Lupita has translated this ITAR-TASS interview with Nelli Kim. It's controversial, to say the least. Ed's note : much of the initial response to this interview - both here and in the wider gymternet - has focussed on the detail of Kim's words and especially her comments about Viktoria Komova, and smiling. But I think these have to be taken in context, and not too literally. Don't forget that just a day ago Andrei Rodionenko complained bitterly about the judging in Antwerp, calling Kim's behaviour 'aggressive'. Kim is responding to this here, and to the wider current context of Russian gymnastics. What she is essentially saying to the Russian coach is 'get your own house in order, produce confident, disciplined, well trained gymnasts - stop complaining, do your job, and I will do mine.' She goes about saying this in a somewhat long winded way and says some things along the way that seem contradictory, unfair, inappropriate even for th...
music and artisty haven't been major (or even significant) elements in exercise composition or judging for the last several Codes.....expect the usual FIG blather resulting from these workshops but do NOT expect any perceptible change....
ReplyDeleteI am all for it, but to me tha FIG is playing with a double edge sword. for example the women are unfairly being push to try 4 hard difficult passes, insert all the requirements in the COP, come up with a good choreagraphy, and they have to stick their landing like the men and now with no pauses in the corners, that is a recipe to bring more injuries. but the men floor exercise is nothing but tumbling passes from one corner to the next. the men no longer have to do scales, or 2 different kinds of planches and handstand, and absolutely no flairs or show flexibility. something is got to give.
ReplyDeleteto me they should allow the women to return to lunges, only penalize them if they stand more than 3 seconds in the corners, and increase the time to a minute and forty five or fifty seconds per exercise in order to have them to work on choreagrophy while incorporating all the requirements in the COP and the 4 tumbling passes.
Gymnasts are not initially selected for their artistic abilities, but rather their athletic , and they might or might not have an artistic bone in their body. The code is not conducive to artistic endeavour and has not been for quite awhile. You cannot quantify artistry.
ReplyDeletePossibly the choreographers have adapted to the scoring reality and have a few dynamic poses on the way to a multitude of counting skills.
I still think the Russians are the best in the world artistically