Wednesday, October 8, 2014

2014 Worlds: WAG Team Final

Australia's super sixpack pulled off the almost unthinkable on Monday night and has qualified to tonight's team final in 8th place.

A confident opening beam rotation to open (newbies Nedov and Muneanu holding their own admirably) and a world-class bars rotation to finish (love a good stuck dismount, two of them in a row is even better!) saw Australia edge its way in behind an uncharacteristically shaky Romania. One online observer commented, "Australia are treating this prelims like it's team finals!" and that attitude certainly paid off.



Unfortunately the FIG didn't seem to film any of their routines, however NNTV did show all the team's bars routines as they happened.

So. To tonight!

The official start list is here and live results page is here. Australia will start on floor, rotating alongside Romania. Coverage will start from 10:00pm AEDST.

FIG will be livestreaming on Youtube here, and I've no doubt USA Gymnastics will do the same here. NNTV may show it in full here. (If you're seeking something to unlock access, look up "HideMyIP", Hola Unblocker, Tunnelbear or Proxmate.)

Gymnastics Australia have superstar Allana Slater providing live commentary on their Facebook.


And of course, for up-to-the-minute coverage of skills and spills there are the usual twittery tweeters at International Gymnast, The All Around and FIG.


9:55PM WE ARE LIVE TO THE ARENA!



66 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well done to the Australian team for finishing 7th. From the results, I'm really hoping that the team can increase their vaults to a minimum double twisting Yurchenko, and up their difficulty on floor. They were relatively consistent tonight, but to be competitive with the top teams, they need the increased difficulty on these events. I'm not sure why we have gone 'backwards' on vault? I thought with the introduction of the vaulting 'table' that we'd see more difficult vaults attempted.

Anonymous said...

Vaults are an issue and I know a number of those gymnasts competing tonight can do far more difficult vaults but not comftortably enough to prevent injury. As we have very little depth in our gymnastic pool it is safer to be conservative and make sure the vaults are second nature before competing them. They are coming. We will move forward. Well done to the girls.

Anonymous said...

Congrats girls great effort. It was actually our floor that let us down today not our vault so much, but then again if Lauren was competing our floor score would have been higher. Out of interest, if Larissa Miller had of jumped into a clean split handstand & done a walkover out of it would she have been deducted for a fall?

Anonymous said...

i didnt realise how tall lauren is. she looks also as tall as georgia

Anonymous said...

*almost

Anonymous said...

it's Georgia-Rose

Mez said...

Monckton has confirmed on twitter she was doing a DTY until trial #2 and will work to get it back for next year.

Anonymous said...

For the most part, what they did they did very well. Great effort! Proud of them for sticking UB and BB and producing respectable results there. We all know vault is ridiculously lacking. And after these worlds, I'm a little concerned floor is heading in the same direction.

Anonymous said...

Why didn't MAM perform the DTY?

Anonymous said...

I think a number of the gymnasts are already training the DTY. Georgia Godwin, Kiara, GRB ,MEZ and possibly Maddie and Alex.

Anonymous said...

The issue lies in the second vault, one is not enough, there need to be a good second vault to back it up!

Anonymous said...

I'm super proud of Emma and Kiara and their solid performances. They proved to Peggy and the selectors that it does pay off to give younger/less experienced gymnasts a chance.

Anonymous said...

it's super slow today

Anonymous said...

whateva

Anonymous said...

no there no need that

Anonymous said...

there need to be a better cheer to back it up

Anonymous said...

Floor is so poor because Peggy likes the skinny and not so powerful gymnasts. Just to get the difficulty up on floor, Peggy should try a new tactic and go for stocky powerful gymnasts. Anything is worth a try. I realise the thin gymnasts like GRB are pretty to watch but it is clear that gymnastics is now all about POWER. so we should jump on board.

Anonymous said...

go team go

Anonymous said...

She shouldn't pick gymnasts based on their body at all!
Coaches just need to train harder tumbles in a safe way. Has any Australian ever done a double double?
Eade has a double layout so it would be great to see her healthy

Anonymous said...

olivia could do a great cheer

Anonymous said...

The High performance facilities are only choosing girls that have small tiny frames like the chinese regardless of experience and anyone regardless of how talented they are if they don't fit this narrow criteria are being told they aren't suitable. Surely we should be modelling ourselves off the Americans who definitely aren't tiny. By doing this surely they are narrowing the gymastics depth in our country and the numbers of gymnasts who could also be potentially great as strong powerful gymnasts for vault and floor look at Simone Biles she is not exactly a tiny frame...short yes but skinny no..

Anonymous said...

It's amazing to think that we should pick gymnast with short stocky bodies with fast twitch muscle fibre because they can tumble better than Larissa or GRB or Emma Nedov or even Lauren who is also tall lean. Tell me where is the depth of gymnasts that are short and stocky and that can perform.

Anonymous said...

Ha ha ha true

Anonymous said...

