*knock knock* Housekeeping!

Four days. Wow, for this blog that's a long time between drinks!

There isn't much news circulating at the moment, except for news of a new-look website for the Victorian High Performance Centre (follow the link from GV's site) which looks pretty snazzy and Ashleigh B-tastic.

Oh, and I discovered that episodes of Road to Beijing are achived here.

So short of concocting my own news (Level 8 Champion Revealed to be Watergate's 'Deep Throat'! Josh Jefferis' Hair NOT His Own!) I thought I'd tappy-tap out some friendly reminders and rules for you good readers of this humble pile of bloggery. Yes, I realise it's a bit late in the game, but it's better late than never. Please take careful note of them. Re-read them if you wish to send me correspondence, send them to other people wishing to contribute, or by all means print them out and arrange them into a fashionable hat.


1. If you wish to contribute to this page in any form - such as photos, articles, competition reports or opinion pieces, please contact me via the email address listed on the top right of the page. You may remain anonymous if you wish, though full credit will be given for materials otherwise, and emailing me saves excessive Comment page space.

2. I am no longer a gymnast, I have never been a coach and I am most certainly not in any important administrative position such as judge or program co-ordinator. I have contacts who fit into these categories but far be it from me to speak for them. So please refrain from contacting me regarding gym product endorsement, expert opinion or athlete representation. That's not my bag, baby.

3. Any and all 'gossip' or news sent to me must be substantiated. If it is something arising out of your correspondence or contact with an athlete, please get their permission to make any of it public. I will *NOT* accept anything taken from an athlete's MySpace/Facebook/website without their knowledge or permission, or that of the site's administrator. And don't even try prefixing information taken from those sites with, "I heard that..." because lies like that make Baby Jesus cry.

4. Comments deemed flame-y will be deleted post haste. I read those things, y'know.

5. I am not writing this blog as a representative of, or in conjunction with, Gymnastics Australia or its affiliated state associations. So I'm not getting paid, I'm not doing subliminal advertising, I'm not looking to get hired by anyone, I'm not trying to bring them down, and I'm not a disgruntled former employee. So let me reassure you I'm not committing an act on par with those (steeeeyoopid) Liberal party guys.

6. I do not promote or encourage stalking, hassling, verbally assaulting, stealing or blackmailing of gymnasts, elite or otherwise. Constructive criticism, yes. Destructive behaviour in the name of investigative journalism, no.

7. On the topic of journalism - I am not a journalist, journalism student, freelance writer, budding editor or magazine contributor. I've always wanted to be (I'm still waiting for your call, IG), but sadly I stuck to an Arts degree with English and Linguistics units rather than the cut-throat Journalism and Professional Writing courses held at another campus. So please excuse any typographical or factual errors that may arise. I do my best to proof-read and edit where possible. A lot of the time, I'm just bloody tired when I crank a post out.

8. The reason you won't (and don't) see a lot of commentary on US Nationals/European Championships/NCAA finals/Bavarian Dwarf-Tossing and Gymnastics Festival at this blog is because of its very name - The Australian Gymnastics Blog. This is a space for commentary, analysis and general gymnastics fangirl/boy faffery relating to all things clad in green and gold because there aren't a lot of spaces on the internet for it to happen. Like unwashed backpackers in a Manchester hostel, we Aussie fans stick together. I'm an open-minded individual, I respect and admire the gymnasts that the world has on offer. But it is in this space, this wee little internet burrow, that this wibbly wombat celebrates all things about the sport as it plays out in this particular country.

Because if I don't, Grant Denyer will. And this is one medium I don't want that creepy, shiny hobbit taking hold of.

Lights are on, nobody's home

Erm... anybody know what happened to Road to Beijing today? Come 4:30 on channel 7, all we got was a repeat of Keeping Up Appearances despite RTB being listed in the Green Guide.

I never liked that that show to begin with, but under these particular circumstances, the high-pitched "the LAYdee of the HOUSE speaking" catch-phrase really started to get on my nerves.

Enh. I'm just a crankypants at the moment because I caught a cold...again. And I'm at home by myself. I've had to put on hold some significant things such as work and Mr Mez's band's first public gig.
So once again, you are advised to view the blog from a well-stocked, plexiglass-secured distance. Your co-operation is appreciated.

*coughsneezewheeze*


USA nationals are on at the moment; I really am beginning think Miss Joura won't be a good chance for an AA medal unless she gets an Amanar happening. The medal favourites are starting to pull away from the pack now that there are a few who've got it down pat. Come on Dash, catch up, we know you can!
Two Australian connections in one at US nationals - Mattie Larson, the one whom I've said is the image of Monette Russo, is using an arrangement of Dasha's floor music!

