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Russian gymnastics 'will be difficult to rebuild' while Rodionenko remains, says Alexandrov

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In an interview with Alexander Alexandrov in this month's (January/February) edition of International Gymnast magazine, the former head coach of Russian WAG makes it clear that his opinions of the problems of Russian gymnastics have remained the same since his August  conversation with RRG.  

Alexandrov looks ahead to his job in Rio and elsewhere in Brazil, and discusses some of the prospects; I'll leave that to the excellent Brazil gym blogs to cover.  However, despite his current commitment as Head of the Brazil WAG team, he takes pains to comment on the somewhat dismal state of affairs on the Russia WAG team.  At one point he goes so far as to say

'I personally believe that there should be separate programs for the development and growth of the sport for the entire country, and these programs should be different.  This in my opinion will help to develop and raise the 'masses' and will help with the retention problem in gymnastics.

One of the main problems Russia has today is that there is practically no reserve.  Andrei Rodionenko does not agree with this point of view and measures, so there is very little retention to this day.  I think that as long as the Rodionenkos are in charge of the sport, rebuilding the Russian gymnastics program will be very problematic.'

Alexandrov is here clarifying and adding to the discussion of gymnast and coach retention which has recently been the subject of an open letter to Rodionenko on VK.com, published by Chelyabinsk coach Andrei Telitsyn.  The letter highlighted the problematic nature of raising the difficulty standard for Master of Sport qualification.  Alexandrov himself had raised the same issue at an a executive meeting of the RGF prior to his departure from Moscow and discusses its importance in some depth in his RRG August interview. These issues are important because they are ultimately designed to make the sport sustainable in the Russian Federation. 


Alexandrov continues, discussing some of the circumstances surrounding the preparation of the Olympic team, his relationship with the Rodionenkos and the financing of Russian gymnastics, before considering his work in Brazil.  

The fact that Alexandrov continues to speak out on this matter, some six months after his departure from his home country, is extraordinary.  His tone is becoming increasingly statesmanlike as he addresses issues and suggests solutions, on both a local and international level. He also addresses the widely held concerns about the Code of Points and artistry, suggesting that the FIG will need to call a meeting of coaches soon in order to resolve some of the problems. 

'Surely', he says, 'collectively we can come up with agreeable solutions that will benefit both the artistry and difficulty'.

Related reading







Gymnastics competition calendar 2014 - WAG

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First year senior, Maria Kharenkova, competes on the uneven bars.

I would like to thank the members of Gymfever who contributed to this.

JANUARY
6th-25th Russian National Team Camp (all)
17th-19th Kim Zmeskal's Texas Prime meet, Irving, Texas, USA
20th-24th USA National Team Camp
31st-2nd Houston National Invitational, Houston, Texas, USA

FEBRUARY
2nd-25th Russian National Team Camp (all)
8th 1st Italian Serie A Nationale- Firenze,
8th-9th WOGA Classic, Plano Texas, USA
10th-15th Russian Federal Okrug Championships
21st-25th USA National Team Camp
21st-23rd Nadia Comaneci Invitational
24th-1st Russian Junior Federal Okrug Championships
28th Nastia Liukin Cup, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

MARCH
1st American Cup, Greensboro North Carolina, USA
6th-30th Russian National Team Camp (senior and junior women)
6th-9th Gymnix, Montreal Canada
7th-9th World Challenge Cup-Ljubjana, (SLO)
7th-14th 10th South American Games, Santiago, Chile
8th 2nd Italian Serie A National-Torino
9th-16th Russian National Team Camp (senior & junior men)
13th-16th Cottbus Challenge Cup, Germany
13th-17th USA National Team Camp/Selection for Jesolo and Pacific Rim
14th English Championships, ?
22nd-23rd JESOLO, Italy
26th-28th Doha Challenge Cup (Qatar)
26th-30th Junior Pan American Championships, Aracaju, Brazil (YOG Qualifier)
27th-31st Stella Zahkarova Cup, Ukraine
28th-30th British Championships, Liverpool, Great Britain
31st-6th Russian Championships & Russian Junior Championships (women)

APRIL
5th 3rd Serie A Nationale- Desio
5th-6th Tokyo Cup-Cat II, Japan
7th-5th Russian National Team Camp (senior & junior women)
7th-13th Russian Championships & Russian Junior Championships (men)
10th-13th Pacific Rim Championships, Richmond Canada
10th-14th Junior Asian Championships, Tashkent, Uzbekistan (YOG Qualifier)
14th-12th Russian National Team Camp (senior & junior men)
25th-27th Osijek Challenge Cup, Croatia
26th-27th 1st Bundesliga Competition, Ulm, Germany

MAY
1st-5th USA National Team Camp
12th-18th 30th Women European Gymnastics Championships, Sofia, Bulgaria (YOG Qualifier)
14th-18th Chinese National Championships, Nanning, China
17th-26th Men's European Gymnastics Championships, Sofia, Bulgaria
22nd-10th Russian National Team Camp (senior women- Mexico)
29th-1st Anadia Challenge Cup, Portugal
30th-16th Russian National Team Camp (senior men-Mexico)
31st-6th Italian Campionato Nationale Assoluto, Anacona

JUNE
1st-14th Russian National Team Camp (senior men-Portugal)
1st-14th Russian National Team Camp (senior women-Italy)
2nd-6th USA National Team Camp
6th-8th Trnava Gym Festival, Slovakia
9th-22nd Russian National Team Camp (juniors)
14th-15th German Junior National Championships
15th-28th Russian National Team Camp (senior men)
21st-22nd Dutch Nationals, Rotterdam, Netherlands
22nd-12th Russian National Team Camp (senior women)
28th-1st Canadian Gymnaestrada
29th-3rd USA National Team Camp

JULY
1st Central American and Caribbean Games, Veracruz Mexico
13th-15th Russian National Team Camp (juniors)
20th-24th Russian National Team Camp (senior women)
23rd-3rd Commonwealth Games, Glasgow Great Britain
25th-24th Russian National Team Camp (senior men)
31st-2nd U.S. Classic/Challenge, TBD

AUGUST
9th-10th German Worlds Team Qualifications
16th-28th 2nd Edition of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Nanjing, China
20th-24th U.S. Championships, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
23rd-24th Ghent Challenge Cup, Belgium
23rd-24th German Nationals, TBD
25th-31st Russian Cup (seniors)

SEPTEMBER
1st-24th Russian National Team Camp (Worlds team, held in Leninsk-Kuznetskii)
17th-20th Russian National Team Camp (juniors-Spain)
17th-4th Asian Games, Incheon Japan
29th-4th Russian Junior Federal Okrug Championships (juniors)

OCTOBER
3rd-4th Hamburg Gymnastics Meet, Germany
3rd-12th World Championships, Nanning China
5th-14th Russian National Team Camp (juniors)
19th-26th Russian National Team Camp (senior men)
19th-26th Russian National Team Camp (senior women-Sochi)
23rd-27th USA National Team Camp
25th-26th 2nd Bundesliga Competition, Stuttgart, Germany
26th-4th Russian National Team Camp (juniors)
? Memorial Arthur Gander, Switzerland
? Leverkusen Cup, Germany

NOVEMBER
2nd Swiss Cup, Switzerland
8th-9th 3rd Bundesliga Competition, Chemnitz, Germany
9th-16th Russian National Team Camp (seniors)
17th-23rd Russian Hopes (Penza)
21st-25th USA National Team Camp
22nd Bundesliga Final, Karlsruhe, Germany
27th-28th DTB Team Challenge, Stuttgart, Germany
29th-30th DTB World Cup Cat II, Stuttgart, Germany
? Abierto Mexicano de Gimnasia 2014 (Mexico Open)
? 3rd Pagasus Junior Cup
? Massilia Gym, France
? Top Gym, Charleroi, Belgium

DECEMBER
1st-10th Russian National Team Camp (juniors)
5th British Espoir Championships
6th Glasgow FIG World Cup, Great Britain
7th-17th Russian National Team Camp (seniors)
8th-12th Olympic Hopes (TBD)


E & E O

Please comment if you have additions or amendments.

