Farewell 2011/2010 Award Wiiners

Hi everyone.

So he were are then, the last day of 2011!

I hope it was enjoyable for all of you. Thanks again for taking the time to pop by AGB. I'll be back in 2012 to cover some of those HUGE events that will grace our arenas and screens.

I am extremely sorry I never announced the winners of the last Australian Gymnastics Blog Awards on the first of January. It's extremely remiss of me and I won't let it happen again! I am rectifying the mistake by acknowledging the winners right here right now! Thanks so much to everyone who emailed in votes, it was a great turnout. I hope to hear from you again in the 2012 Awards, which I vow to manage much better.

So here we go! The winners of 2010's Australian Gymnastics Blog Awards as voted by you, the readers!


*********************************************************

1. Female Gymnast of the Year (Senior)
* Lauren Mitchell
Honourable Mention: TIE - Maryanne Monckton and Georgia Simpson


Female Gymnast of the Year (Junior)
* Angela Donald
Honourable Mention: Amelia McGrath


2. Male Gymnast of the Year (Senior)
* Prashanth Sellathurai
Honourable Mention: Josh Jefferis


Male Gymnast of the Year (Junior)
* Jack Rickards
Honourable Mention: Declan Stacey


3. Australian Artistic Gymnastics Team of the Year
* WAG Commonwealth Games


4. Coach/Coaching Team of the Year
* Nikolai Lapchine and Martine George, WAIS


5. Routines of the Year

MAG
Prashanth Sellathurai, World Championships EF

"His routine is amazing! although he didn't get any place at worlds watching the routine makes me go :O wow... "


WAG
Lauren Mitchell, World Championships EF

"Well done to this routine! i don't think many were expecting her to win this but she did! and it was great!! she performs it so well and her tumbles are awesome!"

"Champiooon!"


6. "Smile" Moment of the Year
* Prashanth Sellathurai gives Commonwealth gold to his mum


7. "Sad" Moment of the Year
* Aussie boys crash out at Worlds


8. Surprise of the Year
* Shona Morgan signs to Stanford


9. Simon Reeve Award for Gymnastics Media Coverage
* (TIE) Foxtel, for Commonwealth Games broadcast and OneHD for Pacific Rim broadcast
And thanks for all the interesting comments about Make It Or Break It... it seems to be every gymfan's guilty pleasure!


10. Brittany Boffo Award for Memorable (If Unfortunate) Mishaps
* Australia's beam lineup in the Delhi women's team final


11. Gymsport Athlete/s of the Year
* Naazmi Johnston, Rhythmic Gymnastics


12. Monique Allen Award for Successful Ex-Gymsporters
* Lydia Lassila, aerial skiing gold medallist


13. Photo of the Year



Thanks again everyone who emailed in votes, they made my inbox smile.

************************************************

I hope the new year starts off amazingly for you and you get ample time with your loved ones. Enjoy a sip of champagne for me. Thanks for the support, on and offline.

Gym on, superstars! See you in 2012!

Pre-2012 2012 News!

Woah, hi there, sudden-exciting-interruption-to-hiatus!

GA have announced our delegation to the 2012 Olympic test event!

Congratulations to.....

MG Team Members:

John Curtin – coach

Serguei Chinkar – Coach

Yu Bo – Coach

Phil Cossens – Physio

Paul Szyjko – Judge

Andrew Martin – Judge

Thomas Pichler – gymnast

Sam Offord – Gymnast

Joshua Jefferis – Reserve

WG Team Members:

Martine George – coach

Georgia Simpson – gymnast

Emily Little – gymnast

Trisha Hade – judge

Jill Wright – Judge.

TRP team members:

Nikolay Zhuravlev – Coach

Blake Gaudry – Gymnast

Darren Gillis - Judge

"The Test event will serve as the second and final qualifier for both MG and TRP. Australia aims to achieve one country spot on both of these divisions.

The Australian WG team qualified for the 2012 Games at the 2011 World Championships and will be using the event as a preparation event leading into 2012.

The MG team will be travelling to Waveney Gymnastics Club, for a week of training starting on December 27^th before heading to London on January 7th. The TRP team will depart on Australia on January 5^th, to spend 3 days training at Northampton Trampoline Gymnastics Academy prior to the event."

Happy Chrimbo

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, Buon Natale and everything else under the (Aussie) sun!

This is me.

Thanks for your support and contributions this year. I certainly can't do it alone.


Unfortunately due to time constraints there will be no Australian Gymnastics Blog Awards this year. I am truly grateful for everyone that voted in last year's awards, however, and will (finally!) post the winners before New Year's Eve. Next year should see them reinstated!


Thanks again for all your contributions and support. 2012 is going to be HUGE, not least of all because of the Olympic Games. It is also my fourth year of blogging and there will certainly be lots to talk about.

Wishing you, your families and those of our gym community a safe and happy Christmas period.

Keep on smiling.

xoxoxoxo

Meredith

This is a marsupial.

Spotted

Christmas has kept me busy, folks!

Thanks to The Couch Gymnast for shining a spotlight on two familar faces this week.

One former Victorian elite seeking greener pastures and one current Victorian elite on the brink of stardom!

Aussies also feature here as part of Gymnastike's "Workout Wednesday" video series.

2011 Mexico Open (2)

News out of Acapulco is pretty scarce and I'm getting some mixed reports.

What I can tell you is that Emily Little is in 4th overall as an individual after day 1; though each female gymnast is paired with a male gymnast and they can win a pairs title as well. Emily is paired with Santiago Lopez of Mexico as well as Sergey Khorkhordin (due to less female than male gymnasts taking part). With Lopez she is sitting in 7th but with Khorkhordin she's in 3rd!


Her scores for the two apparatus competed so far are

VT 13.950 (Yurchenko full only)
UB 5.3/13.350

Footage of her bars routine is below, and you can see a shot of her and Martine training bars on the event's webpage photo gallery.

Like their Facebook page for more photos, videos and results.




