand out. So solid on beam, beautifully hit handstands on beam and strong landings on floor.
GBO stand out for seniors. Apart from 1 fall on beam she was rock solid and had huge power in her tumbles.
Wheeler is a beautiful gymnast, it was such a shame she couldn't pull it together today, but I applaud her fight to stay on bars! Several times she was over in a handstand and managed to pull it back.
Chungs bars was nice, she just fell in her dbl pike dismount.
Nedovs beam was gorgeous. Sky high roundoff double tuck dismount.
Well done to Tash who stood up her double layout on floor!!
Shona balked 3 overshoot to handstands in 1 touch warm up and then scratched the other apparatus. Is she injured?
I thought the competition was much better than the Thursday competition.
If you read the CWG Selection document, they can pretty much still pick whoever they want, regardless of results at this trial. There is no weighting assigned to the different factors they consider.
If they wanted to pick Shona or Larrissa they could justify it with their past achievements and still be adhering to the selection criteria. To their credit, both have shown they can hit on the world stage when they have adequate physical preparation.
Because the whole injury situation means the choices are not black and white, at the end of the day it is anyone's guess who they want. I suspect it is difficult for us to predict without knowing the back story of every athlete re: their performance at the trial, their planned upgrades for October, and how they have looked in training - all those things the selection committee see but we don't.
“Bonora and Monckton have proven themselves this week, those two clearly separated themselves from the rest of the pack.” Liddick wrote in her wrap up for the competition.
What drugs is she on? MM fell twice on beam two days out of three. Only competed 2 apparatus out of three days three because of injury. How the hell is that consistent.
Sorry, but it really does appear that the National coach shows bias towards MM. MM came second last on beam today and that should be applauded?
Emma Dennis was more consistent than MM by a long shot and more able to hold up to the physical demands of three days of competition.
Agree about Wheeler's efforts on bars. She fought hard for that routine. Once on the high bar she overarched sooooo much it was starting to look like a Kristy Phillips planche on beam she was so far over but she managed to save it!
Also agree Emma Dennis did fantastically, especially today!
anon 6:43
I agree the only one who separated themselves from the pack was GBo.
Interesting reading the article the about the apparatus finals wrap up. Western Australia's Natalia Joura won floor, do they npt know she competes for Queensland now.
They spelt Dasha Joura wrong too, way to show respect to your athletes GA.
And totally agree about Mary-Anne. I really admire what she's done and that she hasn't given up but she did not set herself apart at all in terms of performance and consistency! Peggy is on crack! How are multiple falls on beam each day of the competition commendable?
Based on what Mary-Anne did on beam this week I would never rely on her in a team situation because she hasn't shown herself capable of hitting there at all.
A total load of BS, you can tell she has already decided who she wants on the team, and she is laying the groundwork. As I said, I really like May-Anne, but I want it to be fair for all the girls.
It's pretty obvious that Peggy thinks the sun shines out of MAM's backside.
MAM will be great in time, but she certainly did not set herself apart this weekend.
It seemed to me that Shona may have an injury. She seemed unhappy on friday during the comp. Today she looked more so. Her bars warm up was very tentative and at the end of her routine she was holding her back.
In the vein of what was said elsewhere, the opinion of my insider is that the team was effectively selected before the competition. The AIS desperately need someone on an Austrlian team and Peggy will deliver that for them. Kudos to Mez for making that possible but in no way was she a standout.
This also highlights the point of Peggy instructing the judges to score them hard on the first day. It paves the way to slot in Emily and others based on comparitive scores.
At the end of the day, this trial was really only for show. As Nade points out, regardless of the selection criteria, Peggy can pick whoever she wants and can manufacture any excuse to justify it.
So by the sounds of it the CWG team will be:
Lauren
Georgia
Emily
Maryanne
and?
ashleigh.
thats probably why she didn't compete the second day. doing it like this she came second and looks good. if she had competed a second day she might not have hit everything.
didnt she do the same at olympic trials. only one day of comp because she came down with a strange stomach ache,
not fair with the ais deal. there were better girls out there and deserve it more. why cant something be done about this?
