How to get into world championships

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Jard.the.gymnast

Coach
Gymnast
Do you need to qualify to the world championships, just like with the Olympics? Or can any country just say that they will bring gymnasts to the world championships? I am not talking about the US, but im wondering how those Venezuelan girls got in...
 
A federation can send a maximum number of gymnasts and have their own qualification score / procedure. So it is likely easier to get there from a smaller country with lesser standards like Venezuela. Top scoring countries usually ask for qualification score that gives a good chance of podium while less ambitious countries aim at say finals, or top 20 scores. You can find directives with exact numbers for an event at the fig website For example for worlds https://live.fig-gymnastics.com/event_detail.php?idevent=13465

So you see sometimes gymnasts (with a double nationality) chose to compete for another country to make a better chance at competing in a top event because in this other country it is easier to qualify because of scores needed and competition around.
 
I got curious so I did just a little googling. Maybe people who are saying that Leon had no business at all being at Worlds are being unfair. While she doesn't have much readily findable on the internet, she did put up an 11.3 on bars at a Central/South American meet in June. Who knows? Maybe it was just a really bad day for her or she was competing injured or sick. We don't say that Vanessa Ferrari had no business being at Worlds based on her routine in floor finals.
 
I got curious so I did just a little googling. Maybe people who are saying that Leon had no business at all being at Worlds are being unfair. While she doesn't have much readily findable on the internet, she did put up an 11.3 on bars at a Central/South American meet in June. Who knows? Maybe it was just a really bad day for her or she was competing injured or sick. We don't say that Vanessa Ferrari had no business being at Worlds based on her routine in floor finals.
We don't, but it really didn't look safe... And being able to just compete a tsuk layout is not being well prepared...
 
I know the bars routine didn't look safe, but I don't think we have any way of knowing how that routine usually looks. And there were lower SVs on vault than hers. That does raise again the broader question of how to balance access to international competition against excellence, but I do think we ought to be careful in assuming that one rough day reflects the capabilities of any gymnast.
 
Yeah, I agree with profmom.

My country sent two gymnasts to the worlds. One of them scored 0.00 on vault. She landed her front handspring front pike on her butt. If you only see her scores or that one performance, you would think she had no business in the worlds. Her hands slipped and that caused the zero landing. That has not happened before, but people from other countries might think that she is a scary vaulter who should have stayed home.
 
Vault was sloppy for sure, we saw lots of slides across the top.

As far as qualifying, I think they should have two streams at worlds, representative and international elite, it would be safer, and more girls could compete. Right now many girls go to worlds, as the best from their country, without a hope of making any finals.
 
Maybe there could be a pre-worlds qualification series? 1 or 2 on each continent, where every team has to qualify to worlds... That way we might see the scary stuff there but you won't get in unless your E-score is good enough (no scary performances bc their E- score would never get above an 7 or 8)
Do you think this is a good idea?
 
Here's the problem. Not meaning to pick on anyone! But what if you get routines like these?





Keep them out of the meet on this basis? It could possibly ground even more inequality because we know that the videos above were just bad days for these guys, who both went on to great things after (including, in Leyva's case, an Olympic silver medal on pbars the same year!)

I think there are no easy answers in a sport where you get one chance at a meet and sometimes things just don't go as you've trained.
 
I like Bog's idea of having 2 streams - the representative stream with a more open qualification process and many countries represented, and the "elite" (best of the best) stream with some kind of minimum qualification standards. Perhaps video submission of recent practice/comps could work in lieu of an actual qualifying competition for the "elite" stream?

And while we're re-designing Worlds, can we get rid of the 2-per country rule in the event and AA finals for the elite category so it is truly a best of the best competition?

I can dream, right?

:D
 
Falls happen & bad days happen to everyone, yes. However, when you see poor technique being done in both the touch warm-up AND the competition, I really don't think that's a fluke. Some of the girls there were doing skills that were dangerous and beyond their skill level, based on technique & not just their falling. When a girl does multiple punch fronts on beam with her feet turned to the side on EVERY. SINGLE. ONE....that's a training issue.
 
Most countries do, but you never know. From watching her over and over, I have no doubt she was capable of the skills that she was doing. I also know that she wasn't able to do them there. Could be the training, the settings, or the coaching, but it was something. The only way to know for sure would be to talk to her or her coach. If you watch her first fall you can see that she was prepared for it. You wouldn't be able to make that turn if you weren't ready to fall. Either she saw the fall coming because she knew she wasn't ready to compete the skill or knew it was coming because of the apparatus adjustment. She didn't look like a bad gymnast, but she was obviously unprepared for the competition.
 
I know I sound like a broken record but I believe there should be a minimum competency level/score to be entered into the Worlds Gymnastics Competition....then you wouldn't get girls like the scary Venezuelan ones or the US girls who are suddenly Belarussian in the meet for just the sake of having someone in the competition. I don't think just because Susie is the best gymnast from X country should give her a spot in the competition because it's really not safe and what is the point?

If you want to have 2 streams as suggested by Bog as representative, which would be more of an exhibition by all countries and the actual elite meet, with FIG qualified gymnasts, then ok.

With the skill levels continually ramping up every year, and weaker gymnastic countries wanting to stay relevant, it has disaster written all over it as skills are attempted without proper training.
 
I got curious so I did just a little googling. Maybe people who are saying that Leon had no business at all being at Worlds are being unfair. While she doesn't have much readily findable on the internet, she did put up an 11.3 on bars at a Central/South American meet in June. Who knows? Maybe it was just a really bad day for her or she was competing injured or sick. We don't say that Vanessa Ferrari had no business being at Worlds based on her routine in floor finals.
But Ferrari ruptured her Achilles while doing a difficult skill, so she deserved to be there. I don't know who said she didn't deserve it....
 
I think that the equipment might have contributed to the struggles of some countries. I doubt most of the smaller, less advanced countries have the biggest and best training facilities. Like Donnell commented on the bouncy table, maybe the bouncier bars contributed to her challenges?! Just a thought... my guess is they aren’t training on cutting edge gymnova equipment.
 
[/QUOTE] She didn't look like a bad gymnast, but she was obviously unprepared for the competition.[/QUOTE]
I'm not saying she was, she is a better gymnast than I will ever be...
 

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