Thursday, January 27, 2011

NCAA Interlude 5

Shona Morgan competed an exhibition beam routine for Stanford over the weekend.

Check out it towards the end of the video below.


43 comments:

Anonymous said...

Any websites for camp updates????

Anonymous said...

I know, I WOULD LOVE some news. I love the blog, but it would be great to see the more important things like camps and the announcement of the new national teams be reported on rather than the more insignificant things like NCAA exhibition routines.

These was barely a mention of the last camp or last national team announcement, and it would have been good to hear a discussion/opinions on this. Mez is a fun writer so just any original content eg. commentary that is not copied and pasted from other sources would be awesome.

Anonymous said...

Totally disagree!!! And am quite angry that you have no interest to follow the ongoing careers of our Aussie girls that have served us so well in the past. I thank Mez for keeping us informed on the NCAA scene and really love seeing the girls continue on in gymnastics when so many just retire and are never heard of again.

Anonymous said...

Don't get me wrong, I fully support Aussie NCAAers. It is just that it is wrong to make absolutely no mention of camps and the national team and delete all the comments relating to it like it never happened and then post constant NCAA stuff.

If you had bothered to read my post, it is not to say that NCAA doesn't matter, just that the relative significance of an NCAA exhibition routine is lower than a current national team training camp and announcement of the national squads, which as had no coverage whereas there have been about 10 posts in the last little while related to NCAA stuff. Just a little balance is needed.

Anonymous said...

I agree regarding the camps,squads etc. I noticed some discussion was made in the previous thread but all comments were removed.I do like hearing about the Aussie girls in America but I do like reading about the discussions on camps and squads in Australia more.

Anonymous said...

Not a fan of comments being deleted. The only case for this is if they are considered to be offensive / harmful / in very bad taste. Blogs are for comments, the web is for feedback and two-way communication.
Otherwise we can just go back to digesting whatever information the newspapers spit out at us.
I agree with all the comments above in some ways - NCAA (great coverage thanks Mez!), but camps/squads are more important - some news on this would be great too.

Anonymous said...

I agree, I don't really understand the opposition to people going off topic in the comments section. It should certainly not be grounds for deleting people's posts. If camps/squads are never mentioned in actual blog posts, and those are what people are most interested in, of course we will go off topic to ask for information.

Anonymous said...

Go to wwgym.com there is a section for down under and you can post points for discussion there. i used to enjoy this blog but now it seems to have lost its flavour.

Anonymous said...

Anon 12:33. I agree,it seems people can't express their opinions on this blog anymore, and if they do they are deleted.....

Anonymous said...

Mez, I'm sure you have a perfectly good reason why you deleted the comments.

I appreciate all the work that goes into this blog and THANKYOU. Please keep up the good work.

Mez said...

Hi guys,

The fact of the matter is - I prefer not to report camp information that isn't from a public source like GA or a participating club, or even an observer on site (if it's an open camp). That's why I haven't posted anything... there hasn't been anything to say! Believe me, when I get something I'll let you know in a heartbeat. I loved the detailed reports from past camps and have long championed that they should continue.

Right now, NCAA *is* happening and it *is* in a public domain. I haven't got the all-clear from anyone involved in camp to report anything for the moment, but I don't even know anyone who is observing from the visitor's balcony (if the camp's not closed to the public) so how can I publish information that I don't have?


Please understand that I made it very clear in recent announcements that I don't mind discussion about Worlds team lineups and things like that but I don't like speculatory posts. I don't like talk of program/squad additions or losses outside of clubs announcing it. And yes, I generally prefer discussions to be relevant.

I have tried in the past to direct people to the WWGym Aussie forum for prolonged, off-topic or speculatory chats, so it surprises me that people are now threatening to storm off in a huff over there. It is and always has been the kind of place where you can discuss squad movements or news of x-gymnast's progress/recovery but it doesn't have the anonymous function people so enjoy using here.

I appreciate every single one of you coming here, I truly do, but please try to understand what it's like going to your inbox and seeing comment updates primarily full of "I heard x is now not headed to the competition! How is y looking? Is z still training?" posts which have nothing to do with what a particular post might have been about. Or even have any basis full stop.

Absolutely check into the likes of WWGym or TAAF if you think your queries can be answered there. A lot of the wonderful people who have given me resources here post there regularly. You'll find yourself a spirited (albeit more moderated) discussion there for sure.

I'm very sorry if I've disappointed any of you. Feel free to direct any disdain to my email inbox so I can put a name to... um... a name.

