Gymnast Come Dancing

Louis Smith takes to the floor

Just three weeks ago, the latest group of celebrities was announced for Strictly Come Dancing 2012. This year I was delighted to discover that two of my biggest passions, gymnastics and Strictly Come Dancing, were to be united thanks to three time Olympic medallist, GB gymnast Louis Smith.

Louis was partnered with professional dancer Flavia Cacace and given three weeks to prepare their first routine before the start of the series on Friday 5th October. During the launch show we were treated to our first glimpse of the partnerships as well as getting our first look at the celebrities prowess on the dance floor. Louis seemed oddly nervous throughout, something I was not expecting from the confident team captain of the Olympic Bronze medal winning gymnastics team. He nevertheless seemed pleased with his partner and Flavia seemed delighted to be teamed up with Louis. The celebrities then took to the floor in a group dance, giving us the first chance to see their moves. Louis looked more confident on the dancefloor than off, clearly enjoying performing to the audience - though it has been a while since Louis has performed on the floor! He wowed us with a back somersault during the routine, though Flavia informed us later that his gymnastics talent will not be seen all that often on the dance floor: "We're definitely going to use Louis' skills but he's here to learn to dance." With his competitive spirit already in evidence, his desire to win transferring easily from the pommel horse to the dance floor, Louis echoed Flavia's thoughts: "I'm sure we're going to incorporate some gymnastics somewhere along the series, but we want to go quite far just by doing dancing and see how far we can get."

With that in mind, training for the first dance began. The tweets soon started to come in from both Louis and Flavia, excited about the routine and the start of training, but the picture posted by Flavia just a few days in showed a rather different story!

The training video of Louis and Flavia's first steps thankfully painted a better (and more active) picture! Rehearsing for the Cha Cha Cha, the video from day one looked very promising. With loose hips and his body moving in very different ways to during a pommel routine, Louis looked to be taking it all in his stride. Although Louis felt that Flavia was being very patient with him on day one, she nevertheless seems to be pushing him to the limits: "The funny thing is, day one, and I think I've possibly broken Louis already!" Already? Surely not! But: "Back's quite sore, my knee, both heels, I've got an intercostal muscle which has kind of seized up a little bit on the right hand side, so yeah, I'm taking a bit of a pounding!" Oh dear Louis!

Hopefully Louis has managed to put his aches and pains to one side and keep up the training. With the live shows starting this weekend (Friday 5th October, 9pm, BBC1 and Saturday 6th October, 6.30pm, BBC1) all the celebrities will be taking to the floor for their first dance. Although they will be scored by the judges (scary enough prospect!) there will be no elimination in week one. It will simply be a chance to see everyone in action - and sort the good dancers from the, er, not quite so good! Voting will be starting in week two - can anyone guess who I will be voting for?

Good luck Louis and Flavia!

Time for a change . . .

The Olympic journey this summer has been amazing and has created plenty of blogging opportunities. Now though I feel it is time for a change - I will still be blogging, but probably not every day as I have done so far. There is plenty of blogging still to be done and I still have plenty of ideas, but if you have any suggestions on things you would like me to write about please let me know (details on my Contact page). In the meantime, why not check out some of my previous posts or follow me on twitter (@GymFanBlog). See you all soon!

 

Thursday's Thoughts

Vault scores in the new CoP

With the Olympics now over for another four years the rules and regulations are due a rethink. The provisional Code of Points for 2013-2016 is now available to download and while it can be a bit wordy and long it always worth a flick through. Do bear in mind that this is still provisional at the moment and not all the changes may see it through to the final draft. After looking through, the main change stands out as being the scores on vault. While there are new requirements and connection values on the other apparatus, the scoring of vault looks set to have a complete overhaul.

The main changes will be to those gymnasts looking to qualify and compete in the vault final. For gymnasts just competing one vault (for the team final or all around final) it will be pretty much the same though some vaults have had their D score changed. For example, the highly difficult Amanar vault will be decreasing in difficulty from 6.5 to 6.3. If you are wanting to try for the vault final though you do of course have to compete two vaults. At the moment the gymnasts' two vaults are scored completely separately then averaged to give the final score: the D and E score of vault 1 are added together to give the score for vault 1, the D and E score of vault 2 are added together to give the score for vault two, then the scores for vault 1 and vault 2 are averaged. In the new Code of Points this scoring system will change and only one execution score will be given. Basically, the two D scores of the vaults will be averaged, then all the deductions (from both vaults) will be taken off a single E score. This will then be added to the average of the D scores to give a final score.

