Author: Rick Mc

IG has results and a nice summary of the Russian Championships prelims – Mustafina Wins Russian National Title

Mustafina had the top score on both vault and uneven bars (click for video), and was third on both balance beam (new double tuck dismount) and floor exercise. Grishina had the top mark on floor exercise (video) but fell on bars (video) and beam (video). …

Grishina does not look happy in this pic. 😦

related:

Couch Gymnast – Russian Gymnastics Championships Results & Video

Examiner – Aliya Mustafina continuing comeback, leading Russian Championships

Full Twist – Video: Anastasia Grishina Russian National Championships

Stoi – Russian Championships : All – Around

Had you noticed this is one site that has not jumped on the Kyla Ross bandwagon?

As a coach, I love her gymnastics. If she makes the Olympics, even as the non-competing alternate, I’ll be thrilled.

The USA has discipline, difficulty, depth and consistency. If you add artistry, no other nation can compete.

Click PLAY or watch her Beam on YouTube.

(via American Gymnast)

Oregon State Gymnasts talk about working with assistant coach John Carney and his unique approach to coaching uneven bars, in this installment of “Get To Know Your Beavers” …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Where I come from we credit John for inventing the “Tower of Power” training set-up. (VIDEO)

Balance Beam Effect predicts Oregon State will be the top Bars team at Pac-12 Championships over UCLA and the rest.

Senior All-American gymnast Jaime Pisani has been hot for Arkansas with 13 individual event wins the last three weeks and she’s now ranked No. 1 in the nation on two different events. …

Arkansas Razorbacks

Jaime and her Arkansas teammate Katherine Grable have had the two highest AA scores this season. 39.725

Congratulations.

That said, nobody is predicting Jaime to win the NCAA individual championships. It’s very much up for grabs this year.

(4 twist in double back)

Off Swinging Rings.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

And triple layout. Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via Emilio Toledo on Facebook)

Looking like an Olympian. 58.487 all-around.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I haven’t seen it confirmed anywhere that this meet is using Russian bonus. But scores look pretty high to me. It’s a safe assumption.

Mustafina’s not in 59+ form yet. But will be soon, by the looks of it.

via Alan Owen on Facebook:

Master of Sport (Senior)
1. Aliya Mustafina 15.167 15.233 14.800 14.333 59.533
2. Ksenia Afanasyeva 15.100 13.667 14.887 14.733 58.387
3. Anastasiya Grishina 14.833 13.800 14.233 14.833 57.699
4. Yulia Inshina 13.300 14.367 14.400 14.267 56.334
5. Anna Pavlova 14.800 13.133 14.367 13.367 55.667
6. Kristina Goryunova 13.600 14.100 14.933 12.667 55.300

Candidate Master of Sport (Jr)
1. Maria Bondareva 13.767 12.833 14.733 14.067 55.400
2. Kristina Levshina 13.067 12.833 14.100 13.467 53.467
3. Evgenia Korolkova 14.100 12.500 13.067 12.500 52.167

Russian bonus system in effect.

… Several members of the national team are missing this week: Viktoria Komova (minor surgery), Anna Dementyeva (illness), Anastasia Sidorova, and Tatiana Nabieva. …

TAA – Mustafina, Bondareva lead at Russian Championships

Click PLAY or watch Aliya’s Bars on YouTube.

Great to see her back in such good form. And all grown up.

Click PLAY or watch her Beam on YouTube.

More videos from Russian Championships.

Weird.

The God of Rings inspires some … music?

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Thanks (I think) to Ws van Wijk for the link.

Every gym has one athlete or another who cannot do one twist or another.

It’s a weakness.

Brett MacAulay, Trampoline and Tumbling Head Coach at Calgary Gymnastics Centre, plans a weekly test of all twists, forwards and backwards.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Keeping that up will help prevent your kids “losing” twists.

If you are not already a member, check out the T&T Coaches Canada Facebook page.

The Balance Beam Situation on NCAA 2012:

… Overall, I’m pleased. The level of gymnastics, especially among the top teams, has been noticeably stronger than it was last year. Certainly, the scores have been much higher than they were in 2011 …, but more importantly the routine quality and difficulty has been stronger across the board. Utah is a prime exemplar …

We have enough parity at the top this year that I honestly think we won’t see a team making Super Six while counting a fall in Semifinals, which is always the ideal. …

19 March 2012 – by Regional Qualifying Average

1. Florida
2. Oklahoma
3. Alabama
4. UCLA
5. Georgia
6. Nebraska
7. Utah
8. L.S.U.
– Oregon State
10. Arkansas
11. Stanford
12. Penn State

see the full list on GymInfo

… First, our #2 Oklahoma

I give K.J. Kindler a lot of credit on that front. Over the last few years, her teams’ performances have been incredibly consistent regardless of the changing rosters. One gets the sense that she could take a group of Level 9s and have them competing for the NCAA title after a year with her. …

… In Georgia’s third year under Jay Clark, we have seen by far the most cohesive team of his tenure. … Georgia was the preseason #9, the lowest preseason ranking ever for a Georgia team, but they have proved an ability far beyond that ranking, led by Kat Ding’s emergence as one of the country’s top all-arounders. …

… Likewise, Nebraska was a bit of a surprise entrant in Super Six last year, and it seemed completely unlikely that it would happen again. Yet, this team has ridden it’s two and a half gymnasts all the way to #6. I mentioned at the beginning of the year that the lack of depth was unsustainable, but this team has sustained it. …

read more on Balance Beam Situation – Thoughts on a Regular Season

The “disappointments” of this College season are laid out, too. 😦

Balance Beam Situation has been easily my favourite NCAA blog this season:

Proudly inventing deductions, resenting wonky legs, and reviling sheep jumps since . . . well, recently.

Aunt Joyce, busy with figure skating training, took the season off. So far.

I’ll be attending Championships in Georgia.