A new date for the Nationals?

It is really sad that the Nationals had to be postoponed thanks to the outbreak of H1N1 in sister country Argentina (and consequently in Brazil as well). As if the outbreak had not caused enough harm to the competition, Jade Barbosa is uncertain if she will compete or not and both Laís Souza and Daiane dos Santos stated that they are not going to take part in this competition... or any other competition this year.

At least CBG now has a much easier time in choosing what girls are going to the World Championships in London. Barring injury, the selected girls will probably be Ana Claudia Silva, Ehtiene Franco, Khiuane Dias and Bruna Leal. Priscila Cobello has a very slight chance of taking one spot, but I doubt so. Maybe she will be an alternate.

Too bad Janaína Silva, Nadhine Ourives, Letícia Costa and Nicole Beltrame are not old enough to compete this year. Speaking about Letícia Costa, newspaper O Globo (one of the most important newspapers in Brazil) featured a front page article about her. Letícia is being called a "diamond in need of lapidation", which is quite surprising. Her coach said that he is going to ask her to do her best and then some. She is only 14 years old and she is probably going to be the chosen Brazilian girl to take part in the Youth Olympics next year.

Also, there are some rumors that the Nationals have been rescheduled to November 27-29. CBG has made no official announcements so far, so it is safer to take these rumours with a grain of salt.

As a final note, the Brazilian Group in Rhythmics placed 19th at the Kiev World Cup Series. A very, very disappointing (and alarming) result for the group. I hope the girls can pull themselves together and achieve better results in future competitions.

CBG decides to postpone the Nationals

Sad news. CGB has decided that there is no guarantee of safety for the athletes in Porto Alegre thanks to the massive outbreak of swine flu in Argentina. Since Porto Alegre is geographically close to Argentina, CBG has decided to delay the Nationals to an indefinite date, or at least "as soon as the environment becomes safe for gathering the Big Brazilian Gymnastics Family" (corny, but that is how CBG is).

At least the delay gives more time to Daiane and Jade to recover. While Jade is slowly recovering from her hand injury, Daiane is recovering from a recent surgery on her knee. She is currently in the process of choosing a new music for her floor routine. Rumors are that Daiane is currently considering the Indian music Chori Chori Hum Gori Se for the routine. Also, in a recent interview for a TV show, she said that she is also considering including the Dos Santos I (double arabian pike) in her routine.