Happy Birthday, Svetlana Khorkina!!

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Her name is synonymous with the best gymnastics, the most extraordinary attitude.  Glamour and charisma were matched with an earthy ability to excel herself in the heat of competition.  A fierce personal ambition was balanced by her loyal friendship and - occasionally ferocious - support of those closest to her.  Svetlana Khorkina, the leading gymnast of her generation, turns 35 today (19 January). 

Khorkina's formative years were spent working in the Soviet system of gymnastics with the only coach she ever had in her life, Boris Pilkin.  They remained inseparable throughout her career.  Pilkin's genius was in finding a completely original approach to gymnastics that suited Sveta's style, personality and physique perfectly.  He took great care of her health and never forced her to progress too quickly.  His gentle personality made him the ideal foil to Svetlana's sometimes hot-tempered reactions, and it could be intriguing to watch the interactions between this mild-faced man and his fiery, temperamental charge.  Pilkin's philosophy was, 'gymnasts are the flowers, coaches are the roots'.  He lived his principles and never strove to steal the limelight. 

Later in life, the elderly Pilkin could not always be at his gymnast's side, as health concerns rendered it in advisable for him to travel to international competitions.  But Svetlana always remembered him first in any thanks she made after her many victories.  When Pilkin died in 2010, the day after the Russian women's team won its first team gold medal at the World Championships, Svetlana said, quite simply, 'I thank God that he gave me Pilkin'.

Her career spanned both the Gorbachov and Yeltsin eras, and she provided leadership and a role model for the sport at an uncertain time for both her home country and the international gymnastics community.  Ironically, had the Soviet Union prevailed, the great Russian might not have had the chance to persist for so long in her career such were the competitive exigences of that mega state.  The fragmentation of the Soviet team, however, meant that Russia had to develop its home talent and retain its champions.  Khorkina became what was then a relatively unusual phenomenon, a woman gymnast competing well into her twenties.  

When she retired in 2004 she left a gap that has still to be filled.  There is no great performer in gymnastics any more.  The technical and artistic flair of the best of Khorkina's work more than matched her charisma and made her unique.  Once seen, never forgotten, Khorkina became familiar to more than just the gymnastics afficianado.

Khorkina competed at three Olympic Games - 1996, 2000 and 2004.  She won medals in all three, including two golds - both on uneven bars - in 1996 and 2000.   She won silver all around in 2004, and might have won gold in the fiercely contested, but ultimately fluffed, all around final of the 2000 Olympics.  She won a total of nine World Championships gold medals, three of them in the all around and a remarkable five on uneven bars.  

She rewrote the uneven bars book of style and skill, as the first gymnast truly to exploit the opportunities for intricate and daring flight from low to high, and high to low bar.  Svetlana was an innovator on the vault, too, taking the gold medal on the apparatus in 2001, the year after an equipment fault on the apparatus had robbed her of her chances in the Olympic all around final.   She ruled in Europe for ten years from 1994 to 2004, taking a total of thirteen gold medals, including three in the all around.  At Olympic, World and European level she won an amazing 47 medals in all, winning awards on all four pieces of apparatus.  Her name appears in the Code of Points as the innovator of new moves on every piece.

Khorkina could be unpredictable, occasionally inconsistent, certainly capricious, but was furthermore assiduous, determined and long-lived.  She never let a defeat get her down for longer than a day and would always come back, shining new and ready to fight again.  She and her close team mate, Elena Produnova, were simply thrilling on floor in the team final of the Sydney 2000 Olympics, as they attempted to wrestle back the lead from the Romanians.  In the end, the judges left them .2 short of the lead, and silver was a bitter disappointment.  But Sveta wept for joy when she won the gold in the uneven bars, just a few days later,  theatrically kissing the apparatus that for so long had been her own private eyrie.  

Today, Khorkina remains close to Russian gymnastics as Vice President of the RGF.  She often appears at press and ceremonial events.  But she says she doesn't like the sport as much any more, citing 'too many bent legs' and a lack of artistry.  She has one son, Svyatoslav, born in July 2005, and lives in a Russia.  In December 2007 she was elected to the State Duma as a member of the political party 'United Russia', and in 2010 she became a member of the Patriarchal Council for Culture (the Orthodox Church).  

We all want to wish Svetlana a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Have a lovely day, Sveta.

See these videos

Svetlana on floor during the team final at the Sydney Olympics - http://youtu.be/w7GZP6G0p2o

2000 Europeans - beam - http://youtu.be/tOw3c4MY8I0

Vault at the 2001 World Championships - http://youtu.be/tucKIpFdWPA

Uneven bars - 1997 World Championships (Svetlana's first AA title) http://youtu.be/PeLNm3XBzqI



With thanks to the Russian Gymnastics Federation for information on Svetlana's career today.

Khorkina's statue at Belgorod State University - thanks to Niko


Niko tells me that there is an entire athletics complex named after her there, too.




Russian gymnastics - 2013 in words and pictures part 1 - WAG

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We began the year with a photo montage of Viktoria Komova, who was expected to shine at Worlds ...

Olympic gold medallist Aliya Mustafina was in the news ... 
'When I was recovering from surgery, I watched all the competitions. I didn’t panic. Nobody was doing anything that I couldn’t handle. Of course the responsibilities of the Olympics were greater than other meets. The Olympics don’t come along everyday, and not everyone gets there. I cannot say that that responsibility came lightly. In my mind I told myself to simply do my job, and that was all. I worked for 12 years to lay it on the line on the Olympic stage. Six months before the Olympics I was still far from being in gold medal form. It was tough to force myself to work hard, and the doubt that I could make it constantly surrounded me.' Aliya Mustafina, December 2012

The list of national team coaches was published, officially confirming Evgeny Grebyonkin in his new position as head coach of WAG.  Alexander Alexandrov was listed as Aliya Mustafina's coach, but rumours were already circulating of Alexandrov's departure for Brazil. 

'I hope we can prove that gymnastics can be both difficult and beautiful', said Rodionenko in a training video from Round Lake.  But only a few days later, Grebyonkin was complaining in his first major interview that the team had no reserve.  'This season will be very difficult', he said.

In February, Valentina Rodionenko spoke of the prospects of the team, picking out Mustafina for special comment - more of this developing theme later ...
'No talented lazy girl will ever reach good results. Mustafina is a talent. She possesses an excellent combination of talent and the capacity not to train a lot but to reach results. Тhis doesn’t happen often. She is very gifted. She has such character that she cannot train, compete and perform her routine better than if she had trained. At the Olympics Aliya proved her character and her talent. She was not better prepared than the rest, but she performed an impeccable bar routine.' 
In March, Maria Paseka, Anastasia Grishina, Evgenia Shelgunova and Ksenia Afanasyeva won the event finals in the Russian Championships (vault, bars, beam and floor, in that order).  Mustafina, Grishina, Afanasyeva and Paseka were subsequently selected for the forthcoming European Championships, to be held in Moscow.  Rodionenko announced that Komova had an injury, and needed to sit out the early part of the year.

In Canada, youngsters Anastasia Dmitrieva and Maria Bondareva won the Gymnix International Junior Cup.

To be continued ...










Mustafina Moods

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Vulnerable, feisty, celebrating, commiserating ... Mustafina is always just plain captivating.

With thanks to the VK.com communities for providing links to these pictures.



Aliya makes time for young fans at the Antwerp World Championships


'It's gold!'.  Setting Rodionenko right in Kazan after her AA win at the Universiade.  Grebyonkin looks on.



Supporting her team mate in London 2012



Daily work in the gym is Aliya's life



Champion of the future?


At the Moscow Europeans with coach Grebyonkin


Two gold medal medalists together ... Floor champion Ksenia Afanasyeva with Aliya in Kazan last summer


With 2013 World AA Champion Simone Biles, who had corrected the hang of Aliya's bronze medal (she was wearing it back to front).

