Saturday, September 15, 2012

Assignments Due

First senior post-Olympic assignment has been announced:

Victoria's Georgia Rose Brown will be heading to the Mexican Open in Acapulco this October!

71 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yesssss! Go GRB- I was so hoping she would continue. :)

Anonymous said...

Good Luck your Georgia such a gorgeous gymnast

Anonymous said...

sure is quiet on here...

Anonymous said...

I know kind of boring! So whose looking forward to National clubs ??

Anonymous said...

anyone know what went down with gymjets? I noticed Victor Lutayenko is know coaching at CCEGA in NSW. What does this mean for girls like Ruehlemann?

Nicholaevna said...

Please help!

This is a petition to include the artistry in the New Code FIG 2013-2016.

http://www.avaaz.org/po/petition/Inclusion_of_competence_artistry_in_the_new_FIG_Code_of_Points_20132016/?csKdxbb

Bob said...

I think it might be a little late for that. I think the next code has already been released.

Anonymous said...

So Alexandrov was just fired from the Russian national coaching staff. Get on it GA!

Anonymous said...

Why was he though?

Anonymous said...

The personal coaches of the Russian national team voted, I think. Some of the coaches weren't impressed with the comments he made publicly about Grishina's poor preparation for the Olympics.

I wonder where he will end up...

Anonymous said...

it was Rodionenko who used to work at WAIS in the early 90s, not Alexandrov, right?

Anonymous said...

Correct.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know what score is considered average and what is the best score for an 8 year old team future skills testing, 9 year old, 10 year old etc. I am quite new to IDP and would love to understand a bit more about it.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for asking anon 8:28am. I'd be interested in learning more about the IDP kids too.

Anonymous said...

Surely someone knows the top scores for each age group or what is considered a good score. Come on IDP coaches, help us out. We don't want to have to bother the coaches who are dying to go home after training.

Anonymous said...


The individual gymnast's reports which are received by the club usually provide a national ranking for the gymnast in her age group on each of the tested apparatus. Your club has this information which it should share with you in a meeting which should include the gymnast, parents, coach and a representative of the club management. Speak to your state IDP Coordinator if you do not receive this information.

Anonymous said...

Also a bit of an indication is the ideal skills club under team future on gymnastics australia's website. Over 1,000 points on any given apparatus for 10-11 years old is considered to be on track and gets you listed. 1,500 for 12-13 year olds gets them listed.
Also, some gyms have posters up in their gyms detailing what skills are considered ideal for each age group.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for all the information. I find it all very interesting. HPC's aren't very forthcoming with information to parents. Well some anyway. If anyone has any other info on average to awesome scores for apparatus or overall IDP testing for each age group that would be great. The print out the kids get certainly didn't have their national ranking on it. Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

your lucky you received a print out ! we have no idea how my child did the coaches have kept it very quiet

Anonymous said...

Anonymous

September 28, 2012 10:21 AM

Organise a meeting with your child's coach to discuss the test results and her ongoing program to improve same. If the club/program does not cooperate, contact your state idp coordinator at the state office.If you cannot get an satisfaction consider changing programs. Communication/cooperation between all stake holders - gymnasts,parents, coaches and club administration should provide one of the important foundations for any idp program1

Anonymous said...

Why can't that be done automatically without the parents having to look like sticky beaks. Most parents just want to know how there kids are going, considering the large outlay of money.

Anonymous said...

GA is too busy looking for a new CEO to be worried about what coaches are possibly available???

Anonymous said...


September 28, 2012 1:15 PM

You seem confused!!

Gymnastics Australia does not control the schedule of coaches in the International programs.

Anonymous said...

Who is the state idp coordinator? Is it Joe Richards??

Anonymous said...

September 28, 2012 2:58 PM

Call your relevant state Gymnastics Association office and they will put you in touch with your the WG idp or International Stream coordinator.

Jo is the National Coordinator, she will intercede on your behalf if there is not good communication between the gymnast's parents and the club coaches and administration.

Anonymous said...

