Gymnastics News: Teams Arrive to Nanning

Teams are starting to arrive in Nanning and some much sooner than others. It appears that the US team was probably one of the earliest team to arrive. On the men's side two US male gymnasts were spotted in Nanning, Danell Leyva was one of them. I don't assume that two of the guys were going to fly out by themselves which should mean that they are all there. The US women are also in Nanning as a photo of them surfaces online. The picture features them next to a giant statue of the official mascot of the Nanning Worlds.

If you look closely you might spot a bandage over the leg of one of the gymnasts. I think that the gymnast in question is Ashton Locklear. I find it quite strange that she would flash the injury as all the other gymnasts have their legs covered. Either way an injury to her leg won't make much of a difference given she is a bars specialist.

The Romanian national team released a few images before they left for China - at least I think it was before. I think that they would look a bit sleepy and tired if they had just arrived from a very long flight. They look in very good spirits but besides Larisa Iordache I can't name any of the gymnasts on that team.

Team Russia boarded a plane earlier today and a few pictures from some of the national team members have shown that. It appears as though Alla Sosnitskaya and Daria Spiridonova have been assigned seats together. Another image shows Tatiana Nabieva and Aliya Mustafina drinking something at a coffee shop.

There is no word on the men's national team for Russia but it's probably safe to say that they were on the same plane. I was lead to believe that the team would be there by the 27th of September which would mean they had to leave on the 26th.

Frances men's national team has arrived a few days ago and so has Chilean gymnast Gonzalez, first name escapes me right now. It seems he was training with the French team in France before heading to China.

Team Azerbaijan is also China bound as the very lovely Oleg Stepko has posted a picture of him at the airport waiting for his flight.

Gymnastics News: Alla Sosnitskaya Working a Cheng Vault

Russian gymnast Alla Sosnitskaya, vault and floor specialist, has rocked the gymternet with a leaked video of her performing a decent looking Cheng vault. The Cheng vault is valued at a 6.4, one tenth higher than the Amanar vault. With the addition of such a vault the Russian team's chances are looking much better not only for the team event but for maybe a vaulting medal.

If Alla is able to perform the Cheng and the double twisting yurchenko she will have the same difficulty as MyKyala Skinner, my favorite to win a medal on vault. If she does have this vault ready she is sure to make vault finals more interesting considering how many gymnasts are performing high difficulty vaults. We only need to look back three years to find a time when there were only three gymnasts doing difficult vaults and the champion was a given.

On the team side of things a Cheng vault would bolster a lineup made up of double twisting yurchenkos. This vault performed at a medium level would score at least a 15. That 15 is equivalent to a stuck double.

On other news I will start to post more as podium training gets under way in Nanning.

Gymnastics News: Komova Out, Afanasyeva In & Out, and Nabieva Maybe In?

Over the last couple of days information has been filtering out from the Russian camp and primarily from the mouth of Valentina Radionenko. The major news revealed was that Komova was ruled out of the 2014 Worlds because of the danger of preparing a second apparatus was too great. At first I thought she was fragile and something might be wrong but the more I read the more I realized that she has been ruled out over the two apparatus rule. The two apparatus rule is a freak rule made up by Valentina and one that she is sticking to no matter what.

The rule seems to have emerged since last year's World and the previous one - back in 2011. The Russian team would send strong gymnasts but would end up with many injuries and the team would be left in an uncomfortable position. Since that time the team directors have wanted a team made up of gymnasts that can fill in if an injury were to emerge to anyone. I think that it's an idiotic move when the team is made up six members as opposed to the Olympic standard five.

I think that Komova can add a high standard bars set with a high probability of a hit routine. If it was up to me I would make room for her but then again they might not be able to have that privilege. All I want to say is that I hope that Ekaterina Kramarenko better be used on at least one piece to justify her inclusion.