A tense moment


And even more tension, this time with team doctor Timonkin ...


Celebrating with her dad, an Olympic bronze medallist and a World champion in Greco Roman wrestling


The great team, with best friend Tanya Nabiyeva in the mix again at Kazan 2013.


Simply magical, in her favourite bright red leotard.


















Viktoria Komova - Happy Birthday!

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Viktoria Komova, born 30th January 1995, celebrates her birthday today.  Happy Birthday, Viktoria! Have a lovely day.

Time to revisit a picture gallery posted last year ... and to hope for a good year for Viktoria and her fans.



I was doing something far more important, researching an article, when these pictures of Viktoria Komova  caught my eye.

They are far from the standard gymnastics pictures of gymnasts celebrating, commiserating, or caught in the midst of their most graceful pose.  Not the best, most aesthetic images to view.  When looking at pictures of gymnasts I am often conscious of selecting the ones taken from the most flattering angle, avoiding the shot with the bent legs, the out of control arms. I took a different viewpoint here, choosing Komova at the most stressed, the least stagey point of her work.  These pictures capture Komova in flight, in the height of motion and effort.  There is no contrivance to them, no trained pose or pause to impress the judges. 

Viktoria Komova is a rare gymnast, classical in style and execution.  Her national heritage of ballet, her family heritage of the best of sport is visible in her posture and carriage.  Every single move, from a simple leap or transition to the most complex of somersault, is performed with absolute amplitude, her line sharp and clear.  Besides her own special talent, it is the result of the meticulous attention of a choreographer from the earliest days of her career.  It is gymnastics that pays respect to a broader culture of movement that is recognisable in other art forms, such as dance.  Such gymnastics renders a Code of Points useless if it can only differentiate by means of execution deductions and difficulty value. 

Komova is the best gymnast in the world, and has been for the past two years.  She is not always the best competitor, but then the judges make too many mistakes.  Hopefully, in 2013 they will finally get it right at the third time of asking, and beyond.

During her Jaeger somersault on bars

Concentrated on the bars

In the middle of a side somersault on beam
A tricky turn on floor, toe point despite the heavy strapping
In full flight, at the height of effort, twisting over the vault
A simple pose becomes a work of art
Chalk flies as Komova catches the bar
At full stretch, beyond 90 degrees
Those troublesome feet and ankles ... 2011
Another shot of the side somersault
At full stretch ... Viktoria Komova
 You can view more fantastic pictures of the gymnasts at the RIA Novosti Media Gallery.

Russian gymnasts receive honorary certificates at the Government House

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Emin Garibov, Aliya Mustafina and Maria Paseka received national awards this week, in recognition of their team's gold medal winning achievements at the 2013 Universiade in Kazan (9 gold medals out of a possible 14).  


Russia's Prime Minister, Dmitri Medvedev, presented the awards.


The photographs are from Aliya Mustafina's fan page on VK.com, and RIA Novosti.

Congratulations to all the team!  Maladyets!

Russia's gold medal winning teams at the Universiade 2013, Kazan:

Nikolai Kuksenkov, Emin Garibov, David Belyavski, Denis Ablyazin, Nikita Ignatyev

Aliya Mustafina, Ksenia Afanasyeva, Anna Dementyeva, Tatiana Nabiyeva, Maria Paseka

9 gold medals (MAG and WAG teams, Kuksenkov (All Around, Pommel Horse), Garibov (Parallel Bars, High Bar), Mustafina  (All Around, Uneven Bars), Afanasyeva (Vault, Floor)), 6 silver medals (Ablyazin (Rings, Vault), Belyavksi (Parallel Bars), Nabiyeva (Uneven Bars), Afanasyeva (All Around), Mustafina (Beam)), 3 bronze medals (Belyavski (All Around, Floor), Paseka (Vault))


Russia - the cost of sport

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2008 Artistic Gymnastics Olympic Champion, Nastia Liukin, in Sochi this week.  The Sochi Winter Olympic Games begin in seven days' time.  Picture : Sportivnaya Gymnastika on VK.com


This blog is about artistic gymnastics in the Russian Federation, and I am not about to dilute that.  However, those of you who regularly read RRG will be aware of Russia's significant investment in the sport, not just to refurbish and improve facilities at Lake Krugloye national training centre, but also around the regions.  Training centres in Siberia, Voronezh, Khimki and Rostov on Don are amongst those which have benefitted.  

The headline costs are being paid by VTB, a bank still in the majority ownership (70% or thereabouts) of the Russian government.  VTB's interests rest not only in gymnastics, but in wider sport.  For example, the new VTB Arena, built on the site of the former Dynamo sports centre, is rumoured to be costing around US $1.5 billion, and will be a main venue for the FIFA 2018 World Cup.  (There was initially some doubt as to whether gymnastics facilities would be delivered here, but this doubt seems to have been allayed and the Club is expected to re-open in its old home some time around 2015 or 2016).  

Regional and national government is also making investments, although it is very difficult to find the facts and figures; most of the information drips through in dribs and drabs.  Press coverage of facility openings is one channel of information, but more frequently social media sites release details.  It is generally very difficult, though, to see a complete picture.  

Russia's interpretation of sports investment largely rests in big-time sport; President Putin's interest in his country's heroic exploits at Olympics and World Championships seems to be a driving force, and there is an expectation of gold medals in return for all the money.   Putin also seems to want to leave his mark on the landscape.  He isn't a Communist, but he shares his fascination for grandiose construction projects with former Communist dictators, Stalin and Ceausescu.  His passion for the mega event has completely transformed the landscape of Sochi, the home of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games, and similar transformations were made in Kazan, in readiness for last year's Universiade.  Much of the building is beautiful, and some of it seems to have a great social purpose, for example the new urban rail system in Kazan.  Perhaps the economic legacy will be worth it for Russia, but the interests of many have been sidelined along the way, according to emerging reports and documentaries.  I will link to some of them below.

If mega events are important to Russia's image and Putin's ego, they will not by themselves improve Russia's chances of success in a sport like artistic gymnastics.  Here, the investment in large scale training facilities is important, but might not be worth much if Russia isn't successful in its efforts to retain and develop a new generation of well trained and ambitious young coaches.  This is dependent on ample reward, high quality degree programmes, and appropriate national training structures at both development and elite levels.  Reward and coach education seem to be in sparse supply today in the Russian Federation, and the issue of how training can be structured is contested and uncertain.   These activities are not high profile or glamourous, but in many ways they are vital to the progress of artistic gymnastics in the Russian Federation as a sport.  Russian gymnastics is lucky to have such loyal sponsors as VTB, but need to get their basic priorities sorted out if they are to produce champions beyond the Rio Olympics.

Elsewhere, question marks are being raised as regards the cost of the Winter Olympics - social, community, environmental and financial - and question marks are being written above the names of the oligarchs who are providing much of the investment, and many of whom seem likely to profit significantly from the Games.  As ever in Russia, the word corruption is being spoken.  I haven't enough knowledge to comment, but the links I provide below seemed important enough for me to bend the focus of my blog a little.  I am also looking forward to these Games immensely, and to seeing a little more of the country that so interests me, so I am providing a link to the BBC's daily guide to the Games.  I hope that some of you will find this interesting.

BBC Guide to the Winter Olympics : http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/winter-olympics/25763228


Sochi 2014 : Encyclopaedia of Spending : http://sochi.fbk.info/en/award/

BBC Iplayer - Panorama - Putin's Games (30 minute TV documentary - available until 3 February 2014) : http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/bigscreen/tv/episode/b03t8dm9/Panorama_Putins_Games

Shushunova versus Silivas

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1988 Olympic all around champion Elena Shushunova and silver medallist Daniela Silivas on the podium in Seoul

In truth it was the last big showdown of women's Olympic artistic gymnastics.  For those of us watching at home in London on our TV screens, in the wee small hours (2 or 3 am by memory) of Friday September 23rd, a gymnastics drama unfurled.  The main actors in the play - talented Romanian, Daniela Silivas, and her fierce Soviet rival, Elena Shushunova.  Bit parts were played by the defending World Champion, Aurelia Dobre, only recently recovered from a serious knee injury, and the up and coming Godess of gymnastics, Svetlana Boguinskaia.  