Anonymous said...

Mez, what about Amelia McGrath's floor routine from Pac Rim? It was a fabulous routine, surely that should be nominated?!

Anonymous said...

I would think it would be pretty obvious that the reason Mez hasn't reported from camp is because there is nothing to report, The NCAA news is public and the camp isnt and thus it is very hard to get information from.
For people who complain about posts being deleted there were many people complaining last year about the harshness of some of the comments made and wanted them deleted eg comments about CWG team final and now when comments are deleted others complain, you can't please everyone.

Anonymous said...

Here Here Mez! Love the job you're doing:) And to the complainers: isn't it obvious that if you don't like the blog you're perfectly welcome to start your own and publish all the camp news you want?!?!?
MH

Anonymous said...

In other NCAA news, Oregon State competed against UCLA on Friday night, and Mel Jones and Olivia Vivian won floor and bars respectively, both with scores of 9.925. Great to see the Aussies holding their own!

Anonymous said...

I believe Olivia will be the #2 ranked UB in the country on this week's rankings and when the ranking changes format in a few weeks time she'll have a good shot at being a comfortable #1.

Anonymous said...

Well done Olivia and Mel! I'll keep looking for videos.

Does anyone know when Shona will be back in the line-up at Stanford?

Wolfie said...

Wow. Some people love NCAA, so they're thrilled that Mez reports it.

You know, you can always skip over any posts here that don't hold personal interest for you. :P

I'd probably rather read factual NCAA news than speculative camp news, but that's just me.

Thanks Mez.

Anonymous said...

What's really ridiculous is that someone assumed that Mez had info on camp and was refusing not to post it and was instead preoccupied with NCAA. If there was something to report I'm sure we would have heard it either through this blog or one of the forums.

I think it's great that we still get updates on the girls doing NCAA. Nice to see that gymnastics can lead to other things.

I think everyone's a little stir crazy with the lack of gymnastics news after the ultra saturation of Comm Games and Worlds being back to back. That's why the NCAA news is so refreshing. At least some gynmastics is going on. That said, I can't wait until March and the start of the World Cup season.

Anonymous said...

How do you explain no mention of the new national team? That info was in the public domain yet ignored.

Anyhow, it's not so much that as it is the fact that the blog has become progressively censored with Mez afraid to potentially offend anyone from your neighbour to mine.

It is a shame to see a complete lack of meaningful analysis or opinion as there used to be in favour of constant sugar-coated comments about how awesome and amazing everything is, not to mention the posts wishing people happy birthday. Please.

Now that everyone knows gymnasts and other people connected to gym read this blog it's all about schmoozing them, rather than really providing an interesting and unbiased source for fans as it used to be. It's already showing, since we can't make any potentially negative comments without them being deleted.

Mez said...

Right. I can't mince words anymore -

Not only is competition season at a lull at this time of year, I have started a new job, and it has kept me very busy. That partially explains the lateness of the AGB Awards. I have also had to knock back Couch Gymnast's last two (or three?) Leotard Police reports in order to concentrate on training materials and preparation for this exciting new opportunity. I'm not able to update during the day because I am in an office, not flitting between my laptop and PC at home like I was with my former casual retail position. Not only that, but my blog ended up forming part of the selection process (it's a digital media and marketing company) - the CEO of the company whipped out his macbook in the interview and had a squizz through the first two pages IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERVIEW. So yeah, the scope of my readership has widened and I do have to watch my tone.


I clearly can't please everyone with the way I write or the way I run this blog. I've never held a gun to anybody's head and made you visit here or read here. I have a very varied audience, you must be aware of that fact. Both diehard gossip-loving fans AND young competitors read here. So to be fair I do have to be exceptionally conscientious (sp?) about what goes up here. What's wrong with not wanting to offend people? What's wrong with celebration instead of bitterness and vacuousness? This blog is a far cry from what it started out as (believe me, some of those old posts make me cringe a little).

So if you don't like it - you're absolutely free not to stop by again. That's cool. Tell me what you think of me if we ever meet in person if you like, that's cool too. You're (probably) an adult too, capable of making your own decisions. I am an adult able to realise that some comments can be construed as hurtful or unsubtantiated. Able to realise that some information is private for a reason. Able to understand what's news and what isn't. Able to take criticism but also afforded the right to defend myself, my opinion and my actions.

I'm not a tabloid mag - I can't (and won't) spin bollocks out of nothing just to fill a post.

