And just prior to World Championships in his home country.
… On July 13th he revealed that he used cocaine three days before the Dutch championships in Rotterdam. Van Gelder said he very much regrets his “lapse” and called himself “incredibly stupid”. He has since had to return his national championship gold medal, and has been suspended by the Dutch Gymnastics Union. He will also very likely be fired from his job at the Dutch military, as they have a ‘zero tolerance’ drugs policy. …
Gymnastics is life and the rest is just spare time.
You have never heard of the words whining and wimps.
You sit in a straddle when you are watching TV.
You have more blisters on your hands from bar than holes in Swiss cheese!
Karla Singh posted this photo on Facebook
People mistake you for a rubber band.
Your bed is a trampoline.
You use chalk more often than soap.
You’re short enough to model for trophies.
Your friends are at the mall looking at the newest fashions, when you’re looking at leotards.
Your hands have more blisters than knuckles.
You come home with more chalk on you than on a chalkboard.
You point you toes during pull ups for gym class.
You dance down the hallway instead of walk.
Your floor routine music is your favourite song.
You know most vaults aren’t in the bank.
Practice makes perfect isn’t just a saying, but a way of life.
All your friends are eating dinner while you are at practice.
You do pirouettes while waiting in line.
You do handstands everywhere.
You compete calmly before crowds yet suffers anxiety during school tests.
You have the ability to balance your body on a narrow beam yet cannot bend over to pick up the clothes off of the floor of you room.
You have bigger muscles than all the boys in school.
You promise to never stop gymnastics…. like an energizer bunny that just keeps going.
You go to school and take the chalk home from the chalkboard.
Beam is super fat, and definitely easy!
He is posting about 3 times a week in a series called Andy’s Angle.
Andy is an original thinker, always insightful.
For example, here’s a sample post he calls China’s Newest Star
If you haven’t met the world’s newest all-around threat on the women’s side, allow me to introduce you! Huang Quishuang won the silver at the recent Chinese Nationals in May behind He Ning (Jiang Yuyuan had a disastrous UB routine and BB dismount). Although He Ning outscored Huang by .35, I think Huang is actually the better gymnast, and one to keep our eyes on in the upcoming World Championships, not to mention the next four years.
First, let’s take a look at the events we would expect her to be strong on, given she’s Chinese:
Yet I saw a post by the always informative mandusky on Chalk Bucket stating that Stroescu never competed that skill. That it was Sabina Cojoca from Romania, instead.
Starting at about 3min:40 it’s shown in “4 different competitions including the Worlds”.
… According to the annual participation survey of the National Federation of State High School Associations, competitive cheering is one of the top 10 girls’ sports in this country. In 2002-03, 4,644 schools reported having competitive cheering squads, with 111,191 participants. It ranks 10th in terms of number of schools participating, and ninth in terms of the number of participants.
At the University of Maryland, College Park, an institution that granted cheerleading varsity status in 2005-06, the cheerleading squad is granted scholarships and athletic department support services while being held to the academic policies of the NCAA and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). …
What a shame.
Cheer is NOT an official sport of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
