2021 Junior Pan Am Games (November 25-29) Cali/Valle, Colombia

[RedBirdie]

As opposed to the Junior Pan Am Championships that were earlier this year.

USAG announced their team:
Kailin Chio, Las Vegas, Nev./Gymcats Gymnastics
Madray Johnson, Dallas, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics
Katelyn Jong, Allen, Texas/Metroplex Gymnastics
Tiana Sumanasekera, Pleasanton, Calif./West Valley Gymnastics(!!!)

Levi Jung-Ruivivar of Maple Grove, Minn./Twin City Twisters (non-traveling replacement athlete)

Jung-Ruivivar was injured and didn’t compete at nationals. Sumanasekera didn’t even qualify for nationals.

 

[QuietColours]

Any chance of non-Flo coverage?

 

[QuietColours]

In theory, a livestream: https://www.panamsportschannel.org/schedule/panam. May have to work around a geoblock, we’ll find out

 

[irichluck21]

Sumanasekera didn’t even qualify for nationals.

Interesting!!

 

[RedBirdie]

Day 1 scores. This is…interesting

 

[Bob]

Does anyone know where the second day scores are or when they will be released. Thanks.

 

[irichluck21]

Well, the junior team was NOT selected by AA ranking, so this is a pleasant development.

 

[RedBirdie]

Ironically, it’s a 4-4-3 competition, so rank order would be a perfectly defensible strategy!

 

[Sasha]

Who is running the junior program at this point? (i.e., who is the new Valeri?)

 

[RedBirdie]

Dan Baker. Which doesn’t exactly fill anyone with confidence.

Speaking of day 2 results, I don’t think we ever got day 2 from worlds selection camp, so not sure we’ll see these, either. AND, the selection committee report from worlds still hasn’t been posted, which is irritating.

 

[irichluck21]

Ironically, it’s a 4-4-3 competition, so rank order would be a perfectly defensible strategy!

Is it?
I thought I read that Pan Ams is 4-3-2.

I am sure that day 2 (two events each) helped determine the team. In Twitter it said that Levi fell off bars and fell on floor. So that would make sense why she was non-traveling alternate.

 

[RedBirdie]

Selection procedures say 4-4-3: https://usagym.org/PDFs/Pressbox/Selection Procedures/w_21jrpanamgames.pdf

The maximum number of athletes in the delegation is four (4). No reserve athletes are allowed. The competition format is 4-4-3 for the team competition. Maximum of two (2) athletes per country in All Around and Apparatus Finals.

 

[irichluck21]

Selection procedures say 4-4-3:

Thank you!

Ugh I am so sick of the always changing format.
Universiade is 3-3-2
Pan Am SR is 5-4-3
Junior Worlds was 3-3-2
Junior Pan Ams 4-4-3
Olympics 4-4-3/4-3-3
Europeans 5-4-3/5-3-3
European Games (2015) was 3-3-2

 

[RedBirdie]

If they didn’t change formats every other week, it might actually make the sport accessible to a wider general audience and more likely to be broadcast…and we can’t be having that!

 

[RedBirdie]

Full results are up. I would really love a selection report.

https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=26756

 

[Doug1233]

The 14.05 they gave to Tiana Sumanasekera on beam is a joke.

I had a 13.2!

The switch half, alone, was a 3 from me and I almost took 5. Her free leg was very close to 90 degree knee bend in the switch.

Didn’t there used to be a rule about devaluing when the switch leg was bent?

 

[RedBirdie]

Where did you find videos?!

 

[Doug1233]

International gymnast is posting some!

 

[RedBirdie]

The more I look at this the more I feel like they’re taking a huge risk with Sumanasekera. She had a bad day 1 and failed to qualify to nationals this year. Her bars are bad, so if any of the 3 remaining team members has a bad day on bars, you will be counting a very low score. As Doug noted, her beam was overscored at camp (how badly in comparison, I don’t know.)

And since this is a 4-4-3 competition, I personally would want solid all-arounders. Which, based on day one, are Jong, Chio, and Jung-Ruivivar.

So I played “fun with numbers” using the 4-4-3 format. I looked at 3 teams: the team USAG selected, the top 4 from day 1, and the top 3 from day 1 + Johnson because she came in 2nd at nationals and Jr. Pan Ams Championships.

The selected team certainly has the highest ceiling if you take each athletes best score over the two days–but they also had, by far, the lowest day 1 score.

Top 4 had the highest day 1 score (duh), but remarkably their “best score” team score was exactly the same.

The top 3+Johnson team wasn’t too far behind Top 4 on day 1 scores, and improved a bit (but not enough to come close to the actual selected team) using their best scores.

Needless to say, I am now more interested than ever to read the selection report to see how they justified this team. And extra curious to see how they score at Pan Ams.

 

[Caligym]

I would not put much weight into Tiana failing to qualify for Nationals. Her gym is located in a a county that had VERY strict protocols during the pandemic that likely interrupted her training somewhat (one of the reasons Cieno Alipio from same gym moved to Midwest Gym Center) She should be better peaked now. I have no doubt about the overscoring, but likely applies to all at selection camp, yes?