ETA- At last, some reading material. In her latest blog entry, Livvy tells us that it's nice to get by with a little help from your friends.

LolGymnasts: Mark III

Because I really REALLY have nothing to do at this time of night.
Here they are again, by semi-demi-popular demand: LolGymnasts!








G'night! :)

Get To Know: G-Bo

(Sometimes I wish all these profiles would stop because I'm running out of puns!)

I went onto the International Gymnast site in the hope of finding a preview of this month's issue. Wwell there isn't one (just yet) but lucky me found something even better: a featured interview on quiet achiever Georgia Bonora.

Read the whole piece here.

Peggy is always telling us to convince her that you are the one she can rely on in a podium situation. That is what I am trying to do...

Meet Mel J

Woah, athlete profiles are flying thick and fast in the papers this week.

AIS/VIC gymnast and Olympic squad member Melanie Jones was profiled in the Canberra Times (spot the typo, grammar gurus, that has fluffed what should have been a rhyming headline). There are two photos of her in training, and you get some personal insight into how she feels about her progress. She could get a vault/floor specialist spot on the team... but then again her lack of international experience may work against her so she could just end up as the travelling reserve.

Call it as you will. I was quite taken with Mel when I first saw her last year - lots of power, gutsy tumbles, very exciting to watch.

Mayo's A-OK

When I went to film the Level 10 division at Nationals this year, I prepared to enter fairly unchartered spectator territory. I asked two correspondents who they recommended to film/take note of, beyond Natalia Joura. I felt lost in a sea of unknown names. One of the names they rattled off was that of Amaya King-Koi, a young Queenslander. Sadly my battery ran out and I couldn't film any of her routines but I did take note of her dainty athleticisim as she moved about the rotations. I also couldn't help but notice the massive QLD support base behind her, as team-mates (including Naomi Russell), shouted "Go Mayo! Come on, Mayo!" from all around the arena. Very cute and very nice to hear. Anyway, she got her own little corner of printed press (and, it must be said, overly-shadowed photography) this week.

She's definitely one to watch.

Looking through GA archives yesterday, I also found that she was one of the pink-clad youngin's supported by Scott Martin in a photoshoot last year (below, she's on the right). Again with the cute!

HOLD the MAYO. Geddit!? Ah, they should be paying me for this stuff...

Get Outta My Dreams, and Into... the Adjacent Seat

Gah (again)!

I had a great little gymnastics dream going last night. Shame about the sunlight through the window in the early hours waking me and interrupting it.

I was at Nationals at Vodafone Arena (in real life soon to be known as 'Hisense Arena', though I don't know if this is to be pronounced "High Sense" or "Hee Sensei") in the front row of seats behind where the announcer's table was during the events; only there wasn't a table there. The tiered seats just went right down to the floor level, there was a space of floor and then the actual floor exercise mat. Anyway. I sat there with my digital camera, ready to take photos, and along came Josh Jefferis to quietly sit down, turns out he picked the a seat two spots away from me. I looked over and smiled at him and he smiled at me. I couldn't help myself, I just straight out said, "Hello. My name's Meredith and I write the Australian Gymnastics Blog...*lean over for handshake* I just wanted to say that I admire your gymnastics and I know that there are a lot of other fans out there who admire you too. So... keep up the good work. Hope you're enjoying the competition!" and he beamed and said "Oh, thank you very much!"

The exact same thing happened with Tom Pichler, Phil Rizzo and Prashanth S who ALL came along to sit down near me to releax and chat with one another in the athlete's area and who turned out to be very pleased and excited to hear about their fans. The only exception was Sam Simpson, who ended up sitting behind me. He actually tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, do you write that Gymnastics Blog...?"
And what was about it, really.

It was a happy yet brief scenario that I suppose could best be described as, "noice, noice, un-youse-yooal, noice" and that I hope will manifest itself in reality one day. With WAGs, too, of course. I wouldn't argue with that! :P

It's noice, noice...unusual, noice, yeah.

Videos, Videos, So Many Videos

Big thanks to Youtube user Aurelia who has uploaded vids from the Moscow World Cup qualification round and event finals, including Lauren's bars and Dasha's floor/vault.

Speaking of videos, I hope in the coming days to finish my (rather scattered) entry featuring some interesting clips from old competitions (well, old in my book... I'm only 21!)

Big hair! Bad leos! Loud tracksuit tops! It's all old-school gold!