Sound complicated? I was really unsure at first quite how it would look in practice and whether I liked the idea, but the more I got used to it the more I like it. So how does it work in practice? Here are a few vaults with the difference between the old and the new scoring system:

Sandra Izbasa, London 2012 VT Final
Old scoring system:
VT1: D (6.1) + E (9.233) = 15.383
VT2: D (5.8) + E (9.200) = 15.000
(15.383 + 15.000) / 2 = 15.191
New scoring system
D: (VT1 (6.1) + VT2 (5.8)) / 2 = 5.95
E: 10.000 - VT1 deductions (0.767) - VT2 deductions (0.800) = 8.433
5.95 + 8.433 = 14.383
As you can see, Sandra's score would come out much lower in the new scoring system than it does in the current one, but the same will be said for all the gymnasts. Sandra had good execution on both of her vaults as well as moderate difficulty, meaning her score will still be fairly high compared to others.

Yamilet Pena Abreu, London 2012 VT qualifying
Old scoring system 
VT1: D (7.1) + E (7.833) = 14.933
VT2: D (5.8) + E (8.666) = 14.466
(14.933 + 14.466) / 2 = 14.699
New scoring system 
D: (VT1 (7.1) + VT2 (5.8)) / 2 = 6.45
E: 10.000 - VT1 deductions (2.167) - VT2 deductions (1.334) = 6.499
6.45 + 6.499 = 12.949
You can see that Yamilet, who fell on her first and very difficult vault, would score very low under the new code with all the deductions coming from the single E score. Until now she has relied on her extremely high difficulty to get her into vault finals but you can see that this will no longer be an option under the new scoring system.

McKayla Maroney, London 2012 VT qualifying
Old scoring system 
VT1: D (6.5) + E (9.400) = 15.900
VT2: D (6.1) + E (9.600) = 15.700
(15.900 + 15.700) / 2 = 15.800
New scoring system
D: (VT1 (6.5) + VT2 (6.1) / 2 = 6.3
E: 10.000 - VT1 deductions (0.600) - VT2 deductions (0.400) = 9.000
6.3 + 9.000 = 15.300 
Although McKayla had that unexpected error in the vault final, you can see that her excellent vaulting in qualification would still be rewarded in the new scoring system. Because she has high difficulty as well as excellent execution there are very few deductions to take.

Overall, I think I like the new system. There will be no more cases of gymnasts making the final or taking a medal if they have had a fall, both of which happened in this year's Olympics. Instead, the focus will have to be on good quality vaulting and after all, is that not what it should be about?

Wednesday Worries

3-up-3-count rule

There has been a lot of debate about various rules within gymnastics since the Olympics and today I want to turn my thoughts to the '3-up-3-count' rule. This rule basically means that in the team final, three gymnasts compete on each apparatus and all three scores count towards the team total. This rule has now been in place for three Olympic cycles, starting in Athens 2004. Previously the format was the same as it is nowadays in qualification, being that each team can drop their lowest score on each apparatus. The last time this was the case in a team final was in Sydney 2000 when five gymnasts competed on each apparatus and only the top four counted towards the team total.

There seems to be much debate about why the rule was introduced but nobody quite seems to know for sure. The theories include a shorter, more dynamic final to benefit broadcasters and viewers, more teams in the final due to the shorter format, allowing other nations to compete for the medals and the scoring being less complicated for viewers. It is certainly true that the team final has a good dynamic and it is great that eight teams now get to compete, it is nice to see more gymnasts than just the same top nations each time. I can also imagine that those who only watch gymnastics at the Olympics for example would find it easier to understand that if a gymnast falls the overall team score will be lower. It has also been known to favour the less dominant teams, for example in the 2010 European Championships Great Britain took the Silver medal ahead of Romania who had to count two falls on beam.