Sadly you wont get anywhere contacting Jo,or anyone else under the GV or GA unmbrella, they all stick together. Parents go with your gut feeling if you feel that your daughter is not getting the attention or the results then thats a red flag its not going to get any better GET OUT NOW or move her to another club before its to late.

Anonymous said...

If you are the parent of a IDP girl then you have a long journey ahead of you, be proactive and be involved in your daughters career. Don't wait for it to come to you, find out all you need to know by asking questions and speak with your coaches. GA and the state associations are not the ones with the answers that is what they employ the HPC junior coordinators and Jo for. GA, GV and the others have more than one gym sport not just WG. I bet you anon at 3.27 has not even rung her the GV office

Anonymous said...

Your right i didnt ring Jo,her number is not public but i did email her at jrichards@gymnastics.org.au

Anonymous said...

We had cause to email Jo about a year ago about our daughter's progress. We found her to be very helpful and she was able to give us the advice we needed.

Anonymous said...

So to cut a long story short, there are no IDP coaches that know what the highest score for an 8, 9 and 10 year old gymnast would be for ideal skills testing this year!

Anonymous said...

Maybe the coaches don't post here and you should try going through the appropriate channels.

Anonymous said...

As this is a gymnastics website, I would think it is an entirely appropriate place to ask such a question.

Anonymous said...

Nothing wrong with asking the question, however when an answer is not forthcoming, and suggestions have been made - ask your coach, contact Jo, it seems a little strange to keep asking as though someone is deliberately withholding information. This blog has never seen a lot of comments from coaches in the time I have been reading here. Often parents of gymnasts post here so it is a good place to ask questions, however given that no one has answered this question, it probably means noone gets given this info or if they do they get it throught their child's coaches and think you should too! One suggestion that was already made was about the 1000 and 1500 clubs - this is a score to aim for and the information is on the team future section of the GA website. Also from 9 years old there are IDP camps - if you get an invite to one of these at 9 you are right up the top as not many 9year olds go. Why not contact your child's coach or Jo?

Anonymous said...


Well said Anonymous at

September 30, 2012 9:25 AM

Your comments are appropriate and timely. The existing lines of communication are designed to support all those stake holders who are part IDP program, so they should be used.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps the HPC managers should provide or offer this information automatically to save parents having to ask for it and feeling like we are imposing on them. Why couldn't the rankings from 1 to 50 for each age group be posted on the team future website instead of just having one from each age group. The one displayed on the team future website is not an accurate record anyway as only some States attend the camps. The 1-50 per age group would encourage the gymnasts to improve their ranking.

Anonymous said...

Funny to say that not many coaches comment here when it's an anonymous forum!

Anonymous said...

I agree . I wish the results could just be posted on the website then no one needs to bother coaches as the ones i've encounted say that the testing is not really important their focas is the future and as long as they are training hard and improving than that's what their interested in Blah Blah Blah why can't they just throw us a bone and give us the results I mean aren't we the ones that actually pay for the gym ! Sometimes it's like pulling Teeth to get any information about their plan for your child's future ! I'm not asking for much just a little info about my child occasionally as often you can't watch training and try asking a gymnast after training about how they went without sounding pushy but a bone is all we want I'd settle for a lick even !!

Anonymous said...

Hmmm. Maybe you'd be better off putting your efforts into literacy skills.

Anonymous said...

I don't understand why people are so rude about the literacy skills. Majority of doctors and university trained people such as myself do things in a rush or don't edit their comment before they put it on the blog. They are skilled in other areas such as mathematics, anatomy etc.. It is normally the teachers or writers that are concerned about grammar, spelling etc. So I think that is an extremely rude comment, probably from a less educated person.

Mez said...

Guys, come on.

I know there's not a lot of news happening at the moment, but it's no excuse to get nasty and personal.

Anonymous said...

