Two of the year's biggest events are done and dusted. So what's next for Team Australia?
1. Combs La Ville, France 5-6 November
Attendees - TBA (2 teams)
Site - http://www.cacv-gym.com/pages/le_tournoi_international.html
2. Massilia Gym Cup, France 12-14 November
Attendees- Georgia Rose Brown, Nikola Chung, Natalia Joura, Georgia Simpson (Team Massilia)
Alex Eade, Laura Hingston, Zoe Lorenzin, Svetlana Sanders (Open Massilia)
Site - http://www.elite-gym-massilia.com/
3. Stuttgart DTB-Pokal World Cup, Germany 12-14 November
Attendees- Lauren Mitchell
Site - http://www.dtbpokal.de/
4. Glasgow Grand Prix, UK 18-21 November
Attendees - Lauren Mitchell
Site - http://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/events/international-gymnastics-grand-prix-2010/Pages/default.aspx
5. National Clubs Championship, Canberra 20 November - 1 December
Site - http://www.gymnastics.org.au/event.asp?ID=598&format=popup
****GA tweeted tonight that Lauren will be in Melbourne very soon for a meet-and-greet. Stay tuned! (Hopefully it'll be somewhere a bit more fan-friendly than the VWHPC...?)
Does anyone know which Seniors/juniors will be at national clubs? Any chance of seeing Britt Greeley there?
ReplyDeleteIs Japan coming again? And if so what level Snr/Jnr again?
ReplyDeleteLauren is also down to compete at Stuttgart the week before Glasgow.
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity, now that Lauren has overcome her injury, they seem to be campaigning her and entering her in lots of meets rather than pacing her? Does anyone know why? This is a genuine enquiry, and not an attack on GA, Lauren OR her coaches.
ReplyDeleteNow that Lauren has already made a name for herself internationally, surely it would be more beneficial for her to stay at home, train and upgrade her skills and send someone else who hasn't had too much international experience. Maybe someone like Georgia Simpson or an upcoming jnr/snr?
ReplyDeleteOnce again this is not an attack on GA or any gymnast. Just wanting to raise the point thats all.
I think the same teams that are going to Massilia is also going to Combs la Ville
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, Mitchell said this about her upgrades:
ReplyDelete"I have some upgrades that I'm working on in the gym to add into my floor and bar routine and maybe vault.'
I was hoping they might do some work on beam dimsounts, but I wonder what vault could be. A second vault? Or an Amanar?
And floor
For 6.3 she could do 3 passes -
whip+double arabian+stag
1.5 thru pike full in
2.5 twist+front full
She could do the double pike as a 4th line but it would only add 0.1 so not worth the likely deductions.
It was Miller who impressed me most on floor at worlds. What an awesome twister she is! I think she has a lot of upgrade potential there and could get a DV up in the high 5s by next year for sure.
ReplyDeleteFloor and bars were our main weaknesses at worlds this year - if you look at the GBR floor performers for example, they are all .3-.5 clear of each of our athletes in start value, which adds up to a lot over 5 routines.
You really need to be putting up routines of 5.6 plus to be competitive, not 5.0 and 5.3 etc. That is not to say the girls didn't do a wonderful job considering the time and injuries they had, but for future I think that is something to aim for because it is basically impossible to break 14 otherwise.
I can see Mitchell upgrading to an Amanar. When I saw her vaulting at worlds I remember thinking she has enough power to upgrade. I think it would be more valuable for her to learn an amanar, rather than try for a second vault.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to guess, I would say that Lauren going to 2 world cup events would be about getting a world ranking. She missed the France comp at the beginning of the year and therefore doesn't make the list. This link is to the FIG site where the world rankings are listed. Depending on who else goes, 2 strong comps could see her rise straight to the top of the rankings.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fig-gymnastics.com/vsite/vnavsite/page/directory/0,10853,5187-195618-212841-nav-list,00.html
ReplyDeletesorry this is the link!
but those rankings don't mean anything anyway! You only need to see the low calibre of the field at world cups to understand that big programs don't give a toss.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can suggest another reason why Lauren would be going? I can see your point, but obviously it isn't experience she is chasing.
ReplyDeleteThe rankings were useful in determining who would compete at the World Cup finals held biannually. As far as I know Madrid was to be the last one ever held. That's where Lauren won BB at the end of 2008, her first major title.
