Diverse rhythmic gymnastics, exclusive elements, breathtaking routines – all of these can be fully attributed to the Sky Grace tournament, which has been held in Russia since 2021.
A distinctive feature of the tournament is its judging system, which combines old and new rules. The open scoring system has no restrictions and allows gymnasts to execute as many body difficulties as they can during their routines. The score is evaluated in accordance with the 2001-2005 regulations, when rhythmic gymnastics was far more difficult and spectacular, and the body difficulty was higher.
At the same time, elements that have been introduced in recent years and have no analogues in the past are evaluated in accordance with the new Code of Points. The rest of the scoring – apparatus difficulty, artistry and execution – is calculated according to the 2022-2024 regulations.
The inaugural tournament welcomed gymnasts representing 13 countries, including Canada, Hungary, Mexico, Croatia and even Cuba. The following year, competitors from Armenia, Guatemala, India, China and Columbia took part in the tournament for the first time.
Russia’s Lala Kramarenko was the winner of the tournament two years in a row. “The elements executed by Lala were highly rated in the past. They were named after Alina Kabaeva, Aliya Garaeva, Yana Batyrchina. But now they have lost their value. I’m enormously happy that Alina organized this tournament, I want to thank her for that. I did my best to make Lala perform programs that she is really capable of doing. This is true rhythmic gymnastics,” the head coach of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team, Irina Viner, commented.
The event is organized by the Alina Kabaeva Charity Foundation. “The main goal of the tournament is to show the possibilities and prospects for the development of rhythmic gymnastics. Modern rules, in my opinion, simplify gymnastics elements and do not allow athletes to fully reveal their talent and show what they are capable of. Unfortunately, this leads to the fact that rhythmic gymnastics ceases to astonish and delight fans,” said Olympic champion Alina Kabaeva ahead of the start of the first Sky Grace tournament.