The Averina's Have Arrived

It was supposed to be Sasha's year but so far the Averina's are snatching the limelight. Both sisters have been preparing their routines since spring 2016 and the conclusion of the AA saw them both finish on the podium with a resigned Sasha Soldatova in the silver medal position. Shumilova (Sasha's coach) never knows when to back off so we always see her piling it on Sasha after a terrible performance and in addition to this recorded footage I feel terrible for Soldatova:

           

There's never justification for what we witnessed between them but a silver medal shouldn't have warranted Viner's wrath like that (not that she has the temperament to see it that way). Someone she was ecstatic over was Dina, who had the most successful domestic competition of any Russian ever, with judges seemingly laboring NOT to give her anything less than a nineteen. She also won four out of five of her finals. I knew the moment would arrive when people would turn against both sisters for witnessing a future we all knew was coming. That the Averina's should excel is not surprising: the girls are so suited for this CoP I'm beginning to wonder if their mother wrote it for the FIG. They're both stable in pivots, excellent with difficult traps, quickfire with exchanges/connections and accurate in their handling. But as the scores were published the choir started up about how unworthy they were (I'll get to the scoring in a minute). I think some people are so desperate for Soldy to be the new Prima that they'll attempt to detract from anyone else no matter what she does. In my opinion, Sasha could've won the AA- just as she could've been in the lead after Day 1- but she failed on both counts. And while the Averina's have less international experience than she does, they are innately equipped with talents it's taken years for Sasha to do moderately well (keep in mind Soldatova had a lousy training foundation that might be too late to correct). The Averina's haven't convinced me they're unbeatable but Sasha cannot afford to doubt herself so much when she's up against either girl because they're presenting more difficulty than her. 

Viner's new favorite

Dina had a stellar Day 1, earning a 19.3 for an amazing ball routine characterized by great speed and masteries galore. I'd like to see her ball flow better, there were some moments that showcased a lack of dexterity, even though she still managed to control the apparatus. Her hoop routine, a Swan Lake variation, was flawless with the exception of one staggered leap (18.75). On Day 2, unfazed by the publicity and pressure, she scored a 19.6 (!) for her clubs routine and a 18.45 for ribbon. She was soooo overscored on clubs it's crazy. Yes she's amazing and clubs is the best apparatus for those who excel with masteries but, c'mon judges, she had neither the emotional range of Rita or the technical perfection of Yana yet is matching and outscoring both?!? She's super awesome but I better not see scores like this again until it's merited, and that means better flow, less mechanical presentation, and no static use of the carpet space.

Arina had a good competition as well, not as glorious as Dina's but she's a serious threat for the throne and people will see that more clearly when she masters her routines. I'm honestly laughing that some people think Dina is leagues and bounds better than her twin. She's not. I don't know if these are new fans or what but Arina has been the more consistent of the two since last year. She beat her at last year's GP Moscow (where Dina didn't even place) and GP Bucharest and won a slew of individual apparatus finals against her. Dina also beat Arina in AA at notable competitions (including '16 Nationals) but that's the way it goes between them. This is truly the first time I've seen such a gap between their all-around scores, but we must factor in the huge mistakes Arina made and the overscoring Dina got on two events. If both go clean and are being scored fairly they should almost tie each other, and that's something their personal coach believes as well. As for how Arina's weekend went, well she had a clubs malfunction during her trap, and a hoop drop right at the beginning of that routine so she had a lot of ground to cover for those mistakes. Her best AA event was ball where she scored an 18.6 for a pretty good routine marred by a run after the ball on an erratic throw. But I can forgive that error because the triple ring that followed it was just...was just the stuff dreams are made of. Since she had mistakes on two events she wasn't going to have a lot of event finals to attend but she improved dramatically with the ribbon, scoring 17.8 in the AA and 18.450 in EF's just a tenth behind her sister (see?). I've slightly favored Arina since last year because she has more spark when performing even though both girls are robots. I dunno, I just think Arina at least tries to get into character and my eye follows her more than when I'm watching her sister. One other thing I have to ponder is when she's going to get her own uniforms because I'm tired of seeing her (and Dina) in leotards made infamous by other people. Overall, a great meet for her, and even though home-scoring helped her too, third place against such a dynamic field is objectively an impressive start to the season, and I will fight anyone who says she's not as good as Dina. 

