Category: Gymnastics

Yesterday I documented the weird and flawed arena. AND linked to the shocking injury list as well as other major complaints.

Here’s what I liked about Worlds 2017 …

It was memorable.

Glasgow inspired razzle dazzle. The big screen worked well.

Announcers were OK, better than Glasgow. Personally I enjoy listening to CA.

It was well attended by North Americans. I caught up with hundreds of friends and acquaintances. It was a treat to have Worlds back in North America.

The nearby INS Gym hosted Canadian team camps in conjunction. There were a dozen of other nations there, too, all getting to meet each other.

Montreal is a fun tourist city. Most visitors have a good time.

Judging was — perhaps — better than I can recall at any other Worlds. Europeans 2017 was laughable, I thought. But there was not much glaring injustice in Montreal. Most arguments were over a tenth or two.

Should Ellie or Oksana have been 4th on Vault, for example.

FIG judging rules are stupid, of course, and should be fixed. E score is weighted too low compared with D score. But that’s an issue separate from this particular competition.

related – This Code has simply made the sport too difficult for the majority of countries.

Beam scores were far too low relative to Vault scores. You must lower Vault or raise Beam. That’s obvious.

Lower Vault. Doubling the deductions would bring that apparatus in line with Beam.

https://twitter.com/uncletimmensgym/status/916724096498655233

I sat in front of Beam for the entire meet. To be fair to the judges, aside from Pauline, there were very routines without obvious form, balance, angle and rhythm deductions. It would have been smart to put a very clean, low difficulty routine in front of that panel. I can’t recall one.

There were few very weak routines considering this is individual Worlds. Two Tsuk pikes, I recall, for example. Fewer than usual for the first Worlds of the cycle.

Gymnasts were very well behaved at this Worlds. No incidents in the corrals that I recall. Everyone very friendly.

Montreal history. Nadia 1976. Worlds 1985 in the same Olympic complex. (Worlds 1985 was far worse than 2017, by the way.)

GymCastic videos. I’m a big fan of GymCastic audiocasts. But the GymCastic videos are even better. Social media was excellent at Worlds 2017. Those who couldn’t attend still had a good experience online. FIG LIVE scores mostly worked this time.

Fans and gymnasts were able to rub shoulders more than I can ever recall at Worlds. Every time you turned around in that arena you’d spot a famous gymnast.

Longines didn’t bungle the Elegance Awards. Kenzo and Brooklyn were very good choices. (Though I would have preferred Yul and Brooklyn.)

For me, personally, a big highlight was having media tribunals at field of play level was fantastic. Normally we are way up high with a long range, impersonal wide angle view. (Text media like myself were happy. Video / photo media were not.)

The Acrobatic Sports Symposium October 5-8th held in conjunction was excellent. Every Worlds should have a coach education event. (Judges do have clinics at every Worlds, by the way.)

I liked Montreal. And I expect Stuttgart 2019 to be as good or better. That city has an excellent reputation for hosting big meets.

I’ve toured the ultra modern Qatar venue. Expect a smaller, more intimate event. Not anything on the scale of Glasgow or even Montreal. Audiences will be smaller, I assume, so that might work.