Day 2:

MORE OF THIS STUNNING LEO, PLZTHNX!!!

Emily finished in 4th all-around, just a smiiiiiiiiidgen away from the bronze medal position with 54.9 Beam score was 14.25 and floor was 13.35.

Gymnastics Australia have more lovely candid shots and a summary here. Apparently an earthquake hit during the competition... if Em can handle competing after that, then anything 2012 can throw at her will be a cakewalk!

Her beam routine is below.

Em and Sergey finished 3rd as a pair.

Finally, to cap off an exciting competition, Emily also performed an aboriginal-inspired Australian cultural beam and dance routine, as part of a televised gala that all gymnasts were invited to participate in.

You can see footage of the routine below.

2011 Mexico Open

Hi guys.

Thanks to all those who sent birthday wishes! You unquestionably rock (what didn't rock was the rubbish weather)!

There is now an official website up for the Acapulco event that was mentioned during the World Championships. It's this weekend! Note that Emily Little is listed to compete, not Lauren Mitchell.

Speaking of Lauren, VISA have uploaded a lovely-looking new promotional feature on Lauren. Hope that gold filter is a sign of things to come!

That's A Bit Cool!

Look who popped by the Victorian HPC!

You can see Hamish in action at the gym here. Hope he didn't get chalk in his eye!


Speaking of the gang in Prahran, is award-winner Ash Brennan already a lock for PacRim 2012...?

Tokyo Cup 2011

It's back to the land of the rising sun for Georgia Rose Brown and Maryanne Monckton this weekend.

Check out Full Twist's details about coverage from the event here.

I'll update whatever results and observations when I can, when I'm not...

er...

you know

busy.




Turning 25.


Update: According to FullTwist via the event website, Georgia Rose Brown suffered a finger fracture during beam training, but was ok to continue.

There are now added Massilia videos here, including Brennan and Monckton.


In the Tokyo Cup, Maryanne finished 5th and Georgia Rose 6th. Apparently the only significant mistakes in the competition were two OOBs from Mez. Everything else a hit for all competitors.

See standings here.

I have been advised by an official source close to the team that Georgia was in fact competing on an injured foot and lower back, and is to be commended for completing the competition under the circumstances. Our thoughts go with her for a speedy recovery!

Lauren has Landed

Lauren's VISA commercial is up!



For those of you in or near Perth, Loz will be appearing at Challenge Stadium this Saturday (nov 26th) to sign autographs with other WA sports stars from 1:00pm as part of ABC Grandstand's 21st birthday.

2011 Massilia: Videos!

Thanks to Couch Gymnast for pointing out the hard-working French fans who captured Aussie routines (Chung, Wheeler and Brown at least) in Marseille.

Merci a tous!

Check them out here. The highlights for me personally are Nikki's rocked tumbling lines on floor (mistake on the final one aside... she FLOATS them beautifully and nails the landings) and Georgia Rose's crisp bars set.

A report featuring detailed results can be found at IG here.

Cirque And You Shall Find

Exciting news!

Cirque du Soleil are currently seeking new talent for their current shows and upcoming creations.

(click for hi-res)

Open auditions for artistic gymnastics, trampolining, and acrobatic sports will be held at Highflyers Trampoline and Gymnastics Academy in Perth, Dec 9, and the Victorian Women's High Performance Centre in Melbourne, Dec 11. Auditions for Circus based acts will be held at NICA in Melbourne, Dec 4.

Full details and registration information can be found here and here.

Elite Gym Massilia 2011

Just a quick result down the wire from France. I'll update as more come in.

Open Massilia - Australia 2 (Wheeler, Brown, Chung) finished third behind two Canadian teams on 154.450

The girls were in the purple and black flame leo from worlds.

Full results from this round (en francais!) courtesy of the Gymnet French gymnastics fan forum are below.

1. canada mixte 155.250 (Mauckel, Flett, Black (blessée au coude au sol), ...)
2. canada futur gym center 154.070 (Hofland, Carvalho, Douglas, Deans)
3. australie 2 154.450 (Wheeler, Chung, Brown)
4. pole france marseille 152.090 (Cano, Cormoreche, Errin, Lejoyeux)
5. belgique 152.010 (Dejardin, Waem, Rabaut, Fransolet)
6. france junior 151.040 (Pauffert, Martin, Chambellant, Plessis)
7. canada 2 149.055 (Latimer, Chant, Pederson)
8. suisse 145.095 (Kaeslin, Guissani, Hitz, Jelmini)
9. canada alberta 142.050 (Dick, Wilchuck, Pas)
10. france espoir 137.065 (Pause, Loan, Pilla, Marrot)
11. henin beaumont 137.00 (Delbecq, Belba, Seggio, Maalem)
12. pole espoir paca 136.000 (Detrez, Pedeneau, Iosip, Baltenek)


I am assuming more photos will go up as the event unfolds, but for now there's a photo of Nikki on the first page of Gymnet's 2011 Massilia photo thread.

The Gymnastics Examiner has a report here.

Georgia Rose came second AA (53.65) with Nikki in 5th. Unfortunately, I can't see where Georgia W placed.

Master Massilia - World championship silver medallist Viktoria Komova was unbeatable here, but huge kudos to Emily Little for managing 3rd in the all-around! I can't seem to find scores on the official site or at Gymnet.

The team was in the pink and black leo from 2010 Worlds.

More photos (incl. podium shots) are up at Gymnet here.

A full report from GA can now be found here. Mez and Georgia Rose will now head to Tokyo! Good luck, girls!

Mitchell Media Mania

I love it when gymnastics pops up in the media, all smiles!

Lauren Mitchell's VISA campaign is hotting up, with a bunch of press pieces doing the rounds. 'Like' her official page at Facebook to see videos from Fox Sports of her media call yesterday. One includes a glimpse of her commercial!

There are also articles here, here and here.

Visa Champ

An update from the Australian Olympic Committee just gave a tantalising teaser...



