The 2020 Russian Championships were due to take place in March (for WAG) and April (for MAG) and serve as trials for the respective European Championships. Some of the WAG competitors even arrived in Penza a few days before the scheduled competition but in the end, the federation announced they were postponing the championships until October. The Russian Cup that was scheduled for July 2020 was still in the schedule, though.
Today, Valentina Rodionenko has announced to the media that the 2020 Russian Championships are now canceled while the Russian Cup will be postponed until November or December:
“This year, the Russian Championships won’t happen. The best case scenario is that it will take place in 2021. We plan on holding it in March. People need to train for at least half a year in order to be ready for this competition and get back in shape. We still don’t know when the gyms will be open around Russia.”
“The Russian Cup cannot take place in June-July. We said right away that it would not be possible because the gymnasts are not training. As a result, the Russian Cup has been postponed tentatively until November-December. But right now, no one can tell you the dates, we are waiting for the decision of the European Federation. They are promising to hold the European Championships at the end of the year. I think it will be known after the 11th of May. After we get the dates of the European Championships, we will decide on the dates for the Russian Cup.”
Rodionenko welcomed the idea of postponing and not outright canceling the European Championships, although she said it might not be desirable to hold the Junior Euros that were supposed to take place at the same time:
“It’s very important for the athletes to have at least one big competition at the end of the year. In the middle of May, it should be clearer what will be the competition format. We don’t yet know whether the junior competition that was in the program of the European Championships in the spring will also take place. It would make more sense not to bother the young ones for now because all the gymnastics schools were closed because of the coronavirus.”
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