At the Rotterdam World Championships barely a year before, all four gymnasts had seen an overturning of gymnastics' status quo as the deep and exciting Romanian team defeated the expected champions, the Soviet Union.  Despite Romania's dominance there, Silivas had been wounded as she fell short of gold in the all around, defeated by her younger compatriot, Dobre, and the defending World Champion, Shushunova.  Shushunova and the Soviet team were humiliated to take home only a silver in the team and a silver in the all around; Shushunova's golds on vault and floor were mere consolation prizes.  Boguinskaia was the only other Soviet woman to take a medal there, a bronze on beam.  A lot of hurt feelings oozed from the world's top gymnasts as they travelled home from Rotterdam.  Seoul would not be a grudge match, but it certainly was an opportunity for Silivas and Shushunova to re-assert their sporting worth.

Mental warfare?  An iconic image from the Seoul Olympic Games - Shushunova, left, meditates in preparation for her final piece.  Silivas, directly next to her, has finished her competition and relaxes.  

The Soviets went home, licked their wounds for a short while, then prepared and refreshed themselves for a fight with their strongest rivals for many a year.  'We'll roll right over them, like a tank', said Shushunova in an interview with news magazine Time shortly before the Games.  Her demeanour in the first days of the Games showed that the Soviet women meant business in Seoul.  Her attack, vigour and purpose was a case study of best practice in team leadership.  Interviewed after the Games, Shushunova emphasised that her main worry was that her team won back its winning position.  By the time she had made it to the all around final, she felt that her main job was already done.

Unsurprisingly, Shushunova, facially at least, looked exhausted in the all around competition that followed rapidly on the heels of the team final.   Two days of draining competition - compulsories, then optionals - had already taken their toll.  There had been medal ceremonies and media appearances.  In those days, consistency over all parts of the competition mattered.  Scores from the team competition were averaged out and carried forward to the all around final, and to the event finals.  At the beginning of the all around, Shushunova had a minuscule lead of .005 over Silivas, little enough of a cushion when a fall could mean a deduction of .5.  Shushunova had been faultless in the team competition, but Silivas had suffered a low landing on her first tumble - a double double - on optional floor.  Despite the narrow margin, this early mistake really counted, but Shushunova would still need to compete without error if she was to win the gold.

The competition between these two gymnasts is often depicted as one of grace (Silivas) versus power (Shushunova), but this is an oversimplification.  Silivas certainly had the more accessible style of artistry, an easy smile that drew the audience to her.  In comparison, Shushunova looked severe, until she let loose with that smile of victory that spread all over her face.  Silivas had a lovely airy, gravity-defying feel to all her gymnastics, while Shushunova's acrobatics were mighty explosions that rocketed sky-high.  Both gymnasts were equal when it came to line, grace and choreography.  Shushunova found her artistry in expressive dance on the floor, innovative technique on all four apparatus, and virtuoso performances of ultra difficult acrobatics.  (She had skills named after her in the Code of Points on every piece of apparatus.). Silivas' artistry came from a softness in her line, a spontaneity and speed in her movement, and crowd appealing gimmicks on the floor.  

In the end, in Seoul, the medal was determined by a mere whisper of a difference - .025 - in Shushunova's favour.  The tiny difference was down to human error.  Shushunova seemed almost super human at these Games, barely giving the judges a breath at deductions, most notably in a hop on her landing off uneven bars, and the tiniest whim of a wobble in beam.  Silivas, meantime, gave away that floor flub in team optionals as well as two beam teeters.  It really was as close as that.  For many who never saw the competition in its entirety, the final vault was the deciding moment.  It was indeed a thrilling end to three days of competition, but in reality, as it turned out, Silivas had lost it on the floor on the first day.  Silivas did have a better day in event finals, winning 3 out of 4 golds, but a major world all around gold proved to be forever out of her reach.

The selection of the USSR team in Seoul wasn't without controversy as Shushunova's co-World Champion from 1985, Oksana Omelianchik, was demoted to travelling reserve.  This will forever be a point of contention for all those who considered Omelianchik to merit selection on the basis of her past victories and the unique quality of her gymnastics.  Let Oksana have the final word on this classic competition.  'In Seoul, Elena could do everything', she said in an interview after the Games. You can hear her at the very end of Shushunova's all around competition - those cries of joy at the stuck landing came from Omelianchik.

Results of the 1988 Olympic Games WAG competition

BBC Barry Davies' reflections on Shushunova versus Silivas

Silivas floor, team optionals

Shushunova floor, team optionals

Silivas beam, AA

Shushunova beam AA

Women's AA final

Russian Gymnastics - National Coaches, the senior team

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Personal and national coaches working together : Ksenia Afansyeva's personal coach, Marina Nazarova, celebrates with  Russia's successful women's team at the London Olympics, with bars coach (now team coach)  Evgeny Grebyonkin

The RGF has published its full team list again.  It has already been released once, and you can find a review of the gymnasts of the senior men's and women's teams here.

For now, however, I wanted to publish in English the list of the national coaches of the senior team.  I will look at the coaches of the junior and youth teams in another post. This list is clearly an official document, bearing the stamp of the RGF and the signatures of several dignitaries, Andrei Rodionenko included, but it most likely will change over the coming months.  It may well be produced more for administrative purposes than for public consumption, so read with caution.  There is some meaty information all the same.  What may be of note is that the senior coaching team has reduced its numbers from last year's 21 to this year's 17, so the senior Russians have four fewer national coaches compared to 2013.  Overall, however, the national team (senior and junior) employs 39 coaches overall, compared to last year's 37, meaning that there are more coaches working on the junior and youth teams than previously.

A little background.  A 'national coach' participates in the training of team members alongside their individual personal coaches, but will coach all members of the national team at various times.  A 'personal coach' will have worked with a gymnast one to one at his or her home club, sometimes from childhood, and will generally remain as the hub of the gymnast's coaching.

National coaches receive their salary from the national team, centrally, and are generally not personal coach to any particular gymnast.  Personal coaches are generally not employed by the national team; their salary will be paid by the club they work for locally, to which their gymnast is attached.  Personal coaches will receive a bonus paid by the national team if and when their gymnast wins a medal at a major competition.  They do not always travel with their gymnasts to national training camp as they have other coaching responsibilities at home.  At the national training centre, gymnasts will train with all the national coaches and choreographers on the national team, at various times throughout their career, as well as with their personal coaches at home.

I hope this is quite clear! This list provides details of the national coaches, and not the personal coaches.

There are exceptions to this.  Viktoria Komova's personal coach, Gennady Elfimov, is listed as a national coach.  This, presumably, means he receives his salary from the national team, perhaps as recognition of Komova's importance.   I would not expect to see him coaching other gymnasts, so this does seem to be some kind of reward arrangement rather than meaning that he has become a coach to all the national team members.  The only other personal coach included on the national team list is Sergei Starkin (Denis Ablyazin), but he appears as a coach to the junior team ...

Aliya Mustafina's personal coach, Raisa Ganina, has been removed from the list of national coaches, compared to last year.  I do not know the background to this, but she is still Aliya's personal coach at their home club of Moscow CSKA.  Similarly, Ksenia Afanasyeva's personal coach, Marina Nazarova, does not appear on this list. Elfimov's inclusion is the exception, rather than the exclusion of these personal coaches, so there is probably nothing to be alarmed about.

