FIG posted the year end letter from our International Gymnastics Federation President.
One highlight:
Universality
… I do not personally remember a single Final in which eight gymnasts of varying nationalities participated on three different apparatus! And yet, it happened in Rotterdam in the Men’s Floor, Vault and Pommel Horse Finals. Eight nationalities; wonderful! …
Here’s the most controversial section:
Maturity
Much like good wine, gymnasts improve with age! That’s what Rotterdam statistics are saying with an average age participation of 18.14 for women and 23.10 for men. …
Among the issues hashed out during my election campaign in 1996, gymnast age carried a great amount of weight. And I took every possible opportunity to show, proof in hand, that precocious activity is harmful to the health of our athletes and takes away from the artistic aspect of gymnastics. Particularly in women.
A brief look at the stats: Stuttgart 1989, average age 16.67. London 2009, average age 18.79. …
Any gymnastics coach will confirm that a skinny girl age-15 weighing 82lbs is far safer doing high difficulty gymnastics than a young woman age-19 weighing 110lbs.
Female gymnast do not ‘improve with age’. Not, at least, in Grandi’s open ended code that provides a huge incentive to add difficulty in order to increase start score.
He can’t have it both ways: ‘well-rounded athletes’ are the ones most easily injured doing the most difficult routines.
Alicia Sacramone and Beth Tweddles are exceptions, not the norm.
Read the entire letter for yourself – Letter from the President – Happy New Year!
Here are some ‘well rounded gymnasts’, the body type Grandi wants competing FIG:
V: Botterman
UB: Curtis
BB: Zakharia
FX: Botterman
Click PLAY or watch them on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKS3Y1LtmDs
The NCAA has a very high injury rate competing much less demanding rules and only training 20hrs / week.
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A similar disconnect between Grandi’s code and his values …
Bruno quoted in the Russian magazine GIMNASTIKA
… The Russian gymnastics which we saw at the European and World championships in 2010 – especially from the women – is very beautiful. It is truly a comeback. The search for harmony in joining execution and composition and music in the routines. In this sense, Aliya Mustafina (and not only she) showed a return to the values which were always visible in, and an achievement of, your school.
Gymnastics must definitely remain artistic and not give in to acrobatics.
And the rules need to reward the aesthetic part if we do not want to lose the face of our sport. …
Most agree with Grandi on this point. … But Nabieva is on the Russian team for her high start scores, not her artistry.
In 2011 high difficulty score is the way to win, despite what the President of the International Gymnastics Federation says.
The only way to fix the problem is to weight the execution score higher than it is now. Sadly, I don’t see that happening any time soon.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 