The second big news of the first article was the sudden reappearance of Ksenia Afanasyeva. Valentina mentioned her as a possible replacement of the now injured Maria Paseka. Along with Ksenia, Tatiana Nabieva's name was mentioned. It was thought that Ksenia was working on a vault and a floor routine for the Worlds. A few days after the original article came out the doctors ruled her out. It appears they had a major mock meet and it probably showed everyone what we all had assumed. It is really in Ksenia's best interest to do what she wants and not what Valentina wants - we know how it ended last time.

Maria Paseka is nothing to Valentina and it shows by the way she is spoken about. It appears Maria twisted an ankle or injured it in some way resulting in swelling but not a serious injury. Valentina mentions a lack of confidence and so forth which lead to her removal. There was a real good reason for her lack of confidence and that was her horrible Russia Cup performance. It wasn't horrible but for where she's supposed to be it was to me. The sad thing is that her business is being aired out in the open like nothing is wrong with that.

Nabieva is the only real option unless the emergence of Polina Fedorova is a serious option. The Polina option shows that the team is searching for a beam worker and not a bars worker. Tatiana is weak on beam and Fedorova has only ever shined on that piece if with low 14s. That's not convincing to me which explains why I think that Nabieva is a likely candidate to fill that last spot. I only hope that she doesn't fall of the bars like she did in 2010 and upgrades her difficulty.

The Russian camp is a serious mess and it is screaming 2013 all over again. There has got to be something wrong with the way something is being done in Russia. More news is sure to filter out and I'll withhold predictions until then.

Gymnastics News: U.S. Worlds Team Named

The 2014 U.S. National Team for the 2014 World Championships in Nanning has been named. The U.S. is one of the first teams to name an official squad on the women's field. Most of the other nations are waiting until the official required date to come out with an official squad. The lists out there are tentative working team that can all be changed with relative ease.

The team is as follows,

• Simone Biles
• Kyla Ross
• Mykayla Skinner
• Ashton Locklear
• Alyssa Baumann
• Madison Kocian
• Madison Desch

Non-travelling Alternate,

• Brenna Dowell

I named the squad in order of importance to the squad and based on how many apparatuses they would likely be required to perform on. Below is a list of what apparatuses each member will be asked to perform.

Simone Biles: Vault, Beam, Floor

Kyla Ross: Vault, Bars, Beam, Floor

Mykayla Skinner: Vault, Floor

Ashton Locklear: Bars

Alyssa Baumann: Beam

Madison Kocian: Bars

Traveling Alternate: Madison Desch

Biles is the most important gymnast on the squad because she can bring in big numbers on most pieces but will likely skip bars if Kyla Ross has upgraded. 

Ross on the other hand might be asked to do all four pieces because her vault is stronger than the other three gymnasts, she is a bars specialist hence her likely working bars, beam is a piece she's consistent, floor is likely because they don't have any other gymnast that can score above 14.


Mykayla Skinner is a vault and floor specialist and would definitely be on those two pieces. I think it's a big risk to put her on floor given her sometimes erratic performances but they have no other option. The same could be said about her vault - I doubt they'll give her a penalty for not putting both her hands on the vaulting horse though.

Ashton Locklear is a one trick pony and good at that. She is solid on bars and definitely merits being on the team.

Alyssa Baumann is an okay beam worker although I think it is very low in difficulty but was rewarded in execution at the domestic tournaments. She has the potential to be the next Jordyn Wieber if the judges don't like her form.

Madison Kocian is mostly a bars specialist and could challenge Biles for the team final bars spot. If she doesn't then Biles would be the first up on bars during team final. I think it will come down to qualification scores or could be a strategic move to keep Biles rested for the All-Around.

The team is looking very suspect right now and I would say that if the Chinese are hitting on team final night then they are going to have a challenge. I doubt that will happen though but this U.S. team is not the dream team they had in London.

What do you think about my predictions?