The presentation of the list has changed somewhat.  In previous years, there have been coaches with particular specialist responsibilites.  For example, Marina Bulashenko was last year a specialist choreographer for the beam, while Vasily Ivanov was a specialist floor and vault coach.  Now, all the coaches and choreographers are shown as having 'all around' responsibilities.  This may only be a change in the way the list is presented, but it may also reflect working changes.  We will just have to watch to see what the coaches do at the competitions.  They do all have their individual strengths; for example Grebyonkin was a fantastic bars specialist.

I cannot pretend that the job title translations are literal, but I have rendered them to give a feel for the hierarchy.  Therefore, Andrei Rodionenko is Head Coach for both men and women, while Evgeny Grebyonkin is Team Coach for the women, and Anton Stolyar is an ordinary coach (if coaches ever can be ordinary).  Kirill Skakodub's job description is 'Nachalnik', meaning 'Captain' of the team.  I have looked for some clarification and found it on the website, where he is listed as an 'Administrator of the Training Process'.  I remember a discussion I had with Vladimir Zaglada about this - it is an important job that involves coordinating the training efforts of all the gymnasts and coaches.

In the hope that this post enlightens more than confuses, please find the transliterated list below :-)



Name
Date of birth
Job title
Discipline
Citizen of
Years on the team
Andrei Rodionenko
7.9.42
Head Coach
Men, women, all around
Moscow
41
Valentina Rodionenko
18.9.36
Team Coach
Men, women, all around
Moscow
33
Alfosov, Valery
13.2.53
Team Coach
Men, all around
Moscow
28
Grebyonkin, Evgeny
26.9.1968
Team Coach
Women, all around
Volgograd oblast – Volzhki
8
Duzhno, Andrei
10.12.74
Coach
Men, all around
Moscow oblast – Lobnya
8
Elfimov, Gennady
27.2.64
Coach
Women, all around
Voronezh
22
Ivanov, Vasily
23.3.59
Coach
Women, all around
Chuvasian Republic, Cheboksary
7
Kuksenkov, Yuli
3.12.58
Coach
Men, all around
Vladimir
Since 2013
Stolyar, Anton
5.4.81
Coach
Women, all around
Vladimir
1
Bulashenko, Marina
19.6.58
Choreographer
Women, all around
Rostov on Don
6
Burova, Olga
22.4.77
Choreographer
Women, all around
Volgograd
6
Liskov, Konstantin
1.1.67
Doctor
Men, all around
Yaroslavl
9
Timonkin, Vladimir
12.10.66
Doctor
Women, all around
Yaroslavl
12
Yugai, Konstantin
10.12.66
Doctor
Men, women, all around
Tomsk
Since 2012
Blyushke, Alexei
8.5.72
Masseur
Men, all around
Moscow
12
Fyodorin, Kirill
24.3.87
Masseur
Women, all around
Tulsk Oblast
Since 2013
Skakodub, Kirill
14.11.62
?Captain? of the team
Men, women, all around
Moscow
9
 








Aliya Mustafina - 'Coaches gave her a holiday' - Valentina Rodionenko

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Via Tass and the RGF, Valentina Rodionenko has now confirmed that multiple Olympic, World, Universiade and European gold medallist Aliya Mustafina was granted a short break during January 2014 and will return to training in February. 'Aliya is a student and has exams', said Rodionenko, 'we allowed her to devote the whole of January to herself'.  

Rodionenko acknowledged that Mustafina had worked throughout the whole of the post-Olympic year.

Russian gymnastics competitors at the Cottbus Turnier der Meister, 13th to 16th March 2014

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First year senior Maria Kharenkova is being considered for this year's European Championships


The provisional roster for March's Cottbus Turnier der Meister has now been published, including significant teams for both MAG and WAG from the Russian Federation.

For the women, it is an opportunity to give the developing gymnasts some competition practice before the big events of the year - Europeans, and World Championships.  Of particular interest is the inclusion of first year senior Maria Kharenkova, who is expected to fight for a place on the European Championships team.  Kharenkova has particular talents on beam and on floor and is considered by many to be an exciting prospect.  This year will prove whether she has the potential to become an 'A' lister for the Russian national team.

The Russians have slated teams 'in force' for this competition, including some of the top tried and tested gymnasts on the men's side.  As ever, it remains to be seen who will finally compete.  The names of the contingents from Romania, Germany and the USA have yet to be confirmed, but of further interest is the selection of former Russian national Yulia Inshina, now competing for Azerbaijan.

This competition takes place just prior to the Russian national championships, which are scheduled from the 31st March..  These early small competitions will provide part of the pathway for qualification for the first major competition of this year, the European Championships, which begin in early May.

The provisional listings of the Russian team are as follows:

WAG

Anna Rodionova
Daria Spiridinova
Maria Kharenkova
Polina Fyodorova

MAG

Alexander Balandin
Denis Ablyazin
Dmitri Stolyarov
Matvei Petrov
Nikita Ignatyev
Nikolai Kuksenkov

Moscow Dynamo, VTB and a happy future

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Olga Mostepanova coaches a youngster a few days ago, at Moscow's historic Dynamo club

Russian bank VTB, important sponsors of Russian gymnastics, features a photo opportunity on its website today about Moscow Dynamo, highlighting the skill of its coaches, the accomplishments of its great gymnasts, and the sport's secure future as part of its massive redevelopment of the Dynamo stadium.

You will remember that back in July last year, RRG featured a story on Dynamo's great history, highlighting the Club's uncertain future as it made a move out of its traditional home to make way for the massive VTB Park development which will house multiple sporting facilities as part of efforts to build social and economic infrastructure.  The VTB Arena is expected to be the focus venue for the 2018 Football World Cup, so you will become familiar with this facility then, if not before!  Dynamo Gymnastics' future was in some doubt at that time as no promises could be made as to the rehousing of the club in the new facilities once they reopen in 2016.  

I am glad to report that VTB is keen now to emphasise that gymnastics is definitely part of the plan and we have been treated to a great photo shoot and interviews with some of Dynamo's leading gymnasts and coaches, in particular the legendary Olga Mostepanova, and Russian national team captain Emin Garibov.

Russian team captain, Emin Garibov, works hard with some of the young gymnasts at his club, who will become Dynamo's champions of the future

Olga Mostepanova, who scored a perfect 40 points out of 40 in the all around at Oloumoc in 1984, works every day with her young gymnasts at Dynamo.  Now a mother of five children, she said, 'Each child is different and benefits from a different approach'.

Emin Garibov, who competed at the 2012 Olympics and has won gold medals at European Championships and last year's Universiade, remembers tough but ultimately fulfilling times at Dynamo. 'My parents brought me here.  I often didn't want to join in, and would cry.  But then the results came. Nothing quite compares with the feeling of victory, and that's why I work.  I don't cry on the medal podium though; I am not that sentimental.'

Other sports benefitting from VTB's investment will include football, hockey, fencing, basketball and various types of martial arts.  VTB hopes that the great new facilities (due to reopen in 2016) will bring forward many young champions in both these sports and in gymnastics.  In the meantime, Dynamo's coaches and gymnasts continue to make the best of their temporary home at the Olympiski stadium.

More reading

Moscow Dynamo: Past, Present and Future?  http://www.rewritingrussiangymnastics.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=Dynamo#!http://rewritingrussiangymnastics.blogspot.com/2013/07/moscow-dynamo.html

VTB Arena: social component

http://en.vtb-arena.com/project-and-society/sport


From small to large: VTB's original story and photo gallery

http://vtbrussia.ru/sport/vtbarena/ot-mala-do-velika/

Russian identity, the Olympics and sport

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100 Rouble note showing image of the Fisht Stadium

I remember London at the time of the Olympics, and how a great sense of excitement overcame the capital city.  During the Opening Ceremony, as the Olympic circles rose over the Stadium, London and Britain became focussed on sport and on welcoming an international audience to its Games.  The Games, and its attendant cultural activities, gave us a sense of our national pride.  In London at least, people were walking around with smiles on their faces.

