Head judge Natalia Kukushkina told how the refereeing changed after the introduction of the new rules

At the St. Petersburg Championships, Head judge Natalia Kukushkina told how judging has changed after the introduction of new rules:

"When a completely different person arrives, seeing new children for the first time, there's, of course, no interest in this or that girl. And, naturally, it all turns out much more objectively than before. Plus, there's the new judging system. You judge everything you see according to the rules, react immediately to any mistakes, and, accordingly, the result is determined. Yes, of course, there are disagreements between judges, but when they're called on frequently, the judges always understand where they went wrong. Especially since we have a new rule now, a 0.3 discrepancy. Previously, it was half a point, now we have to get within 0.3. This is very important, because half a point, yes, is a whole element, but 0.3 is a very precise score."

The specialist also shared her impressions of the performances of the gymnasts of the Academy:

"There are so many good kids. I'm absolutely thrilled with both the Master of Sports Candidate and the first-category ones. The younger generation is simply amazing. I was very upset that Veronika Malinina withdrew. She certainly amazed us yesterday with her performances, her fouetté turns with three rotations each. Diana Kotlovskaya is also a very good girl. She's a very beautiful girl, very strong. I really liked her. I think she's a contender for the top three at the Russian Championships. I also liked Karolina Pakhtusova. She did a great job with the film. We were all absolutely thrilled with her composition. She did a fantastic job."

In the 1st athletic category, Diana Kotlovskaya won gold in the clubs and ribbon events, and silver in the hoop and ball events. Veronika Malinina took first in the hoop and ball events. In the Candidate Master of Sports program, Karolina Pakhtusova won gold in the clubs and ribbon events.