Tokyo Women's College of Physical Education (two time winner of group apparatus finals)

On the final day, the Individual Apparatus Finals and Group apparatus Finals were held.

On hoop, some new gymnasts, such as Ayumi Higashikawa (Machida RG), Mao Kawaguchi (Fujimura Girl's High-School), and Mai Hidaka (Adachi RG Club) appeared. Hidaka won fifth place in the all-around final with 21.550. She has very strong heart and if she could fix her bodyline and put more apparatus movement in her performance, she would be an interesting gymnast.

Yokochi, won second place in the all-around final. She threw her ball a little bit too high; it looked like a mistake, but she was stable on the whole and her score was 23.975.

Murata, the winner of the all-around final, performed very powerfully and received 26.275.

Nakamura, who won the third place in the all-around final, showed her difficulties correctly, but she missed catching the hoop under her legs with a jump so her score was 22.900.

Murata won the hoop competition.

On ball, Mimi Inoue (Hikosen RG) appeared. She has a sense of showing difficulty beautifully and correctly, but she missed catching the ball under her legs with a jump just as Nakamura had missed in hoop competition. She has a flexible body so she will be an interesting gymnast.

Sae Takahashi (Tokyo Women's College of Physical Education) was unstable with her difficulty. Her jump difficulties, Cossack and Ring Jumps, were not performed correctly so she got 20.250. But she can perform elegantly and has a great sense of expression with music so she should practice more difficulty .

Yokochi missed a catch and lost her balance with slow-turn difficulty, so her score was 24.075.

Nakamura showed high level difficulty correctly, but her score was 23.525.

Murata showed an excellent Fouetté Pivot , and performed a very high and wide Jutés Jump with a turn, so she got 25.625.

Murata won the ball too.

On clubs, Nakamura showed as stable a performance as she had on ball. She performed each difficulty correctly and she kept her concentration until the end, so she scored 23.750.

Hayashi, won fourth place in the all-around final, and will certainly learn to perform her difficulties correctly. She is especially strong when she performs MG with her legs high up. She did her difficulties correctly one by one, so she got 22.975.

Yokochi showed varied apparatus movement with music, but she lost control when she threw two clubs at the same time, so it seems that she was hurried to perform a little bit. She received 23.050.

Murata missed catching her club with MG. Her club went out of the area. She missed more catches and her lack of difficulty combined with her mistakes brought her score down to 23.025.

Nakamura won on clubs.

On ribbon, Yuria Onuki (Woman's RG Club) appeared. She missed a catch and performed incorrect difficulty, so her score was 18.400. She is well known for her jumps and flexibility, so if she practices more she could be a wonderful gymnast.

Yokochi had an excellent performance just as she had on clubs in the all-around final. Her connections between SV and difficulty are very difficult to do; but she showed the best match between music and movement. Her score was 23.450.

Murata didn't repeat her mistake with clubs and showed good concentration until the end, so her score was 24.700. Nakamura's ribbon routine faltered, but her difficulty was good and she did a nearly perfect routine which scored 23.475.

Murata won on ribbon.

As a result, Murata won every event except clubs.

The Olympic Games Trials will be next April and Murata is ready for it. How can the other gymnasts, Yokochi, Nakamura, Hayashi, put up a last spurt ?

Yokochi has a wonderful apparatus handling technique so she could get evaluated highly in AV, but she still has a 1 point difference from Murata. Nakamura has a flexible body so she could get a strong TV, but she also has 1 point difference from Murata. Hayashi passed the 22.000 point level in this competition. Under the current Code of Points, the gymnast will get 0.5 reduction in TV if the difference between the value point of the element she actually performed and that of the element which is indicated in the form, which was submitted prior to the competition, is 1.50 points or more. She had 0.5 reduction in TV on each event in this championships, so she will not be deducted and will reach at 23.0 if she downgrades the value.

For the current Code of Points, gymnasts perform exactly the same routine as they indicate in the form which is submitted prior to the competition, so the gymnasts must consider well which difficulty to choose and how to do that difficulty. That will be the next task for all. The difference between Murata and the others was obvious in this championships. Without seeing the form that they submitted, their routines seemed on the same level as Murata's, but the scores were 1.0 different in each TV and AV and that difference of score became 2.0 or more in total. How will they close this gap?

Murata's Comment

"I did better than yesterday with ribbon, but I made a big mistake on clubs. I thought that I could catch my club with MG, so I already started to bend my back, but I didn't see the apparatus at the end. That was why I missed my catch. This was my weak point. This competition was my last competition as a college student, so my friends came to support me during practice. I felt that more people supported me than usual, so when I met my friends, I was grateful to them. I will graduate from college but I hope I can continue practice under the same coaches. I've not decided how to stay at the college, but I will continue doing my best."

Nakamura's Comment

"I wanted to perform very well because it was my last competition, but on the other hand, I was tense. I always have to take a lot of time on clubs, which is my weakest apparatus. So I practiced a lot and the result is that I did very well, I think. But I did better routines several times in practice, so I think I should practice more. If I am aiming for the Olympic Games, I must change my concentration first. And I'm not skillful. I'm weak with the technical aspect of the apparatus so my bonus points for AV are very low. I would like to add more points for technical aspect of apparatus; then I could get a high score. My experience in the World Championships made me stronger mentally and my passion for RG became stronger, so I would like to continue to perform RG as long as possible."

Tokyo Women's College of Physical Education was the victor of both apparatus, 5 Ribbons and 3 Hoops & 2 Balls. They tangled their ribbons on 5 Ribbons and they missed a throw and catch several times on 3 Hoops & 2 Balls, but they didn't lose their heads. They have beautiful movement, interpretation and expression to music, and are brisk and smooth; their performance was wonderful.

Saga Girl's High School could perform difficult technique and movement of apparatus and their composition was interesting. Usually, they themselves compose their routines, but their technique and movement of apparatus are very modern and creative. Mystere RG charmed the audience with their performance.

Onoda, a coach of T.W.C.P.E, comments

"They had the most concentration during a competition this year. They were confident today. They had a good tension in the All-around Final, but they were in a hurry which caused their mistake in the Apparatus Finals. But I'm proud of them because they have continued to keep their body-style and condition. They tried hard. I think that is why they could continue to perform until today because they really love RG, but I really praise their effort. They have left behind something great.

I will make a new team because most of the gymnasts in this team will graduate. The new team will start from selection of the gymnasts. I would like to coach to develop their technique and physical strength, and I would like to aim for the world."

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