It remains however that the top four nations are still pretty much unbeatable. You have to go back to before the introduction of the 3-up-3-count rule to find a team outside of the top four that medalled at a World event. Also, is the fact that the team finals are now shorter necessarily a good thing? We are treated to very little world gymnastics throughout the course of the year and I personally feel that the more gymnasts we get to see, the better! Not only that, it gives some of the lower ranked gymnasts in the teams more of a chance to compete and make their mark on the sport and for their team. It would also relieve a lot of pressure on the gymnasts. I know that there are people who say that the nature of a competition is about pressure and performance, but we have to remember that many of these girls who are competing are still incredibly young to have the pressure of their whole nation on their shoulders. Who can forget Alicia Sacramone in Beijing 2008, falling on beam and then on floor and feeling that she was to blame for losing her country the Gold medal? There are many people who believe that USA was indeed the best team in 2008 and surely the very nature of a team competition should be that it is not won or lost by an individual gymnast. I find it hard to comprehend the pressure that these young gymnasts must be under. For many it is simply the beginning of a very long competition with many more finals to come. Having to carry the fact that you have cost your team vital marks in the first final of the competition must make the rest of the finals so much harder. Then there are those who are on the team as specialists, imagine the pressure of being brought to the Olympics to perform one apparatus only and making a mistake. That must be pretty hard to recover from.

I personally would love to see the format of four gymnasts competing and the top three scores counting towards the team total. I find it hard to believe that this would discourage people from watching whether from the length of time or possible confusion with scores. I also feel that we would see a much better quality of gymnastics, not just that we would see more gymnasts performing but that they would really be able to give their all during each routine. Now that would be worth watching!

Team Tuesday

The rise of the Italians?

Although Italy were not particularly successful as a team at the London 2012 Olympics, qualifying and finishing in 7th, this in itself was an improvement from the 2011 World Championships where they qualified down in 9th, failing to make the team final or secure their spot at the Olympic Games. Since then they have made some big improvements, taking the first of the last four team places at the London 2012 Test event, qualifying to the team finals at the Olympic Games and also taking the Bronze medal in the 2012 European Championships. So have they got the potential to carry on to bigger and better things or have they peaked already? A lot of that depends, in my opinion, on Vanessa Ferrari.

At 21 years old, Vanessa is by far the strongest member of the Italian team and has been for many years. She is one of the best gymnasts to come out of Italy and has been a core member of the Italian team for over six years. She became all around champion in her first senior year at the 2006 World Championships as well as taking Bronze medals on bars and floor. She has gained many other medals since then at World and European Championships and is still a consistent all around gymnast. After a quiet period in her career she has recently come back as strong and competitive as ever and is looking to regain her winning ways. She was instrumental in helping the team to qualify for the Olympics as she was in helping the team take the Bronze at the European Championships and gain a place in the team final at the Olympic Games. With Vanessa's success to look to, it can only help to inspire the rest of the team and I hope that she continues in the sport for many more years to come.

Carlotta Ferlito is one of my favourite Italian gymnasts at the moment. She is consistent all around and her work on beam is absolutely delightful. She has a grace and elegance that is present in many of the Italian gymnasts and she presents all of her routines beautifully. Other notable gymnasts in the Italian team at the moment include Elisabetta Preziosa who works with style and fluidity, and Erika Fasana who has incredible power.

With so many great gymnasts to choose from it is perhaps no wonder that Italy are doing quite well for themselves at the moment. The problem is that apart from Vanessa Ferrari's routines, and Carlotta Ferlito's beam, the Italian gymnasts simply do not have the difficulty to take the next step. They generally have fantastic execution, but need to rely on the mistakes of others in order to place well. I really hope that they can build up their difficulty and keep challenging the best of the rest even if they cannot reach the top four nations. But I also hope that they do not lose any of their style and beauty in doing so as the Italian team are always a delight to watch.

Magic Moments Monday

The magic of the top four nations

The London 2012 Olympics proved once again that the top four nations of USA, Russia, Romania and China really are in a league of their own in women's gymnastics. In the competition where medals were dominated by these four countries, what was it that made each of them magic?

