CoP - Tip of The Month

CR- Compositional Requirement on BB (balance beam)

On beam gymnasts are required to link, "one connection of 2 different dance elements, one being a leap, jump or hop with 180 degree split (cross or side), or straddle position. Awarded 0.5CR.

Usually you'll see the typical split jump + wolf jump, sissone + split jump etc. Pretty standard and boring. Some gymnasts have come up with some interesting ways to make this often boring CR interesting. In the '08 code I did recall Pavlova/Liukin doing sissone/split + sheep jump but that didn't really appeal to me. I do like Zeng Siqi's switch ring leap + sheep jump but what really got me noticing with the dance CR was when Amelia Racea did the sissone + full turn. I don't know if she was the first gymnast to perform that series but she was the first gymnast that I have ever saw do it. I like the originality.

(Source: n-liukin)

I also liked Grishina's full turn + split jump but really I like her whole Onodi + illusion + full turn + split jump. That is one of my favourite connection on beam.

 (Source: gymnasticsgifs)

Some 2013 Russian Cup National News - Nabieva 1st AA

Sosnitskaya, Nabieva, Pavlova

It's really hard to keep up with all the gymnastics news right now. USA Nationals and Russian Nationals are all happening at the same time. The problem with Russia is that they don't broadcast or have videos up. I hope we get to see some videos of the Russians. This competition is seriously lacking in star power. No Mustafina, Afanasyeva, Komova and Grishina. Those gymnasts are all most likely to make the 2013 world team. It's very hard to take the Russians serious right now but this is their strategy and they know what they are doing.

It's nice Nabieva won. I hope she can reemerge into becoming one of Russia's top contenders again. This AA podium leaves a lot of questions to be answered. Obviously this is not the desired AA podium for Russia at a world stage.

Thanks to the wonderful rewritingrussiangymnastics for all the detailed information. You guys should all check it out. 

Floor Queens - Anna and Ksenia

Thoughts on 2013 Russian Championships

These are just my opinions and impressions of this meet. I'm basing it on the live feed videos and interviews that I have read. This event was to determine which 4 WAG gymnasts would make it to the European Championships. The full WAG results AA EF.

Grishina, Mustafina, Shelgunova

My impressions of this meet is that it was basically a practice meet for the top gymnasts. They weren't all at their best shape and peak. My theory is that Mustafina worked really hard on her new beam routine and wasn't too worried about getting her other events. With time she will work to get her other events up to par. She was pulled out of day 2 event finals to rest her knee. This is good that Mustafina is gaining more confidence on beam. Her DTY vault is still great as always. Her bar set is still great. Even if it's a watered down routine, in my opinion she doesn't have to worry about upping her difficulty for this year. If she wants to make it to Rio I think she still has time to figure out a new bar routine mid quad. I think it's a smart idea that she is focusing on beam. For floor she might surprise us with some upgrades but for this competition she looked tired and rusty on this event. I don't think she was ready to compete floor at this event and she'll be ready by Europeans. Mustafina is the new Russian all around champion with 59.850.  Russia really needs to keep this girl healthy and safe.

Anastasia Grishina did well enough winning AA 2nd and gold on UB. She does need to get her DTY consistent though. She crashed it in team finals. It seems she is a bit weak in terms of endurance. It's really hard for her to finish up a floor routine without crashing or staying in the corner for a long time. It seems she just needs a lot of repetition and practice to get consistent. Apparently she was feeling fatigue for day 2 event finals so she scratched that finals. I think it's a shame because it seems she is not a strong enough gymnast. Most likely her coaches just wanted to keep her safe and free from injuries as she is most likely to be the 2nd AA for Europeans Championships.

Maria Paseka

Perhaps another reason for letting Grishina off the hook was to give competitive competition for Dementyeva, Afanasyeva and especially for new senior Evgeniya Shelgunova. This was particularly a weak day 2 event finals, well actually day 1 was pretty weak as well. With no Mustafina and Grishina it was a competition to see who would be the other gymnasts to compete with them at Europeans. In day 1 EF, Maria Paseka won vault with a decent enough Amanar. She is in the mix for contending for a European spot. Valentina Rodionenko stated that the team will be Mustafina, Grishina and Paseka. The others must prove themselves worthy, mainly Dementyeva, Afanasyeva and Shelgunova. I still think the team is undecided between Paseka, Afanasyeva and Shelgunova.