72I am the parent of an older IDP gymnast. Over the years I have asked for results from clinics and testing by Jo from coaches with no success. Sometimes after clinics you can peer over the coaches shoulder at the one result sheet with rankings but this is never distributed to parents maybe just your own daughters results. From Jo's testing I do get my own childs score but no comparison or ranking. Unless your put on team future high achievers from this testing not comp I have no idea of high scores or rankings. Maybe the parents on this blog should write a list of information they would like from Jo and coaches and pass it on anonymously by Mez. After all we are the customers!

Anonymous said...

True. I would simply like to know my daughters IDP testing score and national ranking for her age. That is all. If Mez could pass on this information on behalf of IDP parents then that would be wonderful.

Anonymous said...

You've got to be kidding me anon 9.36 am are u serious oh sorry I mean YOU serious !! Some of us type our comment on our phone a small screen and are not particularly looking at spelling or the auto correct which sometimes replaces the word without one noticing particularly ! What a nasty reply to a tongue in cheek comment !

Anonymous said...

The problem with rankings and comparisons in gymnastics is that no 2 gymnasts will progress in the same way - some will develop on floor faster than bars, for example and parents have to understand that concept and why it is important not to compare gymnasts with each other but rather develop a good working relationship with her coach and talk about their progress on a one-on-one basis. The idea of the IDEAL testing is to see the progression of required skills and strengths of each gymnast as they progress, not as a comparison against other gymnast. When my daughter was in the IDP levels we didn't have IDEAL testing and many of the basics were not taught strongly in favour of getting difficult skills and she was competing with girls who were always beating her in comp but now in the higher levels they have all left because those neglected basics have not allowed them to compete the truly difficult skills while my daughter is going from strength to strength because her coaches insisted on strong basics - much like IDEAL.

Anonymous said...

Personally, I believe their rankings are withheld from public knowledge in an attempt to protect the girls emotionally and psychologically from too much early pressure and comparisons with their peers.

Anonymous said...

Well you can rank them not only overall but also on each apparatus. I realise each gymnast develops differently, however the rankings are still an indication of how they are going.

Anonymous said...

1:51 I agree. There is no good that can come from releasing rankings of such young girls. The high achiever squad does enough to recognise the girls at the top of their age groups and even that causes problems with the self esteem of the gymnasts. Anyone can access the ideal charts which show what is expected for each age group - what others are doing isn't important. You don't need to be the top ranking 8 year old to "make it" . You need to be learning skills at approximately the right time and not be injured so much that progress is hampered for too long. And you need to not quit. That's about it. Uninspiring but true.

Anonymous said...

Just like NDP gymnasts don't get told their score.

Anonymous said...

Get a life parents.

Anonymous said...

Well we do get told their scores, but not ranking. 5:00PM and if u ask u find out their ranking. Parents just don't want to have to ask. The person saying get a life parents is clearly not one of the people forking out thousands of dollars a year so that your child can train 30 hrs a week with only one week holiday a year.

Anonymous said...

No 5.50pm is probably a coach!

Anonymous said...

lol

Anonymous said...

After 5 years in an IDP program my only advice (after feeling years of angst!) is to just trust that your daughter is enjoying what she is doing - yes she will be on 'top' one comp, then not do so well on the next...BUT it is a lot about passion and heart(from your daughter!); not only the capacity to learn skills early or quickly. One very clever coach said to me that in the end the girls will eventually meet at Senior for Int. comps anyway - so DON'T stress about the early levels. Definitely do not agree with publishing rankings - as parents we can jump to unfounded conclusions in trying to protect our child from being upset or hurt. In fact OUR job as parents is to prepare our daughter for success AND for failure - they will be much better in life for our support either way...anyway, just speaking from my experience...I guess just have faith that the 'life' you have is normal -even for a small few of us :)

Anonymous said...

