tumbling, tramp, diving, acrobatics, circus, cheer, dance, martial arts, X sports …
May 17th, 2012 — recreation, salary (contract)
Beauséjour Gymnos Gymnastics Club is a not-for-profit organization located in Moncton, New Brunswick – one of Canada’s top rated places to live! The club has a large recreational membership with an average of 700 participants …
We are currently seeking an enthusiastic, responsible, and dynamic team member to fulfill the position of Recreational Program Director. …
details on Rec Gymnastics
May 10th, 2012 — pits, product endorsements, recreation
March 12th, 2012 — Gymnastics, parallel bars, recreation
Hey Leyva. Can you do this? 
Johanna QUAAS – Germany’s oldest (86) top senior gymnast on parallel bars at the 89th JAHNTURNFEST, 2011, August in the Jahn City of Freyburg (Saxony-Anhalt)
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Via Rec Gymnastics. Thank Avril Enslow for the link.
March 10th, 2012 — Gymnastics, recreation
In January I traveled to London for the Olympic Test Meet, a “dress rehearsal” of the Olympics.
From there I visited 10 gyms, some of my travel expenses covered by the Tumbl Trak Ambassador’s program:
Ireland: Excel, Renmore, Trojan, Janz and Sugarloaf.
Belgium: Melsele, St-Niklaas, Bazel and Gymclub Apollo.
England: Europa Gymnastics Centre
Gymnastics is gymnastics, the clubs in Europe not all that different than in America. Coaches all seek best ways to keep their kids happy, healthy and improving.
Thanks so much to my host in Belgium, Lieven Vercruyssen, the inspirational founder of Eurogym Belgium and EuroTumble.
A short version of my report is now posted via Rec Gymnastics – Tumbl Trak’s March Newsletter. Or you can read a longer version as a PDF.
February 12th, 2012 — Gymnastics, recreation
Click PLAY or check out Europa on British Gymnastics TV.
Have you ever seen BIGGER inflatables inside a gymnastics facility?
That’s posted on the Europa Gymnastics Centre Facebook.
See more photos of Great Britain’s latest, greatest facility from my visit there in January.
February 8th, 2012 — Gymnastics, product endorsements, psychology, recreation, safety
I spent last week with the Tumbl Trak video team, visiting Washington State gyms, brainstorming best use of their products with different kinds of user groups. In different kinds of facilities.
Here we are at rural Brinnon Elementary.
Instruction was provided by Carrie Lennox of Jefferson County Parks & Rec who was there 4 days. Fun and fitness in a safe but challenging environment. A mobile program.
We dropped in (and trained) at the Twisters Adult class in Port Renfrew.
Here’s Carrie’s regular “Kid Fit” Parks & Rec class in Port Townsend, a set-up, take-down facility. She’s worked closely with Tumbl Trak for years.
First day in the program for this lad:
Again, the goal is high activity in a fun, safe environment. Rather than put little kids up high on a rope, why not have them sliding on the floor? Fun … and much safer.
I’ll post details on each of those programs on Rec Gymnastics over the coming week.
John Smith at NASA Gymnastics is genius at coming up with drills for Team. We got plenty of video.
The biggest news at Tumbl Trak is that they have a viral video — nearly 600,000 views. You can’t buy that kind of publicity.
Check the Tumbl Trak February 2012 newsletter. Subscribe FREE by emailing newsletter {a} tumbltrak.com.
Tumbl Trak is a valued sponsor of this site. Their corporate mission is exactly in line with my own coaching philosophy.
January 29th, 2012 — Gymnastics, recreation
Here’s one system that worked for us at Taiso.
Short. Simple. Not too onerous for the coach.
Page 1
Page 2
Those were photocopied back-to-back twice. Folded. One copy kept in the gymnast’s file, the other sent home to the parent on the second last week of the Recreation session.
I posted some thoughts over on RecGymnastics. Leave comments there, if you have strong opinions on the topic.
We’re still looking for Rec Experts to guest post on that site. Email me if interested.
Rick_McCharles |a| hotmail.com
December 21st, 2011 — ethics, Gymnastics, recreation
Mary Wright on how special needs kids enjoy her program at Olympus, Utah.
Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.
(via Rec Gymnastics)
December 4th, 2011 — Gymnastics, Olympics, recreation
coach Howard:
… Once every four years since Russian pixie gymnast, Olga Korbut first captured the hearts and minds of America’s future gymnasts and their parents, there has been a surge of new gymnasts pouring into gymnastics facilities in the days, weeks and months after gymnastics is highlighted in the Summer Olympics on TV.
This has been a quadrennial boon to the sport at all levels and has fueled the growth of the sport at the beginner and team levels for years. On average, there has been a 25% – 37% increase in gym student enrollment in each of the Olympic years, after the television coverage lasting for months afterwards.
In years when there is an American gymnastics heroine (e.g., Mary Lou Retton) or a young international gymnast that captures the heart of the whole world (e.g., Nadia Comanechi) the number of new enrollees is at its highest. ….
read more on Gymnastics Zone – Preparing for the Gymnastics Surge
After the Beijing Olympics many clubs reported NOT seeing an Olympic membership surge. I speculated that some markets are now “saturated”. That all the kids in a city who might have wanted to try gymnastics, already had.
What about your gym?
Do you have marketing and a strategy for increasing numbers IF you get a flood of new kids?
November 15th, 2011 — recreation, salary (contract)
November 8th, 2011 — recreation
October 29th, 2011 — Gymnastics, recreation
by site editor Rick McCharles
After Worlds I’ve been traveling Japan using an all-you-can-ride Rail Pass.
I’ve visited 3 clubs, so far:
• Tsukahara Gymnastics Center, Tokyo
• Namba Gymnastics Club, Osaka
• Tommy International School and Tomioka Sports Club, Osaka
Tomioko (Tommy) Shinichiro, President
I’d love to visit more as I learn something new at each facility. Email me if you know of more gyms in Japan where I can observe or volunteer guest coach over the next week.
Tommy Gym
One of my former coaches Shiro Tanaka pointed out that Japanese recreational kids have far better discipline (and more line-ups) than kids suffer in Canada.
September 16th, 2011 — Circus, Gymnaestrada, recreation
On my Recreation Gymnastics blog I make the argument that Montreal should be the first North American host of the World Gymnaestrada:
• a bilingual city with easy, inexpensive access for Europeans
• Cirque du Soleil might partner
• Gymnaestrada in Europe is not growing
• the event needs to modernize, North America would help
• Canada has a strong and growing Gymnastraeda base
• Gymnastics Canada strongly supports the event
Lausanne, Switzerland 2011
Click through for the details … especially the part on why it won’t happen any time soon.
RecGymnastics.com – Canada should host World Gymnaestrada
I’m still looking for contributors for RecGymnastics.com.
tumbling, tramp, diving, cheer, acrobatics, circus, dance, martial arts, X sports ... and more
Tumbl Trak sells gymnastic training equipment for tumbling, vaulting, and bars and beam. Featured products include Air Traks, Tumbl Traks, and spring floors. For over 20 years Tumbl Trak has been known for great customer service and innovative design.
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