(click for higher res)

Adnews.com.au says:

Visa signs Mitchell for Olympics campaign
Visa has signed Australian gymnast Lauren Mitchell as one of its sports ambassadors for its London 2012 Olympics campaign, "Go World", to be unveiled 24 November. Mitchell joins American swimmer Michaehelps and New Zealand shot putter Valerie Adams.

LATER THAT DAY...

Lauren's official Facebook page has put up a comprehensive update on the campaign, including a press release and some STUNNING shots from the advertisement. Checkit!

“The Olympic Games begin and end with the athletes and we’re excited to have Lauren join Visa as our first Australian Olympic ambassador,” said Vipin Kalra, Visa’s Country Manager, Australia. “Lauren is a true inspiration to thousands of young gymnasts around the country and we are proud to be supporting Lauren in what will be one of the greatest sporting challenges of her life.”

2011 Elite Massilia

No rest for the Aussies, it's on to France!

The official event site is here.

You can have a stickybeak at the official event program/media release here.

And while we're at it, a very happy birthday to team member Maryanne Monckton!

2011 DTB Stuttgart (2)

Hi all

Bit of a funny old weekend for me, only playing catchup now.

Vids of the Aussie girls competing all-around can be found at this YouTube channel and there is a wrap up of results from International Gymnast here. Lauren finished 4th and Emily 8th.

You can see a photo gallery here.

Speaking of Perthies, a huge congratulations to dual Olympian Allana Slater on being inducted in the WA Sports Hall of Champions!

Edit Monday - Congratulations Australia!

Our pink-and-black-clad girlies Emily, Lauren, Nikki and Larrissa finished a commendable 2nd behind Russia at the DTB Cup team final!

International Gymnast has scores here.

The Gymnastics Examiner has quick hits from the team final here.

Videos are once again going up here. Thanks, GutsuFan!

The Commonwealth Games are coming back to Australia!

CONRATULATIONS GOLD COAST!

BRING ON 2018!

2011 DTB Stuttgart

Hi guys.

Just got word from The All Around that the standings from the WAG team qualification in Stuttgart went thusly:

1. AUS 110.350 (!!!!!)
2. GER 106.250
3. RUS 105.950
4. NED 105.200
5. SUI 100,500
6. AUT 99.500

See a results pdf here. Lauren scored phenomenally on beam while Nikki rocked the second highest start scores on beam and bars (of the team).

Gymnastics WA have put up some of Desiree Jones' photos from the training gym on Facebook. Like their page and check 'em out!

Radio Gym 2

An interesting piece on the psychology of 'talent' and 'practice making perfect' on ABC Radio in the last few days featured Victorian gymnast Georgia Wheeler. Check it out here.

*strokes chin sagely*

There is also a photo gallery of Georgia in training here.

Post-Worlds Assignments

Hi guys.

I'm going to update this post as official word of assignments filters through.

The VWHPC is sending four athletes to the Massilia Cup in Marseille, France - Ash Brennan, Georgia-Rose Brown, Maryanne Monckton and Georgia Wheeler. Apparently WAIS is sending some delegates too?

Lauren Mitchell is slated for the DTB Cup in Germnay but I will post official confirmation when I get it.

Edit: GA have updated! The Tokyo team is on the move again!

Lauren will indeed head to the DTB Cup in Stuttgart (Nov 11-13), accompanied by Emily Little, Nikki Chung and Larrissa Miller.



Lauren will then head home while the other three, plus the Victorians mentioned above, zip over to Paris for the Massilia Cup (Nov 18-19). 4 girls will compete in the Master Massilia round and 3 will compete in the Open Massilia round.

UPDATE - Little to compete alongside Mitchell at the DTB all-around? Not sure if accompanying or replacing altogether.

Radio Gym

Hello, I'm still here, pootling along.

If you're in Melbourne, don't forget to tune in at 6:25pm to Radio Eastern (98.1fm) tonight to hear VWHPC gymnasts talking about their experiences.

There is also a Channel 10 interview with SA trampolinian (my word, not theirs) Blake Gaudry here.

(Ohhh is it pronounced "GORR-dree"? I always said "GOW-dree"! *packs up and leaves human race*)

6:27 I just tuned in. G-Wheels and Zoe L are on air!

Zoe tries to explain the complex scoring system. Not easy to do!

Georgia says you eventually 'get the hang' of balancing gym and school, and schools are always a good support network.

Q: "Is gymnastics good enough to make [you] a living?"
Zoe is very articulate, admitting that it isn't easy to make a living because it doesn't earn you a lot, and says gymnastics for those over 20 can be difficult... but with a shout-out to Chusovitina!

Zoe aspires to to a journalist - with a shout-out to RMIT!

Q: "Do you know lauren Mitchell personally, and were you inspired by what she did?"
Georgia (with a shout-out to her 2010 Worlds participation!) says she is an inspiration to everyone, great to train alongside, and a good person overall.

Talk turns to the benefits of the system no longer being centralised. Zoe says (in short) it's great for gymnasts across all the states, it's much easier not having to travel to Canberra all the time.

Georgia's highlight was the team gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and competing at Worlds. She hopes Australia can carry that into 2012.

Zoe's highlight has been her overseas assignments earlier this year, and her participation in the Youth Olympic Festival.

The big goal for both is the 2012 Olympics ("We've always been training for it"). They recognise that USA, China and Russia are the big competitors.

Injuries. "They're a huge part of this sport, it's everywhere, every girl has had at least one injury that's kept them out for months or years... it's an annoying part of the sport [but] you have to learn how to manage competition load."

The token "how many apparatus are there?" question. DUDE, SAY IT WITH ME: RESEARCH. Aaaaaaaaaand once again rhythmic gymnastics comes up. Zoe laughs and says "That is SUCH a common question! When we tell people we do gymnastics they always go 'oh, so you do the ribbon?'" Georgia and Zoe say in unison "That one's RHYTHMIC!" with a giggle.

