Entries from January 2011 ↓

We’ve posted on this topic before.

Dr. Bill Sands is doing some research on the innovative new springs at Mesa State College:

Bills Sands:

Here are my criteria for evaluation of the spring floor:

1. Stability

2. Tuned response frequency that matches the gymnast’s take off actions

3. Reliability, no matter when you hit it, or where you hit it, the spring floor reacts the same. There is some evidence that the spring floor can act like a trampoline and the athlete can experience a “double bounce.”

4. The floor should not “tip” the foot or shank at impact due to inconsistent foam or floor characteristics.

read more on Facebook (from March 2010)

Bill feels that the spring is on the right track, but that confirmation awaits testing.

There is no evidence (yet) that the Weller spring reduces the incidence of Achilles tears.

If you don’t want to wait for scientific confirmation, each spring is $2.95 right now, on sale.

Jonathan Horton told IG he hopes to fully recover from a recent thumb injury to challenge world all-around champion Kohei Uchimura (Japan) for the American Cup title next month. …

Horton said finishing third behind Uchimura and Germany’s Philipp Boy in Rotterdam has helped him assess the improvements he needs to make by this fall’s worlds in Tokyo.

… “I have one thing I need to focus on — execution!” Horton told IG.

… it’s pretty obvious that Uchimura’s success is not only because he has great difficulty but he is super clean. I need to get to that level.”

read more – Horton Ready to ‘Push Uchimura’ for American Cup Victory

The Utes move up to #3 this week.

See more National rankings on GymInfo.

Kent State is a contender. Congratulations to Head Coach Brice Biggin and the Golden Flashes.

Mounting with Style

A tribute

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Who is LadyBeaverhausen?

related – MostepanovaFan – Uneven Bars Mount Guide Gymnastics

Torstein Horgmo … is a Norwegian pro snowboarder. …

In the Winter X Games XV Finals Torstein landed the first Triple cork in competition in the Big Air Final on January 28, 2011 …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

A triple cork is “three off axis flips before coming back in contact with the ground”.

Looks similar to a 1/1-in triple, to me.

Geoffrey Taucer calls it more as a 1/2 in triple back.

… The one thing we can all agree on is that he does 3 “flips” around the transverse axis.

Apparently the only voting in that event is by spectators texting.

Jay Thornton has updated the American-Gymnast.com Gymnastics on Demand landing page:

That’s the best online database of gymnastics drills by far. And it’s free.

Support American-Gymnast.com if you use that service.

Alaina (A-Train) Johnson is tearing it up in the NCAA this season.

A few of her scores from Friday:

Vault 9.95
Bars 9.95
Floor 9.925
All-Around 39.60

Click PLAY or watch her Bars on YouTube.

Florida scored 197.50 for an NCAA team high this season. They’ve had 3 of the top 5 team scores, so far.

Johnson, Dickerson, Macko. … Can anyone stop Florida?

This is a repost from Dec. 2007.

I put it back up in response to the discussion on the UCS Rounders covered foam post.

That foam atop the super durable Jim Walker suspension would be the ultimate. And probably costs less over the long term.

====

Jim Walker uses a unique design, suspending a grid of special cables one foot above the floor, supporting foam and matting above.

You cannot yet order one of Jim’s pits yourself, as he only custom builds them for friends. (Friends like WOGA, Beigers, Hills, Parkettes, Karolyi Ranch. Those kind of friends.)

If you want to know more, email him:

jwalker AT excalibur-gymnastics.com

A climber who fell 1,000ft (305m) down a mountain and survived was found by his rescuers standing up reading a map.

Adam Potter, 36, lost his footing at the summit of Sgurr Choinnich Mor near Ben Nevis and plummeted down the near-vertical eastern slope.

Lt Tim Barker, from the helicopter rescue crew, said: “It seemed impossible… he must have literally glanced off the outcrops as he fell.” …

read more – BBC – Climber found reading map after 1,000ft fall

When you post photos and videos of gymnasts online, with permission, consider editing your privacy settings to restrict comments.

Here’s an example of how that’s done on flickr.com.

It’s even more important if you post gymnastics videos online.

The biggest problem … idiots making stupid comments.

related – Connect Safely – Top 10 Safety Tips for Video-Sharing

Legendary Husker’s head coach Francis Allen, who retired June 2009, will be back on the floor today as Nebraska takes on Air Force.

… Allen will take over most of the duties of assistant coach Jim Hartung. …

Hartung, in his seventh year with the program, will still be on the floor Sunday. He plans to remain in coaching, spending as much time as he can with the team. Head coach Chuck Chmelka would not comment on the reason for Hartung’s decision to slow down, citing confidentiality.
…

Francis Allen back as interim assistant gymnastics coach

One rule change that everyone would appreciate would be to encourage less boring mounts.

For example, FIG could require that the mount counts for difficulty.

Click PLAY or watch a new video on YouTube by … LadyBeaverhausen.

related:

• MostepanovaFan – Gymnastics Balance Beam Mount Guide

• chachakid – Interesting Beam Mounts

Byron Garcia organized 1,500 inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, Philippines, to dance to MJ.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

That was July 25, 2009.