Ukrainian Cup 2000

When there are lots of medallists it is good

Three days lasted the holiday of beauty, grace and flexibility on the sports arena in Donetsk. It was Ukrainian Cup, devoted to the memory of the famous USSR coach Valentina Zinchenko. For seniors this competition was the last in the Olimpic year.

More than 150 gymnasts from almost all regions of Ukraine came to Donetsk. Among them were leaders of the National Team - Tamara Yerofeeva, Anna Bessonova, Natalia Godunko and Olga Andreyeva. On the opening ceremony of the competition the participants and audience heard kind words from the head of Donetsk, main coach of Ukrainian Team Albina Nikolayevna Deruigina.

And now about the competitions. It was sure that the "war" for the senior all-round gold will be between Anna Bessonova and Tamara Yerofeeva. On Each performance of this gymnasts, spectators were clapping and crying. It was very hard to solve who's better. Judges couldn't solve too and as a result Anya and Tamara got the same score and both got the first place

In the final apparatus all was the same. Yerofeeva and Bessonova won all 4 finals and in each they were getting 10,000. Those scores can't be considered to be good sides of the competition. That such scores turn the competition from sport into circus, was told for many times. Especially when "10th" are given to gymnasts on the National competitions. Showing such generous, judges like say to the sportsman : "That's all, you are ideal". But there is no ideal on this word, as all know. So we hope that from the next season, when the new Code comes (and the specialists think that new rules are much more interesting), the ideal score will be only the hope of all the gymnasts.

Well, when two sportsman get the same place with the same score isn't very rare. Each fan knows, if 2 gymnasts take gold, no one receive silver - sportsman, who showed the next score, gets the bronze. But in Donetsk they gave also presents for the gymnasts, who took 4th place (in fact they had 3rd result). Besides, special presents got the best gymnast of each region, the youngest participant of the competition (it was Anna Gaynova from Zaporozhiye) and the most elegant (this title got Maria Zamihovska from Kir.

If you see the results, you'll see that all the main places got gymnasts from Deruigins School and only with ribbon fourth place got Olena Dzoubchuk from Gratsia, coached by Ljubov Serebrianskaya

Roza Tutova (main judge of the tournament): - It was a great competition with the usual "war:" between Deruigins School and Crimean school of Ljubov Serebrianskaya. Our leaders showed that they are real masters. Among the juniors, good expression left Kiev girls Yulia Brill, Victoria Kozhanova and also an Lviv gymnast Elena Voyscheva, who has been training in Deruigins School since not a long time. I also like Donetsk's junior Luda Vorobiyova. All those girls will prepare to the junior European Championships

Albina Deruigina (main coach of Ukrainian National Team, president of the FGU): - After the Olimpics, lots of new gymnasts came. From competition to competition adds 15 years old Vira Podlesnyak, good expression left Crimean gymnasts. This tournaments was organized very good. It is very symbolizing that it was devoted to the memory of one of the first coaches in Ukrainian RSG, my personal coach Valentina Saveliyevna Zinchenko.

- Can you say that Yerofeeva and Bessonova are already on the same level as Vitrichenko?

- You know, we can't compare gymnasts in our sport. Each gymnast has its own character and style. Lena Vitrichenko worked very hard, we are proud of her. But time comes and each gymnast has to retire. It is wonderful that we have good gymnasts to go after her. I hope that in the next season, Yerofeeva and Bessonova will become the leaders of world rhythmics.. And after them, there are gymnasts, who, like people say, are breathing near them.

- Gymnasts of your school won all the possible medals in Donetsk. Do you have any rivals?

- There are really great Rhythmic Gymnastics traditions in Ukrainian. For example, in Odessa was prepared a very interesting gymnast - Anastasia Zhuvaka. As all know, Simferopol's Gratsia is very great rival for us. Nikolayev's RSG school are progressing fast. but Deruigins School was a CENTER. We have a system of working and preparing gymnasts, which was worked our on lots of gymnasts. How many Olimpic, European and World Champion passed through our hands! Almost in all RSG schools, on the program "master of the sport" are training 5-6 gymnasts, and we have 30!.