Georgia's competition superstition is sticking with the same brand of hairspray. She worries that they don't make it any more and she's running low! And she has a little buddha figurine whose tummy she rubs before every competition.

Zoe - her special talent is reciting the alphabet backwards really fast. The host asks her to demonstrate, which she does, but not before guffawing "But that's not gymnastics-related!"

Q: "Do you have to be small to do gymnastics?"
G: Being small is an advantage, but being tall doesn't stop you. (With a quick shout-out to the two "awesome" tall girls at their own gym!)

Q: "What are the numbers like at your gym?"
Z: About 70 at the VWHPC.


They describe a typical day/session of training.

"Zoe...err, can I call you Zo?" Whaaaaaaat. He has their nicknames on a sheet of paper and feels like being cheeky. He even busts out "Wheels"!

Q: "What's the VWHPC like?"
Z: "It's always busy, there's always someone on the mat... there's always someone on an apparatus doing something."

The "We Ask Every Guest" question - who are your rivals? Who do you love to stick it to?
Both say China, America and Russia. "To beat any of those three... that's like the best day ever!"

Q: "How many sponsors and support team members do you have? Any plugs/shout-outs?"
G: The VIS, the coaches (shout-out to Tracey and Misha!)

Benefits of gymnastics:
G: "I have made the best friends through gymnastics. It's great... everyone in the gym is just like a big family."

The girls then nutted out the selection and training process after the trials. Hardcore stuff.

Aaaaaaaand we're off air!

2011 Worlds: MAD PROPS

To all our gymnasts, coaches, judges, medics, delegation members, reporters, gymparents and gymfans for a wonderful 2011 World Championships campaign for Australia. I'm sure a lot of valuable experiences will be taken away from it.

A+ 100% double mad props to young Jack, for making this groovy gif!



May everybody have a safe journey home and a restful sleep (that includes AGB nightowls!) after a nutty week of gymnastics action! Watch out London, we're coming for you!

2011 Worlds: EF LIVE!!!

From approximately 5:30pm as the floor final kicks off.

Lauren was training on the podium in the black and purple prelims leotard, accompanied by Peggy.

Try here for a livestream: http://www.zuumptv.com/2010/06/sportv.html

The popup ads are very annoying. Click on large red x's or 0's in squares that you see to remove them. Some of the ads have a tiny, almost single-pixel-looking x. It's a very little speck, but click on it and it should get rid of the ad for you.

5:52pm AEDST

After men's p-bars and a perplexing series of Brazilian ads, here come the ladies!

Lauren definitely in black and purple.

I AM SOOOOOOOO NERVOUS

Here she goes!

GREAT double arabian to stag. slight shuffle on piked full in but kept it in. Great 2.5 to front lay, slightly low changement out of it. Sells the choreo! Nice double pike with sissone. She worked in two extra jumps before the end post, hope it helps her!

GOES INTO FIRST PLACE WITH 6.3/14.733 - GA reports she actually missed a skill? Didn't look like it to me, might've been a dance element, and explains why she and Peggy stood with a pad and pen after the routine and Lauren rattled off what she performed.

... after a tense final in which the first five performers were all toppling eachother, Lauren finishes a very admirable 5th. Onya Loz! You can still hold your own with the best of them!

2011 Worlds: EF Day 2 Preamble

We're into the home stretch!

Lauren Mitchell puts her world title on the line tomorrow afternoon (approximately 5:40 AEDST)

Unfortunately, even with Stealthy in place, I couldn't get the BBC stream working today. At all! So I'm a bit disappointed but will try it again tomorrow, and bring you updates from social media sites as the competition unfolds.

An updated start list indicates that Lauren will compete second behind Jordyn Wieber. Good luck, Loz!

2011 Worlds: EF Day 1 Preamble

Another opportunity for Aussie gold this evening, as pommel prince Prashanth Sellathurai tries once again for a maiden world championship on his best event.

See the start list and schedule here. It'll be on around 4:45pm AEDST.

If he makes it to the medal dais, his qualifying scores on pommel, rings and p-bars should (fingers crossed) see him through to London on an individual placing.

And, according to an update by The All Around, the Romanian camp has confirmed that Diana Bulimar will be withdrawing from the floor final now that she has had a medical assessment. We wish her a speedy recovery from her foot injury, and the best of luck to Lauren Mitchell who is to compete in her place.

*****************************

4: 42 AEDST It's just about that time! C'moooooooooooon Proshie! Go you tiny good thing!

With the first competitor falling and Louis Smith fumbling, Proshie could be in with an even better chance!

Japanese superstar Uchimura ALSO falls! Could Prosh pull a 'Bradbury' with a hit routine???

Ah,

apparently not.

IG just said he fell. Gymnastike said he caught his foot. Nooooooo! Managed a 14.3 but is definitely out of medal contention. He finishes in 6th place.

*sigh*

I'll be over in the corner, rocking back and forth...

2011 Worlds: NEWS!

You might be interested to learn that I passed.


Also?

Floor final? Mitchell in, Bulimar out!?




OMG YOU GUYS

OH

TO THE EMMEST

OF GEE'S


Here's her stellar floor from the all-around. The top score on floor for the entire competition so far, I hear!

Certainly hope she can repeat this kind of performance on the night.




A lovely interview with Lauren post-aa can be found here.

2011 Worlds: WAG AA

Hi all,

I am writing this as I've dashed in the door and am about to dash out again.

Unfortunately the BBC stream won't work for me tonight with Stealthy so I don't know what to do (not that i can hang around to watch anyway) so chat amongst yourselves and share if you find one.

I'm going to miss most of the competition but hopefully I'm back before the end.

Just saw

Emily BB 13.566
Mitchell laboured bars, 13.133

BYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE *dashes leaving a Mez-shaped dustcloud*


Later:

Lauren finishes 8th, congrats Loz! With a phenomenal floor score to boot! This is the 3rd world championships at which she's placed 10th or higher, smashing job. Emily finished in 23rd.

Sounds like it was a bit of a fall-fest! Maybe I'm glad I wasn't home to follow it after all!