Gymnastics News: UK/British Team Named

The British squads for the 2014 World Championships in Nanning have been released and some surprises have appeared. The obvious omissions of some of the currently injured gymnasts are clear and have led to some unknowns being named to both the men's and women's team. Below is the list of both squads.

Men: Max Whitlock, Kristian Thomas, Daniel Purvis, Daniel Keatings, Nile Wilson and Courtney Tulloch.

Reserve: Frank Bains

Women: Becky Downie, Claudia Fragapane, Ruby Harold, Hannah Whelan, Kelly Simm, Gabby Jupp and Charlie Fellows.

If anyone is wondering why they named seven gymnasts to the women's team it is because they are going to name the reserve at a later date. It appears as though they haven't fully committed to a certain gymnasts but the way the article was released it could be a battle between Gabby Jupp and Charlie Fellows - possibly even Kelly Simm.

The women's team has suffered an injury to one of their main gymnasts and that is probably the reason why the team is in such a state. I believe the injured gymnast is Tunney but I'm not sure of that. The loss doesn't seem to be a big one but they are trying to pick the gymnast that will likely hit under pressure.

In the end they will likely have beam as their weakest piece and uneven bars their best apparatus. They will be fighting against the Russians for that bronze medal and will not be able to rely on their three double twisting yurchenko vaults to get them ahead of the Russian team. The Russian are likely going to perform three double twisting yurchenko vaults unlike at Euros. It might just come down to who stays on the beam.

The men's team on the other hand is much more experimental with the addition of Nile Wilson and Courtney Tulloch. Nile Wilson is a first year senior that has shown promise but can he hit on the pieces that Max Whitlock was supposed to? I'm not sure where they are going to place them, I know that he's great on pieces but those are usually the ones that the team is already good on. With regards to Courtney I have never heard of him before this time. It appears he is a rings specialist, a piece that the British team is particularly weak on.

The British team is really on an uprise and will probably benefit the most with the additional team member allowed at Worlds. I think with the injuries on some of the other teams this team is the team that is favored for the bronze but not assured. I think that either the Russian or US team can snatch it away with a single mistake by the British team. An example would be Max Whitlock falling off pommel horse and the team losing out on a big score.

What do you guys think of this team?

 

Gymnastics News: Ekaterina Tyunina Beam Winner and Larisa Wins Swiss Friendly

A few weeks ago the Russian meet Spartakiade took place and a relative unknown gymnast won the title. Ekaterina Tyunina was the winner and yet we haven't heard much about her nor have we seen her at major Russian competitions. I'm not sure how old she is but I would dare to say that she is new to the senior field or might even be a junior.

I like her style of movement on the beam, she does need to extend her split leaps and improve little things here and there. The best thing about her is her nice connections and some very hardly seen skills. The skill that I found most interesting was her full twisting wolf jump. The move has been done before but none of the elite gymnasts perform it regularly.

Check her out!

Larisa Iordache has continued with her impressive all around streak by winning a small friendly meet in Switzerland. The Swiss meet is an annual tournament that gathers three national teams and includes an all around competition. The Romanian team lost the team competition to the Germans and aren't looking good for the Worlds. 

On the bright side Larisa easily won but can she win a model with those routines and those scores? I don't really know what to think about Larisa, she impresses me sometimes and then I see her give mediocre and inconsistent routines with misses elements. Only time will tell what the Worlds has in store for her. 

Gymnastics News: The Comeback of Anastasia Sidorova

Anastasia Sidorova's comeback appears to be much more serious than I previously thought. Anastasia was back in the gym training some basic elements last time we saw her but now she has moved on to more serious moves. The most impressive of all is that she has almost gotten her triple twist back although a bit helicoptered legs there. Form is quite lacking in some of the Russian gymnasts of that generation but not so much in the newer gymnasts.