USA
What made Team USA magic?
In my opinion it was the sheer dynamic of the team that helped them so much. The depth of talent in the USA meant that so many combinations of girls were possible but 'The Fierce Five' was definitely the best combination in my opinion. Not only did all of these girls have the drive and the desire to succeed, they also had the focus and determination and a great attitude. Each one of them is capable of working as an individual as well as a team and is capable of keeping going through the good times and the bad. But what is more important in my opinion is that these five girls as simply the best of friends and are always willing to support each other and cheer each other on.
Best moment of the Games?
There are so many to choose from really, but it has to be winning the Team Gold. This was the USA's main aim coming into these Olympic Games and all five girls put everything they had into these performances. They had all had mistakes in qualifying but when it mattered they gave their absolute best - actually, I would say they gave better than their best! They really did excel in this competition, working brilliantly as a team unit and posting the best scores possible. The sheer delight and emotion these girls showed when the scores came up and they realised they had won will stay with me for a long time.
Star of the team?
For me it has to be Aly Raisman. She has been the rock of Team USA for so many years now and has always played a background role, but these Games gave her the chance to shine in her own right and that is exactly what she did. She was the most decorated American gymnast at these Games, taking Bronze on beam and Gold on floor to go with her team Gold. She was voted the team captain and it is a role she took on very seriously. She was there for the other girls when they needed her, supporting and encouraging them throughout. Used to being in the background she was definitely one of the stars of London 2012.

Russia
What made Team Russia magic?
For me it is the passion that made the Russian team successful. Each member of the team desperately wanted to succeed and gave their all to try to make it happen. Wearing their hearts on their sleeves, you could always tell how these girls were feeling. They were equally as happy to share their joys and their tears with us throughout the competition and they really did put their hearts into every performance they gave, making them an absolute delight to watch.
Best moment of the Games?
Bars has always been a strong apparatus for the Russian team and for these girls this was no exception. Their height and flight in their release moves is spectacular and their beautiful form in all of their moves makes their routines look elegant and effortless. They posted consistently high scores on this apparatus and of course the Gold medal on bars went to Russia's Aliya Mustafina.
Star of the team?
Without a shadow of a doubt, for me this has to be Aliya Mustafina. Not only has she spent the last 18 months fighting back against injury, she finished the Games as the most decorated female gymnast, taking one Gold, one Silver and two Bronze medals. Not only that, she was also there to support her team mates in times of need, encouraging them during competition and comforting them through upsets. She acted with grace and maturity throughout these Games and set a real example of good sportsmanship throughout.

Romania
What made Team Romania magic?
I personally believe that the mix of youth and maturity in the team is what gave them their wonderful team dynamic. The wealth of experience of Catalina Ponor and Sandra Izbasa contrasted beautifully with the youth and exuberance of the rest of the team. Each of these five girls worked incredibly hard to get to this point, with the restructuring of the team that has taken place over the last couple of years. Their hard work paid off though as they took the Team Bronze medal, a feat that seemed impossible just a couple of years ago.

Best moment of the Games?
Their floor exercises are always what I think of first when I think about the Romanian team. The styles of floor exercise are very different within the team, again highlighting the combination of youth and maturity, but each routine suits the gymnast perfectly. I really feel that I can see the character behind the gymnast with every one of their routines that I watch. I was utterly delighted that we got to see all five girls perform on floor at some point during the Games as I find each one of their routines as captivating as the next.

Star of the team?
This is a tough decision for me, but I think I will have to go with Sandra Izbasa. Not only did she take Romania's only Gold medal (on vault), she also gave a fantastic performance in the all around to finish in 5th place. This returning Olympian seems to have taken less of the spotlight than her fellow returning Olympian, Catalina Ponor, but I feel that she really gave her all in her performances and deserves the recognition.

China
What made Team China magic?
With China I feel that their diversity is their strong point. Having historically always been strong on bars and beam, they have made a real effort to improve their floor and vault work. Although vault can sometimes still be a bit weak, especially without Cheng Fei, their floor work has improved dramatically over recent years and is often delightful to watch. Bars and beam as always remain strong for the Chinese and their work on both of these apparatus is astounding to watch when it is performed at its best.