For anyone who didn't see streams (and I include myself), this was the leotard:

Good Vibes 2

Having a bit of a fail day myself, so...

Wherever you are and whatever you're doing...

SMILE!

2011 Worlds: WAG AA Premable

Australia is shooting for medals again on the women's side. All the very best to Emily and Lauren as they take on 22 other fierce competitors.

See the start list here.

Lauren is in group 2 starting on bars, Emily in group 3 starting on beam. It'll kick off at 8:00pm AEDST.

I don't know if I will be doing a live blogalong tomorrow night (or, at least, a post-mortem after the competition), as I'm doing final preparations for my driving test on Friday morning and will need my sleep!

2011 Worlds: WAG TF Post-Mortem

I get a reprieve from liveblogging tonight as Australia laments not making the men's team final.

Last night was a bumpy one, not least for those actually competing! I have to admit I feel a little deflated but in every team final somebody has to come last. On this occasion it was Australia. The only way is, of course, up.


GA has an update with photos here. An extended gallery is here.

The Couch Gymnast's take on the night is here. A bizarrely-titled feature on Em Little is here and you can read some of Peggy Liddick's hopes now the dust has settled here, or here.

'It was not a lack of effort from the girls.

'We went into this and we said, listen, the fact that we are in the teams final, we are going to celebrate it and we're just going to go out and do what we can do'.

'We're still going to the Olympics and there's nothing can change that.'

If you're interested in non-watermarked press photos, head to Daylife.com and type in "australia gymnastics" or the name of the gymnast you're interested in seeing.

Dear Australia 2

Um... You left the house looking like this.


Jussayin'.

2011 Worlds: WAG TF LIVE!

From 9pm AEDST

Follow live scores at the sources I've linked to in previous posts. There are too many!

Your best bet for watching a stream is to download Stealthy add-on for Firefox; that way you can configure your network settings for the UK, and should be able to watch the BBC iPlayer live feed of the final tonight.

But you didn't hear that from me...

*taps finger to nose*


Gymnastike has a video from the training hall here. The girls look damn fine on beam! I think they're beyond ready for this!

****************************************


Australia leo- GA has posted at facebook that we will "not miss" the girls out on the floor. Err... should I expect good or bad then!?

I am watching here using Firefox Stealthy add-on:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/gymnastics/15235274.stm

here we goooooooooooo

Australia is in ORANGE AND PINK! I swear that's what I glimpsed! I feel like Russia's dark green on black should be Australia's!



Beam:
Brennan - IG says Ash hit, with a wobble and step on dismount. Stayed on! 13.9?
Monckton - fell on LOSO, overcooked double pike.
sorry to be vague, guys, my feed keeps chopping and my computer craps itself any time I change tabs so i can't see all quick hits! 12.93
Mitchell- very cautious. Slight error again on her switch leap but stays on. big step on dismount

Ironic - Britain;'s union-jack-with-diamentes leo looks like an Aussie flag!

BBC SHOWS LOZ! Yup, fluro pink and metallic orange with black/dark purple slashes. Orange scrunchie. Acro and wolf turn great. Cautious in jumps. nearly comes off on front tuck. 14.566


Floor:
Miller- Aus is up first. I hear larrissa's music on the stream but don't see her. From IG:
Miller--AUS--Floor--triple turn, tuck Arabian double front to leap, layout front to double twisting front, front full punch front full, 2 1/2 dismount and just barely finished with the music--5.4/13.70
Brennan- Also 13.7
Mitchell- Introduced as the 2010 gold medallist. the announcer has been mentioning past achievements of gymnasts as they're on deck. Sounds like a looooong wait for her music? Just keeps first pass in (she's on the feed! fierce face!) by millimetres. good height in jumps. Really great 2.5 to front lay with changement jump. getting great hieght tonight FANTASTIC! Gets right into the corner on the double pike but hits it, sold the choreo amazingly! GO LOZ! 14.8

I am trying make a screencap, gaah!

We hear arena announcer say lauren's floor d-score has been upgraded 6.2 to 6.3 after an enquiry

(In the pic, Rissa is wearing her track pants)

I refuse to believe the whole team was ok with that leo. MOI, JE LE REFUSE!


Vault:
Brennan- Tsuk full only? 13.76 She was zooming by in the background of a Romania fx on the feed.
Little- 14.533 for her Baitova, nice!
Mitchell- hands down on hers!? 13.2

Aus goes into 6th, GB hit a great bars rotation so they might have the advantage? Onto bars and hopefully the kind of rotation we had the other day! (oh boy, BBC team just told us Britain are in FOURTH. Oh boy, talk about a bitter pill to swallow!)


Bars:
Brown- 13.8, sounds like it was a nice routine. (5.6/8.2)
Mitchell- 5,2/13.366
Miller- COME ON RISSA! Sounds like... she hit! she hit! Stuck dismount 14.075!

Ack, now my feed is jumping like crazy. Keeps cutting to half routines.

The US were in a league of their own tonight. Australia is to be commended for holding it together at their last apparatus and deserve to be in the top 8 in the world. I just feel like some work really needs to be done as we roll on to London.

Aus will finish 8th on 166.739

Onya girls. You're still going to the Olympics. Take away some lessons from here and keep on shining.

DEAR AUSTRALIA

GO


YOU

BIG

RED

FIRE

ENGINE

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011 Worlds: MAG Qualification Post-Mortem

Unfortunately, the team missed qualifying slots for the team final and the test event.

HOWEVER! Fortunately! Happily! All is not lost!

Prashanth Sellathurai, as has been hotly tipped, made it into the pommel horse final, to be contested later in the week. GB darling Louis Smith and stalwart Kristian Berki will encounter our pint-sized superstar once again. You probably don't need reminding that individual medallists automatically qualify to London 2012.

THE ULTIMATE POMMEL SHOWDOWN OF ULTIMATE DESTINYYYYYYY.

On the media front, an article is here and you can see unwatermarked press photos here.

