"We prepared very responsibly!" Coach Evgenia Eliseeva talks about preparing for the Sky Grace Cup

Academy coach Evgenia Eliseeva shared how the preparation for the all-Russian Sky Grace Cup tournament went.

"The strongest gymnasts have come to the Cup and we therefore were preparing very responsibly. Alina Kabaeva provided great help to us. She came to our workouts. We were sitting and working until midnight, making revisions in programs, inventing some interesting transitions, elements, trying to make them more complex. She helped girls a lot with the artistry, so that it is of high quality, interesting, at a high level. Many remembered us. Everybody said that we stood out – it’s very nice. It’s a balm for the soul that such common work was not for nothing," Evgenia said.

The coach assessed the competition at the tournament.

"We always look at each other at competitions, learning something and, certainly, the Russian national team came, very strong girls from Moscow; there are always things to learn and they have very strong programs, and certainly we will work and progress. The results nevertheless are very good overall," the judge said.

Then, Evgenia Eliseeva shared her immediate plans.

"In addition to Ksyusha, I will also work with Karolina Tarasova. I will lead her, train, and we will strive to learn some new elements. We want to change the programs and we will therefore work now on new choreographing and prepare for the new competition," she said.

Ksenia Savinova from Gatchina, an Academy student and a student of Evgenia Eliseeva, took second place in the all-around according to the Master of Sports candidate program at the all-Russian Sky Grace Cup competition. She will take part in the international tournament according to the International Sky Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Clubs Association rules.