Once competition season gets going, I'll be able to update here in my spare time to a level that satisfies as many people as possible. I can't wait for the year ahead in gymnastics and am very excited about the road to London 2012.

alicemalice said...

Don't apologise, Mez. It's your blog and you can post about the number of ants in your swimming pool if you want to (with accompanying macro shots).

If Mez does delete comments, I'm sure it's in the interest of everyone's enjoyment here. If you want to be an arsehole, there are plenty of other places on the internet for you. There's no need to be one here.

Anonymous said...

Well done Mez. I read your blog for the news and information you gather on what's happening in the gym world. Your witty take on things adds a dimension others do not have. For me the ill informed commentary others post on this blog is a turn off, so I for one, am happy that these comments are disappearing. I agree that young and old read your blog, including some of our gymnasts, and it is not good for them when they read things which are not verified, and they consider them fact. I know for a fact that one young gymnast quit after reading things about her performance which was commented on by someone who had no right to say the things they did. For those people who like to make those comments, you can do so somewhere else. Mez - keep doing what you started out doing. It was fabulous then, and I would like to see the essence of your blog return to what it was.

Anonymous said...

For real? I have a hard time believing that an elite gymnast who has devoted years and years of their life to the sport would pull the plug only because of what some random wrote on an internet forum. To blame it on that single thing is not realistic at all, there woulds be numerous other factors at play.

While I don't in any way advocate cruel and unnecessary comments for the sake of being negative, fact is that the internet is a place for people to come together and discuss the sport. It is getting tiring to feel that nothing said about Australian gymnasts can be negative.

Nobody forces them to read here. If they go to any other forum like IG and see what is publically said about the rest of the world's elite population then maybe they wouldn't feel so bad.

I have been following our girls for many years and I call a spade a spade. I don't call the CWG beam rotation a good effort, I call it a bad performance, because it was, and to pretend otherwise is ridiculous.

I can guarantee you that just about every elite athlete in the world will have both positive and negative comments made about them. What about the venom directed towards the Australian Cricket team recently? or against Stephanie Rice for having the depth of a puddle? It's no different to the negative CWG comments, but they suck it up and get on with their job.

A simple solution would be for athletes not to read online where they may be discussed. Even still, nobody is saying that they are a horrible person, or that they are fat or ugly. If someone comments that they have bad leg form, or poor dancing ability, or a lack of competitive mindset, nine times out of ten it is an honest observation and one the athlete is probably already aware of. These are legit points of discussion given they will affect the scores of the judges, not campaigns aimed at insulting people. It is a critique of their performance/scoring-potential in an elite sport, not of them as a person.

If I am writing a competition report I don't want to feel like I have to only report on the positive for fear of offending people here. I want it to be an honest representation of what I saw for those who couldn't be there.

Please, gymnasts, parents, and any other interested persons, don't read here if you take offence to these kinds of discussions. It is inevitable that they will arise eventually, but if gymnastics is to have followers and supporters, people need to feel they can discuss the sport without being victimised for their opinions and observations.

Anonymous said...

I am just a fan with no links to athletes/clubs etc and I think the problem seems to be the intimacy of the gymnastics community. With bigger sports like cricket, Ricky Ponting is probably not on the other end reading it.

I think the intersection here of fans who love to learn stuff and discuss the sport and the people they are talking about has not necessarily been a good one.

It has hurt the reputation of fans, as there is also a new breed of poster since more people closely involved in the sport started reading here: people with a vendetta against another club/coach/athlete who use the blog to post nasty comments -comments that then appear to come from fans when they actually don't.

Anonymous said...

UPDATE: Saw Georgis Rose Brown on crutches today, not sure whats up, had both shoes on so i assume it might be a knee or a groin/hamstring pull?

Anonymous said...

And yet the WWGym forum remains a ghosttown in the Down Under section...

I can't believe the way you guys are putting Mez down. She does a terrific job and it's all for the fans and the gymnasts. As has been said, if you can do a better job, go and start your own blog and NOT wish people happy birthday on it and DON'T post about the awesome success of Australian gymnasts in NCAA. Please yourself. Nobody is stopping you.

I think it's great that there is such a variety of information on here - Mez is trying to make it a blog for everyone, not just skewed towards uber serious sprots journalism.

Keep up the great work Mez - there are some people out there who appreciate what you do, how time consuming it is, and all the bulldust comments you have to put up with from whiney posters with nothing better to do than post udner a viel of anonymity.

Mez said...

Thanks everyone for your contributions.

I just feel like putting the issue to bed now. I still have the AGB Awards to announce and am still on the look-out for camp (or similar) news.