Does it really matter if the "trial" was for show...it was Australian National championships firstly! And as we all know things never pan out how we expect, look at what happened to Dasha in Beijing, no one would have seen that coming! I don't think the team should be picked just based on one competition anyway, although what ever happened to the top 2 automatically being on the team? I thought that was a great incentive to compete well.
I just came up with ultimate bar routine for Mary-Anne based on her current skills! All she has to do is put back in her straddled shush, add 1/1s to her existing toe on a free hip, and connect!
Toe full + piked shush
tkatchev + pak
stalder shoot
free hip full + straddle shush
DLO dismount
Short but sweet! That's worth a golden 6.7 baby!
In all seriousness, If Larrissa can be ready for worlds with her 6.4 bars consistent and Mary-Anne can upgrade to the 6.0 vicinity, then we will be fine on bars after all.
It is true, looking at Mary-Anne's routine, that having the shush adds huge possibilities for 0.2 CV bonuses and lots of extra tenths with minimal change. A d-score over 6.0 should be achievable since she did the straddled shush in her routine last year.
Hot team for worlds would be
Lauren
Emily
Georgia
Larrissa
Mary-Anne
Shona/Ashleigh
I am sure if she could she would of at the competition. But then again why would she if she was already on the team?
By the sounds of it she could of come last on every apparatus and still got on the team.
I don't dislike the girls but this whole MM thing has left a sour taste in my mouth. As everyone keeps saying, girls that worked so hard out there over the last three days have been shafted.
I don't get the MAM lovefest either. When you consider that Georgia W had a pretty bad meet and walked away third in 3 EF while MAM walked away with 2nd on one event, mainly because Larrissa hit her foot. It seems like Larrissa should've just petitioned her way onto the team based on previous results, like Emily, rather than risk not being selected by having a splatfest.
The Peggy quotes are hilarious. Saying she was looking for consistency and then saying MAM stepped it up. Is she just throwing the AIS a bone?
I'm expecting a lot better in October but that's mainly because I don't see how things can get much worse. With the scores seen over the past week I wouldn't be shocked if a B team from England or Canada beat us. There's going to be a lot of pressure on Lauren's shoulders seeing as she seems to be the only one that can consistently get above a 14.
I agree with you anon 8.13.
If Peggy was seriously looking for gymnasts that could go a third day then she would of commended GW. MAM showed exactly that she could not hold up for three days of competition by not competing on floor or vault.
I believe she skipped FX and VT so many times because she was trying to save herself some pain. I noticed she didn't even warm up FX on Friday night...why else would you not warm it up unless you were trying to preserve your aching ankles?
Can't believe the hysteria in here over a quote from a press release!
There are reasons for and against the selection of all the girls at the end of the day, it's just a balancing act to get the right combination of strengths.
It's unfortunate that decisions have to be made now with so many injuries, but they do. Some athletes/programs/fans are inevitably going to disappointed, and no doubt there will be complaints and those who disagree. But at least wait until the team is announced!
Is it July 19 the team is announced? I thought I heard that somewhere...
I remember hearing that too....
I think Ashleigh will definitely be on the team as Peggy seems to count prior Games experience really highly. I remember the uproar in 2004 when many people thought Lisa Skinner should not have made the final Olympic squad because she finished way down the rankings at Nationals. I seem to recall Peggy saying that Lisa's past Olympic experience counted for a lot and I think the same thing will happen here with Ash.
“Today I was looking for two things at these apparatus finals. Firstly, level of fitness of the girls, who can go that third day, which simulates a Commonwealth Games or worlds event,” Liddick said.
“Second thing I was looking for is the consistency factor. Some girls hit all three days in a row.
“Bonora and Monckton have proven themselves this week, those two clearly separated themselves from the rest of the pack.”
...Maybe she was talking about MM hitting all 3 bar routines?
Maybe Peggy was talking about bars for MM, maybe she is only planning to use her on bars.
I definitely think the team will be
Lauren (AA)
Emily (AA) *could also make vault finals
Georgia (AA)
Larrissa (UB, VT and maybe FX?)
Mary-Anne (UB + others?)
Ashleigh (BB, VT, FX)
This team for worlds and then drop either MM or LM for Comms (its 5 right?).
