It’s been wonderful to see how both Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson translated their success as athletes into “brands”. Very few gymnasts have been able to do this in the past.
From Gymnastics Australia President Ken Williamson:
I wish to advise that Jane Allen, Chief Executive Officer of Gymnastics Australia, tendered her resignation as of 1st February 2010. Jane has accepted the position of CEO of British Gymnastics and subject to visa approval will commence in her new position in April 2010. …
What a move. To the nation hosting the next Olympics. Congratulations Jane.
My friend Karl Balisch, formerly of Gymnastics Canada, just emailed a great full-time opportunity at Vanda’s gym.
Tumblers Gymnastics Centre is a not-for-profit organization based in Orleans and is one of the largest programs in the province with over 2000 members annually. The Centre is presently seeking a Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Coach / Program Coordinator to oversee the competitive and pre-competitive programs. We are looking for a dynamic individual with proven communication skills to provide vision, planning, mentorship and coaching within the program. Our WAG competitive program has 80 developmental, pre-competitive and competitive athletes in various competitive levels both Provincial and Invitational.
This individual will have the following qualifications or equivalents:
• Minimum N.C.C.P. Level 2 certification (theory and technical – Women’s and Trampoline);
• Choreography experience an asset;
• Strong communication skills (verbal and written) in English; French an asset;
• Current GO Risk Management and First Aid Certification.
Non-Canadians should check with Karl regarding equivalency.
Every two years the Paralympics get some media attention. Sadly, hard working athletes with physical disabilities are much ignored the rest of the time.
The 2010 Winter Paralympics, officially known as the X Paralympic Winter Games, will be celebrated in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia between March 12 to March 21, 2010. …
Five sports will be on the 2010 program:
Alpine skiing
Biathlon
Cross-country skiing
Wheelchair curling
Sledge hockey
The big story of this meet I expect will be blind skier Brian McKeever, who will compete in both the Olympics and Paralympics.
Likely this is the best time to talk about opportunities for improving the plight of disabled athletes.
I’m looking for a study abroad program for my friend Barkat Ullah from Bangladesh.
A full-time gymnast who had competed internationally in Asian regional competitions, Barkat was partially paralyzed on a fluke pommel horse fall.
Today he is a University student playing able bodied table tennis, the only sport left he could do with limited lower body mobility. But he aspires to help build Paralympic sport in his fast developing nation.
If you have any advice or information that might help Barak’s cause, please leave a comment.
Everyone in the gymnastics community worldwide needs rally around any of our athletes catastrophically injured.
Although the name was originally coined as a portmanteau combining ‘paraplegic’ (due to its origins as games for people with spinal injuries) and ‘Olympic‘ the inclusion of other disability groups meant that this was no longer considered appropriate. The present formal explanation for the name is therefore that it derives from the Greek preposition ????, pará (“beside” or “alongside”) and thus refers to a competition held in parallel with the Olympic Games.
The Nastia Liukin story is one of the greatest in our sport’s history.
She became Olympic Champion due to persistence and dedication, her and her father coach both.
I’m a huge fan of both Nastia and Valeri. They are role models for us all.
If she had retired after Beijing, and was doing everything she’s doing now … no problem. The Nastia Liukin brand is strong.
But we Nastia fans, increasingly, have questions. If Nastia plans a comeback, as she continues to claim, how can she keep up her frantic schedule of media appearances and sponsorship endorsements?
Valeri understands this better than anyone.
No doubt Nastia has mixed feelings about a comeback. It’s difficult to concede “retirement”.
No doubt her agent councils that she should not retire. Her “value” as a brand would be diminished.
But I honestly feel she will not be returning to international competition representing the U.S.A.
I hope I’m wrong. Nastia would be an ideal leader of a young team. She could specialize in Bars and Beam.
Note: The original content of this post, now outdated, I archived in a comment.
Actually, the stuff the guys do at these Spectaculars is quite good. Reasonable difficulty with panache and humour. I’d watch an edit of the Men’s gymnastics.
But a backspring on beam in a short skirt? Most 7yr-old gymnasts would be disappointed with that level of “difficulty”.
Does he look like a “physically challenged” athlete to you?
He is.
Barkat was a full-time gymnast who had competed internationally in Asian regional competitions. One day he decided to do some circles on pommel horsewithout any matting in place. He slipped, falling as he had thousands of times before, but this time somehow landed in such a way as to damage his upper spine. A fluke.
He was partially paralyzed.
If that happened to you, how would you respond?
It would either crush your spirit. Or you would get SUPER tough.
Today, with the support of family, friends and his Gymnastics Federation, Barkat is one of the most inspirational athletes I know. Charismatic, enthusiastic, well-spoken in English, he has redirected his talent into studies at Jahangirnagar University outside Dhaka.
Within months he became the University champion at able bodied table tennis, the only sport left he could do with limited lower body mobility.
He and I spoke at length about the future of Paralympic sport in his fast developing country. I believe Barkat will be one of the leaders.
I’m researching Paralympic sport right now, encouraging Barkat to get involved as an organizer now, despite his youth. He’s planning on organizing at the two largest Universities in Bangladesh, as a start. Paralympic Table Tennis, as a start.
If you have any advice or information that might help his cause, please leave a comment.
Everyone in the gymnastics community worldwide needs rally around any of our athletes catastrophically injured.
… Well, this is a difficult question because nobody knows exactly what the situation of the MAG team is.
After Nicusor Pascu announced giving up training in Romania because of some personal issues, the Romanian Federation tried to find very fast a solution. The first option was to name the Olympic Champion, Marius Urzica, as head-coach.
However, Marius only accepted the position of a coach in the team the one of head-coach being left open. So, our question was: Who will be responsible for the team? …