On day 2 EF Dementyeva pretty much lost her spot. She fell on her 3/1 dismount off beam and had problems on floor, she botched her Memmel badly and fell. Afanasyeva still proved that she is relevant to team Russia. Like Mustafina, Afanasyeva is doing some interesting new beam combinations. She stayed on beam and looked good enough. Her beam was obviously a work in progress routine. She still did 6 acro skills in her routine so that tells me that this is her chance to just practice and not take this event so seriously. Her routine consisted of Kochetkova + split leap 1/1, truly impressive! Also Onodi + side somi + 1 1/4 spin! The 1 1/4 spin was unexpected for me. This routine is a risky routine but hopefully she'll get it down and figure out which skills she'll use and leave out. I'm guessing she most likely did not get credit for all her connections as her beam score was low 13.775, no D-scores posted. It's encouraging that Afanasyeva is working up the courage to do these combinations.

Goryunova, Afanasyeva, Polyan

Her floor was alright. Could have been much better. She is still the top Russian to have the highest floor difficulty. I think it's a bit sad for Russia but it does give Afanasyeva a better chance at making European and world teams. Her double layout is still sky high and powerful. She had some issues with her difficult whip + whip + 3/1 twists. Her spins are beautiful but at the end of her routine she went out of bounds on her double pike. Actually a lot of the gymnasts went out of bounds on their double pikes, hmm. Afanasyeva scored a low 13.600 and still won! It's great that Afanasyeva is still committed to continuing. It seems she will only get better on beam and floor with more work and time. Oh and she can still do a decent DTY which is good for her and Russia.

New Russian senior Shelgunova may have some bad form and execution faults but she is a steady and consistent competitor. She did a good job of staying on beam and doing an okay floor routine. She won beam with 14.050 and also won 3rd AA. Beam final scores were low but Grishina and Mustafina could have posted huge scores if they competed in EF.

Overall I was impressed most with Mustafina's and Afanasyeva's upgraded beam routines. It's great that Paseka can still do the Amanar, although it still looks scary with bad execution. Russia is not at full strength and they don't have the depth of USA so it's encouraging to see the Russian Olympians competing and getting back into the groove of things. It's early in the season so most of them will hopefully get better when the real competitions are on. I haven't forgotten about the talented Komova who is sitting out due to back injury. Hopefully she will be ready for worlds.

I think the Russian coaches still have a lot of decisions to make for the European team. Some things are still not clear. If they bring Shelgunova she could make AA finals if her other teammates falter but most likely that might not happen and she doesn't have much difficulty to contend for EF medals. So will the Russians just bring her for qualification? Or will they take Afanasyeva who could win a floor medal. Will Paseka still be able to do the Amanar in April for Europeans? As we all know she is not great on any other events. Paseka's bars is okay but if they have Grishina and Mustafina on the team Paseka's bars will not be received well by the judges. So basically she is a one event woman. I think Russia still has some internal competition. Also there are some up and coming world cup events. Afanasyeva and Paseka to the French Cup. Grishina, Shelgunova and Dementyeva to Cottbus Cup. Looks like Aliya will just compete at internal events.

Call me bias but I hope Afanasyeva makes it to European Championships. She missed 3 European Championships in a row, due to injuries or getting back in shape from injuries. Maybe this is her chance again? But on the other hand I feel Afanasyeva has been given many chances and maybe it's best for Russia to give other girls chances. I say maybe Shelgunova does need the experience and Paseka should be rewarded for her Amanar. I think Universiade will be perfect for Afanasyeva. Maybe Afanasyeva missing a lot of Europeans will be a blessing in disguise. Maybe she'll make it to worlds? I hope so.

I'm also glad to see that some other older veterans like Pavlova, Myzdrikova, Kramarenko etc are still competing. Pavlova's regional team won gold :)

*photo credits sportgymrus

Some 2013 Russian Championship Routines

From London To Rio Gala Montage

Here is the montage of the gala, From London To Rio. It features many stars like Ponor, Izbasa, Afanasyeva, Pavlova, Paseka and so on. It's a teaser montage and I believe the show will be fully available on the 12th of February. I'm happy that this came out today especially on a snowstorm like today. Enjoy!

