Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Emma Enchanted

The Couch Gymnast has posted a great catch-up with Emma Nedov off the back of her recent trip to the  Dityatin Cup in Russia.

[...] I feel that even though I have achieved a lot as a junior, I would like to achieve more as a senior. I did have thoughts of quitting when times got tough, but it’s getting through those tough times that makes you a better person and gymnast.

Best wishes to Emma as she prepares for the national championships!

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Auction Action

Helping others is great, helping those in our gymfamilies even more so.

Here is an important story out of the Waverley Gymnastics Centre community.

On September 28th 2011, when Amelia was 5 years old, she had an accident where was badly burnt. She suffered third degree burns to 40% of her body. Amelia spent over four months in the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. During this time she underwent more than 20 operations for skin grafting. Whilst in Intensive Care Amelia’s trachea was severely damaged and she had to have a tracheostomy tube inserted into her throat. She still has this today. This means that Amelia has no voice and communicates by making sounds with her mouth. Amelia’s Australian doctors have now referred her to an expert in Switzerland however this surgery will cost $90,000 as well as a further $30,000 in associated costs for this 6 week operation (flights, accommodation and the ongoing follow up medical treatment). 

Amelia’s mum Janie is a coach at Waverley Gymnastics Centre.  To raise money for Amelia, WGC in partnership with Gymnastics Australia and Gymnastics Victoria have created a once-in-a-lifetime eBay auction packed full of unique gymnastics items that could be yours to own! One day of bidding remains on several of the items which are Pretty Darn Cool If You Ask Me!

And they include...

(wait for it.....)
 

1 hour private gymnastics lesson with national women's coach Peggy Liddick!

A personalised floor routine, choreographed by Stacey Umeh!

The scarf worn on the medal dais by Commonwealth Games gold medallist Georgia Bonora!

Signed gymnastics memorabilia from the likes of world champions Lauren Mitchell, Vanessa Ferrari, Chellsie Memmel and Nastia Liukin!


See the item list here, though if that doesn't work just try ebay.com.au and search for Item #221230801427. Click "see more items" to get through to the full list.

Waverley have advised that you can also make a donation per the details below -

Amelia's parents have set up a special bank account for anyone wanting to make a contribution. The details are:

Account name: Amelia Mathilde Ahlstroem
BSB: 063-236
Account number: 1031 3043
For overseas the swift code is: CTBAAU2S


Or at the donation page that can be found here.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Not in Parkville for the AA tonight after all. Apologies.

Quick hits available at the sources listed in my previous post.

Vids from Saturday night going up slowly at youtube.com/user/ausgymblog, there will be a 2013 Victorian Championships playlist.

GV have updated that the women's victors were as follows:

Level 10 Team Champion: MLC
Women's IDP 10 Champion: Emily Whitehead
Junior: Eliza Freeman
Senior: Georgia-Rose Brown

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Quick Vic Pic

Last night's session of the Victorian State Gymnastics Championships definitely came with ups and downs.

I spotted world championship team members Mary-anne Monckton and Josh Jefferis in the stands, supporting their squadmates alongside big cheering sections (the biggest were undoubtedly from MLC and Waverley).

I unfortunately didn't watch enough of the men, but it was great to know some names from the last few years - locals and visitors - were back again for another season (including Bacon, Cook, Pocklington and Wadsworth). I did catch one sky-high kovacs on high bar and and Kent Pieretse's huge piked double arabian on floor. Jefferis joked that the HPC boys "survived" pommel, glad to hear it managed not to claim some victims!

I've got to give a 'smile award' to MLC's Meagan Silvers. She had a great personality throughout the competition, I even spotted her dancing as her group rotated to beam!

The vaunted Victorian High Performance Centre girls came unstuck a number of times last night. No gymnast in their lineup hit four for four, but I am sure this will come in time. Current senior AA leader Georgia Rose Brown was ethereal as always, getting through beam competently save for some wobbles and a fall to her back on a double tuck dismount (her pirouettes in Y-scale are jaw-droppingly beautiful) and suffered a fall on bars after hitting a gorgeous shap to geinger. Alex Eade fell multiple times on beam (significantly on the flic-two foot layout series), having done so on bars in the previous rotation, but rocked floor like a veteran with her gigantic double layout opener. Maddie Leydin and Kiara Munteanu also had a mixed night, with the former flubbing bars but dominating beam, and the latter sitting down what was looking to be a powerful double arabian on floor but hitting her exciting Memmel salto on beam.

Tango floor routines were the order of the day, with Eliza Freeman (Waverley) and Christine Bonfadini (Dolphin) particular standouts in terms of presentation.

The NZ visitors had some of the coolest skills of the night on beam -  tiny Christchurchian Charlotte Sullivan powered through a piked back whip. Millie Williamson twisted a nifty back dive into split handstand. And finally, the delightful Mackenzie Slee. She performed a Mitchellesque wolf pirouette into immediate stand and full pirouette. She hit it in warmup but messed come performance time, cleverly covering an accidental heel drop that left her sitting on the beam with a flourish of seated choreography!

There was a lot going on at once last night, and my apologies to those following my livetweets that I had to duck out one rotation early.

For more photos and more detailed results from last night, and for the rest of the competition rounds to come, check out Gymnastics Victoria's Facebook page that is regularly updating live or the official championships results page.


I did film a few routines and will get them onto youtube ASAP! 



Friday, June 7, 2013

Twitches of East Vic

Friendly reminder I'll be live tweeting as much as I can about tomorrow evening's artistic session at the Victorian State Gymnastics Championships.

I am unsure how much I'll be filming, as alongside my video camera I'm bringing along a friend who has never watched live gymnastics before, so I may be preoccupied!

Feel free to tweet, email or post any media you find relating to the event.

Following along at twitter.com/ozgymblog, and you don't have to have a twitter account in order to read the updates (just keep refreshing the page)

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Great States

We haven't reached the end of the road to Nationals 2013 just yet - it's time for the on-ramps!




Below is some information about state championship qualifiers, competed and yet to be competed. I am happy to take contributions and corrections to the list as I strive to get it as accurate as I can.

**********************************


New South Wales: Competed, May 16-19.

Full results by discipline here.


Queensland: Competed,

Artistic results here.

I can't seem to load acro or rhythmic .pdfs on my laptop, but search GymQLD's 2013 results listings for results per discipline.


South Australia: Competed, May and June

Men's Artistic results here.
Women's Artistic results here.
TRP here.
Rhythmic TBC? State team trial and two-apparatus comp results here.


Victoria: To Be Competed this weekend and the ensuing week! :)

(Yours truly will be at the Saturday and Monday evening sessions)


Tasmania: Competed, May 18-19

Full results by discipline here.


Western Australia: To Be Competed, June 20-23

State team listing (WAG National Levels, RG, TRP & ACR)
State team listing (MAG and WAG elite)
State team listing (Acro)
State team listing (Rhythmic)
State team listing (TRP)
 
  
Northern Territory: To Be Competed, September 7-8


Australian Capital Territory:

Men's artistic results here
Women's artistic results here
Trampoline/acro TBC?