Guadalajara - L'unione fa la forza...Volate Farfalle

Final dress rehearsals. Tomorrow, the 34th edition of the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships officially kicks off. This afternoon, at 2:42 PM, juniors Anna Paola Cantatore, Eva Swahili Gherardi, Talisa Torretti, and Sofia Raffaeli practiced their respective routines, two each, under the watchful eye of their coaches and Emanuela Maccarani. Then, at 4:07 PM, it was the team's turn. Alessia Maurelli and her teammates took to the floor with more determination than ever, so much so that one hoop even broke. At 8:42 PM, it was the turn of the senior individual athletes, Milena Baldassarri and Alexandra Agiurgiuculese, who, having just arrived in Spain, immediately threw themselves into the fray. The tournament begins tomorrow at 12:50 PM with the second division of the youth tournament. The Butterflies will make their debut at around 7.10 pm at the 5 rings, with the number 10 on their bib, between Finland and Hungary, after important rivals such as Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Azerbaijan. “The podium performance was good,” declared the National Technical Director of small apparatus. “The juniors did everything without any losses. Maybe a few inaccuracies, but that’s okay. I liked the attitude with which they faced the European platform. Confident but not cocky, and above all focused. Which is not at all a given, given their young age. The team performed excellently, except for a mistake on the hoops that broke the apparatus. I would put my trust in them if they repeated today’s exercises correctly during the competition. We knew the Pabellon Multiusos in Guadalajara; we were there at the beginning of the month, for the World Cup. I must say it’s not a comfortable facility. Too much light due to the glass ceiling. In the hoops competitions, so fast-paced, one after the other, if the trajectory of the throw isn’t perfect, the gymnast struggles to see the apparatus. In addition to the visual aspect, there’s also an acoustic problem. The music reverberates off the walls of the hall. Cement. However, the Spanish organizers are giving it their all, and I must say that the rest is working. Compared to last year, in the single apparatus composition, we kept the music but enriched the choreography based on the new scoring code. The D3 value, the apparatus difficulty, is very high. If the gymnasts can hold their hoops, they can achieve a very high score. I also remember that we had to replace the injured Beatrice Tornatore with Letizia Cicconcelli. She in turn will make way for Anna Basta in Ropes and Balls. We completely revamped the latter, trying to raise the difficulty by seven tenths. I truly hope the girls do their part, because a small mistake can ruin the frantic search for a more difficult composition. I can say that this has finally become a real team. At the 2017 World Championships, I had a talented and charismatic group. Now, however, we have achieved that unity of spirit and technical harmony that can make us fly. Along with a greater awareness of our own abilities. For me It will be my first time at a European Championship as a DTN. Behind the Italian Rhythmic Gymnastics movement is a great team effort that begins within the clubs and reaches all the way up to the national team. I can bring my experience, but in the end, what matters is the platform! © Volare.Tv