Rarely do I link to sensational news stories about supposed sexual misconduct. People are innocent until proven guilty. But I’m linking to this one. It’s big.
A former U.S. Olympic team coach who guided American gymnastics to some of its most iconic and triumphant moments could face a lifetime ban from the sport after three women have come forward to accuse him of having sex with young gymnasts in the 1980s.
Don Peters coached the groundbreaking U.S. women’s team to a record eight medals at the 1984 Olympic Games and built SCATS, a Huntington Beach gymnastics club, into an international powerhouse with a string of Olympians and national champions.
It was during that same decade that Peters had sex with three teenage gymnasts, three women have told The Orange County Register. …
I think the British reporter in the peace was very irresponsible in his presentation of the topic, and was driven by sensationalism.
This is “my” sport so I take exception to it. I was a former professional MMA fighter and Coach, and moved on to become a reputable referee travelling the world over.
All though i don’t support drinking alcohol in a crowd context, what the two young athlete did was not MMA in its true definition, as there was no striking allowed (punching, kicking, hitting).
What they did do was a submission grappling match (which is combination of Wrestling, and Brazilian Jiujitsu on a wrestling mat), which you can find at many local elementary schools (it’s amateur sport). Its seems that in order to allow kids to follow and support a sport they love (MMA – orgs like the UFC), some parents and small organizers/promoters allow kids to compete at submission grappling in a professional MMA cage prior to the start of and event (it’s always a draw with no winner, more of demonstration). This is similar to “tim bits” 4 year olds hockey teams playing on the ice before an NHL game (for the experience), and we all know the beer that is consumed and fights that happen later at a hockey game.
OK.
I’ll concede that in some circumstances MMA could be a healthy sport. Safer perhaps than Women’s Elite Gymnastics.
That concession out of the way, I vote to remove boxing from the Olympics. And remain convinced that children’s MMA will escalate in violence, perhaps reaching the level of Canadian ice hockey someday.
In fact, I heard today that Nonomura nearly qualified for the powerhouse Japanese Sr Men’s Worlds Team. But a fall on the last apparatus in trials dropped him to 7th.
This was the 20th International Junior Gymnastics Competition, an event held every 2 years in the same venue. Highly recommended. Komova won the WAG competition in 2009.
They were originally marketed for Team Gymnastics, a sport that often sets-up and takes-down every day. But the very best use I’d say is for Vault training. They lift up as high as 2m 20cm.
Must you stack mats in your gym to create a “table”.
The mat can be used alone for dozens of drills, or it can be the base mat for a higher stack add 12-inchers, 8-inchers, 4-inchers in any combination to make a tower of mats as high as needed. It is much lighter to move, and thus much more portable than a foam mat or a stack of foam mats!
… use a mat on top of the Air Pit for vaulting drills!
I believe the future of matting is a combination of air and foam. The most obvious use is for flat back Vault drills, especially if you have to set up and take down that station often.
Kanaeva outscored her compatriot Kondakova, who wins World for the third time this year, by a .05 margin. The All-around marks Kanaeva’s sixth Gold medal at this tournament, after having won all Apparatus Finals and helped Russia to Gold in the Team event. With her success a repeat performance of the record she set two years ago in Japan where she called a full house at a world championship event for the first time in her career.
