Saturday 31 July 2010

There's A Light At The End Of The Tunnel...

(Picture from gymbox)

Adi Pop has choreographed Beth's new floor routine. There may actually be some half way decent choreo in it!! I don't have huge hopes, much as I love her the Twedds is not a natural dancer, but I'm hoping for an improvement. I believe she has also choreographed Becky Downie and Niamh Rippin's new routines.

Result! Presumably British gymnastics federation felt rich.

Tuesday 27 July 2010

Williams Retires

Photo: Grace Chiu

Kayla Williams has retired from elite gymnastics (via gymnastics coaching). I am not particularly surprised. She had so much trouble trying to find a new gym after she left Gymnest, and as she's now signed to Alabama there's not a huge amount of point in continuing. She was a great vaulter but her bars and beam were very weak and her floor messy, her flexibility frankly terrible. I wish her the best of luck as a collegiate gymnast, she ought to do quite well there. And NCAA has a habit of cleaning up people's dance and often creates a better gymnast, just look at VaZam and Casey Jo Magee.

Sunday 25 July 2010

US Classic Style

So this is the most sporadically posted blog ever. Sorry about that ><. Anyways me and Mostepanovafan stayed up till quarter past three this morning watching classic so here we go.

General: What the hell was with Tim's voice at the start of that broadcast? Seriously? I mean I know he's a spazmonkey but that was just realllllly weird. As a whole the meet was a little messy and a splat fest, maybe people will have cleaned up by nats, maybes not. A-Sac was easily the best person there. Also the whole scoring thing? what was with that? Why must American gymnastics competitions have such ridicoulous scoring?

A-Sac: Her beam was a little wobbly and her form not quite as good as it was but she's definitely back, and looking happier about it all too. Her vaults were as huge as ever, and whilst the landing of her rudi was not so fab the vault as a whole is possibly better than before, scoring 15.800. Bye bye Kayla. I would like to congratulate her on being the only person with a personality. I also found it amusing to watch her order people around in the presentation at the start.

VaZam: Fresh from UCLA. Her layout Podkopayeva was HUGE though the landing was far from great, but the form was great too. Beam = disaster. It was a little empty and she fell (rather painfully) from her whip back. Her floor (I say her, turns out it was Kristina Comforte's, seriously? It's not even her own routine?) was alright, very nice double layout but the other tumbles were a bit meh. Sorry to Zamarippa lovers but I still don't particularly like her.

MCaquats: I seem to abbreviate everyone. Weird. Her bars was looking a lot better than before and we now have a new member of the Church club, connected to Pak in a way that should annoy Sloan as Mackenzie didn't need spotting and it was better. Her beam, well, it's never been her best event has it. Fell on a switch split half. The rest was tentative and wobbly, she seems to have a WOGA side somi. Also someone needs to tell her she looks like a puffy cloud in that leotard, it really is not flattering.

Hunter: She looked her normal awesomely powerful self on floor and vault, tumbling a slightly messy full twisting double layout, two different arabians and a 1.5 - full twist. Somebody kill the choreographer plzkthx. Large and tidy DTY. Bars was normal Hunter bars, fell on her Hindorff. Looking forward to supporting her as a Gator. *chomp* Mostepanovafan: she needs to smile more during her floor routine otherwise she looks like she thinks she looks stupid.

Raisman: Mini A-Sac was her normal mini A-Sac self only better at bars. Beam was solid and good, her double arabian not as a good as at the SCAM but still much better than Bross'. She needs to work on her flexibility, her switch jumps were painful to watch. Her double pike arabian is a bit like early Tweddle's in the tucking the second somersault, only it was messier. Still doing her 1.5 through to double tuck arabian well, underrotated triple twist (ironic, she always used to over do it). The music was a weird choice but they really are trying to make her Alicia. Vault ZOMG what were they thinking? She was nowhere near round the attempted Amanar and it was ugly and looked painful. Bars was better but by no means fabulous. New Tkatchev with foot flex.

Cassie Whitcomb: Her floor routine was uninspired and she has still stolen Nistor's Vanessa Mae music. tumbles weren't bad but the choreo was appalling as per the usual Cincinnati routines. Her piked Ricna on bars was impressive but her Gienger was ugly. Her beam was tentative and unsurprisingly she fell on an aerial cartwheel. She also seemed to struggle with her splits. Mostepanovafan: OMG why is she so freaky and sinister. By the end of the meet MFan had also decided that Whitcomb is a basilisk.

Larson: I am happy to see her actually return to gymnastics after many injury problems. Her beam was a bit raggedy but it was solid enough until her dismount when she fell. Also her split switch ring leap should be exiled. Her floor exercise was...interesting. I preferred her old one choreographically. She's a little bit spazzy. I never expected a double layout from her but it was pretty good and her triple twist is pretty though she bounced out of it. Out of bounds on the last past. Her DTY is pretty big and neat though the landing was messy. Her bars is pretty average but nice Ricna and nice dismount. Congrats on winning the Classic Mattie. MFan thinks: she Joura's her choreo on floor.

Shapiro: Oh dear. Just generally. Beam was her normal beam routine, so dull with an offensive switch split ring. Someone ban All Olympia from trying this please none of them can do it. Tim and Tasha described her as the best dancer in the competition. -_-. I was unfortunately watching Evgeni Plushenko during her routine not her. Double arabian, double tuck and double pike. MFan: Oh yes best dancer, I love how she stands around and waves her arms. Then vault. Thankfully we didn't see it but she has hyperextended both knees so go figure. She looked in a lot of pain and I doubt we'll see her at nationals.

JetJet: Or Amanda Jeeter as Tim seemed to think she was called. So Tim was a bitch at her? Not outstanding on any event. Cat fight please. She had a messy DTY but it wasn't horrific. Her beam was good right up till her twisting straddle jump where she had to hold onto the beam. Nice standing fulls and arabians and a double arabian dismount, once again shaming Bross. I like the way Mary Lee was all 'we have to remove the garbage' about this routine ><, but she seemed happy with her girls. MFan: What is with the Cincinnati bows?

Brossy: Yay. Bross. I love Bross. OMG I HATE HER BAR WORK. SERIOUSLY. It's clean and it's high and it's in handstand and yet she manages to make it look so ugly. Her beam was...interesting. She overbalanced on her full turn (she's got to stop doing that) and fell on her dismount. Unsurprisingly. I think she performs the worst version of that dismount I have ever seen. I mean I only saw Fritzinger land it once but when she fell she wasn't anywhere near as spazzy about it and she was the first person to do it so she gets some forgiveness.

Sloan: Still has her beard leotard. And is shamed by Wieber who can do her front toe on half thing that Sloan reallllllly cannot do. Just go back to the endo one, you could do that and it's worth the same. Her dismount was low but her releases were good. Didn't see her beam.

Kaitlyn Clarke: Saw her floor exercise for no clear reason. Alright tumbling, average choreography. She'll fit in at Bama quite well so enjoy your college career.

Wieber: We watched highlights of Wieber, her bars has improved though she's piking her full twisting double layout a bit and as we all know from PacRim her floor is a lot better too though it might've made more sense if we'd watched it with her floor music.