Anonymous said...

Yes... Would love a camp update

Anonymous said...

I don't think the chances of getting any info are good - our best hope is VWHPC, which has a section on the site for 2011 Camp Reports.

MLC used to have great camp reports but they randomly stopped updating their site during national clubs.

I keep checking the GA page in the hope something will be posted but since it hasn't yet I don't think it will be. They have had time to put together like 5 reports on the Gymnastics Tasmania Congress but no mention of the national team camp.

Anonymous said...

Another early retirement? Has Grace Claringbold retired from VWHPC? Her profile is no longer.

Anonymous said...

Thats ashame if it true, I think she was a 96 baby and I think these girls are in limbo... getting left behind as they are the young 2012 girls. So their road seems too long... I think we will see a few 96 girls leave this year which would be ashame as there is some great talent out there. I hope they hang in there.

Anonymous said...

gosh I am just dying to know if anyone is training an Amanar. Please GA Please!!!

Anonymous said...

Is anyone's DTY good enough to upgrade to an amanar?

Anonymous said...

After worlds last year Lauren mention that she might have an upgrade for vault. It was a very tentative statement so I think it's more of a try and see situation. With the scores the Russian's were getting for their awful amanars it's defintely worthwhile. I would say that Emily has the best chance of upgrading to an amanar. Her DTY is spectacular in the air and she was landing it very upright at Commonwealth Games and in Paris. Best vaults from an Australian since Dasha worlds prelims 07.

Mez said...

I remember getting a text from Brindabella late last year that said Lauren mentioned an Amanar and bars upgrades in a West Australian article... unfortunately I never tracked this article down!

Anonymous said...

This article mentioned her upgrades:
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-sport/lauren-mitchell-takes-fame-in-her-stride-20101027-173n6.html

Her 6.7 D score on BB is world class so I can see why she might focus on the other events. That said she's counting a C skill as one of her 8 skills so there's plenty of room for improvement.

Anonymous said...

Amanars would be great but I think the vaulting strength of the remainder of the team after Emily/Lauren is going to be the real make it or break it part of the lineup in terms of our team placement. The 8 tenths between the 5.0 of a FTY and the 5.8 of a DTY is a lot.

For that reason I am most interested in this info. There are numerous athletes with DTY potential - Wheeler, Chung, Budack, Greeley, Lorenzin, Monckton - who have all been rumoured to be training them, but what are the chances they actually be ready?

We really need 2 more good ones to have at least four counting for the team total. Floor specialists are not worth the investment because of the bunching of the scores there, and we are set on beam. But vault is a great way to boost the team total without there being huge risk. Japan should have 4 counting DTYs this year and Britain is building a strong lineup there too. Italy will be getting Ferlito who has a DTY and Dufournet is rumoured to have one for France. Brazil could also have an Amanar from Barbosa to boost them up.

Clearly we really need to focus on this area so I hope that things don't end up as weak as they did last year, especially when we need to finish top 8 for an olympic spot. It is definitely not advisable to have to count a yurchenko full in the TF, let alone compete one at all.

Anonymous said...

i get so bored watching vault. every girl does the same mount onto the horse these days (yurchenko). we shouldnt forget about tsukahura and handspring entries, i undertsand they are harder but that is also why there start values are higher. i think too many coaches focus on teaching there gymnasts yurchenko's,some kids have great ability to put out a 2/1 twisting tsuk which has a high start value.and all gymnasts have different body types, some that should stick with the yurchenko, but some that have amazing power could aim for a handspring 1 1/2 or tsuk 2/1. perhaps spending equal amount of time teaching all entries would benefit the aussie vault line up in the future.

Anonymous said...

When the changed the rule that vaults had to be from 2 different entries they really killed the Tsukahara. Every girl does a Yurchenko and seeing as they can't do another backward entry anymore they can't do a Tsuk. Chusovitina is the only one I can think of in recent years who has competed a Tsuk and has won anything.

If anything Australia is one of the few countries where the tsuk is still being taught. At one point we had Ash B, Mel J and Chloe all doing 1.5 Tsuks. I think the Collister twins were also doing this vault.

Anonymous said...

Excuse my ignorance, but what exactly is an Amanar? 2 and a half twists?

Anonymous said...

Yes it's 2.5 twists

Mez said...

For anyone interested, in today's Stanford meet (happening pretty much RIGHT NOW!) Shona Morgan is listed in both the beam and floor lineups.

Good luck, Shon!