British WAG and MAG talk 2025

[MaryClare]

Is there any reason for that do you think? Is it because of changes in coaching following the White Report? Or the fact that there are stricter rules regarding training during school hours now? I don’t think it’s fallout from the covid gym closures as that probably had the most impact on those that were Juniors and Aspires during 2020-2022, although there obviously could still be a trickle down effect.

However the fact that the junior French team (155.800) can outscore the GB senior team (154.695) that went to Euros this year is interesting. I haven’t looked at the videos of routines yet but wondering how tight/loose the scoring might have been for France to score that.

I also wonder what GBs plan is for this quad. I have a feeling that they may be heavily relying on the big guns to return from last quad and putting their eggs in a Gadirova and post baby Alice basket.

Probably a combination of the impact of Covid and the white report.

The gymnasts who are juniors now were 9-10 years old during Covid. That’s a hugely crucial time in the training of an elite bound gymnast. It’s usually the time where the biggest % increase in training time occurs. A typical jump would be from 12 hours a week to 20 hours a week. Traditionally in GB, the years when the gymnast is in year 5 and year 6 are big development years, since primary schools are often much more accommodating in allowing flexible hours (often unofficially).


Instead of that, this age cohort had nearly a year out of the gym, with a lot of uncertainty and then a further year before the competition programme returned to any degree of normality. Sure, many gymnasts develop later and the sport is now trending towards longer careers. But I’m not sure that any of that can mitigate for that lost time and BG’s current set up doesn’t appear to be fit for purpose.