Trudy McIntosh competed a double double. I personally would much rather see the elegance and grace of our team now than the likes of Biles and Fragapane - yes they're powerful but it's painful to watch. Tall girls can still tumble and be successful (see: Nastia Liukin)

Anonymous said...

no she didnt

Anonymous said...

I enjoy elegant too but thats not where the D score comes from
Otherwise Australia will be the pretty gymnasts without the skills

Anonymous said...

Small & skinny is why the Chinese can no longer compete with the Americans. I agree that power is what gymnastics is about these days. Trudy would have been perfect under this code.

Anonymous said...

yes she did

Mez said...

Would love to see a leggy, willowy gymnast like Brown, Flood, Nedov or Miller go more in the 'Corey Hartung' direction - ballet legs and carriage but overall springy and dynamic, like if you were to put Joura and Dykes (or McIntosh and Croak) in a large hadron collider.

Anonymous said...

no it was FTDLO

Anonymous said...

Smaller framed gymnasts can still stumble like beasts if coached properly.

Anonymous said...

*er,tumble

Anonymous said...

damn i wood like to see someone stumble like a beast

Anonymous said...

peggy stumbles like a beast

Anonymous said...

piggys an expert at stumbling

Anonymous said...

i wanna see a gymnast with a body like Gina Rinehart

Anonymous said...

Come on Peggy, For one cycle why not mix it up and go for mostly stocky powerful gymnasts with a token elegant gymnast. Our D scores will improve out of sight. Take a chance for once. Anything is worth a try.

Anonymous said...

now that would be funny

Anonymous said...

Who are the stocky gymnasts

Anonymous said...

The ones they have turned away from trials into elite programs in this country. So unfortunately we will never know as they only let the skinny tiny gymnasts in. Shame really, we will never really see another power house after this next cycle as they seem very keen on only taking chinese built gymnasts for our future. WAIS even stipulates this on their website " short in statue , small build"

Anonymous said...

I dont know about that. Both MAM and Godwin are not tiny in build although quite short. Kiara also looks stocky and powerful. I am not sure body type is the issue since those tiny chinese girls are hitting beautiful DTY's. That certainly is coaching.

Anonymous said...

I don't think that they turn too many kids away from the elite program at all. They certainly don't just pick skinny tall girls. It's much easier to teach and develop skills in girls who are shots and stocky. Talk fact!

Anonymous said...

I don't think it's about build at all, I think it's about mindset and determination. You can have the best build in the world but if you aren't focused on the end result it's not going to help,at all. It's all about mental toughness, to,keep going when you get knocked down.

Anonymous said...

I agree. unfortunately the HPCs look for build, not mental toughness.

Anonymous said...

trust me they turn away plenty

Anonymous said...

Lets be realistic. The elite programs are not that picky. You have to be telling yourself stories if you think that they only take build over toughness. All of the girls are tough and most are training and competing with some form of injury. We don't have enough girls in the country actually doing Gymnastics to actually choose build over toughness and if you think about build most of the girls entering an elite program do so at a very young age and then regardless of the parental genetics build cannot always be predicted. So to say that coaches choose build over mental strength is naive. Really it comes down to survival and endurance.

Anonymous said...

the chinese suck at vault. despite being worked to the bone they are low and barely even make DTY. They have no hope of matching the americans

Anonymous said...

you're also a retard. participation is huge. 150000, most at the ages 5-8. we have a huge talent pool at the entry level. unfortunately not enough getting opportunities for higher levels is the problem.

Anonymous said...

Anon 8:28 - Get real. I watched the team final from Worlds and the chinese gymnasts all performed beautiful DTYs.

Anonymous said...

they may have good form, but they lack power and are low

Anonymous said...

Tan got 15.166 in Qual??? It was only .2 difference in execution to Biles so it must have had height. The difference was in difficulty only.

Anonymous said...

chinese girl who just did vault looked pretty crap

Anonymous said...

Mez the comments on this blog that are rude and nasty deserve to be owned. Calling people " dickhead" and " retard" is unnecessary and not constructive. Disagree but why resort to name calling. It turns people away from the blog which can be a space for useful information and discussion including valuable feedback to clubs coaches and parents.

Anonymous said...

It is extremely difficult to get into a HPC. I understand that you need to grade a gymnast on a criteria for entry what I dob't understand is not st least offering a trial to see if these gymnasts can work hard, pick up skills necessary and fit the overall expectation of an elite gymnast. What I think is not fair is assessing good potential gymnasts in two hours and if they dont meet measurement build requirements regardless if they have shown promise they are shown the door and told go enjoy National Level life. So many good potential talents could be missed through this tiny net leaving many disappointed gymnast and patents behind. When the international stream is depleating at a fast rate in this country due to funding why spit out good potentials at a young age. We are talking under 9 surely if a gymnast already shows potential and under good coaching these kids are worth more than 2 hours of a hpcs time to see if they can produce the goods under s decent trial time. The HPCs get an income if nothing else. These decisions seem to be based on build including foot size if uou kid has too big a feet forget it they are out...regardless of fast twitch muscle capabilities.

