Russia’s Honored Coach Inna Bystrova discussed the formation of the Russian National team in group exercises:
"It's based on athletic principles. Our Russian Championship, first place went to the team from the Alina Kabaeva Sky Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy, second place went to the Zhemchuzhina team from St. Petersburg. Third place went to the team from the Federation constituent entities. And further plans for the gymnasts' performances were already being made based on this. Actually, our team, which took first place, the Alina Kabaeva Sky Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy, wasn't allowed to compete and hadn't yet received neutral status. But another team received neutral status, and they competed at the first international tournament in Sofia."
The specialist also revealed details about working with our gymnasts at the training camp in Baku:
"You know, I didn't mainly point out technical errors, because they're already quite trained and have a very good command of the apparatus and their bodies. More often, I made comments about the nature of the movement's execution, because the music is complicated, it needs to be expressed not only through the movement but also through emotion. We mainly worked on that, and I think the result is good."
Inna Valentinovna assessed the level of training of the Russian national team in group exercises and its performance at the European Cup:
"I'll say their level of training is high. And I'll emphasize again that this applies to choreographic preparation, because not a single team can perform very complicated elements, such as a split jump. Our gymnasts, however, perform all the elements very well, without any apparatus. And, of course, the apparatus, and a very difficult exercise. Our girls performed very well. They took first place in the hoop and clubs routines. And then the next day, they had a show battle. They paired with Italy, won that battle, and took third place. There were a few nuances that I didn't quite understand.B ecause in the battle, our girls did the second exercise perfectly, better than on the first day. But for some reason, they received a lower score. And, of course, the appearance of the Russian gymnasts. They are unique, these girls. They haven't been together that long. I think they have great potential. They're certainly doing well to beat the senior gymnasts. They can do even better. They need experience. But even without that experience, they're showing such results. I think this team is unrivaled today, because, I repeat, their preparation is remarkable and they're not just stagnating, they're moving forward and upward."