The team members will be Aliya Mustafina, Ksenia Afanasyeva, Tatiana Nabieva, Anna Dementyeva and Maria Paseka. Source
I read somewhere that the eligible age is 17 so technically some of the competitors don't have to be in University/College. I'm not 100% sure about this though.
It's nice to see Tatiana Nabieva and Anna Dementyeva on the team. Here is another article where Valentina Rodionenko talks about the MAG & WAG team.
This is just my fun speculation of how the team will be used. The format will be like the Olympics 5-4-3 but if I'm not mistaken the qualifying round will also be the team finals. So 4 gymnasts up and 3 scores count for team finals. The first gymnast I name will be the score that they will most likely want to discard.
Here's my line up, just for fun speculation :)
VT: Tatiana Nabieva, Ksenia Afanasyeva, Aliya Mustafina, Maria Paseka
UB: Ksenia Afanasyeva, Maria Paseka, Tatiana Nabieva, Aliya Mustafina
BB: Ksenia Afanasyeva, Anna Dementyeva, Aliya Mustafina (this one was tricky because Paseka and Nabieva are pretty useless on beam and floor so all these three gymnasts scores must count)
FX: Anna Dementyeva, Aliya Mustafina, Ksenia Afanasyeva
It is interesting to note that Valentina did say Nabieva restored AA but doesn't have a second vault so she could contribute on beam and floor in qualification.
I read somewhere that the eligible age is 17 so technically some of the competitors don't have to be in University/College. I'm not 100% sure about this though.
It's nice to see Tatiana Nabieva and Anna Dementyeva on the team. Here is another article where Valentina Rodionenko talks about the MAG & WAG team.
This is just my fun speculation of how the team will be used. The format will be like the Olympics 5-4-3 but if I'm not mistaken the qualifying round will also be the team finals. So 4 gymnasts up and 3 scores count for team finals. The first gymnast I name will be the score that they will most likely want to discard.
Here's my line up, just for fun speculation :)
VT: Tatiana Nabieva, Ksenia Afanasyeva, Aliya Mustafina, Maria Paseka
UB: Ksenia Afanasyeva, Maria Paseka, Tatiana Nabieva, Aliya Mustafina
BB: Ksenia Afanasyeva, Anna Dementyeva, Aliya Mustafina (this one was tricky because Paseka and Nabieva are pretty useless on beam and floor so all these three gymnasts scores must count)
FX: Anna Dementyeva, Aliya Mustafina, Ksenia Afanasyeva
It is interesting to note that Valentina did say Nabieva restored AA but doesn't have a second vault so she could contribute on beam and floor in qualification.
"I read somewhere that the eligible age is 17 so technically some of the competitors don't have to be in University/College. I'm not 100% sure about this though."
ReplyDeleteWikipedia says Universiade is a competition for collegiate athletes. It does not mention an age restriction. Nor, for that matter, does Vika in her interview with The Voice of Russia:
"Actually I dreamt to compete at the European Championships in Moscow, but unfortunately this was not meant to be. We will see what will happen. If I enter the university by that time I will compete in Kazan. Now, the most important thing is not to hurry up but to concentrate my efforts on fully restoring my programs."
http://english.ruvr.ru/radio_broadcast/36560725/213123667/
"It's nice to see Tatiana Nabieva and Anna Dementyeva on the team."
ReplyDeleteNabs reminds me of Vanessa Atler. Her personality and presence resonate with audiences. Whereas teammates must bring their A-game to be appreciated, Tatiana just needs to show up.
Demi may not be as flamboyant as the rest but her quiet fortitude is... arresting.
I hope both do well.
"Here's my line up, just for fun speculation."
ReplyDeleteI do not know much about the technical / tactical side of gymnastics so I will cling to simplicity.
My lineup: Average, Runner-up, Lowest and Highest scorer
If there is such a thing as score inflation, the athlete with the highest scoring potential on an apparatus should (for obvious reasons) go last. The one with the lowest scoring potential should be sandwiched between the two highest scorers. Near the end of the line, she should benefit from point inflation.
The average scorer sets the tempo with the runner-up nudging judges into old habits of saving the best scores for last.
VT: Anna, Aliya, Ksenia, Maria
UB: Tatiana, Maria, Anna, Aliya
FX: Anna, Aliya, Tatiana, Ksenia
BB: Tatiana, Maria, Ksenia, Aliya
So Aliya has four events, Anna (3), Ksenia (3), Maria (3), and Tatiana (3). Everyone has a nearly full itinerary, which means team gold will be a team effort.
Where is Evgeny Grebenkin? He should be taking notes! (j/k)
Hi anon or anons? :) Thank you for all the comments. I'm gonna assume this was one person? Thank you for the information.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with your line-up is that it will not work. Anna is a weak vaulter they will have to use Tatiana. Your bars line-up is possible but most likely Ksenia will do bars if she wants to do AA. I'm not sure if she'll do AA. Anna will definitely be used on beam. Maria and Tatiana have been pretty useless on beam for team Russia. I definitely can not visualize Maria on beam at all. But yes it looks like Aliya will have to do all events, obviously she is the top AA'er.
I like your idea that the lowest scorer should be sandwiched between the two highest scorer.
"The problem with your line-up is that it will not work."
ReplyDeleteWait! Let me explain...
+ + +
"Anna is a weak vaulter they will have to use Tatiana."
I realize vault is probably Nab's forte but I am willing to bet that, right now, Demi is more consistent. Besides, Tatiana has not competed in ages. And trying to brush the cobwebs off a vault in a venue that rivals the London Games will only put a McKayla Maroney smirk on her face.
+ + +
"Your bars line-up is possible but most likely Ksenia will do bars if she wants to do AA."
Afanasyeva started using grips like, what, five or six weeks ago? No doubt she is having to revisit some of the fundamentals which makes her a work in progress, not a work of art. I am sure her head coach needs time to create another masterpiece, and the month or so between European Championships and Kazan Games is not enough.
+ + +
"Anna will definitely be used on beam. Maria and Tatiana have been pretty useless on beam for team Russia. I definitely can not visualize Maria on beam at all."
From the smallest to one of the team's tallest in little more than a year. Poor Demi has vestibular issues. It is not a matter of "if" she will fall off beam but how many times she will do so.
I did not put her on the roster for this reason.
Nabs and Paseka (as awkward as that may seem) bring probability to the table, not guaranteed point deductions.
+ + +
"I like your idea that the lowest scorer should be sandwiched between the two highest scorer."
Hiding the weakest member amongst the strongest in a progressively more capable lineup seems like a really simple way to maximize a team score.
I've seen Nabieva restore her FTY at a recent Saint Petersburgh competition and it looks nice. Anna can barely do a decent FTY. They will use Nabieva on vault.
DeleteAfanasyeva doesn't need to do a hard bar routine for this competition. She can still do the same routine she did at Europeans and it will still be competitive enough for Universiade. It all depends if she wants to do AA or not.
Even if Anna falls on beam her beam is still miles ahead of Nabieva's and Paseka's. I haven't seen Nabieva and Paseka do full beam routines since 2-3 years ago! I'm sure a hit beam routine from Nabieva and Paseka will still score just as high as a falling Dementyeva. I'm not sure if Nabieva and Paseka can even come up with a competitive beam routine worth around 5.5 D-score. Besides Paseka is not even training beam.
I'm actually surprise they are not bringing Ekaterina Kramarenko. Of the recent videos I've seen of her she looks decent as an all arounder and at least she can still do a decent beam set compared to Nabieva and Paseka.
Well it's always nice to read opinions from readers. Thanks for your inputs.