Anonymous said...

Oops sorry about spelling errors my phone has small keys!

Anonymous said...

I am not sure that I agree re measurements etc.. Think about our taller gymnasts GRB Larissa Miller Emma Nedov they are not a gymnasts classical build and they were not turned away. If this is happening it is very old fashioned and archaic. Foot size does not determine height onr does parental genetics..height and build is determined by a number of factors and programs need to start to look at other factors including "desire " and determination. It needs to come from the gymnast not the parent.
I agree that we need to upgrade the intake of these HPC programs but again there is very little funding available to widen the base on the pyramid for intake. We need development coachs and space to increase the numbers of these programs.

Anonymous said...

Nedov is at a club not a HPC. GRB is probably the only one who stands out who is not the typical body type. She was probably quite short as a kid but grew taller than expected.

Anonymous said...

No GRB was not short as a child. She grew as per normal. She had great club exposure. Good coaches and was fortunate to have access to a range of different coaches in Queensland before moving to VWHPC. I think its just persistencce and desire that makes any athelete. Talent is only 50% of the battle. Over the years I have seen many very talented gymnasts in levels and elite programs drop by the way due to lack on desire. Some of the best athletes in the world in their respective disciplines are not touted as the most talented but their drive and desire out weigh talent. Don't blame coaches and programs be proactive and persist.

Anonymous said...

Clearly GRB is an exception, not the norm. It is clear our problem is poor talent identification, high dropout rate and lack of opportunities for gymnasts to move into the elite stream.

Anonymous said...

Lauren Mitchell is a good example of natural talent only being part of the equation. She's often said she was never the most naturally gifted or co-ordinated gymnast, and that every skill took her longer to achieve than her peers. Her sheer determination and fighting spirit did more to get her to the top than her body type or talent.

Anonymous said...

You have to be able to get into the elite program first and that is part of the problem...you can persist if you trial too many times the coaches think your a joke and its not the done thing even though you may be even more experienced and stronger the 2nd or even 3rd time round. Being determined to coaches makes you look like a desperate gym mum. .trying to get their child in.So regardless of talent it only means something if the trialling coaches are willing to give you a go. Even if the gymnast has proved themselves through competitions.. If the trialling coaches think your earlobes are too big..your out

Anonymous said...

Have you been able to get a meeting with the gym coaches who you trial with ? Without passing judgement are you wanting this more than your daughter? I have been guilty on many occasions with persisting and re trailing for one of my children ( no gymnastics but another elite sport) and finally had to accept that whilst there was some talent the actual drive came fr me not the child. If an athlete regardless of age is showing talent but the hard work is the drive from the parent it's not a safe bet the athlete will succeed. This I know from personal experience and it's actually not great in the long term for the child coaches or the parent.

Anonymous said...

I think a little of both. She has watched the international Level girls compete and loves watching their routines and the difficulty. She is constantly trying to copy them and do the skills herself. She loves being chellenged in the gym with National levels the routines can look pretty but arent really challenging, they are shorter too and with the new program coming out the program is being decressed in difficulty. So unless your coach is gungho with teaching skills that will challenge you it can become a little boring especially when your child is very quick to pick up new skills. I am at fault to as I introduced her to this world of gym and I do encourage her like many parents do of their child but she is definitely driving this ship..

Anonymous said...

well if your child is passionate and driving the ship then persist but don't criticise coaches and programs without going to them directly ask what they don't see in your daughter that you see? Go outside the square for your daughter. Look to different clubs that offer levels program and ask them to give her extra sessions and skills. Always remember though that if anything goes wrong in the Gym and your daughter gets injured then the gym and coach have to take responsibility and quite often the coach/program is blame for parents insisting their child learns skills and progresses/train harder. I have seen many parents push their child and the coaches to get more out of them but this has resulted in negative consequences all round. I think if your daughter is really keen and ou feel that her ability and desire is high then you will both succeed. Don't be negative though just look outside the square. I remember a number of yard ago one of the girls at a local gm was turned down from a state elie program but they persisted and found another program to accept them and she went on to become a commonwealth champion. Hang in there and persist.

Anonymous said...

I have trialled my child twice now but my child is young but I'm not sure its worth all the stress. She and I love the sport too. Try not to worry too much if your child shows potential she will make it, it may just be a harder road if she is older. There are new rules coming in that allows National Level coaches to take tallented kids with equivalent D scores to the international level competitions. So I myself am taking a chill pill if its meant to be it will happen not sure how old your child is she could still have time to increase her skill level and let her own coach take her. Mine was turned away on build too and she is flexible,strong but not a waife she has the classic v. Tiny waist but broad shoulders. Good for swimming too!

Anonymous said...

I thought broad shoulders and small waist/narrow hips was looked upon favourably. At least it used to be!