2011 Worlds: WAG TF Preamble

Quick interlude!

Longines has put up the women's team final start lists. Australia's are as follows:

BB: Brennan, Monckton, Mitchell
FX: Miller, Brennan, Mitchell
VT: Brennan, Little, Mitchell
UB: Brown, Mitchell, Miller



Gymnastike is putting up some training videos.

2011 Worlds: MAG Qualification LIVE!!!

Update 6:21 AEDST: If you or someone you know was listening to 3AW Radio in Melbourne just now, yes, that was my mother calling up the evening sports show to give a shout-out to the gymnasts competing in Tokyo.
Yes, she did it without me knowing
Yes, she spoke without any prompting
Yes, she is aware she got the competition days wrong
No, she didn't say Lauren was from SA on purpose, she genuinely forgot!
No, I probably won't get to partake in the cake shop voucher she won.

And now for tonight's competition...

You, just like me, can follow live scoring here and quick hits here or at any of the social media resources I've cited in earlier posts. Gymnastics Australia are updating Facebook and Twitter simultaneously.


You'll have to forgive me, men's gym is really not my strong suit so my attention may waver.

Parallel Bars -

Sam O kicks Australia off with a 13.833. Hooray!
Two for two - Prashanth gets a 13.7, with a step on the dismount like Sam (eek!)
Luke WOW-atowski, I reckon! Sticks dismount for 14.45
Tom P keeps the good vibes going with a stuck dismount for 14.666
Josh just a 14.53 but a commendable routine.
Go Australia, you made it through p-bars superbly!

High Bar-

Luke 'Wadsy' Wadsworth leads off on high bar. Clean but lacking the theatrics of the powerhouse nations. 12.33, eep! That might hurt!
Sam O rocks a kovacs (I love those) 13.533
Tom P clean routine, dismounts with double lay full. 13.33
No boys have come off yet (touch wood). Phil Rizzo would be proud!
Josh 13.3333 (recurring!)
Team anchor Luke Wiwatowski goes up... hoping for the stuck dismount he did in Commonwealth team final... catches his releases a little close, apparently, struggles, one step on layout double double dismount. Good enough for a 12.333 OWCH!

Floor-
Wadsworth leads off again. Near stick on last pass. Clean for 14.00
Sam O - stuck double layout! 13.866
Josh J clean but landing errors 13.733
Luke Wiwatowski - Puts feet oob on one pass 13.633
Floor anchor Tom gets "mostly stuck landings" according to GA! 14.666

Pommel-

Australia's bogey apparatus, but a chance for pommel wunderkind Prashanth Sellathurai to shine.
Jefferis is up first. IG gives me a heart attack, as I read the quick hit "slices through his routine, a tad loose in the legs" as "slices his leg open"! But makes it through, 12.766
Bugger. Wadsworth runs out of steam as has to dismount prematurely
Wiwatowski fares better, stays on, but iffy on the dismount 12.933
Tom also stays on and avoids major form breaks 13.1
COME ON PROSHDOG!
Good reviews from IG, they said he "rips through it" and that it was superb... and it's a... 15.566! This puts him just behind Berki and Smith. Doubtless a finals spot.

Rings-

First up is Wiwatowski for 13.733 (GA says he was wobbly)
Tom good positions, dismount is double back with 1.5 twist 13.833
Josh pikes down dismount and hops, but gets us over the 13's. Scores 14.533!
Prashanth nice job, double lay dismount, 14.433 IG says he is "putting on a strength clinic", haha! Watch and learn, fellow competitors! Prash is the man!
Offord takes a large hop on dismount but made it through. 14.666

Vault-

Luke Wadsworth tsuk double for 15.433 great stuff!
Same in name and vault - Luke Wiwatowski also a tsuk double for 15.366...
Josh has to take a step on landing, 15.2
Tom 15.3
Last up is Sam... 15.366! IG and GA very happy with the effort on his Yurchenko double.
We finish 15th after our subdivision.

Well done, boys. Be proud of yourselves. Now we play the waiting game!

2011 Worlds: MAG Qualification Preamble

Let's hear it for the boys!

Australia competes tonight for a maiden Olympic team berth. We wish them the very best of luck from back home.

The Aus Olympic team website has a feature on Sam Simpson and his Tokyo teammates here.

The guys compete at 6:30pm AEDST and start on parallel bars.



A start list can be found here.

Gymnastike has a couple of videos of the boys in training. Check Gymnastics Australia's Facebook page for training photos.

Update 4:52 AEDST

Pommel scores have been getting better and better throughout the day, with the likes of Smith and Tomassone making steady routines in their subdivisions. Prashanth has his work cut out for him, but here's hoping he benefits from being a later session! *resumes biting fingernails*

AUSTRALIA IS GOING TO THE LONDON OLYMPICS

LET'S PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!

GA posted the following pic of the team upon learning the news...

AUTOMATIC TOKYO TEAM FINALLISTS
AND LONDON 2012 OLYMPIANS
AFTER 10 ROUNDS OF PRELIMS...

1. USA 234.253
2. Russia 231.062
3. China 230.370
4. Romania 227.228
5. Japan 223.543
6. Australia 221.846
7. Germany 221.163
8. Great Britain 220.553

Lauren Mitchell and Emily Little will contest the all-around final

Lauren is first reserve for the floor final


There is a nifty photo gallery featuring the purple Aussies here.

2011 Worlds: Pick of the Pics

It will be a nervous wait to see if Australia has qualified to the team final (and London Olympics) today. So, have yourself some pretty distractions in the meantime!


Unwatermarked press photos from Daylife/Getty are here.

The Gym Examiner has a gallery of Brigid's photos here.

Gymnastike has the Lauren Mitchell interview from a different side here (with bonus background Peggy!)

Gymnastics Australia have also added photos to their World Championships 2011 album at Facebook.

Update 8:26pm

Word is, the Monckton has been approved for the Code of Points!

