What I think of the new World Cup Series

So as most gymnastics fans know, the FIG made some changes to the World Cup Circuit. Their are two type A World Cups, for the all around and event finals, and then type B World Cups, Challenger Cups, that are welcome to every gymnast. For the type A all around World Cups, the top eight gymnasts from the prior World Championships will come together and compete with each other, to see what progress there competitors have been making. If an athlete drops out, then the next placing gymnast will take there place. Their will be four of these competitions, they will be in Jacksonville, Florida, Glasgow, Great Britain, Stuttgart, Germany, and Tokyo, Japan. Then their are the event finals type A World Cups. It is extremely similar to the other type A World Cup. Their will be the eight finalists from the prior World Championships on that event, plus the top four highest placing gymnasts from the previous years World Cups. Obviously a gymnast cannot replace one of the top eight finalists, but if one of the four World Cup gymnasts pulls out, then the next placing gymnast will replace them, and so on. Their are two of these World Cups. They are going to be in Paris, France, and Moscow, Russia. Then their are the regular World Cups, that are now called type B World Cups, or Challenger Cups.

Here is the calender for the 2011 World Cup Series

March-
Type A American Cup Jacksonville, Florida: March 5, 2011
Type B Challenger Cup Cottbus, Germany: March 11-13, 2011
Type A World Cup Paris, France: March 19-20, 2011
Type B Challenger Cup Doha, Qatar: March 30- April 1, 2011

April-
Type A Glasgow Grand Prix, Great Britain: April 16, 2011

May-
Type A Moscow World Cup, Russia: May 13-14, 2011

September-
Type B Challenger Cup Ghent, Belgium: unsure of date
Type B Challenger Cup Maribor, Slovenia: unsure of date

November-
Type A World Cup Stuttgart, Germany: November 12-13, 2011
Type A World Cup Tokyo, Japan: November 26-27, 2011
Type B Challenger Cup Osijek, Croatia: unsure of date
Type B Challenger Cup Ostrava, Czech Republic: unsure of date

I personally think that the FIG made a good decision about changing the World Cup Series. This gives the gymnasts and the fans a chance to see how the gymnasts are comparing with each other before the World Championships come October. But it still gives you the opportunity to see the still great athletes that we wouldn't normally see at a major competitions either because of where they are from, or they are over shadowed by the extremely popular gymnasts. This is why I like the new World Cup Series.

If you click below, you can see a montage of the 2010 World Cup Circuit winners!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tzRssh_fwI