I think its an ok team. I liked GW at Pacs but she just hasn't cut it with her difficulty and consistancy at nationals. While LM was also a little inconsistant she has cut it at worlds before and that counts for a lot in my eyes, though I do think she should stop aiming for AA and concentrate on two-three events. We've seen who our AAers are- Lauren GBo and probably Emily.
I think Ash being back is definitely exciting, I don't care why she only did day 1- she has the difficulty and nice execution and we need her!
I think with MM- if she can push for the routine that Anon at 7.57 PM put down (or similar) that would be amazing- what a D-score! Hopefully her ankles continue to recover and she can push for beam/floor too because her gracefulness is beautiful!
While I'm a little suprised with Peegy's coments regarding MM I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure she's much better acquainted with MM in regards to what she is capable of and what she'll be performing come October than most of us are.
Last year when Larrissa was selected over Emma people were saying it was ridiculous seeing as Larrissa was only chosen for bars and had no major results. She went on to make the finals and came close to medalling. Peggy saw somepotential there that many of us did not. It's just odd that last year people were complaining about Larrissa making the tema and thisyearthey're complainging about her possibly not making it. After all,the teams haven't been selected yet and all of these comments are purely speculative.
What was the comment from Brinds on Night 1 (TF) about Mary Anne doing a second bar routine? That can't be right. She said after 2 falls that the routine was repeated. Perhaps she was late finishing warm-up??? Anyone clarify?
My team prediction is this..
Georgia
Lauren
Shona
Emily
Mary Anne
Reserve Ash (and if Ash is too injured then Emma D or Georgia W)
I saw on the GV website it said that Morgan and Brennan were fighting it out for the fifth spot on the CWG team. There is no way they could put in Ash over Shona, don’t forget that at Vics 3 weeks ago Shona beat Ash by 5 marks over two days and beat Ash on every apparatus but floor and Shona even outscored Gbo on Vault and Bars. Same at Trial 2 in May Shona placed 2nd to Gbo and Ash placed 4th. Shona has always been a good competitor and you would be crazy to not take that kind of international experience and consistency.
I love Ash and would love for her to go to CWG but her comp results and consistency don’t compare to Shonas. Although I would be tempted to take Ash instead of MM if Ashs injury gets the all clear in a few weeks. It was very clear shona was not herself at Nationals not sure if she was still sick or not but good on her for competing anyway to earn her spot. I think its already very risky for GA to select the two injured WA girls and but to then also select another inured gymnast that couldn’t complete Nationals, even if it is a minor injury would be insane. In saying that I would love to see Ash go to Worlds and then stick around till 2012 she is just such a nice girl and such a great role model for our sport to come back after a year off.
Ash isn't actually injured, her ankle/s pulled up a bit sore after day 1 and didn't want to risk the possibility of turning it into an injury. She's good to go. :)
I agree- Ashleigh's vault and bars are not really strong enough to use at worlds, whereas Shona is more versatile and will be able to offer 2 vaults at worlds.
Does anyone know what was wrong with Shona this week? She looked so much better at Vics....
I didn’t realise Shona beat Ashleigh by so much at Victorian Championships. Yes Shona has apparently been sick for the 2 weeks leading up to Nationals and some of the other gymnasts said she was still unwell in Perth. Get well soon Shona!
* McGrath having difficulty with comaneci saltos
Is this correct - is this a new release for her as this was not in her routines before Nationals - i thought she was doing a piked jaeger
Well then Shona has a lot more of a chance than we thought. I would take her over Ashleigh for sure givne there is an explanation for her poor performance that will affect her only temporarily.
I doubt Amelia did a comaneci - MLC didn't mention it in any of their reports. it must have been the piked jaeger. That is the skill she usually has trouble on too.
Re. Anon 12.05pm
MM was last to warm up on Night 1
1. Yes, turns out it was Monckton's warm-up bars routine Brindy saw initially, hence thinking she was watching two
2. Yes, it's a piked jaeger and not Comanecis
Brindabella is new to spectating at competitions, so small errors aside I think she did a corker of a job! ^_^
It was actually a straddle jaeger, but she wasn't having trouble with them, she caught all of them!