Anastasia has a decent looking two and half twist, a double back tucked, double back piked and a full twisting yurchenko. Her FTY is back and it's good compared to some of the gymnast I saw last week at the Youth Olympic Games. It should definitely not be long until she has a full difficulty routine up on floor but not for this year's Worlds.

Below are some videos of her training said elements. She does look a bit labored doing them but I'm sure all the time has something to do with that.

Via Alyssia Spaan on YouTube.

Gymnastics News: Seda Tutkhalyan Wins YOG and Gowey Injured

The representative of the Russian Federation at the Youth Olympic Games, Seda Tutkhalyan, pulled out a very competitive win. The competition had almost turned into a runaway when Seda hit her first three rotations but turned out to be close when she fell on her last tumbling pass. The Brazilian gymnast, Flavia Saraiva, made it close after she hit her last two apparatus in a very impressive manner. The gymnast I thought would pull it out, Elissa Downie of the UK, ended up having two shaky performances dropping her to third. She had one too many wobbles on beam and a fall on her first tumbling pass.

If anyone noticed why I didn't call Seda Russian is because it's a very complicated story. I'll give you a brief explanation, Russian is used to describe an ethnic group that lent it's name to the country. The term that is given to Russian nationals is Rossiyane and it doesn't matter where the person is from or ethnicity. Seda's an ethnic Armenian, her father was a Soviet greco-roman wrestler just like Aliya's father. I wonder if that's the new think, daughters of those kinds of athletes make for good gymnasts.

Rachel Gowey, a gymnast expected by most to make the World Championship team is out of contention with an injury. Rachel broke her right ankle while performing her dismount on beam during the podium training to the P&G National Championships. It is quite a surprise for the injury to occur on the beam as that is her best apparatus. Then again dismounts are always the most tricky and the usual spot where gymnasts can injure themselves.

With Rachel being out of contention for the World's team the US national team will have one less good gymnast to choose from. They are going to lose a better than good beam worker and will probably have to change their strategy. The one good thing about the US team is that they have loads of gymnasts to call on and this will likely be a blessing to one young gymnast.

The US team is still the heavy favorite to bring home a gold even with the injury.

Gymnastics News: YOG, Brazil Training and more!

The Brazilian representative Flavia Saraiva has sat down with the FIG for an interview that has shed light on the changes that have occurred since the arrival of Alexander Alexandrov. Alexander left the Russian national team shortly after the 2012 Olympics after being deposed of his position as national team coach. That's a whole different story and reading some old Rewriting Russian Gymnastics posts will sort you out.

Flavia states that the gymnasts are now training three times a day and they are not given days off - not even holidays! That's insane and almost something out of Bela Karolyi's crazy regime. That method is sure to burn out some gymnasts but can potentially create a star. The reality is that the Brazilian team is a B/C nation when it comes to gymnastics and requires this kind of training to even have a chance of competing with the top teams.

The interview also states that they are training more complicated elements which is nice to hear but not really news. The hard work isn't going to be evident until a few more years and probably around the time of the Olympics. If you are interested in reading the full interview here is the link.

The men and women's qualifiers at the Youth Olympic Games have completed and there haven't been too many surprises. The men had their qualification a couple of says ago and the lead qualifier was a British gymnast Giarni Regini-Moran coming out on top by a few tenths. In second place was Nikita Nagornyy of Russia who had an issue with his first vault causing him to lose a point.

Nikita Nagornyy was a standout for his qualification into all six event finals - the only man to do that in this competition. Giarni Regini-Moran qualified to five event finals a feat he shares with a couple of gymnasts.

For a full list of the results click here.

The women's field is a lot more open as the top five all have a chance at gold. The leader after qualifications is the Russian Seda Tutkhalyan. In second place is the British Ellie Downie who struggled on her uneven bars routine causing her to fall to second place. The other gymnasts are a few tenths below and it is a very wide open race for the gold.

Seda and Ellie both qualified for three event finals, missing out on balance beam and uneven bars respectively.

For a full list of the results click here.

