Jordan Jovchev and Nikolina Tankusheva won the men's and women's AA respectively at a recent international invitational in Varna, Bulgaria. One of the most traditional international competitions in Europe, the meet was formerly called "Golden Sands" and has resurfaced with new sponsors and in a new arena. Jovchev, who resides in the USA, totalled 55,300 for the all-around crown, ahead of two Israelis - Pavel Gofman and Edik Golub. Fellow Bulgarian Krasimir Dunev competed four events only, scoring 8,9 on rings and vault, 8,7 on bars and a 8,8 on high bar. On the women's side, Tankusheva beat team mate Yevgenia Kuznetsova by half a point while Kuznetsova barely pulled past Viktoria Karpenko..".

At a recent dual meet against Germany in Sofia, Kuznetsova had still been unable to compete all four events. Uzbeki coach Svetlana Kuznetsova, whose gymnast Anna Ninkova placed seventh, was full of praise for the competition. "The new arena is excellent and the setting of the town is beautiful," she said, "it was the first time Anna saw the sea and she was completely in awe! Anna tried her best, but wasn't always successful, unfortunately." In addition to the competition, Kuznetsova and Ninkova spent time with the Bulgarian team at their training centre in Sofia. "The centre they have there is excellent," Kuznetsova remarked, "the apparatus is good, they have pits and trampolines. They have some very good junior girls coming up, I was also impressed with their new national champion Gergana Ivanova.

Varna International, Bulgaria

Men

1. Jordan Jovchev BUL 55,300 2. Pavel Gofman ISR 53,003 3. Edik Golub ISR 51,900 4. Filip Yanev BUL 51,550 5. Radoslav Stefnanov BUL 51,156 6. Ümüt Samiloglu TUR 50,700

Women

1. Nikolina Tankusheva BUL 35,900 2. Yevgenia Kuznetsova BUL 35,400 3. Viktoria Karpenko BUL 35,350 4. Mikael Elpida CYP 33,650 5. Helen Galashan GBR 32,100 6. Ornela Kvaka ALB 32,025 7. Anna Ninkova UZB 31,800

nora