Skip to main content

Bruno Grandi : The Code should encourage aesthetics

By
Nora Schuler has kindly translated part of Bruno Grandi's interview in the most recent issue of Gymnastika.  She reports as follows :

'The most interesting bit is the answer to the last question:

"Q: You thanked our coaches for the return of Soviet gymnastics to the top after the European championships. Why is this so important to you?
A:For a very simple reason: Russia is the founder of today's technical progress [of the sport]. And the FIG cannot afford to lose these traditions – the technical, didactic and pedagogical principles, which are characteristic of your gymnastics.
The Russian gymnastics that we saw at World and European championships in 2010, in particular, from the women, is very beautiful. This is indeed a renaissance. A search for harmony in the unity of the composition (content) of the routine and music. In this sense, Aliya Mustafina (and not only she) showed a return to the values that always belonged to your school. It is mandatory that gymnastics remain artistic and not become similar to sports acrobatics. The rules should encourage the aesthetic part, if we do not want depersonalize our sport."'


Nora adds that the reference to 'depersonalisation' may have lost some of its nuance in translation from Italian to Russian, then Russian to English - the meaning may have more to do with encouraging individuality.

I'm really amazed that he can be so clear in supporting Russia's contribution to the sport, but I wonder what plans he has to change the Code and its implementation to ensure a more holistic approach to marking.  Nora also mentions that

'Regarding the reference judges, he says that they brought them in to control the execution scores on a "mathematical basis". (the Fairbrother system). They need to continue working on minimising subjectivity in judging.'


Subjectivity important to assessing artistry and aesthetics?  I think he must be rather confused ...


BIG THANKS to Nora for taking the time and trouble to do this translation and commentary!

Edited 10.41 am : the Russian Gymnastics Federation has now added an English language translation of parts of the interview at their Website, emphasising Grandi's acknowledgement of Russia as founders of the modern sport.  He also addresses some interesting issues to do with marking and the Code, so it's more than worth a read.  In light of Ludmilla Korolenko's comments about judging, it is clear that the Code is a point of discussion for the Russians at present.

Russian Gymnastics Federation (2010) 'Bruno Grandi: Russian Gymnastics is very beautiful' (Russian language) Gymnastika 2010 issue 4, pp 10-11
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fact or fiction? The press, gymnastics and pregnancy doping

By
It was a Sunday morning.  I was drinking my coffee and contemplating the day ahead - a workout at the gym, shopping for groceries, an evening reading a book, or catching up on last night's episodes of crime thriller The Bridge .  How nice it was not to have to think about work for a day. Then I saw it - a story about the history of doping in The Observer .  Interesting reading. Of course, cheating is as old as the hills.  It is, unfortunately, human nature for some people to try to gain easy advantage in any kind of competition.  That is why we have laws, rules, ethical guidelines.  People who cheat should face justice and shouldn't complain when they are found out. But the story about pregnancy doping bothered me.  Hadn't that been found to be fictional?  The author began with Olga Kovalenko's allegations made in 1994 - but the rumours had started way back in 1991 with the documentary series More Than A Game .  The practice...
3 comments
Read more

‘My daughter likes gymnastics. For us, this is the big success’. Aliya Mustafina talks to Match TV

By
Via VK.com.  Google translate A big interview with Aliya Mustafina was published on MATCH!. We provide a small excerpt below, and the full version is available on the website at the link below  ❓ Aliya, you are now the head coach of the junior artistic gymnastics team. What does your typical day look like? 💜 My current life is similar to what it was when I was competing. In the morning, I have breakfast and go to work by 9:00, we train for four hours, have lunch, rest and train for another three hours. During the training camp, the athletes live at the base. They live and train on the same territory. ❓ Do you manage the gymnasts' personal trainers or do you evenly distribute the responsibilities? 💜 We work in contact with the personal trainers, I listen to their opinions. For example, if the trainer believes that their athlete needs to be given a little rest or do fewer repetitions of a particular exercise, we do so. ❓ Describe the current generation of children. Do they nee...
2 comments
Read more

30 years in elite sport: Oksana Chusovitina

By
You've been competing internationally for over 30 years. How has gymnastics changed over that time? Is there anything about your sport that has remained the same for decades? First of all, the age has changed. More mature athletes are competing now, which makes me happy. Secondly, the apparatuses. They've become more comfortable and sophisticated. Gymnastics in general has become more challenging, but in my youth, people performed mostly the same elements as they do now. Back then, this was par for the course, but now it surprises many. It's a bit amusing. Has the nature of the training itself changed? For me personally, absolutely. Now, my life isn't just about my athletic career. I'm involved with the Oksana Chusovitina Academy, which was personally opened by the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev. It has 155 students, both girls and boys. I used to train three times a day, but now I train once. The entire afternoon is taken up with the academy and organi...
Post a Comment
Read more

RRG Archive - scroll by date, from 2024 to 2010

Show more