Gymnastics News: Vika Is Back!

Viktoria Komova is back! A video has surfaced online showing the 2011 World Champion on uneven bars performing a full bars set. The video is of a routine that is almost exactly the same as the one she performed at the Russian Nationals with a few exceptions. The video has made its way around the gymnastics blogs but they have all seemed to have missed one small detail, actually a big detail. Vika has dropped her Komova I release and is doing a Chow with 1/2 turn. That is very telling as in a previous post I wrote that she was probably training that element to connect it with from the Pak salto. She has replaced an E element with a much easier E element.

This particular bars set is hovering around a 6.4 and 6.5 D-score. The problem with the set is that she has a very piked jaeger and is probably going to get that element devalued. She probably has a 6.4 D-score at the moment but with the connection of the Pak and Chow 1/2 she could have 6.6 D-score. I don't think this is the bars set she will perform at the Worlds but could be close to it.

She is training bars and beam at the moment and needs a strong performance at Russian Cup later this month to make the team. I will keep my fingers crossed for her to make the team and show the world that she still has it.

Gymnastics News: Ukrainian Gymnast Attempts Whip to Quad Twist

Recent footage has emerged on Oleg Verniaiev's Instagram account that shows a Ukrainian gymnast trying to perform a whip direct to a quadruple twist! That move is sure to be one of the most dangerous and crazy elements ever attempted on floor. This move makes the triple back tuck look like a junior gymnastics move.

The rundown is the gymnast is far from being able to fully execute that combination and could seriously hurt himself trying. The whip and entry are fine but when he goes for the quadruple twist he gets to three and a half and face palms. The quadruple twist has only been in the mens CoP for less than a year, which surely means it's not an easy move to rotate. To see a gymnast already attempting to add it in combination is crazy. The attempt kind of reminds me of when Tatiana Nabieva was attempting an Amanar vault and landed and then did an extra twist - the judges aren't fooled that easily.

In addition Oleg is seen attempting a whip to triple and half twist. He is much closer to nailing his jump but looks like he could hyperextend something in the process.

Gymnastics News: Bulimar Out, Tan Sixin Retired, Mexican National Team Named

The race for a team medal at this year's World Championships has just gotten a little bit easier with the announcement that Diana Bulimar is out. Diana's knee gave out according to MCSMaria's blog and was flown to Vienna for immediate treatment. This comes as a shock news especially given that she had recently announced that she had overcome her fear of vault and because she had missed last year's world due to an injury. Diana is now becoming the Romanian Vika Komova - she just can't catch a break.

Without Diana Bulimar on the Romanian team there are very little chances that the team can seriously compete for a medal. The team was already over reliant on Larisa and Diana for the bulk of their scores. Without Diana the team will need to add for apparatus rotations to the team and I don't know where they can find them. On the positive side this will make it that much easier for the Russians and British girls to medal.

Let's wish Diana a quick recovery, which the reports are saying the injury is nothing serious but will definitely keep her out of the Worlds.

With the Youth Olympic Games fast approaching, Triple Twist Gym Blog did a run through of where all the top gymnasts, that were competing there, are now. The most surprising gymnast on that list was Tan Sixin, not for being on the list but for being marked as retired. Tan was not a great all arounder but was a great beam worker something that the Chinese team is not in short supply. She was a reserve for the 2012 Olympic games yet never saw any significant international competition - save for the 2011 Worlds. Sad to see her go so quickly into her career.

The Mexican national team has been named for the Worlds - a bit too early to be naming World teams. The stand outs on the team are definitely veteran Elsa Garcia and Alexa Moreno. Elsa was last seen last summer when she won the silver medal at the Universiade Games in Kazan on the floor apparatus. Alexa Moreno is a even finalist on floor back in 2011 and performed well at the Universiade but did not take home a medal.

