2023 Xfinity Nationals Junior WAG Day 2 discussion

[rlayt]

Makes sense.

 

[blake]

Yeah, it didn’t work in most of the top juniors’ favor in the last few quads to be throwing DTYs. Still, not a lot of these vaults look upgradeable atm. The GAGE juniors stood out to me. Nice body position.

The juniors in the Rio quad were a lot closer in talent to the seniors, and we saw how many of them got burnt out.

 

[MaryClare]

Top 6 juniors are the national team. Presentation being made now

 

[MaryClare]

2016 junior nationals was O’Keefe, McCusker and Perea. All burnt out or injured as seniors

 

[RedBirdie]

I wouldn’t be surprised if part of Konnor’s reason for leaving WOGA was because once she got hurt, Valeri turned his attention to Hezley, and made it really clear that Hezley was his priority.

 

[blake]

We can add Malabuyo and Flatley to that list as well. Kinda crazy that Malabuyo managed to make it to Olympic Trials after missing most of the senior nationals that quad.

JayJay Marshall was another super talented junior that disappeared but I think it was due to family stuff

For reference, Hurd, Jones, and Lee were 5th, 7th, and 10th at that nationals.

 

[rlayt]

Jay Jay’s family didn’t have the financial resources to continue I think. And there was a divorce.

 

[blake]

This was so disappointing to watch. She was already hitting the ground when Yevgeny reacted.

 

[irichluck21]

Jay Jay’s family didn’t have the financial resources to continue I think. And there was a divorce.

Her father refused to let Jay Jay do gymnastics because he thought it was detrimental to both physical and mental health. So whenever he has custody, she was unable to train at all.
That, coupled with the nagging injuries, and the financial strain from the divorce caused her to leave gymnastics.

 

[Hatsumomo]

Her father refused to let Jay Jay do gymnastics because he thought it was detrimental to both physical and mental health.

I mean…he wasn’t wrong…

 

[irichluck21]

Junior national Team (unofficially)
Hezly Rivera
Kieryn Finnell
Izzy Stassi
Gabbie Hardie
Simone Rose
Reese Esponda

 

[Hatsumomo]

Junior National Team will only be 6 members (I believe its the top 6 AA). There are no more junior meets this year, so it doesn’t make sense to add more than 6.

This is why I hope ASac/Chellsie/USAG bring back the friendlies. Like doing a North American friendly meet where the USA-CAN-MEX juniors can test out new skills, get some international competition experience but with low stakes, and foster positive relations with other gymnasts.

 

[irichluck21]

I am sure they will, especially now that Nike and Comcast are sponsors. USAG will be bringing in more money for athlete expenses.

The 6 member team is just temporary.

 

[RedBirdie]

Hardie’s the only one who will still be a junior next year. The rest are 2008 girls.

 

[MaryClare]

In all honesty I don’t think there is enough depth for more than 6. But the other side of that argument is that a larger junior teams allows more gymnasts and coaches to benefit from collaboration and shared expertise that comes from attending camps.

It’s strange in a way. The junior program has never looked so sparse. The traditional fall/winter international events have gone (Top Gym, Japan Junior) whilst the Voronin Cup is a no go for all the main gymnastics nations except China. Gymnix is a question mark, WOGA Classic no longer attracts international elites. Any idea what’s happened to the pac rim? That was always a mixed junior and senior team. The Jesolo line up was mediocre this year. Even prior to current events in Ukraine, the Stella Zakharova Cup had become a national and not international roster.

And yet, we now have junior worlds. But there’s no program supporting it.

 

[rlayt]

Pac Rim got canceled the year it was supposed to be in Tacoma WA. I really wanted to go. I think the last one I remember was in South America. 2017? 2018? Or was that Pan Am?

 

[irichluck21]

In all honesty I don’t think there is enough depth for more than 6. But the other side of that argument is that a larger junior teams allows more gymnasts and coaches to benefit from collaboration and shared expertise that comes from attending camps.

I agree. The rationale this year was that there are no more junior meets for 2023 on the calendar, so they took 2 spots from the juniors and move them to seniors. 10 seniors will make the team after tonight (opposed to 8 last year) with more to be added at Trials.

 

[blake]

Any idea what’s happened to the pac rim?

It looks to be making a comeback next year in the same place it was hosted last time (Medellín, Colombia). I assume if trampoline/tumbling are included, then MAG/WAG will be too. It would’ve been an interesting meet in 2022 if it had happened before Russia was banned.

https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/T&T/T&T%20Program%20Events/24eventcalendar.pdf

 

[Laura722]

Rivera rolled her ankle at the Classic, and had to rest a week or so. Here she is talking with the media:

 

[RedBirdie]

I don’t think we’ve really acknowledged how far Kieryn Finnell has come in a very short amount of time. Last year, she finished 18th, finishing 11th on day 2 and had an absolute disaster on Day 2. Then she showed up at Winter Cup, placed 3rd and hasn’t looked back since.