News Roundup - Komova injured?

-I just read a new article that talks about how Komova might miss this year's European and Russian Championships. She is having some kind of back problem and will have a proper diagnosis within 2-3 days. I hope it will not be serious. Hopefully she will be fine for worlds in October. Source 

-There will be a gala competition in France called From London to Rio. The list of gymnasts are pretty impressive. It will include artistic, rhythmic, and trampoline gymnasts.

MAG - David Belyavskiy, Emin Garibov, Alexander Klochkov, Vyacheslav Veselov,
WAG- Catalina Ponor, Sandra Izbasa, Ksenia Afanasyeva, Maria Paseka, Anna Pavlova(!)

Gala starts February 1-2 Official Website 

News Roundup

According to New York Post Olympic AA bronze medalist Danell Leyva might join Broadway's Spider-Man show, lol.

Aliya Mustafina will definitely go for Rio 2016. If Mustafina makes it to Rio 2016 she will be 21 at the games and will be turning 22 that year. The article also talks about her University plans. Education seems like a big commitment for her right now. She plans to compete at the Universiade (University) Games in Kazan, Russia. Her next 2012 competition should be the Stuttgart Cup in Germany (Dec. 1-2). Hopefully she will compete :).

Anna Dementyeva is not over yet, YAY! She will be competing at the 2nd Mexico Open (Oct 11-13). This was the same competition where Afanasyeva won the inaugural Mexican Open in 2011. Dementyeva will be joined by Russian MAG David Belyavskiy. Other competitors, Sergio Sasaki (Brazil), Luis Sosa, Yesenia Estrada and Ana Sofia Lake, all from Mexico. Other countries that confirmed their place in the competition are USA, Italy, Australia and Colombia, there is no official roster yet.

According to People Magazine Gabrielle Douglas will write a book called, Grace, Gold and Glory, My Leap of Faith. I think I'll pass. 

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Anna Pavlova. She turned 25 today. She will always be remembered for her elegance and ZERO vault. She should have known better!

2012 Russian Cup EF Vault & Bars

Vault
Ha, I knew Pavlova would win vault finals. So sad she has been blacklisted off Russia's Olympic team. Tatiana Nabieva got 2nd, good for her and Anna Myzdrikova is still around and medals 3rd. Maria Paseka couldn't get her Amanar. She can still possibly make the team but she has to get the Amanar consistent or she won't make the team. Russia really needs Amanars.


1) Anna Pavlova 14.390 (5.8/5.6)
2) Tatiana Nabieva 14.150 (5.2/5.8)
3) Anna Myzdrikova 13.800 (5.0/5.6)
Full results : Click Here

Nabieva, Pavlova, Myzdrikova

Uneven Bars
The beautiful Mustafina did an monstrous bar routine and scored huge. I'm really starting to favour Mustafina for the UB gold in London. It's good to see Grishina back she got 2nd place but it was only an exhibition routine. Komova did full difficulty but fell. Nabieva technically won 3rd because Grishina's routine was only an exhibition routine.

1) Aliya Mustafina 16.150 (7.0)
2) Anastasiya Grishina 15.450 (6.5) (Exhibition)
3) Viktoria Komova 15.150 (7.0)
4) Tatiana Nabieva  14.900 (6.1)
Full results: Click Here 
* Please note the full results gave incorrect last name to Anastasia Grishina as Anastasia Sidorova. It is a major error as Anastasia Sidorova bars difficulty is nowhere near past 6.0 and bars is her weakest event.

Komova, Mustafina, Nabieva

Quick Final Thoughts on Russian Championships 2012 part 4

I missed this competition online again. Here are all the final results for EF: FINAL EF RESULTS

1st place, Anna Pavlova on vault! I'm not surprise and the Russian coaches should consider her. She needs to bust out a Amanar. She did do a Amanar in Beijing vault finals.

Grishina, Pavlova, Paseka

1st place, Aliya Mustafina on bars. Again not a surprise. From what I heard around the internet forums was that every gymnasts had a fall besides Mustafina and Inshina. I was happy to see Inshina medal for herself individually. Inshina came in 2nd. Grishina came in 3rd after falling from her VLW (toe-on shaposh 1/2). I'm actually not surprised that Grishina fell on this element. She is not tall enough to catch this element. She is always fingertips away from the HB and almost falls. She still has time to improve and perfect the VLW element but I hope that her coach takes it out if it becomes too inconsistent for her.