ReplyDeleteIn some ways it's good that Lauren is competing soon after worlds while she's still in the public psyche. Wins in Stuutgart and Glasgow will probably make the news on the back of her more impressive worlds win. Normally we wouldn't here anything but Lauren is getting a lot of attention. With 4 golds and a silver at Commonwealth Games and a world title she's in contention for sports person of the year. Sure Alicia Coutts won 5 golds but that was in a reduced field. Lauren is WORLD champion in a very competitive field.
It's obvious that Lauren's injuries hampered her upgrades. She changed her beam series but the only new element she had was an upgraded turn on beam and floor. A 6.7 D score on beam is the highest in the world. If she can tidy up her current routine she'll still be competitive. Ultimately I'ld love to see a double arabian dismount or a standing arabian/back full. She counts a C element on beam which is amazing considering her start score is still so high.
She's obviously very aware that UB is what's keeping her off the AA podium. A 5.5 is not a competitive D score. She really needs to be looking at a 6.0 minimum.
At this point in time we really need some UB workers. Of the girls coming up most seem to be strong on BB and FX (e.g Donald, McGrath, Nedov). I'm really impressed with how those girls look on BB but if they want to make the team UB is the way to go. VT in prelims won't be strong but on the back of Lauren and Emily we'll fare okay in TF. I can see Emily doing an Amanar by London. Her vault was spectacular in Delhi.
On a side note, I'm really impressed with some of the cool turns the junior girls are doing on beam and floor. Nice to see some variety.
She is probably aiming to qualify for World Cup Final, whenever that is. I'm sure that World Cup events have some pull with the funding bodies and medalling at those may be important from a sports admin point of view. I am sure there is a reason for sending our best gymnast. International experience can be gained at any of the invitationals whereas World Cups may be more important for a reputation point of view. And while we, the gym community, know that the rankings mean nothing ASC and other granting agencies might not.
ReplyDeleteWe could send another senior like Little or Miller, who may also go for a medal but you may argue that they also have had experience and competing Pac Rims this year they have done more comps than Lauren.
what's not fan friendly about the VWHPC?
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see Chung, Brown and Joura at Massilia. Outside of Donald and Mcgrath, I think out of the 95ers they have the best shot of making the team next year. Pretty sure they all have at least a 5.6 on UB at the moment. You could pair Chung who is great on VT/UB with McGrath who is great on BB/FX for example. But yeh, to guarantee a spot for themselves a FTY or layout yurchenko won't cut it next year. If anyone can come up with a DTY and be mildly competitive on at least 2 other events, they'll be on.
ReplyDeleteBut then don't forget Britt Greeley, Zoe Lorenzin and Mary-Anne, who all are good prospects but had to sit out this year. They could make an impact.
Vault will be the clincher - if they are going to let off Larrissa, or Georgia Rose, or Simpson off vault because they are good on bars, then the others will need to be good on vault. You couldn't have a team with Brown, Donald, McGrath, Simpson and Miller all together, because the vaulting is simply too weak across the board.
Details for Lauren are already up on GA and VWHPC facebook
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 3:11, there's not longer at World Cup Final to qualify for.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is this is part of the strategy to keep Lauren in front of the judges and keep her reputation up. Reputation matters, particularly for gymnasts from outside the Big Four. Lauren keeps winning medals=less likely to get screwed on her execution scores at 2011 worlds.
I like that theory Robin - makes sense and sounds like a good plan.
ReplyDeleteI meant 'not fan friendly' in that, I was probably one of very few members of the general public that went to last year's signing at the HPC. Lauren was just set up at a table off to the side of the gym area while gymnasts trained and jostled about beside her; that plus the quizzical looks I got from coaches made me feel like I was encroaching on a space I wasn't welcome in, even though the publicity had given it a come-one-come-all feel.
ReplyDeleteIt's also a bit of a fiddly location to get to if you're not familiar with going there.
Jussayin'.
Where else would you suggest a signing take place than in a gym? She will be surrounded by hoards of doe eyed gymmies looking to emulate her performances. Would have thought the real fan would look beyond the stair climb, wait and chalk dust to greet our latest Aussie world beater. Some folks never happy. You won't keep me away!
ReplyDelete