There are some Australia photos in the event's Facebook gallery



Update 9:06pm

I am being distracted from James Nesbitt's lovely face to inform you that we're still in 5th going into the last subdivision so to all intents and purposes... AUSTRALIA'S INTO THE TEAM FINAL!

Update 9:19 With the second-to-last subdiv officially over, and only three full teams remaining in the last, I can confirm WE'RE IN WE'RE IN WE'RE IN WE'RE IN WE'RE IN WE'RE IN WE'RE IIINNN!!!

2011 Worlds: WAG Qualification Post-Mortem

Well then!

Not an utter disaster but definite room for improvement. I certainly hope Lauren is ok after her beam slip.

The FIG are very diligent, and have put up video already of Lauren's floor and Larrissa's bars at their channel.

While we anxiously await the standings after tomorrow's qualification rounds, let's not forget our guys are gearing up for their Tokyo campaign as well. Check out Luke Wiwatowski's really quite super duper floor from podium training, courtesy of Gymnastike!

Update, midnight: Yes, I am still awake! And Houston, we have prelims vids!

Aussie fan Ange has made the trip over to Tokyo to cheer on the team.

She is vigilantly uploading videos here.

Smashing stuff. Thanks, Ange... Thange.

Update, 12:43am

Still up.

Inside Gymnastics did a quick interview with Lauren after prelims. Check it out. She comes across as very calm and articulate (and talks upgrades)! Smart girls are smart. Smart and cool.

(photo credit: Brigid McCarthy. More can be seen here.)

2011 Worlds: WAG Qualification LIVE!!!

Any moment now...

Just keep hittin' refresh on...
http://www.the-all-around.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=257:2011-worlds-wag-qualifications-3&catid=4:news&Itemid=22


Brigid says "purple shiny leos"!

TA-DA!



Beam:
Little: front, turn in tuck stand, free walkover – ff – layout, CL leap, tuck back, stuck double pike 13.533

Brown: Two for two! Small wobble as well (on side somi) but stays on.
Switch, back tuck. Full turn with leg at head, turns an extra quarter turn but OK. Front aerial, bhs, layout, probably not connected, but smooth enough and no wobbles. Side aerial. Side somie. Roundoff, double full, small hop. 13.266 had a long wait for score.

Monckton: HITS!!! side somi. front aerial. switch+back pike. L turn good. switch 1/2 shy 180+back pike wobble. Dbl pike. (Brigid said her aerial combo was "insanely good"!) 14.166 YAY MEZ YAY YAY YAY

Brennan: front aerial+switch leap+gainer layout, cool! switch 1/2+back tuck. side somi. switch ring. bhs lay wobble. aerial. dbl pike 14.125 the team goes 4 for 4!

Mitchell: Absolutely NO pressure on Loz, of course! bhs+bhs+2ft lay. split+wolf. Mitchell turn wow. switch 1/2 not 180+back pike. front aerial+switch leap "splits the beam!!" (oh no!)comes right back with standing front tuck though, almost like it was nothing. Two bhs to double pike, a little low. 14.033

Floor:
Lauren's warmed-up piked full in to sissone has a good review from Gymnastike. Fingers crossed we can make up ground on floor!

Little: Great full in. Bounce back out of dble back (Brigid corrects this to say full in?). Dble turn-okay, fell sideways a little. Sticks dble twist. Leaps not quite split. Peggy clapping her through last pass. Dble pike, one small jump back. Pretty good! 13.1

Brown: dbl pike. Perfect Memmel turn! 1.5+front tuck+gorgeous stag. Tall, elegant gymnast. dbl tuck bounced back & hands down 12.500

Miller: Good reviews from sources. "IG says: triple turn, tuck Arabian double front to leap, layout front to double twisting front, tuck front full to layout front full to leap, 2 1/2 that barely finished with the music--Again a very clean routine--These ladies look really prepared for this, and they look healthy--5.4/13.60"


Brennan: full in. double tuck+stag. handspring+front full a tad low. stuck double pike and a delayed scissone jump. nice routine. Also 13.600

Mitchell: Again... no pressure! Blythe says: "Lots of "come on, Loz!" from Aussies around the arena. She's got to be Whip to Arabian double front with single stag out, good. But then puts one foot OOB on full in pike. Recovers well with good 2.5 to front layout. She's an interesting dancer -- at times her movements are very fluid, while at others they don't seem so much. Double pike to a little split jump -- that one didn't really work." Scores 14.391, second highest so far.


Vault:
Monckton: FTY one step back. 13.466

Brown: FTY nearly stuck. 13.633

Brennan: Tsuk full 5.2/13.766

Little: Baitova with a jump back. 14.533

Mitchell: Baitova with a crouched landing. 14.3


Bars:
Little: toe on toe off blind to Jaeger, toe on toe off full, double layout dismount (good landing) 13.566


Monckton: Successfully did The Monckton!One intermediate swing on bars -- had to kip off and re kip to handstand on low bar. Good double layout dismount. Only 12.500 though!?

Brown:
"Full turn to Geinger, excellent. Jaeger, very good! She has been so impressive today. Lovely bail to toe hecht and good dismount!" 13.600

Mitchell: stalder blind to Jaeger, toe on toe off full, toe one toe off blind to double front STUCK COLD--13.60

Miller: Also hits! Inside stalder full to Gienger, inside stalder blind to Jaeger, stalder full to immediate tuck full twisting double--14.30--A very nice routine swung very well

Brigid reports the team have gone into a huddle. Mitchell overall AA score 56.324, second behind Romania's Haidu so far.

Onya girls. No beam or bars falls. Be proud, and fingers crossed you make finals!

2011 Worlds: WAG Qualification Preamble

Today's the day!

(Godjira t-shirt by thinkgeek.com. Bad hair by self & bad hairdresser)


Australia's session is in a little over an hour's time. GAH!

I will be cross-posting quick hits here, but if you'd like to follow along without having to put up with me, the people of the gymblogs below will be updating live, as they have been all day:

The All-Around (plus live scores here)
The Gym Examiner

as well as Fulltwist Gymnastics Blog, Brigid The Couch Gymnast McCarthy and The All Around at Facebook.

