There are two main domestic gymnastics competitions in Russia. The first one, Russian national championships, takes place in the spring, and is for regional teams, All Around, and Event Finals. As the first major competition of the year, nationals have often traditionally been qualifiers for places on the national team training for Europeans Championships. The Russia Cup, in July, is an individual AA and EF competition and is far more important in that it qualifies gymnasts for the major competitions such as Worlds, and Olympics. Gymnasts are often less ready for nationals than they are for Russia Cup. The standard and difficulty of work is lower here than it will be later in the year. This article is the first of a series where I will briefly look at the results of Russian nationals. As a reminder, Russia will not be competing in any FIG or IOC competitions this year. This means we will only see the gymnasts in domestic competitions, and in locally arranged, 'Friendship'
Rewriting Russian Gymnastics
Reporting and analysing Russian gymnastics since 2010. Includes original and exclusive interviews with leading coaches and gymnasts, and historical issues dating back to the Soviet Union. The first blog to report extensively on the sport using Russian language sources.