In Sochi, Russia, as the dramas of the Winter Olympic Games unfurl, I am hoping that the same feelings are shared.  The Opening Ceremony filled me with optimism that Russia may find a way of celebrating its national identity and of unifying the diverse characteristics that are a result of its turbulent history, multiple ethnicities and vast geography.  These Games give Russia the opportunity to emphasise its unrivalled artistic and sporting heritage and hence highlight its position as an emerging cultural superpower, and the Opening Ceremony were its first steps in that direction.

It is all too easy to forget that it is only a little more than twenty years ago that Russia was a Communist country whose governance left it isolated from the English language speaking world.  In Britain, we therefore knew very little about our friends in Moscow, St Petersburg and beyond, other than what we saw on the stage of the ballet theatre and sporting arena, what we heard in the media, and what our governments chose to tell us about the conduct of diplomatic relations. 

Today, of course, Russia is a little more open, and its self image is increasingly important as the country attempts to re-establish itself as a leading nation and develop a higher, more confident profile on the world stage.  Since 1991, most effort has been put into the development of its economy and infrastructure, and the pursuit of wealth has become a theme in the developing narrative of Russian national identity.  The obscenely wealthy Russian Oligarch has become a cipher for the notion that Russia is growing into an economic superpower.  Names of vast, powerful companies such as Gazprom have become familiar to us in the West.  When I visited Moscow last spring, the iconic GUM department store, once a very old-fashioned department store under the Communists, was full of high end brands such as Chanel.  One could almost imagine that Russia were a wealthy country.  However, the everyday reality for the vast majority of Russians is somewhat different.  Wealth remains in the hands of a very small number of individuals, while the majority work hard for a relatively small return.  The Oligarch is only one part of the story.

Russian company Gazprom are sponsors of the Olympic cauldron in Sochi
It is, surely, natural that a society that has undergone such change will face itself with a degree of uncertainty.  Russia still has to find itself, and to reconcile its past with its ever-changing present.  There was a clear sense of nostalgia for the Communist era expressed in the Opening Ceremony but this does not tell other, more difficult truths associated with that era, truths that may have scarred some Russians.  Russia still also has some catching up to do in terms of its civil liberties, where current mores seem retrograde.  The Olympics has made the whole world aware of such problems and perhaps the exposure will help Russian society to begin to discuss and address its problems.  Hopefully the Olympics and its associated cultural programmes will also give Russia a way to think about its past and its present, to heal, and to begin to find a way of expressing a holistic and inclusive national personality.  Exposure to alternative ways of seeing, and integration with the international community might also bring positive benefits and reduce the tendency to look inward that can be a characteristic of large countries.

Russia as a cultural superpower is one aspect of the national personality that I hope might begin to emerge following the Games.  The Opening Ceremony highlighted much that is special about Russia -  dance, music, literature and science.  Much of this has become so central to our lives, so familiar that we hardly stop to think about it as a product of Russia.  An estimated three billion viewers* worldwide watched the Olympic opening ceremony worldwide (Kozlov, 2014), enjoying some of the most recognisable aspects of Russian culture as well as a short history of the country and some highlights from its sporting past. 

The link between sport and culture was a strong one during the Soviet era.  In this blog, we have previously examined the significance of the terms 'physical culture' and 'sportivnosti' to the sporting culture and ethic of the Soviet Union.  In short, sport went beyond the physical into the spiritual domain, representing a means of overcoming the constraints of the human body and of expressing innovation and great achievement.  Artistic gymnastics as a sport was an almost perfect expression of this morale, and fitted perfectly into the Soviet philosophy of sport as culture. 

Yet in Russia today, sport has lost its 'cultural' label, and you won't find many people talking about physical culture.  Artistic gymnastics, once so prominent in the Soviet Union's projection of itself as a nation, has lost profile, at least in terms of its popularity as a spectator sport; during the European Championships, held in Moscow in the spring of 2013, they could barely fill half the seats of the Olympiski arena that was once packed for such regular competitions as the Moscow News.  Participation levels have slumped to the extent that there are barely enough elite gymnasts to fuel the national women's team.  Coaches have departed overseas in order to be able to continue their employment in a job they love, and to earn a decent living.  If Russia cannot overcome these basic problems of participation and retention, they might not produce enough gymnasts and coaches to support a profile in international competition.  The international emphasis of the sport has certainly turned away from the cultural and aesthetic towards the athletic and powerful, and is thus less redolent of the Russian national character than once it was.  One question this asks is whether Russia's current investment in sport as agent of economic uplift is dependent upon the successful performance of its athletes? 

Doga's Sweet and Tender Beast provided inspiration for this waltz
There was a time when sport provided a bridge between Russia's public face and its culture.  Artistic gymnastics in particular made the classical music and dance most closely associated with Russia accessible to a wider audience, and perhaps in turn the music gave their sport character.  One of the highlights of the Opening Ceremony was a colourfully lit waltz to Eugen Doga's Sweet and Tender Beast.  It was an atmospheric salute back to Russia's last Olympics, the 1980 Moscow Games.  Doga, Romanian by birth, lived in Russia for most of his life, and wrote the piece for that 1980 Games' opening ceremony.  In Sochi, 34 years later, here it was again, providing the backdrop to a scene from Tolstoy's War and Peace.  That was not the only reason, though, that my ears pricked when hearing the piece.  Those of you who have followed gymnastics closely for the past 40 years or so will recognise the tune as one that the unforgettable Irina Baraksanova interpreted during the 1984 Alternative Olympics and the 1985 World Championships.  In the Sochi Opening ceremony we also heard Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (Olga Strazheva), and Khatchaturian's Sabre Dance (Natalia Shaposhnikova), perhaps showing that Russian tastes haven't changed much in the last few years, or at the very least that the Soviet Russian taste for classical music has endured.

It may be all very well for me to remind readers of the cultural significance of Russian sport and how Russia continues to leverage both culture and sport as a means of promoting international friendship and profile.  At the same time as the Olympics have immense positive potential, all present-day Olympics are also accompanied by a fair deal of controversy, not least due to the huge expenses they incur.  It can be difficult to justify this financial expense when ordinary people are struggling to earn enough money to buy food, and when the conflicting priorities of healthcare, education and housing seem to be sacrificed at the altar of big time sport.  But without making investments in the underlying infrastructure to support an economic uplift, these problems will remain unchanged and everyday life will remain a struggle for the vast majority of Russians.  The Olympic Games are not only symbolic of international peace and friendship, they are also a hugely powerful international brand that can provide a larger, unifying purpose, a focus for collective efforts to strengthen the economy and to illuminate the positive aspects of society, a catalyst for change and the immense effort that it takes to overturn long held trends and attitudes. Their legacy can and should be far reaching, to justify all that expense, yet their success can only be judged at a significant distance, long after the Games are over.  The next twenty years will show us the extent to which the Olympic legacy benefits Russia.

Mishka and the Olympic mascots extinguish the Olympic flame (sadly) on Sunday evening
This legacy may not only be economic, but also something closer to spiritual, healing and diplomatic, especially in the case of a country like Russia, which has undergone immense change over the past twenty years and looks likely to change even more in the next twenty.  Not only can the Games be an agent for a changing self identity, it also seems true that Russia's relationship with the world at large is changing.  Social media is growing and there is much more opportunity for one to one communication and networking between people in different countries.  A loose interpretation of this could be that diplomatic relations between countries are becoming less formal, less under the control of governments and more informal and diversified between individuals.  The beacon of the Olympic Games leads to a focus on one particular country and the shift of power that this infers can work both ways.  Read this article from the New York Times to understand one viewpoint of how powerful these Games have been in changing opinions in Russia's favour, even within such a short period of time.

Much of this article was written as the Games took place, and before the closing ceremony.  At the outset of the Games, media coverage (especially out of the USA) rather meanly focussed on some of the adverse aspects of the set up such as the texture of the snow and inadequacies in the hotel provision.  Russia's civil liberties record has also quite rightly been under the spotlight.  Yet Russia's sport and culture, and the hospitality of its people, seems to have won through by the end of the Games. 


