Entries from December 2011 ↓

… Olympics commercial for NBC Sports Network

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Nora Schuler of THE ALL AROUND has been following the many problems:

The FIG World Cup circuit took another hit just before Christmas when the FIG officially announced the cancellation of the French International in 2012. The competition, scheduled for 17- 18 March, has been a mainstay on the FIG calendar for a long time. …

The reason for the cancellation of the French World Cup is the failure of the FIG to secure the top gymnasts for the competition.

The deadline for definitive entries was the 17 December – and not even half of the top three gymnasts per event would have been represented in Paris. And it gets worse.

… [French federation president] Jacques Rey, deplores the non participation of the best gymnasts from Japan, Russia and the USA who were qualified to the event,” the official FIG statement reads. Translated into plain English: the Uchimuras, Wiebers and Komovas can’t be bothered. Their federations don’t care. …

TAA – Another Blow to FIG World Cup

It’s a gross overreach to blame the athletes, of course. In the Olympic year there are many more important priorities than the World Cup.

Blythe Lawrence has attended that meet the past couple of years. They had 15,000+ spectators last year!

Here’s her take on the rotten Christmas in France:

• Sacre bleu! Paris World Cup cancelled?

• Thomas Bouhail injured, will miss Olympics

One of the greatest of Olympic history.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Are you crying?

Derek Redmond … is best remembered for his performance at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona where he tore his hamstring in the 400 metres semi-final but fought through the pain and, with assistance from his father, managed to complete a full lap of the track as the crowd gave him a standing ovation. …

Here’s the VISA commercial.

… including:

Coaching Strategy
Athlete Motivation
Conditioning Concepts
Lead-ups and Progressions for Skills
Staff Training
Booster Clubs
Event Complexes

…and more

Cirque’s Stacy Clark – original photo on Facebook.

Original shared by Dr. Larry Nassar on Facebook.

Looking for a good Christmas movie?

Dave and Lisa Adlard recommended my favourite, Love Actually. (2003 R-rated)

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

related – Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) horrible Christmas variation of The Troggs’ hit “Love Is All Around”. (VIDEO)

Gerard Atzeni pointed out that the 2011 Tokyo World Championships Men’s Floor Final was pretty good.

A new Examiner post is related – Best of 2011: The men’s floor exercises.

One routine linked from that post:

David Belyavskiy, RUS. The Russian men have been lifted by youngsters like Belyavskiy and his powerful routine, which includes a stunning double full in back pike out and an easy looking triple full to end. In addition, there’s a hint of style and choreography in the sequence after his tucked Thomas. …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

A hint of style and choreography does elevate you above the likes of Zou Kai and Stephen Legendre. I like David’s routine.

However … the vast majority of FIG Men’s Floor routines in 2011 are rushed, ugly and repetitive. The rules are responsible. They must be improved in the next Quadrennial.

As you can see, I’m not convinced that the current rules are the best they could be, even though a handful of the best gymnasts in the world are able to show quality routines. They are succeeding despite the rules.

related – IG – Belyavsky Aims for All-Around Maximum in 2012

Brandi Smith-Young of Perfect 10.0 Physical Therapy works on the Big Guy.

(via Tony on Facebook)

guest post by Gerard Atzeni

Ever since the open-ended Code became the systematic gospel for Artistic Gymnastics, controversy has established itself as the undermining malignant for this somewhat forgotten pastime.

Despite the F.I.G.’s attempts to make amends for the proverbial judging debacles made in Athens, various stakeholders have raised concern for the eradication of Artistry within the sport. Although the levels of distress for this subject may vary, it is clear that this issue is no myth. For example, when comparing the finesse of the 1976 Olympic gold medal winner on Floor Exercise, Nikolai Andrianov, to that of Beijing’s gold medalist, Zou Kai, it is evident that a shift in values has occurred.

Men’s Gymnastics has evolved so greatly in the past few decades that it is difficult to comprehend just how far gymnasts will be able to push their bodies in the year/s to come. However, unfortunately for the sport, this rise in difficulty has caused people to believe that it is the fundamental issue which deters athletes from executing skills ‘artistically’. Although this statement is true to some extent, Men’s Floor Exercise seems to be taking all the blame for this notion. For this reason, it will become the primary focus on why exactly spectators believe this deprivation to be factual.
 
In order to successfully evaluate the effectiveness of the current code (applying the elements of Floor Exercise [FX]), it is best to begin at the beginning: the MAG Code of Points. A modern Floor routine has been described by the F.I.G. as being:

 “A Floor Exercise is composed predominantly of acrobatic elements combined with other gymnastic elements such as strength and balance parts, elements of flexibility, handstands, and choreographic combinations all forming an harmonious rhythmic exercise which is performed utilizing the entire Floor Exercise area.” – MAG Code of Points, 2009: Version 6 (Pg. 34)

This is quite a standard definition and leaves room for a lot of interpretation; however, it is clear that the need for a routine to be predominantly acrobatic is, indeed, a priority. This, of course, means that innovative and difficult tumbling passes –both singular and in combination – are mandatory for a routine to be considered admissible by the F.I.G.’s proposed definition.