What happened to Georgia Rose Brown??
she was sick with the flu
Yeah sorry guys. I am merely a fan - not an expert, not a coach, not even a former gymnast - so I'm pretty rubbish at identifying skills. I do my best but I guess that wasn't Milly doing a Comaneci salto and Mez did in fact only do one bar routine on night one. It's just too much for my little brain to watch and take in all at once when so many routines and warm ups are going on around me! I need more practise! I'll be there next year though so hopefully I'll do a better job! :)
Brinds
My dream team is Lauren, Georgia, Ashleigh, Emma and Larissa. Maybe not a very realistic or useable team but I love the look of it :)
Brinds you did a great job. Without you there we would know nothing.
Thanks Brinds for your work. You could have just gone along and sat and enjoyed but you helped us all to understand what was going on. For a spectator you did a wonderful job! And even as an ex-gymnast I get confused what skills are named- I still have no idea what a shushanova is on bars!
My favourite team is Lauren, Georgia B, Emily, Ashleigh and Larissa.
What a team that would be.
Can't blame the girls for not competing when they're sick, considering if they do compete when sick like Shona did everyone makes nasty comments on the performance, I hope Shona isn't left of the team, she is a valuable member with the proven consistency that Australia may need.
MM has always seemed to be one of Peggy's favourites. She has done nothing out on the comp floor for what 2 years? She did half a bar routine last year. Yes she did well but still is obviously not as fit and strong as other girls who have proven themselves.If she can produce the same comp at worlds trial then maybe she could be deemed as consistant on the floor.
I don't think 1 comp proves that.
Her bars have good skills but her form is not good, it does'nt flow as nice as say Larrisa does.
I don't think Emily is the best either but at least she has shown she can compete at an international level. Has MM ever competed in a GA team?
Why is there a photo of Natalia in the International gymnast on line?
It must be good when you can ride the waves of your famous sister. Surely a photo of Georgia or Angela would have been better. Again, what has Natalia done over the last 2 years?
Dear Anon 12.32 I totally agree with you in regards to MM. Peggy has always favored her. I really don't think it shows good sportsmanship, especially when it comes from the National coach.
And as far as throwing the AIS a bone. Why should they get a bone? They had a hugely successful program and then they lost every Senior gymnast and any other gymnast that showed potential.
If there is a bone to throw surely it should go to a program where the numbers are increasing and there has been a proven increase in performance. MLC springs to mind, but I am sure there are other programs in the same boat.
Anon 12.32pm
Obviously MM isnt' as fit and strong as some of the other girls. Mez said she had surgery on both her ankles, and the last one under 4 months ago. But at least she was consistent on bars. Unlike Larrissa who fell on every night. (Even without Adler-Jaegar combo.) At least MM strung together a semi-decent routine that she could actually do.
MaryAnne scored below Larrissa on night one, and in EF Mary-Anne only scored 3 tenths better despite Larrissa's mistakes.
I take my hat off to Natasha Hammond, I thought she was fantastic! She looks fit, strong, composed and SMILES! Her scores were up there with the others. Why does she not rate as a chance for selection? She has a wealth of experience and is a strong and consistant competitor. I would pick her over an unfit MM.
I think a lot of the elite girls could learn a lot from her about attitude out on the floor. The only time I saw Natalia smile was when she got her medal!
Couldn't you argue that scoring potential rather than consistency is most important at the moment?
What matters is that they will be consistent in three months. People are going on about how MaryAnne hit a couple of average bar routines so we should now take her over someone who didn't miss a routine at worlds and nearly won the bronze medal in EF, just because she is not at full strength now? That would be stupid.
Peggy doesn't seem to be holding MAM's unpreparedness on beam and floor against her, so why should we hold it against Larrissa on bars? She deserves the benefit of the doubt too. Shona hit a routine with the same value as Mary-Anne's (5.6) at Vics, should we now take her too as a bars specialist?
Yes, I agree with anon 4.05
It is how ready the girls will be in 3 months. Its how prepared they are, injury wise, fitness wise and skill/routine wise. And none of us know how the girls will be, because none of us see their training everyday. Only Peggy will know, so we can sit here arguing about who would be the best to take for Comm Games, and Worlds. But it doesn't matter what we think. Because in the end the only people who can do anything about it are Peggy and the selectors.