*Three billion is three times more than the estimated audience of the London Olympics ceremony - impossible to know how they arrived at these figures ...

References and further reading

Kozlov, V (2014) 'Sochi: Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony Viewed by 43 million Russians' The Hollywood Reporter 11th February 2014 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sochi-winter-olympics-opening-ceremony-679250 accessed 12/2/2014

Booth, E (2014) 'Is Gymnastics Still Russian? A post-Europeans, early Olympiad perspective'Rewriting Russian Gymnastics 23rd May 2013 http://rewritingrussiangymnastics.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/is-gymnastics-still-russian-post.html accessed 12/2/2014

Macur, J (2014) 'Amid the triumphs, an argument for tolerance: Olympic closing ceremony proves Russia a worthy host' New York Times 23rd February 2014 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/24/sports/olympics/olympic-closing-ceremony-proves-russia-a-worthy-host.html?_r=0 accessed 25/2/2014

Aliya Mustafina - 'The team is like a family, when it matters'

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  This great video of Aliya Mustafina was transmitted by Transworld Sport just before the Antwerp World Championships.  'She is a gymnast with a capital 'G', says coach Raisa Ganina.  Ksenia Afanasyeva also features.


Why is gymnastics important to the Russian tourism industry?

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Aliya Mustafina features on some recent soft publicity for the Sochi Olympics from a Russian social media site
I'm trying to write an abstract for submission to a conference about tourism.  Having studied both tourism and gymnastics for quite some years now, and being well practiced in writing short posts for this blog, one might imagine that this would come easily to me.  Far from it.  I seem to have a mental block about my academic writing at present, and writing to anyone else's prescription and timeframe than my own tends inevitably to send my brain into constipated mode. Never mind that I am tired and out of mental breath after a long term's teaching so far, and need a few free days to go to the gym, unwind and play Candy Crush.  In desperation, I have decided to write a blog post about writing an abstract, to try to get my brain cogs working and hopefully gather together some strands for the abstract.  Talking to you, reader, is far easier than writing a short abstract ever was.

Tourism and its importance to the Russian Federation are, tangentially, very much in the headlines at present.  Considering the huge investment made in facilities for the Winter Olympics, the building of new sports facilities here, there and everywhere for such mega events as the Football World Cup, and the status of St Petersburg as a candidate city for the 2028 Olympics, it is clear that Russia has plans to attract visitors for the purpose of attending sporting events that go beyond the next few weeks .  The construction of new training facilities such as those housed at the VTB Arena also underline the government's determination to ensure that Russia remains in the front line of sports excellence.

Let me say right away, that sports tourism is about more than merely attracting visitors to competitions, and so limiting the consideration of sports tourism to identifying the levels of visitation to these events is to sell sports short.  Definitions of sports tourism embrace a wide range of different features including those related to visitation by spectators, officials and competitors, and those which recognise sport as a primary or secondary motivation to visit a destination.  Different behaviours of sports tourists are described and analysed, from the rounds of visitation associated with regular Football League matches, to the curious spectator attending a one-off event for the sake of the experience.   Sports supporters are recognised for their habits, including collective chanting at football matches and the collection of event related souvenirs. Secondary tourism impacts are examined, from spending patterns to travel intentions and attraction choice. The importance of sports as heritage is also increasingly covered in the literature, identifying its relationship to national character and discussing issues surrounding visitation to sports museums and other kinds of history related experiences.

Russia's approach to developing sports tourism currently appears to be dependent upon the staging of mega events and the construction of associated infrastructure.  Tourism is dependent upon the existence of attractions and destinations, and on the level of awareness and trust that the consumer has in his mind of the destination brand, so building and staging attractions in the form of events, and raising Russia's profile as a destination both make sense. Beneficial mega event legacies stretch far and wide beyond the realms of tourism, into economic uplift, improved infrastructure and social and community benefit, so they have the potential to fulfill many of the wider needs of the Russian community.  Profile, national identity and national morale can also improve.  Mega events can be controversial and naturally there are also discussions of the community and economic costs.  The methods of calculating, or estimating these costs and benefits are very contested and almost always inaccurate.  Taking a significantly longer view than the duration of the event is necessary.

Elite artistic gymnastics is an Olympic sport, and its patterns of visitation are not comparable with those of team sports such as football, rugby and cricket.  The top elite gymnasts who everyone wants to see will compete only irregularly throughout the year (for example Japanese World Champion Kohei Uchimura performed at only one competition last year, the World Championships) with regular long breaks for training and injury recovery.  This makes the opportunities for competition attendance somewhat rare for the gymnastics supporter, but the experience is all the more intense for that.  Gymnastics is a sport where dedicated fans will spend their whole savings on the off chance of visiting training facilities in remote areas of Russia and Romania, where the ability to observe training sessions is considered top notch entertainment and where the internet ('gymternet') is constantly alive with news, chatter and livestreams of remote domestic competitions.  It is a young sport where many of those interested also participate, and a sport where heritage and history is also vital, with a strong internet presence of the 'Golden Years' of the sport, an era when the Soviet Union ruled.  The validity of results are regularly debated, and the very form of the sport itself is contested ground.  Home support exists, but skill and artistry levels are more to the point for the gymnastics fan, as well as a strong personality interest. Especially with so many generous fans around who post routines on Youtube and blog about their experiences, it is not vital to travel to an event to enjoy gymnastics in depth.

Queen Elizabeth enjoys some sports tourism in Moscow
Gymnastics is arguably a form of sporting cultural heritage, and heritage (both tangible and intangible) is the basis of much tourism.  While it carries within it the ideas of playfulness, competition and teamwork that are central to sport, and conforms to a set of rules in the same way as other sports, it is relatively unusual in that performance quality and technique are assessed alongside the outcome related aspects, such as how many somersaults are performed.  The sport is in a constant state of evolution, and this evolution is relative to external trends and influence, including in particular developments in the Code of Points, the system of marking regulated by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). 

Russian gymnastics in particular has a rich heritage that is inclusive of its wider influences of dance and music, and the sport as a whole is redolent, to a lesser extent recently, of the values and ethics of sportivnosti and physical culture held by the Soviet Union.  You do not have to be a strong follower of artistic gymnastics to associate the performances of elite artistic gymnastics with Soviet Russia, although recent developments in the sport, including changes to the Code of Points, have been to the detriment of the cultural heritage that underpins the traditional classical style of Russian gymnastics.  It has been seen recently (in the Sochi Olympics opening ceremony, for example) how Russia values its Communist past with a sense of nostalgia and humour and gymnastics could have the potential to add a further dimension to Russia's destination brand. 

As a vibrant, high profile, accessible form of cultural heritage, artistic gymnastics might be considered to provide a vehicle to promote unique characteristics of Russia's national identity to the wider world.  However, the question is, as the sport drifts away from the lyrical style of Soviet Russia and its classical past, and as competition results fade due to a lack of investment and hence participation in the sport during the Yeltsin years, can Russia find a way of leveraging gymnastics as cultural heritage, and as an autonomous means of sports tourism image building, or as motivation to visit its country?  What product development potential exists?


Make sport not war - Lilia Podkopayeva speaks

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I want to send my love to Ukraine, and Russia, at this difficult time, in the hope that peace and stability can take the upper hand.

The rumour is that Ukraine's Oleg Stepko has moved to Baku to train and compete as part of the Azerbaijan national team.

Stella Zakharova has also been on TV saying that she hopes to stage the Zakharova Cup this year, but that things are very difficult.

Ukraine and Russia are friends and rivals on the gymnastics podium.  

I found the banner above on a Russian social media site that is regularly used by both Russians and Ukrainians.  Please post the banner on your social media sites, let's try to make a bigger noise for peace than is being made for war.