It shall be interesting to see if any of these ladies have improved their difficulty levels to challenge for medals. The team is not a medal contender but rather a team that is working with veterans and new additions. In all honesty the team is a good ten to twenty years from becoming a competitive team if the organization gets its things together. In previous years fighting between the coaches and decisions on representatives have caused uproars.

Gymnastics News: Yao Jinnan Bars Routine

Yao Jinnan has been the gymnast who has been training more uneven bars routines since the 2012 Olympics. As many Olympic viewers may remember she finished fourth during the uneven bars finals due to a low D-score. Last year she was dead set on learning the Mo salto, a very dangerous bars release that is highly rated, which is named the Gaylord in the men's field. It's a really nice move to see but ends in a dead swing and is just very dangerous. That experiment didn't last long as she fell a few times trying to perform it and ultimately dropped it from her exercises.

Pak Salto picture via Examiner

This year she has had two sets, one with very complex combinations that add releases on top of releases. I saw her performing it in an empty arena - apparently Chinese fans aren't really interested in seeing B events or they do it in closed arenas. Either way she has dropped that routine again and has dropped a new routine on us.

Yao's new routine involves easier combinations and has cleaner lines - I would go out on a limb and say it will be the one that she does at the Olympics. The opening set is that which I said would be Viktoria Komova's first set, Komova II to Pak Salto to Chow with a half turn. That combination has two E elements, a D element and four tenths of combination bonuses. Then she performs four pirouettes and a release in combination. Dismounting with a full-twisting double back in a layout position - rated an F.

That performance is a very complicated uneven bars set but will ultimately get a lot of deductions because judges are very strict on pirouettes. She will also be performing nine elements meaning that the judges can find more deductions than not. That is the risk that a gymnast takes when they want a higher D-score from combining elements. The bars set is clearly a 7.0 D-score meriting routine but will be worthy of a Gold medal at the Olympics - only time will tell.

Via Gymnastics Coaching

Gymnastics News: Injury Update

Sam Oldham, British team member and 2012 bronze medalist, suffered a bad injury while performing at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Sam was attempting a new vault, a Dragulescu - it is a handspring double font vault with a half turn out. The vault is a favorite of the Ukrainian men's national team, specifically performed by Oleg Verniaiev and Igor Radivilov.

It is one of those vaults that really requires a lot of air to complete that last half turn or else you could snap your ankles back. At the 2014 European Championships, I believed that Oleg Verniaiev would for sure injure himself on that vault. He was heavily taped and it was very scary to watch. Luckily for Oleg he ran extremely fast giving him bigger air. I think that the FIG needs to downgrade the vault to discourage men who shouldn't be performing from attempting it.

Sam Oldham performed the vault and from eyewitness reports landed it but shortly afterwards fell to the floor in pain. It is like that Kerry Stroug moment in 1996. The news coming out is that he has torn some ligaments and his chances of competing at the World Championships are in serious doubts. His scores aren't impressive but he fills in at spots where the British team is weak.

I won't really talk about Men's gymnastics all that often but I do want to leave my opinion on the matter of this injury. It is in my opinion that the Great Britain team, in their attempt to catch up to the two top teams, the Chinese and Japanese, are pushing new skills without fully preparing them. The team only recently lost their gold medal at the Euros to the Russians and know they need higher D-scores if they plan on medaling. I would like to end on this note, Max Whitlock was training the triple twisting yurchenko for over a year before he performed it in competition. I have serious doubts that Sam prepared it for that long.

Video below is of Oleg Verniaiev - he looks like he's in pain after performing the vault. First picture is from Gymnastics Coaching and the second one is from Cambridge News.

Russian gymnasts have too many athletes injured and/or recovering from injuries, surgeries, etc. The latest news coming out of Lake Krugloye (Round Lake) is that Viktoria Komova is back to training beam, previously was only training uneven bars. She had a surgery, not required but recommended, on a problematic ankle that was continuously getting aggravated. Let's hope for the best because Vika needs to be performing her lovely gymnastics. Rewriting Russian Gymnastics has an fully translated interview for those that are interested here.