Best moment of the Games?
This has to be the beam final, with China taking the Gold and Silver medals. I have to admit I was surprised that Sui Lu did not take the Gold as I thought her routine was absolutely delightful as always. She moves so beautifully and elegantly on beam but with amazing power and difficult skills. Deng Linlin did also perform a fantastic routine though. The Chinese always seem to make their work on the beam look absolutely effortless and always perform with great style.

Star of the team?
This is another difficult choice for me, I feel I could justifiably choose any one of these five girls, but I think I have to go with Deng Linlin. Making a comeback on the Chinese team, she really excelled herself throughout the Games taking the Gold medal on beam and finishing 5th in the all around final. A good way to make a comeback!

These four teams really have given us some fantastic gymnastics throughout these London 2012 Olympic Games and have been an absolute delight to watch. I cannot wait to see what they all have in store for us in the future.

Sunday Surprise

On the road to Rio?

When Brazil qualified a full team to the Olympic Games at the London 2012 Test Event in January I was absolutely delighted. There were so many Brazilian gymnasts that I wanted to see perform at the Games I was thrilled that they would all get to be there, rather than just having one representative. But it was after this delight that the surprises began and unfortunately they were not good ones.

Jade Barbosa
Jade Barbosa is by far my favourite Brazilian gymnast. We have been treated to her lovely gymnastics for many years now. Since 2007 she has been competing for Brazil and winning medals. Well known for her excellent vaulting, she is beautiful to watch on all four apparatus. I was so excited that we would get to see her in London - or so I thought. Back in July there was a dispute between Jade and the Brazilian National Team about sponsorship and the team uniform. Jade initially refused to sign the form saying that she would wear the team uniform as it clashed with her sponsorship obligations. When she backed down and agreed to wear the uniform, despite risking her sponsorship, she was told it was too late and she would no longer be considered for the team. Did Brazil make a mistake? In my opinion, yes. Jade Barbosa is one of their top all around gymnasts and could have contributed significantly to the team score as well as challenging for an individual medal on vault.

Daiane dos Santos
Daiane is another Brazilian gymnast that I was really looking forward to seeing and thankfully she was chosen for the team. Now age 29 she has been competing for her country for over 13 years. She is a beautiful gymnast with real sparkle and personality. She is best known for her floor work which is dynamic and full of character. These days she only competes on three apparatus rather than all around, focusing on floor, bars and vault. She gave steady performances on vault and bars, though she lacked in difficulty and occasionally in execution. Her floor though was a joy to watch but unfortunately it scored slightly too low for a place in the floor final, which I was really hoping she would manage and she definitely had a good chance of. It is such a shame that she did not make it to any of the finals as I would have loved to have seen much more of her in the London 2012 Olympics.

Daniele Hypolito
Out of all the Brazilian women who made it to the Olympics, Daniele is the one whose performances surprised me the most. Another veteran of the sport, at 27 she has been impressing us with her gymnastics for many years and was the other Brazilian gymnast I was really looking forward to watching this summer. Unfortunately the Games did not go according to plan for Daniele, failing to even make the all around final which I and many others were expecting her to do fairly easily. She started qualification with mistakes on floor and never really managed to put things right. She had another relatively low score on vault and none of the Brazilians scored well on bars. She did manage to finish with a good beam routine, but her score was not high enough to take her to the final and in the end she finished qualification in 37th place all around. That was definitely not what any of us expected.

The other three members of the team were much less well known than their team mates of Daiane dos Santos and Daniele Hypolito. There was also an injury just before the start of the Games meaning that an alternate had to step in at the last minute. The team finished 12th, in last place, and did not qualify to the team final. By this point that is one thing I was frankly not surprised about.

So where does that leave the Brazilian team as they head to Rio 2016, their home Games? Daniele Hypolito has already said she would like to compete in Rio and I am sure that Jade Barbosa would love to compete in 2016 if only to put this year behind her. I really hope that they work towards their home Games as they have some very exciting gymnasts and some great work. It would be lovely to see them shine in Rio in 2016.