British WAG (and MAG!) talk

[MaryClare]

Of my 2 home countries, if you’d asked me which one would have a behind closed doors meet with passive aggressive threats against filming because it is the wishes of the federation that routines are not leaked to the rest of the world, I probably wouldn’t have said the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland…

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Where’s Louis Smith and his intemperate social media habits when you need him?

 

[Samxo]

Not sure on scores

 

[RAFIKI]

I got stopped from doing an audio recording of Jess’s FX music :roll_eyes:

I don’t get it. Is her routine being out there a week and a bit before podium training really going to affect judging and competitor strategies? Her upgrade report is already on twitter.

 

[RAFIKI]

I’ll write up some notes on the train home tomorrow. Let me know if you want details on specific routines. I’m afraid I don’t have many notes on Sweden. No numbers, few announcements and only learning the day before that they were competing (because I phoned up) meant I struggled to ID them.

ETA No scores were shown or announced

 

[J175]

Not really that surprising I don’t think.

After the brief outbreak of transparency last year GB are well in the running for the most secretive team this year. Have we seen, or even seen a score for, a single routine from any of the numerous trials this year? It sounds like even the audience inside the venue weren’t given scores today.

Also is Poppy Stickler the Worlds alternate, based on her being with team GB today? And if so, given her recent scores at Paris and British Teams weren’t her best, did she do better at trials, did no one else score higher or is there some other reason why e.g Ellie Downie isn’t involved? Who knows when we don’t even know who attended the trials.

 

[RAFIKI]

Also is Poppy Stickler the Worlds alternate, based on her being with team GB today?

She was introduced as the travelling alternate tonight (assuming I caught the announcement correctly, wasn’t always clear). Wonder what’s going on with Ellie?

I guess there hasn’t been the twitter pressure to release trials scores this year (not that that should matter).

 

[Doug1233]

I’ll write up some notes on the train home tomorrow.

100% tell us everything

 

[RAFIKI]

Since I discovered photography and live quick hits took off, there hasn’t been much of a need for notes so apologies for my rustiness. Usual mistakes/missed skill disclaimers also apply.

WALES

FX

Maracha: unsteady wolf, managed 1.5X/double pike/1.5X-SFF/2X was short. Les Mis medley still working well for her.

Lewis: double wolf/fouetté turns!/full. Used music from the Triangle episode of X-Files (niche reference these days)

Micallef: 1.75 wolf/DLO small step back OOB? She used the extra mat so it was hard to tell, there were no line judges/SF-SFF/double pike with a similar small step back that might have gone OOB

Roper: double spin/double tuck/2.5X

Flage-Donovan: split full/double pike/SF-SFF/more fouetté turns!/2X

Taylor: double pike with a large step back, this is quite a new skill for her and she did some lovely spotted ones in warm up/1.5X-SFF/popa/double wolf but the position was quite high/double tuck with a stumble but beautiful tight tuck shape in the air/finishing pose similar to Hong 2004/has some sssssh choreography near the judges, quite endearing when she is so tiny/choreography probably more complex that the sound of music routine (but the music isn’t as memorable)

VT

Taylor: straight yurchenko with slight hip bend

Maracha: FTY

Micallef?: 1.5Y

BB (did not see any bars)

Flage-Donovan: candle mount/flic-LO/side facing straddle jump/longest FWO I’ve seen!/1.5X dismount.

Taylor: press to straddle handstand-one arm handstand mount/split jump-straddle jump-Korbut/1.5X wolf/backward roll to handstand-step down flic-LO fall, LO was quite under rotated-awkward fall,real shame as this combination was gorgeous in warm up/1X dismount

I loved that the Welsh team incorporate choreography into their warm up lines. This team was a mix of seniors, juniors and espoirs. After CWG and this competition I am excited to follow this group’s development, especially Taylor.

 

[RAFIKI]

GBR

Warm up

Not sure I caught Kinsella landing any vaults and Jess was missing a lot of bar releases.

I’ll skip full skill lists for most because many of these routines are quite familiar.

UB (I was behind the low bar so a terrible angle for handstands)

Jess: caught the piked jaegar and tkatchev half when it mattered. Ezhova didn’t look as wonky as it sometimes has (might have been my angle though)/late full pirouette

Achampong: messy pak, big leg separation/stalder-full looked late/double tuck dismount. I only saw her train the tucked dismount so perhaps that decision has been made.

Kinsella: Ricna has become a Downie but it was not connected to the pak/leg separation on the maloney/toe-full looked good handstand-wise and the Fontaine dismount was well landed.