I don't know alot about Natasha Hammann because there are no videos of her to see - but what wealth of experience does she have? If MAM is unfit at the moment then she may well be 100% within a month and therefore her difficulty and execution would increase i'm sure their are skills that she is training that were not on the competition floor in Perth - i'm not sure how much more Natasha would have in the difficulty are? Also she had a D score of 1.7 on bars - so not even the CR's - where is it that you think she might fit in a team? btw these are just questions, not being narky!!
Its more observation as a spectator.I'm not big on the technical side. Nataha's bars are low in difficulty but the other app's seem to be up with the others. She was in the mix with her scores.As I understand it she has been competeing for years in the National stream.That has to count as a wealth of experience and the cross over to elite would be hard but she goes out on the floor with a lot of guts and confidence. I commend her for that!
Good point anon 4:05
My Commonwealth Games team prediction is
Lauren
Georgia
Shona
Emily
for 5th spot + reserve not sure which way around but either Larissa or Emma.
Re anon 3.52pm
True MM only beat Larrissa by 3 tenths, however MM's routine was shaky from the get go...missing handstands all over the place. But the fought through, and didnt fall.
I agree with anon 5.32pm
"My Commonwealth Games team prediction is
Lauren
Georgia
Shona
Emily
for 5th spot + reserve not sure which way around but either Larissa or Emma."
But my team would be:
Lauren
Georgia
Shona
Emily
and for the 5th spot and reserve, I think it could be a battle between:
Mary anne, Ashleigh and Larrissa
Yes Shona should definitely go! SO versatile, can put up big vaults, solid bars, consistent beam and floor.
But, if Gymnastics Australia go by the usual rule: "Top two at trials gain automatic selection."
Then, maybe there will be no place for Shona on the team? But who knows...
I'd like to see:
Lauren
Georgia
Shona
Emily
Emma
but I think Larissa will get the 5th spot for her bars
Does anyone know if Lauren and Emily are 100% chance to be fit enough to compete?
I noticed that Emily still has her elbow heavily strapped in training.
Who is ever 100%? Noone can accurately predict recovery times even from common injuries. The way it sounded in the press releases though, they were rested to prevent further injury, so that they wouldn't risk not being ready for later in the year. I hope they are available though because it's a pretty thin team without them.
Funny how things work out isn't it.
First two get automatic selection.
So after first day MM was coming third and Ash second. Ash finishes the competition and all of a sudden she has to withdraw because of injury, leaving the place open for MM. Ash is much easier to warrant a place with an injury petition than MM for coming third.
The team was chosen before the competition so there is no use getting all upset about it. Anyone who has been involved in the sport for a while will know this is the case and is always the case.
I agree that putting in MM over Larissa or Shona is crazy. How on earth can a gymnast that is struggling with her skills now upgrade and be consistent with those skills.
Also, why would you give the position to someone that might be able to upgrade over someone who has the upgrade already, has competed the upgrade at an International competition and placed in the top 6 at EF.
I just read the document, and there is nothing about the top 2 being guaranteed selection.
**note to self - must remember to stop reading comments after the 50th person has said the same thing as everyone else.....**
The top two girls getting selection at trials doesn't make sense when the best gymnast isn't there. Considering Lauren's score from worlds AA final last year was 5 points higher that MM's average score from nats.
When someone posted that MM was told she was a lock after night 2 I thought it was a lie but the very next day Peggy was saying something along those lines inthe GA wrap up.
Considering that back in March/April Peggy was saying that she expected that Georgia W/Emily/Larrissa would make up the core of her worlds and comm games team I don't think it's impossible to think that Peggy had some predetermined team in mind. It's just with Georgia W and Larrissa being less than impressive so far this year it makes it harder to justify their selection.
Personally I thinks she'll go for an inexperienced comm games team. It's an oppurtunity for MM and Emily to get some international experience.
With Shona heading to Stanford and possibly not competing for Aus again after this year it may stand to reason that Peggy woudl rather give the competition experience to someone else.
Dasha bombed out at trials in 06 and missed out on a spot to the relatively inexpereinced Ash Brennan and Naomi Russell. Hopefulyl any fo the girls snubbed for selection will use Dasha as a role model and be motivated instead of disappointed.
what a shame Dasha has'nt used the same motivation after the Olympics.