Updated 15.28 Sunday.  1996 Olympic Champion Lilia Podkopayeva says on Facebook

Я – Лилия Подкопаева. Мама двоих чудесных малышей. Где бы мы не жили – во Львове, или в моем родном Донецке, мы – женщины, жены, мамы – хотим одного – счастливой жизни и мирного неба нашим детям. Мы не хотим отправлять своих мужей на войну. И содрогаться каждый раз, когда взрываются гранаты. Мы хотим растить наших детей в мирной и единой Украине, растить будущих художников, артистов, честных политиков и конечно же – олимпийских чемпионов. Чтобы они, как и я когда-то, стоя на Олимпийском пьедестале плакали от гордости, слушая гимн Украины! Слава Украине!!!.
I-Lilia Podkopayeva. MOM of two wonderful kids. No matter where we lived-in Lviv, or in my hometown of Donetsk, we are women, wives, mothers, want a happy life and peace for our children. We do not want to send their husbands to war. And shudder each time exploding grenades. We want to raise our children in a peaceful and United Ukraine, raise future artists, entertainers, politicians and, of course, fair-Olympic champions. They, like I, standing on the Olympic podium cried with pride, listening to the national anthem of Ukraine! Glory To Ukraine!. (Translated by Bing)



Azerbaijan, land of gymnastics opportunity

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Oleg Stepko, European Parallel Bars Champion

Nico Jackson reports on some new developments

Something is in the air of Azerbaijan lately. This energy-rich nation in the Caucasus region has taken a keen interest in developing its gymnastics programs in recent months. Already strong in rhythmic gymnastics, the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation continues to move forward with the men’s and women’s artistic programs through recruitment of gymnasts and coaches from abroad (mainly Russia). As reported in December 2013, Azerbaijan has recruited several well-known former competitors for Russia: Anna PavlovaYulia Inshina, Marina Nekrasova and Konstantin Pluzhnikov. Earlier this week, FIG released news of nationality changes for nineteen gymnasts in all gymnastics disciplines. Fifteen of those gymnasts were new representatives of Azerbaijan, most of whom were formerly of Russia (including two WAG and one MAG). The most notable change was Ukrainian Olympian and European Champion on parallel bars, Oleg Stepko.


To those who closely monitor the gymternet, buzz about Oleg Stepko in Azerbaijan has been aplenty since last week. Stepko has regularly been posting Instagram photos of his settling in and the new training facility in Baku. His personal coach, Pavel Netreba, has also followed him to Baku. It remains to be seen when Stepko will make his competitive debut for Azerbaijan, but so far he seems to handling the change well and making friends with his new teammates.


The general reaction in the gymnastics community seems to be mixed about Stepko’s switch and Azerbaijan’s tactic of importing foreign gymnasts to build teams. While Stepko’s personal motives for the switch are not yet fully known, this nationality change has been pending for some time. After last year’s European Championships in Moscow, Oleg Verniaiev revealed in an interview with Ukrainian press that he, Oleg Stepko, and Igor Radivilov were approached by the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation offering the trio a chance to compete for Azerbaijan in future competition along with some luring benefits.Verniaiev and Radivilov declined the offer, but apparently Stepko was considering it.


In a telephone interview with XSPORT Ukraine, 1980 Olympic Team Champion and long-time brevet judge, Bogdan Makuts, shared his frustration with the ongoing losses of top Ukrainian talents beginning with Nikolai Kuksenkov to Russia and now Oleg Stepko to Azerbaijan. Makuts further revealed thatStepko had been considering Azerbaijan’s offer since last year, but that nearly everyone within Ukrainian gymnastics tried to cajole him to stay at least until after the 2016 Olympics. The Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation initially refused to let him go. Stepko was even offered an increased monthly stipend and an apartment in Kyiv from Lilia Podkopayeva’s former husband, Timofei Nagorny. Despite the persuasion attempts, Stepko remained interested in going to Azerbaijan and eventually got his way. Finally, Makutsworries that Oleg Verniaiev will be next because Russia has recently been trying to lure him and that more Ukrainian gymnasts are considering leaving for Azerbaijan and Russia.


It is easy to understand Makuts’ disappointment of the situation given Stepko’s tremendous talent and early success for Ukraine. Easily Ukraine’s #2 all-around star after Verniaiev, losing Stepko to Azerbaijan is a fairly big blow to the country’s program especially in its future team prospects. This along with the current political turmoil makes Ukraine’s gymnastics future look bleak. On the other hand, we still have not heard Stepko’s side of the story. We should keep an open mind on what his motives were for this change since we do not necessarily know what his circumstances might have been.


As a personal fan of Stepko, I refrain from judgment in this situation because I do not know what his daily life is like or what his personal goals are. In any case, I wish him well in everything he does and believe his talent should be appreciated regardless of the flag he chooses to represent. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how Azerbaijani gymnastics will look over the next couple of years as a result from of this massive importation of talent.

 

Below you can read the original article from XSPORT Ukraine along with a video clip of the interview with Bogdan Makuts (in Russian and Ukrainian).

http://xsport.ua/gymnastics_s/news/ukrainskiy-gimnast-oleg-stepko-otkazalsya-ot-3-5-tys-timofeya-nagornogo-i-uekhal-v-azerbaydzhan_61757/

Stella Zakharova calls for unity in Ukraine

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Stella Zakharova today, courtesy of her Facebook page

1980 gold medal Olympian and 1979 and 1980 World Cup all around champion Stella Zakharova has contributed to a round table of Ukrainian artists and athletes on the Ukraine crisis. Other participants are Nina Matvienko (artist) and Evgen Nischchuk (Ukrainian minister of culture). 'Let us work together to raise Ukraine', says Stella.
 

Stella says a video of athletes and artists speaking about Ukraine is in preparation.

Since retiring from big time gymnastics in 1980, Stella has married and is the mother of two children.  She is an outspoken supporter of Ukrainian gymnastics, and has her own annual international competition, the Stella Zakharova Cup, currently in its thirteenth year.  The competition regularly attracts top gymnasts and is sanctioned by the FIG, but has had to be postponed this year because of the current troubles.

Stella Zakharova on beam at the Moscow News competition in 1980 (gold all around)


Stella comes from Odessa, Ukraine, the same home town as 1992 all around Olympic champion Tatiana Gutsu.  Today, she lives in Kiev.  As a gymnast Stella was athletic and strong, producing impressive work on all apparatus and especially on floor and vault.  Her powerful tumbling was memorable and ground breaking for the era.  Stella's training is recorded in this 1978 Soviet TV documentary, 'You in Gymnastics', where you can find her practicing her floor choreography at about five minutes in, with choreographer Lidia Sokolova, and coaches Vladimir Zaglada and Gennady Korshunov.  She was a wonderful gymnast. 

Updated 8th March

Just found this 1979 floor routine by Stella which is much more expressive and intense, exactly how I remember her.  http://youtu.be/9_Kuvl4fQM4

I know that all readers of this blog will wish Stella and her Ukrainian and Russian friends all the luck in the world in finding their peace.
 

Gymnix International Junior Cup 2014

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A member of Russia's junior team warms up, under the watchful eye of former Russian national, 2010 World team champion Ksenia Semyonova who is judging at this competition.  Thanks to Gymnix's Facebook page for the picture.

The popular Gymnix International competition takes place this weekend, and Russia has sent four of its most promising juniors to experience overseas competition.  Some of the gymnasts have been competing in regional competitions in Russia recently, and the results are gradually becoming available at the excellent Videos of Russian Gymnastics blog http://russiangymnastvideos.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/2014-russian-federal-okrug-championships.html

Videos of some of the junior routines from these Russian regional competitions, including those of Russian gymnasts slated to compete at Gymnix, can be found on this YouTube channel http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QXYvURQMTE8

Here is a copy of the participants list for the junior competition which can also be found here http://internationalgymnix.ca/files/9613/9336/3458/Junior_Cup_et_Challenge_Gymnix_-_25_fvrier_pour_distribuer.pdf.  

The International Junior Cup takes place tomorrow, Saturday, at 6 pm Montreal time.



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