Year: 2010

Sat. July 24 in Chicago, Illinois.

Universal Sports:

Reigning world champion Bridget Sloan and world silver medalist Rebecca Bross headline an impressive field set to compete in the 2010 CoverGirl Classic on .

2008 Olympic silver medalist Alicia Sacramone is scheduled to begin her comeback at the meet, where she will attempt to qualify for the national championships.

The CoverGirl Classic is the last chance for women to qualify for nationals. For those who have already qualified like Bross and Sloan, the event marks a final opportunity to test new skills and tune-up routines.

Other athletes to watch include world vault champion Kayla Williams, who will compete for the first time under the guidance of legendary coach Mary Lee Tracy, and Alexandra Raisman, who trains with Sacramone and has posted strong international results her first year senior.

Jordyn Wieber headlines the junior field. The 2008 junior champion is back in action after helping the U.S. claim gold at the Pacific Rim Championships in April.

Don’t count on all the big names actually competing. Or competing all-around. Still, I think it’s going to be a terrific meet. I’m hearing Alicia is looking better than ever on Vault.

Watch online at 8PM Eastern UniversalSports.com/gymnastics.

Franco Dragone is the Belgian theatre director who created many of the best Cirque du Soleil shows including O:

… The show has a cast of 85 acrobats, synchronized swimmers and divers performing in and above a 1.5 million-gallon pool. …

The show is BIG. And WET.

Dragone went on to create another water-based show. Le Rêve, in Vegas.

His third water show opens Sept. 17th, 2010 at the Theatre of Dreams in the City of Dreams casino, Macao.

His House of Dancing Water performance will be the largest water-based production ever staged.

Click PLAY or watch a preview documentary on YouTube.

Looks cool. I’m not sure how the motorcycles are going to fit in.

The guest coach bar gurus at our camp in Idaho are Yves Hauglustaine (Altadore) and John Smith (NASA).

John asked that all girls in all groups work towards this drill to improve their grip changes for future skills.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Those sole circles are appropriately called “monkey circles” at host Avant Coeur.

When he announced his “comeback” for 2008, I had my doubts.

This time, none.

This guy is superhuman.

Two-time Olympian Paul Hamm, the USA’s first, and to date only, male Olympic all-around champ (2004), announced today that he’s left his job in the financial world to resume full-time training in hopes of competing at the 2012 Olympic Games.

“Paul feels he still has the desire and would like to complete some unfinished personal goals in the sport,” Hamm’s agent, Sheryl Shade, wrote in an email to Inside Gymnastics.

Hamm has been back in the gym for some time, according to Shade …

read more on Inside Gymnastics

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.js

Thanks Mike.

Doubters should check Paul’s training VIDEO from May 9th. That was linked by Stick It Media.

Georgia Bonora (VIS – AIS Camp based), Mary-Anne Monckton (AIS), Ashleigh Brennan (VIS), Lauren Mitchell (WAIS – AIS Camp based), Emily Little (WAIS – AIS Camp based).

Non travelling reserves:

Shona Morgan (VIS – AIS Camp based), Georgia Wheeler (VIS – AIS Camp based)

The following girls together with the Commonwealth Games team will go into camp on 12th September. There will be a selection trial on 17th & 18th September for the World Championship team.

Emma Dennis (Waverley Gymnastics Club), Britt Greeley (VIS – AIS Camp based), Georgia Simpson (WAIS), Larrissa Miller (Morton Bay College – AIS Camp based), Natasha Hammann (SASI).

Thank Couch Gymnast for the list.

A record number of competitors, 619 gymnasts, have registered for World’s in Rotterdam.

I swore I’d ignore Nastia’s many marketing triumphs … until she admits the competitive career is over. Far better would be to announce retirement … then unretire later if she makes that decision. How Alicia did it.

But her latest greatest venture really is getting good buzz online from the “normals”.

The collection of dance wear, dresses and super-girly pieces like leggings and shrug tops is aimed at the back-to-school set.

“My fan base is mostly young girls and I wanted to use the line to inspire them,” Liukin explained. “At the Olympics I did my routine on the uneven bars to the song ‘Supergirl’ by Saving Jane and when it came time to name the collection, I thought, ‘What better way to feel empowered than to wear the Supergirl shield on your clothing?’” …

In Style

Those gymnasts who easily won Britain’s Got Talent did not retire. Instead some went on to win World Championships.

… Adam Buckingham, Adam McAssey, Alex Uttley, Jonathan Stranks won the men’s four title at the World Acrobatic Gymnastic Championships while Douglas Fordyce and Edward Upcott scooped the men’s pair gold.

Coach Neil Griffiths, the mastermind behind Spelbound’s reality TV success, could barely contain his joy at the results in Wrozlaw. …

read more – More Than The Games

FIG has great coverage on World’s. A couple of links:

• Russia, Ukraine, Britain show top talent!

• TV presence at ACRO worlds

Dr. Jeni McNeal

Crystal sends us a link to an an interesting study that seems to indicate that landing barefoot on soft mats causes more “distress” on the feet than on harder mats.

Certainly many higher level gymnasts prefer stiffer mats for landings for many reasons, especially as the risk of ankle sprain is lower.

Sport Science geeks should click through:

Orthotic effect of a stabilising mechanism in the surface of gymnastic mats on foot motion during landings

Dr. Bill Sands tells us that Sport Science research in gymnastics is dying. … If so, why don’t they make their reporting documentation and language more accessible?

The format and unnecessarily complex wordusement of that abstract makes me want to burn my most recent issue of the Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology.

Epic FAIL. CRASH. Bleepin’ blooper.

… Normally I don’t link to those videos. … But in this case, I’ll make an exception.

On behalf of Cam and Scott, I submitted this video to the Gymnastike Gymnastics Bloopers Contest. And, as this crash is BRILLIANT, it made the FINALS.

Gymnastics Videos on Gymnastike

Click through to Gymnastike to vote for that one (5 stars) and to downvote the other 6 (1 star).

🙂