Gymnasts like Aliya Mustafina and Anastasia Grishina are back in training - the latter only at her home gym. It is really unlikely that Grishina will be going to the World's for political reasons while Mustafina has a bye from Russian Cup. With the emergence of new bars workers Grishina is being pushed and will need to have a good beam and floor set to challenge for a spot.

Video of Grishina's injury - she looked like she had enough air and great form but probably didn't have enough air. 

Evgeniya Shelgunova and Emin Garibov are both still out of training due to surgeries and/or injuries. It is quite sad not to see Evgeniya as she has only been a senior for about a year and a half now and has been injured for about half of that time. She was rumored to have been training an amanar before her injury. Coincidentally both are said to have shoulder issues, Emin for sure but she possibly.

US Gymnasts seem to be all good with the exception of McKayla Maroney and Bailie Key. Maroney opted for a surgery that would clear her for an Olympic run. I would classify her move as similar to Komova's but more necessary than not. Bailie Key is recovering from a mysterious minor surgery. The information being filtered out is shady at best. It is like news on Ohashi, nothing much.

Gymnastics News: U.S. Classic 2014 | National Scoring

The unofficial start of the gymnastics season in the United States is the U.S. Classic. It is the first real tournament of the season that gathers all of the top gymnasts from the US in one competition, which features Senior and Junior gymnasts. The U.S. Classic is a yearly event sponsored by Secret, a deodorant for women - a bit on point, and almost always held in Chicago.

The big deal about this event this year is that the US gymnastics federation has altered the scoring system to award bonuses for certain things. Other countries that are notorious for having bonuses in national competitions are the Chinese. The bonus system is intended to reward gymnasts for doing certain things the federation wants being done. The one bonus that I am certain of is that they are giving a one tenth bonus for stuck landings. As many of you might know there is a big deal being made of stuck landings and team GB, Great Britain, is focusing on this one particular thing.

The scores at US national competitions were always bloated and never really expected to be achieved at international competitions. This time around the bloating has gotten even worse - I think it's to the point that the US federation is going to need to deal with it. Before the scores were believable abroad and could be taken as earned but this time they are like a rigged score. Execution scores above 9.0 in the first competition of the season aren't realistic considering that most gymnasts never even get to that point after serious training and with perfect routines.

Ashton Locklear is the perfect example of over-scoring at this tournament. Ashton was awarded with a D-score of 6.6 and an E-score of 9.1 giving her a final score of 15.70. Ashton is the unofficial champion on uneven bars this year at the US Classic beating out World's medalist Kyla Ross.

That score is very generous for a routine that is being performed for the very first time in a major competition. Let's break down the errors in the routine: there is a slight miss in completing a vertical handstand, feet come apart in the first pirouette, feet come apart in the pak salto, feet come apart in the second transition to the low bar and slight form issues on her dismount. All of the errors that I noticed could face a one tenth deduction and up to a three tenth depending on how significant they were. With that said if a gymnast has a big time name the judges are more willing to ignore some errors but Ashton is not a veteran.

I believe it is better to be harsh on gymnasts when they are starting up so that they work on errors, however minor, and perfect their form. If a gymnast is given the scores they need then they aren't going to feel motivated to improve. That is just a personal opinion and should not to be taken as fact.

To put this '15.7' routine in perspective, Daria Spiridonova performed a 6.4 D-score routine at the European Championships, which had international judges and was only able to score 15.066 for a near perfect routine. I would like to make it clear that I am not comparing a national event to an international event but rather demonstrating how far from reality the US national scoring system has gotten.

Below is a video of Ashton Locklear's uneven bars routine - can you spot the errors?
- Via GymnasticsCoaching

Daria Spiridonova's uneven bars routine from Team Final at the 2014 European Championship.