After every Olympics, tradition dictates that the ranking of each girl moves up in accordance with Olympic retirements. That meant Soldatova was the new it-girl after Rio, because even if Rita and Yana stayed most people believed their best years were behind them (RG is a cruel world folks) and so it was Sasha's turn for World podiums. Yep, that's exactly what we thought after London too when everyone was crooning about Rita Mamun and a diminutive little blonde had other plans. It's basically happening again where everyone expects the proclaimed one to be the Queen while not making allowances for other girls. I don't think Soldatova is a vain person but when everyone's telling you you're the new #1 it can get into your head that you have nothing to worry about. She did well last week exhibiting at Moscow Champs and had a good Day 1 at GP Moscow so the fact that her worst mistakes came on Day 2 hints at her mental game being thrown off by a surprise contender. On the other hand...I blame her coach for some of her mistakes because bad routine composition can break even the best gymnast and that needs to be corrected. Sasha is playing it safe this year which is annoying but I could tell that was her strategy when I saw her hoop and ball last week and only a measly side balance was added. But let me be objective for a moment: what does she gain by playing safe? Well, if I think about it, Sasha gets her difficulty from body elements and with 3 years of seniority already behind her can she risk her health so early in the quad by ramping up her tremendously back breaking skills? She never expected the Averina's to challenge her so when you think about her long term safety (because she is hyperextended in all her joints) we should be pleased she's trying to not have a Kudryavtseva moment by the Tokyo year.  

When they say you're only as good as your last routine they must be talking about RG because these fans have the gravest case of selective amnesia. The same thing occurred with Kudry when she finally debuted in 2016; if she had a good competition, the queen was back, if she bombed, "she lost her spark, she's boring, she doesn't care about rhythmic anymore." Just one week ago- not even a a full seven days in fact- Sasha was impressing everyone at Moscow Champs and cries of 'the Queen!' were echoed all over the gymternet. Then she happens to have one so-so meet at the beginning of the season which still resulted in an AA silver medal and suddenly she's yesterday's news, not that exciting, not strong enough to win, could never compete under this code, etc. So if she could never compete under this code why were we saying Yana and Rita had no chance against her if they continued? 

Sasha had a good EF run but she didn't appear happy and was missing her usual spark. I have a feeling music changes are coming to her program; I predict they'll keep ball because she's familiar with playing the swan, change ribbon and clubs definitely, and she'll have to fight for her hoop music the way Rita fought for her rock n' roll clubs routine. If they do change the music I'd be fine with that; as much as I love Rachmaninoff it's clear the music is too intense for her and she neither enjoys nor expresses it well. Team Soldy fans will be pleased to see a 19.6 grace her name after the ball final, but that score is just as crazy as the 19's Dina's been receiving. I'm not even considering the time of year- Kudry scored a 19.5 at 2013 Euros so it has nothing to do with the earliness of the season. Quite simply, these routines aren't there yet and there's too much influence directing these "professional" judges. 

There is another matter I want to bring up and that's the new scoring system. More judges have been added to the panel (no idea how many) and half of them will score the apparatus difficulty and dance steps, the other half will do the body elements and risks. RG never used a score sheet in the 1990's but I'm not certain if it was set up this way. I'm worried because I see potential problems and, home-scoring aside, I MIGHT know why Dina's scores are so high. There are no limits on masteries and the judges are counting what they perform. Remember that documentary called "Winner Takes It All" where Viner chuckled that judges admitted to not understanding what the girls were doing because they were moving so fast? Okay, think about this: if the Averina's are best with masteries and risks and Sasha is better with body difficulty (specifically the penche turns) which type of gymnastics is more likely to throw the judges off? In other words, could the judges be overcompensating what they see Dina doing? We all know how many pivots Soldatova can do by sight, but without slow motion videos to point out the intricacies of the Averinas' workmanship a lot gets lost in the speed of their movement. Masteries are harder to judge than body elements so inaccuracy might be a result of 19+ scoring when there's no scoresheet to tell you what to look for. Then again, look how lowly they are scoring Agiurgiuculese, who has similar risks to the Averina's but lacks status. She completes her backscale pivots and is so clean on everything but doesn't have a coach like Viner to teach the judges how difficult her routine is, apparently. 

To wrap things up, even while I'm happy for my babies, the Averina's, they require a lot of growth artistically and even technically before 19+ scoring is justified. And while getting rid of the kitsch is too much to ask for I'd like to see more stylish presentation. I also want Sasha to succeed and believe that if she's not emotionally abused when she gets back to Novogorsk she will have the confidence to do her best next time. I certainly don't think we can write her off and how silly would that be honestly? Prematurely ending her career is just as foolish as when we prematurely elevated it to be the de facto #1. I need to see more international comps to know what a good routine should score because one thing's for certain, we cannot trust GP Moscow lol. I'm also seeing a lot of negativity towards the Averina's on Facebook in particular (and some private chat boards) so try to remember that these girls are just like Yana and Rita- they are competitors on the carpet but friends when it matters. The Averina's have supported Sasha for years and if she can't be happy for them now then that's a blemish on her character not theirs. Luckily, we all know Sasha is a cinnamon roll as pictures below highlight. Fans should be a gracious as their idols.