I already have 4 windows open, I expect to have several more once the session starts!


(If you'd like to kill some time, GA has put up an update from men's podium training, including some routines filmed by Gymnastike. And, it might interest you to know, our own Peggy Liddick took part in the Coaches' Pledge read before competition started today!)

(They have also updated about Worlds broadcast dates on Fox Sports. Yahooo!)

(They further report that vault warmup looks good, as do the new leos! HOMG YOU GUISE IT'S TENSE)

(Super tense... THUNDER JUST STARTED OUTSIDE! And rain! Do not waaaaant.)

2011 Worlds: WAG Qualification

Hi all.

Australia's women are in preliminary competition tomorrow - 3:45pm Tokyo time, so 5:45pm AEDST. I'll do my best to advise you of streams, or cross-post whatever information I can.

I hope that by the time you read this new article, the thumbnail is actually of Lauren and not some bearded guy.


You can read Brigid's report from yesterday's training session, and see some of her photos, here.



7:01 AEDST

Hello from my new working laptop!
Australia has just kicked off another WAG training session.

They've started on beam again, and all signs point to good! Mitchell just did a layout dismount though... at floor, Miller is excelling. Has apparently stood up her double arabian to stag twice and showed one standout triple turn. Monckton is resting her ankle in a brace (eeep!)
Vault - a real mixed bag but some nice ones in there according to Brigid's reports. I don't love hearing that there is balking going on. Ash great Tsuk 1 1/2s.
Bars also turns out to be a mixed bag with hits and misses across the board. Little the standout with two good completed routines. Miller much more shaky than previous sessions on this apparatus.

I'm going to be so nervous tomorrow!

UPDATE 10:02 AEDST - prelims lineup announced


Australia has announced its lineups for the preliminary competition tomorrow.


Beam: Little, Brown, Monckton, Brennan, Mitchell
Floor: Little, Brown, Miller, Brennan, Mitchell
Vault: Monckton, Brown, Brennan, Little, Mitchell
Bars: Little, Monckton, Brown, Mitchell, Miller

Brigid has supplied a training report.

Highlights:

Georgia Rose Brown’s perfect Memmel turn.

Larissa Miller on floor in general.

Mitchell’s DTY sticks.

Ash Brennan beam in general.

Little’s full-twisting double tuck.

Monckton sticking FTY, despite what are possibly sore ankles.

2001 Worlds: WAG Training 4

Achtung achtung!

Brigid says Aussie WAGs hit the training hall again in approximately 4 hours. I'll update you as much as I can.

In the meantime, you can see new photos of Lauren and Maryanne in this gallery at Inside Gymnastics (thanks to the wonderful Grace Chiu).

3:36 AEDST
Brigid reports that Australia has started training beam in the Yoyogi arena. I suggest you 'like' Brigid The Couch Gymnast McCarthy at Facebook for a detailed report as the session unfolds.

Beam - All the girls recorded at least one fall, but generally improved upon repetition of skills. Brennan and Brown the best of the lot. Lauren having wolf turn, acro and switch ring difficulties. Mihai Brestyan and Marta Karolyi watched Lauren's routine.

Floor - Also shaky. Not altogether a write-off, but not as good as podium training. Mitchell serious issues with front layout.

Vault and Bars - the best apparatus on show today, going by B's brief notes. Everyone got through their routines okay but there are still some nerves on show. She says she will have a detailed report up tomorrow. I believe there was some visible distress on their faces.

Sorry to be so vague, everyone. I was writing this post in my last hour of work, then had to come home and try wrangling my modem (which, after much wringing of hands and cables, I have now done).

An extended podium training gallery by Brigid McCarthy can be seen here.

2011 Worlds: MAG Training

The boys have not been forgotten!



GA have put up a brief update and some photos of the men's team as they prepare for Podium Training. I thought this was a nice touch:

Our Men's and Women's Teams will be wearing special patches on their GK competition uniforms to recognize the tremendous hardship that our friends in Japan have had to endure since the tsunamis that rocked this island country earlier this year. It will be our small way of acknowledging the resilience and fighting spirit of the people of Japan.

Good luck, guys!

2011 Worlds: WAG Training 3

Good morning, comrades!

Photo credit Brigid McCarthy

The Couch Gymnast has really come through for her fellow Aussies, staying for the rest of yesterday's podium training session when everyone else dashed off to cover the rockstars of Team USA. She has put up a nice photo gallery.

On the men's side, there is a GA update about their prospects here.

The ladies of team Aus are back in the training hall at 10:30AEDST so stay tuned!

(Awwwww!)

Edit - Brigid says the Aussie team is not in the training gym. So she may have accidentally got the time wrong, or they've opted out like the USA did the other day. Either way, I will keep my ear to the ground and update once they're in action again. Many apologies!

If you would like a nice, detailed listed of who has been filmed and on which events thus far, check out the excellent directory here.

GA have made a sub-page for Tokyo news here and made the following remarks about the podium training session:

A number of highlights from the Podium session were:

• Consistent performances from the whole team on our starting apparatus Beam
  
• Numerous comments from the judges on our Artistry on Floor (many thanks to Stacey Umeh and Lisa Bradley)
• Some fantastic vaulting performances - in particular from our 2/1 twisting Yurchenko athletes Emily Little and Lauren Mitchell
• Larrissa Miller’s performance on Bars
• Ashleigh Brennan’s leaps on floor
• Mary-anne Monckton had an opportunity to show her 1/1 twisting Tkatchev
• Georgia-Rose’s artistry and gracefulness on floor
• Reserve Nikki Chung had an opportunity to gain experience on the World Championship Podium.

Tomorrow the girls will have a slightly lighter training session, and then begin their final preparations for Team qualification on Friday.

Unfortunately, I can't say much about the men's side except that they have had a training session in the Yoyogi stadium (training gym).