GMF: had to hop to the side after the Ezhova because it was under twisted, this happened in warm ups as well/step on FTDT

Stickler: low bar toe-full/maloney-pak/van leeuwen/hit feet on front giant and had to tuck the following jaegar but couldn’t save the fall

BB

GMF: fall on double spin/aerial cartwheel-LO fall (never looked like this was happening)/nice triple wolf turn/stumbled back on the double tuck dismount

Kinsella: switch split mount to pause in (half) arabesque/FWO-split/aerial cartwheel-LO-LO is back!/kneekisser of a double pike dismount

Jess: candle/switch split-split half-Korbut/just squeaked a double wolf round (new?)/FWO bent leg and under-rotated/split-straddle jump/flic-LO/aerial cartwheel/lovely double pike dismount

Jenn: switch split mount-split half-pause-tuck back/full spin/FWO-pause-split-straddle jump/sideways straddle half with nice 2022 technique/flic-LO-LO/aerial cartwheel/double pike with one large step back, great height

Achampong: lovely FWO mount/FWO-split-straddle/flic-LO-LO/aerial cartwheel/switch ring jump/Y spin/ring jump/flic-flic-2.5X with usual jump to the side

Stickler: switch split mount/triple wolf/flic-LO/FWO/aerial cartwheel/RO-1X dismount

FX

Jenn: stuck DLO/FTDT/SF->double tuck. Felt like a better performance than Paris, somehow more coherent. Perhaps I’m just getting used to it, loved her old routine.

Achampong: whip-whip->3X/DTF/beautiful high back leg on switch ring/fell to back after over-rotated double tuck (think vault timer landing)/looked quite winded for the next section of dance/2.5X

Kinsella: fell to seat OOB on 3X, rest was pretty normal

Jess: 2X2X with large stumble forward and chest down/Chuso upgrade stuck/first two tumbles on to extra mat/SFF->double tuck. Music is a dramatic violin piece with heavy bass and a slow down before the final pass.

Stickler: split full/DLO/double pike/double wolf fell back out of it into choreo?

VT

GMF: 1.5Y great in air, small jump forward

Kinsella: DTY leg split on pre-flight, landed bent with hips behind feet and took large steps back. Vault looked like it had regressed throughout warm ups.

Jess:

1. DTY nice and high, quick twisting
2. Lopez should count as straight, slightly dished, large jump back

Achampong: stuck DTY, lovely wait before the twist

Stickler: FTY jump back

It was encouraging to see the Gadirovi hit beam. I’m most interested in seeing those scores and how they compare to Kinsella/Achampong. GB have the potential for two high 13s and a mid 13, that could be a top three beam score at worlds. Of course it’s British beam so 11s are just as possible.

Curious to see how they cope with being a medal possibility at a home worlds rather than the underdog status they had in Glasgow.

 

[Samxo]

Thank you so much for the info!!!

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

After the brief outbreak of transparency last year GB are well in the running for the most secretive team this year. Have we seen, or even seen a score for, a single routine from any of the numerous trials this year? It sounds like even the audience inside the venue weren’t given scores today.

Not as I recall, although there’ve been a lot more public competitions this year than last which does change the balance. I think this year the territory is different because it’s so obvious who the top five are and how little depth there is. So the issues have instead been around how they’re being managed across a very long and demanding season. We don’t require much in the way of cooperation from BG to be able to see and assess that, which is just as well since they evidently don’t think they should provide any. Even when they published selection criteria, we’d already worked out for ourselves that if gymnasts like Alice and Becky were doing AA early in the season when not ready it was going to be because the competition was part of the selection process.

So yeah, no change, but I don’t suppose anyone expected that there was. The best chance of finding out what’s actually happening is probably still poking Park Wrekin with a stick.

@RAFIKI great report and thank you! Looks like bars is going to be the GB weak spot in Liverpool. And I agree it’s going to be interesting to see how they cope going in with perhaps not quite an expectation of a medal, but the nearest there’s ever been to one.

 

[irichluck21]

So based on this meet it appears that the GBR line up is

VT (GMF), Alice, Jessica, Ondine
UB (Jessica) Ondine, Alice, GMF
BB (Ondine) Jennifer, Jessica, Alice **though Alice went first, I wonder if they will have her lead off qualifications to get a good score in first
FX (Jennifer) Ondine, Alice, Jessica

Stickler just recently competed and can do AA. I wonder if Ellie was not able to do full all around after being on the provisional list for Worlds.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

I would think probably Jen over Ondine on floor. Ondine’s best score recently was I think the 13.133 in the CWG EF and she’s more typically in the 12s, whereas Jen can get into the mid 13s on her best day.

 

[irichluck21]

I would think probably Jen over Ondine on floor. Ondine’s best score recently was I think the 13.133 in the CWG EF and she’s more typically in the 12s, whereas Jen can get into the mid 13s on her best day.

Yeah the floor line up seemed weird with Jenn going first. It seemed that the first person up was the alternate on that event (GMF on BB/FX) and Jenn on VT.
GMF is clearly VT/UB and Jenn is clearly BB/FX.

 

[Doug1233]

VT (GMF), Alice, Jessica, Ondine

Jess will anchor vault.

 

[Gymfan93]

Also can’t see Ondine not doing BB in TF, as a recent European medalist. Although any of the four can put up a decent enough score on a good day I suppose.

 

[Doug1233]

BB (Ondine) Jennifer, Jessica, Alice

They’d put Odine on beam before Jessica, no?

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Probably, although that’s the one event where I could see them going with whoever did best in prelims.

 

[Doug1233]

So Ellie has been officially removed as alternate in favor of Poppy Grace? That’s a shame for Ellie.