Wise words @9:31pm. I figure it will all even out in the wash. Those who stick with it and avoid injury at the *important* times will be the ones who are successful in the long run. Success in lower IDP levels is no real indicator of anything in particular.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your info on IDP ranking. I too wonder how other girls seem to get more than my daughter and wonder if she is doing well enough. However the proof is the enjoyment she gets our of competing and coming home with a medal every now and then. The ranking really is really an indication that the coach is making sure they tick all the boxes with the skills groups. Practical in the sense that you can coach this type of success by following a formula of skills development. Ultimately successful gymnasts need the x factor which comes from a love of gymnastics. This cant be coached as is most evident in their artistry scores. Can't really rank that in ideal tests.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous at 7.24,they cannot avoid injury at the important times or any time. As their hours increase to 32-35+ per week, the repititions cause stress to joints and muscles. The coaches and physios suggest changes to the gymnast's program which allow for some recovery of the affected area. Luck plays a big part.

Fred said...

Avoiding injury is not about luck, it is about training smarter. The girls who get less injuries are the smarter ones. They are the ones who don't put skills on the hard until they are ready, don't compete skills until they are ready, they reduce numbers when they are sore or spend time on other apparatus (eg foot is sore then do more bars instead).

Anonymous said...

Which the girls themselves have no control over. Coaches make injured girls feel useless by ignoring them (and worse), which encourages the girls to come back to full training sooner than they should.
My money (figuratively) is on the kids being coached by coaches who insist that gymnasts report injuries and pain and take a conservative line on return to full training.
I am aware that this is the exception rather than the rule in AUS gymnastics and some people (with children being worked long hours at a young age and pushed through injuries) will disagree but that's my take on the situation.
This approach has the added bonus of allowing your child to grow up and live a relatively pain free life after gymnastics!

Anonymous said...

Ha ha 9:31 of course the clever coach will tell you that it will even out at senior level she wants your fee's. The reality is if your daughter is not keeping up with the others by the time she reaches junior level she will either be asked to leave or she won't move forward with the others. Don't become complacent always ask were your daughter sitst within the squad.

Anonymous said...

I bet Lauren Mitchell wasn't highly ranked early on in her career. By her own admission, she wasn't the most co-ordinated girl in the club, and had to work harder than everyone to get a skill, yet look at what she's achieved! Rankings aren't everything.

Anonymous said...

Don't believe this - she ranked pretty highly. She wasn't better than Dasha but then no one was. But she was always identified as having enough of the right stuff to be world class.
There was no IDP but Lauren had the top coaches early - her path was planned.
Having said that I don't see the harm in holding Lauren up as the poster girl for what is possible - she certainly had to work harder than some to get where she is.

Anonymous said...

to comment 10.49, our "clever coach" says nothing of the sort. He just tells us to concentrate on your own child and making sure she is reaching milestones (which most of the group is). All I said is that being ranked 1,2 or 3rd at such a young age is simply a result of long hours and clever coaching of skills to meet all the benchmarks. Doesnt mean she will make it further. Seen those super talented kids quit at 12 or 13 simply because they get too big. It is such a lottery to be worrying about ranking at 8!

Anonymous said...

Too big ! Not sure that's why they are quitting . There are many taller , stronger gymnasts around the world who are very successful ! Many things cause a gymnast to query whether or not they want to persue elite gym past primary school such as schooling , money or simply they want a life etc.. Nastia Luikin won the Olympic games and she's not exactly small !

Anonymous said...

Nastia is 1.60cm tall. Is that big?

Anonymous said...

No that is a good height for gym, certainly not considered too tall.

Anonymous said...

Anon 3:21pm too big you have no idea, obviously your daughter is still young. Most girls leave due to injuries eg back injury which is difficult to come back after a year off. Also the Americans are solid big and look were they are?

Anonymous said...

To anon 10.54, not only do I have a fairly good idea but so does Peggy Liddick. Read this article and she will outline herself the reasons girls leave gymnastics. Unfortunately size is one issue as is injury, level of difficulty. You really cant argue with her can you?
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/broken-bodies-beijing-tragedy/story-e6freoof-1111116361715

Anonymous said...

I don't need to argue with Peggys decisions, results speak louder than words.

Anonymous said...

Lol.

Bob said...

It's a shame that Arrowsmith had body image problems. There was certainly nothing wrong with her bodyshape or size.

Anonymous said...

lol. 8.49am that is 2 funny.