Possible 2009 World USA Team

Taking all events into account (we don't have that ahmazing vaulters anymore).....

Possibilities:
Nastia Liukin
Bridget Sloan
Chellsie Memmel
Ivana Hong
Kytra Hunter
Jana Bieger
(Shawn Johnson)

VT:
Sloan - DTY, great execution.
Hunter - 1 1/2, but it's HUGE. If she's selected for worlds, she'll upgrade to a DTY almost for sure.
Hong - DTY, pretty good.
Liukin - 1 1/2, perfect. She's going to be used for vault in prelims if doing the AA, which I think she will. After all, she's the reigning olympic champion.
Memmel - will only vault if doing the AA.
(Shawn Johnson - Amanar, good form. Landing needs work xD)

UB:
Liukin - DUH!
Memmel - Another world champion.....
Sloan - only if they need her.
(Shawn Johnson - ?)

BB:
Liukin - given.
Memmel - If doing the AA.
Hong - if WOGA can give her the beam abilities of Nast and Carly, then for suresies. WOGA always has the best beamers. So light on their feet, like feathers (ech hem, Carly :P)
(Shawn Johnson - given if she shows up, cause she's um, lemme think..... another olympic champion!!!)

FX:
Liukin - Bronze medalist and needs it for the AA.
Kytra Hunter - WHOOOOO explosive. One of the best in the new code.
Jana Bieger - great tumbling.
Memmel - if doing the AA. Has good difficulty, could clean it up.
(Shawn Johnson - ?)


AA:
Liukin
Memmel
(Shawn Johnson)

If Liukin hits, I have a feeling she will come out on top. With Beth second. And Ksenia third. AND PAVS POWNS ALL!

We don't really need Jana Bieger.

TEAM: Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Chellsie Memmel, Ivana Hong, Bridget Sloan, and Kytra Hunter.
If Shawn does not show, either Jana or Mattie Larson might take her place. But I hear Mattie is out with ankle injury.

TQ
VT: Shawn, Nastia, Chellsie, Kytra
UB: Shawn, Nastia, Chellsie, Bridget
BB: Shawn, Nastia, Chellsie, Ivana or Bridget
FX: Shawn, Nastia, Kytra, Bridget

TF
VT: Shawn, Nastia, Kytra
UB: Nastia, Chellsie, Bridget
BB: Shawn, Nastia, Chellsie or Ivana
FX: Shawn, Kytra, Bridget







EDIT: Thanks to Kennedy Sorenstam for telling me these worlds are individual and only four per country.


So I will re-do this.

Team: Nastia Liukin (WOGA), Chellsie Memmel (M and M), Kytra Hunter, and Ivana Hong (WOGA) or Bridget Sloan. Depends on how Ivana's shaping up at WOGA cause we haven't heard much from her.

(Possible: Shawn Johnson -Chows)

AA: Liukin, Memmel (Johnson)
VT EF: Nobody. Unless Shawn pulls out an Amanar and another vault such as a DTT.
UB EF: Nastia and Chellsie
BB EF: Liukin, Memmel (Johnson)
FX EF: Memmel, Hunter (who can pull out gold, has scored 15+) (Johnson)

A leetle makeover.....

Nastia w/ brown highlights.

What do you think? I think she looks nice :)

Photo credit: http://www.nastialiukin.com/

I don't think I've shown anyone other than the peeps on WWGym this.

Best New Code Uses

In this new code, to have a high start value, you (as a gymnast) will want routines with: Tons of connection, and difficult elements.

Best examples:

Nastia Liukin's ah-mazing bars, like, TEN skill connection (all d's or e's) worth 0.8. For one flipping connection. I'm stunned.

Shawn Johnson's beam: An F, G, and 2 E's. Pretty Killer connections. Shawn can easily add a pike back after her full twist for a 0.2 (?) connection.

Beth Tweddle Bars: F, E, D + D flight connection, E into D - Dismount, another E. She's going to do well. Clean it up, though.

Cheng Fei floor: G, E, Pretty big twisting connection, whip (A) into Triple (E)

Shawn Johnson floor: G, Whip into triple, Full-In (E), the crazy ability to stick that double double

Daiane Dos Santos floor (duh!): G, G, F, F, A into D. Yeah. Are you thinking 'Not human, man!' right now? But that's five passes: Ah-ha! SOLUTION taking the forward tumbling thing into account!

