The 425-acre camp in Haines Township, and its offshoots in Wisconsin and California, along with its brand name and licensing rights, was sold last week to Powdr Corp., an investment group that owns nine ski resorts across the country.

Powdr CFO Jennifer Botter said her company is looking to build more camps both inside the U.S. and in as many as 30 foreign countries. …

Powdr’s interest in the camp was sparked by its purchase of Colorado’s Copper Mountain ski resort, where a Camp Woodward-licensed facility, dedicated to winter sports instruction for youth, opened in 2009.

“We became quite enamored of the people — Gary Ream in particular — and really became aware of what the camp was doing for the action sports industry,” Botter said.

Ream is the co-owner of Camp Woodward and the man behind its transition from a gymnastics-centered camp into an action sports mecca. …

Botter said Powdr agreed last month to purchase a majority stake in Camp Woodward from Ream and a few other co-owners, including Ream’s family members. Care was taken during the acquisition not to disrupt Camp Woodward’s summer season, she said.

Botter did not disclose the purchase price, but said Ream will remain president and his executive team will be retained. …

Firm buys Camp Woodward, vows to expand name

What does this mean for Gymnastics and Cheer?

Leave a comment if you’ve heard anything.

(via College Gymnastics Board)

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The Cirque du Soleil Casting team is hosting open acrobatic auditions in Las Vegas in September 2010 for the following disciplines:

Gymnasts – Tumblers – Trampolinists – Sports Acrobats – Divers
September 18 from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M.
Callback session for the above disciplines: September 19.

Professional Martial Artists – Inline Skaters – Extreme Sports – Rhythmic Gymnasts
September 20 from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M.

details

Normally athletes should be age-18 or older to attend. Ask permission from Cirque if they are younger or they will likely be turned away at the door.

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China is making a big move towards improving their Action Sports.

Woodward Beijing is a Woodward partner facility located in Beijing, China. Scheduled to open in the spring of 2010, Woodward Beijing is Woodward’s first international facility. This camp will offer Skateboarding, BMX, Inline, dry land Snowboarding and Free Ski, Urban Dance, Digital Arts (Digital Photography / Video Production and Graphic Design), Music, Chinese and English language programs. …

official press release

I’ve seen reports online that Artistic gymnastics would be part of the program. Not true. But there will be Cheer.

official website

Camp costs aren’t posted yet. But they likely will be far lower than rates in the USA. A bargain, perhaps, for athletes who may be traveling to Beijing for other reasons.

This camp is intended to operate full-time, year round, different than the North American Woodward camps which are mostly seasonal.

The Chinese government paid the $4 million or so construction costs.

Watch a VIDEO of facility construction.

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There’s an amazing acrobatic team from France online at 340jumperz.com.

Jc Leroi

You can also see their stuff at 340jumperz on Facebook.

Thanks to Cirque’s Magalie Coleno for this.

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Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Thanks Brett MacAuley.

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I thought Heelys would be fleeting fad. But they seem to be persisting. (Shaq bought 6 pairs, so they must be durable, as well.)

Heelys Youth Glitter Skate Shoe – Amazon

Heelys are a brand of sneakers (marketed by Heelys, Inc.) that have one or more wheels embedded in each sole, similar to inline skates. Thus, the wearer can walk, run, or, by shifting their weight to their heels, roll. Generally, “Heeling” is a form of skating, and as such may not be allowed in some places, including schools.

Over one million pairs of the shoes were sold in their first year alone. Roger Adams invented and patented Heelys in 1998 while vacationing with family in California …

Wikipedia

Needless to say, kids are taking Heelys to the vert ramp. (video)

But I prefer this innovative clip: Lawnmower and Heelys.

Yes, there are many injuries in these shoes. Pediatrics published one study in 2007. I wasn’t surprised with what they found:

… 56 girls and 11 boys with a mean age of 9.6 years. Upper limbs were the most common location of injury. Distal radius fractures were the most prevalent, followed by supracondylar fractures, elbow dislocations, and hand fractures. The majority of children suffered the injury while heeling or street gliding outdoors. Interestingly, 20% of the injuries happened while trying Heelys or Street Gliders for the first time, and 36% of the injuries occurred while learning (using 1–5 times) how to use them. None of the children used any sort of protective gear at the time of the injury. The majority of the injured children expressed their intention to continue heeling or street gliding after complete recovery from their injury. …

We’d better train kids to use them as we do with roller-skates. They are not going away.

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Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Woodward East – official website

Related post: Woodward East offers summer snowboarding

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Corvallis, Ore. – The Oregon State University Department of Athletics is one of 11 Division I programs in the nation that has received an “A” for gender equity, in a letter dated Jan. 14, 2008 from Charles L. Kennedy, senior instructor of political science at Pennsylvania State University-York. Oregon State earned a national ranking of seventh, up from 30th the year previous.

The Gender Equity Scorecard V graded 115 universities in 11 major conferences of Division I athletics. The Scorecard staff evaluated the programs’ degree of commitment to women’s sports for the 2005-2006 academic year. The study’s criteria was based on participation, scholarship, coaches’ salaries, recruitment budget and operating expenses. The data was obtained utilizing the Chronicle of Higher Education’s study on gender equity via the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA).

Oregon State was joined in the top-11 by North Texas, Nevada, Buffalo, Stanford, Idaho, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio), Ball State, Utah and Toledo.

OSU Beavers

Congratulations to those schools.

Related posts:

I’ve said many times before that discrimination is wrong and unethical. But that “reverse discrimination”, while still wrong, is preferable to discrimination.

What happens in arenas of sport that do not monitor gender equity as closely as does the NCAA?

… “For Women, It’s Nearly Ex Games”

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First time ever, Woodward West in California is offering a WINTER CAMP for skateboarding, BMX, in-line and mountain biking. Between Christmas and New Years.

Camp Woodward

Gymnasts can go off-season too, at a great price. Contact the camp for details.

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Be patient during the first few seconds of the video. It’s worth it. She’s waiting for her music.

(You can remove the annoying advertisement overlay by clicking on the X.)

Click PLAY or watch it on glumbert.

Thanks George.

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