After seeing the 2011 Tokyo World Championships final on FX, it was clear to me that this focal topic was being satisfied. Surprisingly, it was demonstrated by the top 8 athletes in such a way that proved testament to the current Code’s success. Each man in the final, no matter the country, proved himself and his routine to be virtuously diverse – the variety of skills and combinations shown was absolutely mind-blowing. Of the 8 men, such high difficulty elements as the Kolyvanov, Hypolito, Tamayo, Double twisting double back tuck/lay, Two and a half twisting double back tuck, Arabian Double Pike and the Ri Jong Song [G] were demonstrated in a masterful and aesthetically pleasing manner. This was further reinforced by the breath-taking combinations that the athletes demonstrated (for the record, every man hit his routine).

Click PLAY or watch Uchimura’s Gold medal Floor on YouTube. (200,000+ views)

 
So if this ‘major’ requirement for FX is being reached, why must audiences continue to condemn the system? After reading a tonne of complaints, it seems to me that the most pertinent issue is that modern day Floor routines lack the fluidity of time’s past. I see this assumption to be generally correct because the lack of artistry and innovation that people complain about can be collectively portrayed by the fluidity of a routine.

Although the Code of Points has dedicated an entire element group to encourage gymnasts to be exciting in the ‘quiet’ parts of their routines, it seems that audiences are unsatisfied with how athletes and coaches are utilizing these skills. For this reason, the man’s routine is automatically dubbed by many as ‘unartistic’.

I, for one, reject this opinion as it is far too subjective and intolerant to individual expression. Imagine a male gymnast who has just done 3 amazingly unique and perfect tumbling lines… He then falls into a prone position and does a Fedorchenko (1080 Russian Wende) to finish in front splits. Is the routine really then considered to be unartistic if he were to swing his leg around and kick to a forward roll kneeling scale? I believe that to be an ignorant view point to take because the forward roll is merely a transition and a part of no value. Sure it is unimaginative, but the D and E Scores only provide incentive for the gymnast to execute the major part of the corner move to a standard that is interesting and well executed. The code cannot change entirely for this minute detail, though.
 
In order to conclude, I believe that art can never be effectively encouraged by the Code as it doesn’t have a definition apart from the one that the individual grants it. I love the current system because the rules and element groups involved with FX force athletes to show a diverse skill-base whilst maintaining the aspect of fluidity. It is not horrible that Floor routines are no longer as dramatic as the Soviets made them out to be! Routines like that cannot even exist in modern day society as they are not at all feasible with the new Code of Points… And people tend to forget the reasons that the rules changed: the scores were unfair. If a gymnast does not show that he is brave and willing to take a risk, then he does not deserve to win.

On the same note, though: if a brave gymnast does not show that he can do his skills neatly, he does not deserve to win either. I’m sure everybody can agree with that? Therefore, the Code has essentially captured both sides of the argument and named the aspects the ‘D and E Scores’, respectively. The best gymnast at a competition is always the one who finds a happy medium between the two sides… Kohei being an exception, of course. It is no coincidence that Kohei is as good as he is! He has adapted to the expectations of the Code brilliantly and for that reason he is the world champion. His gymnastics does something that I believe epitomizes everything that I am trying to say: artistry comes from the flair of an individual. Many gymnasts are putting their own spin onto their routines now (i.e. The Uchimura-style Kovacs, the Daniel Purvis rollout, etc.) and that is the only type of artistry that can exist without the gymnasts sacrificing points for execution.

It is for that reason that I believe execution scores are the only genuine indicators of how ‘artistic’ a routine actually is… If a gymnast really wants to do interesting transitions then it is up to him and his coach to do so; the Code needs to accommodate for more than just FX and it is for that reason that the encouragement for simplistic innovation can continue no longer.

My conclusion about execution being the new form of artistry is further enhanced by the remaining 5 apparatus that fall under the category of ‘Artistic Gymnastics’. For example, there is no way that a Vault can be seen as artistic without emphasizing the qualities of a high execution score – it is the only universally-applicable incentive that motivates gymnasts to do skills well. That, in my mind, is what makes ‘flipping’ artistic and, furthermore, proves that FX is still artistic even though it doesn’t capture the drama of the old system. 

Gerard Atzeni

_____ Gerald is posting in response to …

• FIG ruined Men’s Floor
• MAG FX: E, F, G elements

A festive look at how the London 2012 team are gearing up for the holiday season.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Did you get one?

In 2011 we started to see hundreds of acrobatic videos from the ‘point of view‘ of the athlete.

GoPro cameras are used more than any other.

Click PLAY or watch a GoPro promo on YouTube. Helicopter skydivers, skiers, wing-suiters, surfers, scuba divers and more.

This video is © GoPro Inc. and shot entirely on the HD HERO2 camera …

(via Gear Junkie – Best Adventure Montage of 2011: GoPro Promo)

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.