1st pass: Arabian Double Straight
2nd pass: Full Twisting DLO
3rd pass: Arabian double pike + Branny (tuck front 1/2) - 0.2 connection
Last pass: DLO (this could be interesting...)

That's 0.7+0.7+0.6+0.2+0.2+0.6 in that alone...who said you need leaps...that actually comes out to 3.0 (!) in just that, assuming she fills up all the requirements she has a 5.5, NOW comes the time for 2 'C' leaps and she has a 6.1 SV. Geez.

Li Shanshan BB: Not too many E's and zero F's, but she has good connections.


Anyways, what do you think?

And what's the current deal with Pavs?

Nastia, Please Do Not Get A New FX Routine!

I know this is kind of old news, but I really do nawt want Nast to get a new routine.
But it's inevitable. It's not common for anyone, really, to have the same routine for 3 years. So Nastia had to change it up.
Promise me, Nast:
1. Don't get Bond music.
2. Don't ditch the double front.
3. Add a double layout. I know it will be near imposs, but it will look stunning times 10.
and lastly, most importantly......
4. DON'T POSE, TUMBLE, POSE!
Well, anyways, thanks for reading this.

Individual Apparatus Awards - Uneven Bars

Uneven Bars awards are hereby presented to....

Svetlana Khorkina for originality, difficulty, and execution. She has 3 UB skills named after, and Queen is also my #1 UB Worker. She is a 5 time World Champion and a 2 time Olympic Champion.

Isabelle Severino for superb work. She has done a Hristakieva without any form break. Not even a 0.001 cm leg separation. Major kudos for sticking around. She is the 1996 World Bronze Medalist.

Amy Chow for actually working the low bar and super stalders. Amy would actually do stalders on the low bar. Gasp! She has a luhvly piked jaeger and is the 1996 Olympic Silver Medalist.

He Kexin for dynamo, dynamo, dynamo. She connects the Li Ya to a Jaeger, does a Layout Jaeger, and Tkatchev + Pak combo. She connects an Ono + 1/2 to her dismount. He holds the record for UB, with a stellar 17.300 (7.7/9.6). She is the 2008 Olympic Champion.

Anastasia Liukin for that geinger. Can't live without it. Lovely pirouettes and usually great execution. She is the 2005 World Champion.

Elizabeth Tweddle for the hardest bar work in the world. In the old (2008) Code, she had an amazing 7.8 SV. She's gonna win at Euros, I know it. Beth is the 2006 World Champion.

Courtney Kupets for that Tkatchev. Sky high. She is the 2002 World Champion.

and last but in no way least...

Chellsie Memmel for battling injuries to make a great comeback. She has a lovely Hindorff and a nice Jam to DF Dismount.

Individual Apparatus Awards - Balance Beam

BB second.


Balance Beam awards are hereby presented to.....

Catalina Ponor for originality, difficulty, killer execution, and a gigantacus variety of skills. She remains the only one to connect 5 skills: Onodi, Aerial, Kochetkova, BFF, Layout. She is the record holder for highest BB score with a 16.700 (7.0/9.7). She is the 2004 Olympic Champion.

Tatiana Lyssenko for always displaying supreme control of the beam. She loves the beam "because it obeys me,". She is the 1992 Olympic Champion.

Anna Pavlova for beautiful, beautiful, times ten beam work. Simply stunning.

Anastasia Liukin for perfect execution and a wonderful variety of skills, and to cap it off, a stellar 2.5/Triple Twist dismount.

Shawn Johnson for Simply. Best. difficulty. ever. Not necessarily best execution, but a wobble is rare times ten for Shawn.

Olessia Dudnik for simply the best skills I have ever seen in my entire life, including my favorite combination: Free Aerial Cartwheel, Layout Stepout, Layout Stepout.

Pictures 'n Captions

The Couch Gymnast isn't the only one...
Mine are lackluster though.


Nastia: Uh, dad, you know...they're looking at me!
Valeri: Good. Let's not disappoint them, then.


Shawn: Sorry, folks. This really is my best death glance.


Dasha: I'm ti-yurrd of smiling! Snap the dang picture already!

Only three for now, sorry.

Gymnasts That Should Be Combined

Seriously, I have some good trios.

1. Anna Pavlova + Shawn Johnson + Nastia Liukin
2. Andreea Raducan + Carly Patterson + Tatiana Gutsu
3. Catalina Ponor + Courtney Kupets + Elena Zamolodchikova
4. Mary Lou Retton + Ksenia Semenova + Svetlana Khorkina

What do you think?
I'll try and get them into a poll.