Aliya Mustafina's UB: She is a beast!

Quick Thoughts on Russian Championships 2012 part 2

This time it was the Senior team finals, results are here: Click here for RESULTS 

1. Moscow Team: Mustafina was the leader of this group. It was quite hard to tell who was who in this group. I couldn't tell who did a DTY because they were either still doing warm-ups or I couldn't really tell the differences between Paseka and Mustafina. Regardless the DTY's I saw were good or had hops fwd. Grishina's DTY was a bit short with deep landings and I could tell she was really trying to wrap in that last twist.On bars Paseka was not aesthetically pleasing to watch. Their bar rotation got a lot better with Grishina. Grishina hit her set with a stuck landing. Mustafina was the star on this event. She did her regular routine and finally hits her pak + stalder shaposh 1/2. She was a bit hesitant on her sole 1/1 but manages to connect it into her dismount, "the Mustafina".
On beam this team had some problems Grishina fell on her RO + layout. She was very shaky but nailed her double spin. Mustafina was really shaky and had very low difficulty. Hopefully she will be able to upgrade and have a better constructed beam routine. If she wants to be a potential AA contender for the Olympics something has to be done about her BB. Beam is not her forte.
On FX Mustafina did not compete. Grishina was lovely. She really stood out and she probably performed a new routine. I couldn't really tell because there were no audio for music on floor.

2. Central Team: Afanasyeva was the leader for this team. She had a decent DTY & UB. She is fighting to stay on those bars. Her BB is beautiful when she can hit it. This time she connected a very good front aerial + ff + whip. Very secure in her leap jumps. The only major problem is her double pike dismount. Her floor was ok, I've seen better from her. She brought back her 3/2 + 1/1 twisting combo.

Pavlova was just Pavlova. A really beautiful and elegant gymnast. She fell on her jaeger release on bars. Her floor is really "pretty" but really lacks difficulty it was nice to just see her compete and help her regional team. Inshina did her job but did have some issues especially with the dbl front dismount on bars, it was quite scary.

The highlight for me was Mustafina's bars (16.033, bonus points though) and Afanasyeva's consistency (AA 59.733, bonus points though).


Mustafina's 16.033 bars. Not the best video quality.

Quick Thoughts on Russian Championships 2012 part 1

First here are the results for Senior AA: Senior Results 

1. Aliya Mustafina is the all-around champion! She didn't show full difficulty but she has made a statement. She is definitely the leader for Russia and Russia absolutely needs her on their Olympic team. As the Olympic comes closer Aliya will most likely be in full strength with full difficulty and ready to challenge for a team & AA title.

2. Ksenia Afanasyeva has proven that she is too valuable to be left off the Olympic team. She manages to hit all her routines and showed that she really wants to make it to another Olympic games. She didn't show full difficulty on FX but did try to upgrade her double pike to a leap jump for CV. And finally she hits her Onodi + Side-somi combo on BB.

3. Anastasia Grishina has finally landed a DTY this is great news because a DTY will almost guarantee her a spot on the Olympic team. She had problems on bars and beam but this was only one competition and we'll see how well she does in the event finals. What really surprised me was that she had the top floor score. I think Grishina mainly focused on VT & FX for this competition and that could explain why she didn't do too well on UB & BB.

4. Yulia Inshina was consistent and quiet as usual. I was quite surprise at how well Inshina performed. She's proving to the Russian committee that she could help out somewhere and could be a very good alternate.

5. Anna Pavlova did well. She is still a very elegant and clean gymnast but with very low difficulty. What I like about Pavlova is that she is still competing and was helping her regional team for the team qualifications.

9. Yulia Belokobylskaya didn't have the best meet. On her best event she only scored 14.000 but on the bright side she did moderately well on BB.

*Please note that Komova, Dementyeva, Sidorova and Nabieva were not competing.

There are videos floating around on YT but the quality are poor due to the poor live stream, some videos = yannaGym 

Anna Pavlova

(Source: monigymnastics)