When she missed selection in 06 she was a lock then but did'nt do well at the trial as I understand it so how does someone who has not competed in an International team for about 2 years suddenly become a lock for selection for such an important comp. I would think there would be some appeals happening!
Was Natasha Hammann the girl that did the double layout on floor? Cause we loved that routine it was awesome from a spectator point of view and was by the far one of the best of the night to watch!
Also from a spectator point of view, Mary anne Monckton's beam and floor were cool. We really noticed her because of her flexibility on beam.
The team was not chosen before Nationals.
The selection criteria says nothing about 1st and 2nd being on the team.
Peggy's comments about Georgia W, Larissa and Emily as core for comm games team were made at Pacific Rim and are a natural comment for hyping up the interest.
If anon at 8.08 is alluding to Ash pulling out of day 2 to favour someone else then that is ridiculous. You also allude to being in the know about the team being chosen.
When the team is chosen it will be announced and i'm sure it will be a well thought out team.
Natasha Hammann looked great on floor but I do remember seeing a lot of 9s and 11s from her elsewhere. But I really liked watching her - she was one of few who smiled and looked like she was enjoying being there. And yes her double layout on floor was fantastic and you could tell she was absolutely stoked that she landed her double layout successfully.
I remember watching her at Nats last year and someone telling me that she was much older than the other girls and I was quite admiring of her to compete with all these youngins. It can't be east but I think she's doing well, and certainly doing more than any other South Australian gymnast seems to be since she is always coming to Perth on her lonesome!
Shows that older age can be good sometimes. That's why Georgia is the new national champ I guess. If you're obli fifteen or sixteen and you're going to nationals for the first time where your rep and team selection is at stake it can be easy, I'm sure, to freak out a little and lose concentration more easily.
At the same time like someone said, peggy took a chance for CWG in 06 and picked a mostly inexperienced young
team and they managed to rope in quite a few medals. This stood people like Ash Brennan in good stead for the rest of the quad and lead, at least in part, to further selection in the years to come. Imagine if she had not gone to Melbourne - with her injuries in 06 and 07, she wouldn't have been very well known and potentially looked over for selection to the 07 worlds team.
I think you can rely on people like Ash and Emma and Emily. I don't think they'd bomb in Delhi. People underestimate how hard the girls work and how much they want it. Thyre fully aware that worlds and CWG are a big deal and you know they'd all be going home this week only to work harder than ever before so in september they look top notch.
Still. Gymnasts cannot become seasoned competitors without being given the chance to get experience and become seasoned competitors. It is like going for a job but them not wanting you cos you don't have any experience, but no one will give you the chance to get some experience. Situations like kayla Williams being plucked from goodness knows where to win a world title just does not happen that often.
To Anon July 13, 2010 9:47 PM
Well put Peggy.
Well done Mez. Such is the status of your board that it looks like you have the Head Coach contributing!
It is thought that Jane Allen even chipped in with a post or two last year.
If that is the case, kudos to both for adding to the debate. Even better if they used a regular pen name so we would know that the post was authoritative.
sorry to dissapoint you but i am not Peggy - just putting my two bobs in.
You know what? Maybe we should actually just trust in Peggy. Everyone always doubts her and the teams often do better than expected. Eg. 2006 The teamw e sent to worlds was almost touted as a disaster on the former message board. Hollie, Chloe, Dasha, Melody, Olivia and Karen- everyone was crying doomsday and then they came 6th. We all laughed when she included Larissa last year and she finaled.
Maybe, just maybe, this woman actually knows her stuff and if she thinks MM is the goods then I'm inclined to believe her.
And PS I am most certainly not Peggy- she actually drives me nuts and I'm not a total fan but she does seem to know how to put together a successful team.
I agree 2:32. love her or hate her style she has made gymn in Aus what it is now.
MAM definitely has great potential - on bars people have shown how she can relatively easily get a routine valued above 6.0, and she has always been a nifty little tumbler so I'm sure we will see some upgrades in that department too.
On a side note, does anyone know if she has decided on another club yet, presuming the rumblings about the AIS are true?
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