Sorry What Yes Come Again

Apologies for not covering National Clubs.

I've been a bit distracted by... a thing.

Hurrah

Good news!

"The success of world gymnastics champion Lauren Mitchell, has been reflected in a rise of almost $400,000 in funding..."

Keeping Up Appearances

Interstate gymfans, this weekend sees YOUR chance to meet some Aussie superstars!

Commonwealth Games gold medallists Dani Prince, Tom Pichler and Josh Jefferis will be doing a meet-and-greet in Queensland, while Gold Medallist of Everything Ever Lauren Mitchell will be making an appearance at the National Club Championship in Canberra.

So keep your eyes peeled and your marker pens uncapped!

Also, in competition appearance news, our Toyota Cup team heading to Japan will be Lauren Mitchell, Ashleigh Brennan, Larrissa Miller and Prashanth Sellathurai.

Glasgow A-Go-Go 2

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a superstar in Lauren Mitchell.




Our Loz has had to make extra room in the trophy cupboard for more hardware - she won floor and beam overnight in Glasgow, and settled for a bronze on bars.

Read more about her golden run here and here, and look out for videos here.

ETA: Bars final video!




I don't know about you guys, but - failing an American Cup invitation - I definitely see an IG Magazine Gymnast of the Year nomination on the cards!

(In the cards? On the cards? My idioms are, how do you say, not so goodness.)

NCAA November Update

Aussie expats Melanie Jones and Olivia Vivian competed in Oregon State's annual "Orange and Black" exhibition competition last night, giving fans a teaser of their 2011 season.

Check out this engaging picture of Mel... (click for larger)



(photo credit Ethan Erickson/Oregon State Athletic Dept)

News from the Stanford women's team is that Aussie freshman Shona Morgan is fitting in very well and having a whole lot of fun in her new surrounds, having

a) amused everyone on the team's 80s-themed day with a "sassy Betty Boop dance" on beam
b) performed some impressive bars and beam work in training; her bars releases have been positively remarked upon a number of times
c) dressed in a Superman costume, along with her fellow freshmen, for the team's Halloween party!

Over in Washington, 2-year absentee Monique Blount remains on the George Washington University roster and hopes to finally, fully, represent her school this year in competition.

Glasgow A-Go-Go

Follow the qualification round of this weekend's Glasgow Grand Prix here or here.

Both will be updated LIVE as the competition unfolds, and apparently BGtv will have selected qualification highlights available for viewing tomorrow.

Good luck, Lauren!

(ETA live scores rolling in here)

UB: 12.500 - apparently she fell on overshoot to handstand
BB: 14.300
FX 14.775


Lauren has qualified in 1st place to the floor final and the beam final, as well 8th to the bars final! Onya Loz!


BGTV has videos available to view here.

In Moderation

Hello there.

Are you sitting comfortably? Good.


I have just gone and done a huge comment cull.

I simply cannot stress this enough -


PLEASE DO NOT, now or ever, use The Australian Gymnastics Blog comment space to discuss matters of perceived club politics, club movements, club membership numbers or gymnasts' personal issues involving decisions or discussions with coaches/families/program heads. This space was created for discussion and analysis, yes (and I know you all like the Anonymous function), but it is increasingly becoming a stop-off for gossip and club chatter.


PLEASE DO try and keep comments relevant to posts and appropriate for public viewing. If it is an unrelated observation or piece of news you want to bring to the public's attention please feel free to email me first or tweet it to me (link in the sidebar) and I will be sure to help you out, and determine which bits of it can be published.


If you have a question that you would like answered about the nature of the national program or a particular club program please do not ask it here, please address it to Gymnastics Australia or the necessary club (failing that, my Formspring account linked in the sidebar).


If you do want to have a space to chat freely about what you believe is going on within certain clubs or the GA inner sanctum, or to voice your dissatisfaction with a club or official, by all means start your own Facebook pages and invite others to join. If you're parents or club members, exchange email addresses if you haven't already and get talking. Start your own blog like I did. Launch a Twitter account to announce when you hear x-gymnast is moving clubs, or y-club has shut down. If it is a genuine major issue then don't hesitate to contact me and I can publicise it it for you. Hopefully the general content of this blog generated over 3 years of operation (and you can check back right through to my first ever posts) gives you an idea of the gymnastics matters I deal with, and that AGB's growing readership has come to, well, read.


I don't like deleting people's comments, believe me, but if I don't, we just get bogged down in back-and-forth discussions over who did what and when and where they've decided to do it next when that's not the kind of news or analysis this site prides itself on. I fully understand that it is difficult now because there isn't an Australian message board or similar outlet to assist with clearly delineated discussions. But please understand that you are dealing with (to all intents and purposes) an amateur reporter who has no national program affiliation or accreditation (yet!) and therefore no power in aiding your communications on club or program issues at large.




I do moderate discussions here and do it with the best intentions. I might not do it fantastically but I do my best to do it competently.

If any of this leaves a sour taste in your mouth then I am very sorry it brings you to a negative conclusion about this space. I hope you find somewhere that offers you the leniency you are seeking.


Thank you for your time and your readership.

~ Meredith

ozgymblog@gmail.com
www.twitter.com/ozgymblog
www.formspring.me/ausgymblog

AlleeeeeeEEEEEEEZ!!!!!

Vids of Elite Massilia are now up and about.

Nade00 has graciously cross-uploaded-and-posted videos from French TV of Aussies in the Massilia event finals.

Blythe Lawrence has some qualification videos available.

Merci one and all!