Year: 2011

Sara Gill is a choreographer from Rochester, MN.

She’s getting into the business of advising coaches, parents and gymnasts on the tricky business of American collegiate recruiting. For now, she’s willing to help your gymnast for free.

If you can’t afford one of the established companies, Victory Collegiate Consulting or Lights On Recruiting, for example, try Sara. The price is right. For now.

If you are not from the USA, I highly recommend getting a consultant. There are many complicated rules imposed by the NCAA.

To follow her progress, subscribe to Sara’s new blog – GymDynasty.

Valentin Uzunov of the The Gym Press endorses Sara, so we know she’s good.

Both spelling are used. Artemev is one of the few gymnasts today doing them through handstand.

Click PLAY or watch his Olympic Pommel routine on YouTube.

I’ve been convinced by denn333 to switch to flare as the best spelling:

The word is “flare” — not “flair”. This is probably the most commonly misspelled word in gymnastics, and it’s no wonder: it’s commonly misspelled in English (in general), and the code of points spells it both ways, sometimes even on the same page.

Here’s why: The word “flare” means a “sudden burst” (like a solar flare or a flare of anger) or shapes with a “gradual widening” (like a flared vase). Both of these do a good job at describing the skill, particularly the latter. The word “flair” describes style.

Moreover, while flares can be counted, flair is a non-count noun, like style, happiness, and time. So the sentence “The gymnast did 2 flares” makes sense, but but “The gymnast did 2 flairs” does not.

Of course, flares certainly add flair to a routine. 🙂

Admiring Gymnastics From Afar is an excellent new blog (now linked under BLOGS in the right hand navigation) by Kary Kleiner from New Zealand.

Actually, Kary also has some posts on there from 2007. She’s back.

In one post she expands on the controversy at Worlds regarding the “Corridor Marking” deduction on Vault.

It sounds like WAG vault judging at Commonwealth Games in Delhi was even worse.

This vault was deducted 0.1 for being “close to the corridor line”.

This one was not deducted:

With the benefit of angle and freeze frame, it’s easy to condemn the judges.

But on podium, from the side, it’s much tougher to see what actually happened in real time.

One and all must agree that the wording “close to the corridor line” must be changed. It’s too vague.

Hopefully they’ll FIX this mistake in the rules at the Feb. 19-21st FIG WAG Technical meeting.

For more examples and videos click over to Admiring Gymnastics From Afar – My Reflections on last year: Part 2 – Judging Confusion

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Update from denn333:

in MAG, the deductions for the vault lines are the same as the deductions for FX:
-0.1: one foot or hand over the line
-0.3: more than just one foot or hand over the line
-0.5: landing outside the line

Just Another Opinion asks if there was a “line judge” at that meet?

Blythe linked to 21yr-old Lim Heem Wei on her gymnastics week in review.

LIM Heem Wei is one of six shortlisted candidates for the ‘Today’s Athlete of the Year 2010′ award.

Singapore Gymnastics

Click PLAY or watch her Commonwealth Games Beam routine on YouTube.

D- 4.8 E- 8.025 = 12.825 2nd Place

(via The World Gymnast)

Luxembourg 1930 saw the first official apparatus rankings.

Yugoslav Josip Primozic went down in history as the first world champion on floor exercise.

Floor exercises continued to be done on grass even at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Switzerland dominated the world scene in the thirties, not only on floor. 1934 world champion Georg Miez, who placed second in 1930, took the gold on floor in 1936 …

The English and Germans pioneered special floor exercise mats (‘sprung floors’) as early as the twenties as well as the Danes in the thirties

… read more

photo – Georg Miez (1932)

Each Wednesday we are linking to a different apparatus posted on GymMEDIA – Apparatus HISTORY. (English and German)

Opening ceremonies for the Canada Winter Games in Halifax are Friday.

Word out of Ontario is that their team is ready. I’m calling them the team to beat.

So far as I know, Shallon Olsen (2yrs underage) and Emma Sibson (American) are both still competing for B.C.

… I don’t know the Men’s teams nearly as well. Who are the favourites this year?

Dr. Jeni McNeal on the summit … pack, rope, crampons and all.

Stevens Peak Climb by David Adlard on Facebook

There may be some sort of announcement by Thursday.

NY Times:

When the University of California, Berkeley, announced it was eliminating five varsity teams last fall, the decision was sold as a necessary sacrifice by a university reeling from severe cuts in state aid.

Four months later, the university finds itself in a dilemma caused by a largely overlooked consequence of that decision. The cutting of two women’s teams — lacrosse and gymnastics — threw the Cal athletic department out of compliance with the federal gender-equity law known as Title IX. …

UC Berkeley May Restore Teams to Satisfy Title IX

What if the school backpedals, keeping the two women’s teams and dropping the men?

That would be awful for the men’s team that has worked hard to survive via the Cal Gymnastics Forever website.

Freshmen:
Matthew del Junco
Josh Van Bourg

Sophomores:
Donothan Bailey
Steven Lacombe
Jeffrey Langenstein
Dennis Mannhart
Christian Monteclaro
Jean Monteclaro

Juniors:
Nic Blair
Daniel Culpepper
Glen Ishino
Jacob Jizrawi
Jim Kerry
Raion Sabo

Senior:
Kyle Bunthuwong [C]
Bryan del Castillo
Michael del Junco
Daniel Geri [C]
Eric Haeussler

Tim McNeill – Head Coach
Colin Christ – Assistant Coach

Update: Jason set the permissions to see these photos to friends of friends. I’m friends with Dave Durante, so I can see them.

Lets all curse Facebook for their confusing, ever changing security settings.

_____ original post:

Photoshoot for USA Gymnastics in Las Vegas at the Winter Cup Challenge.

Retired Dave Durante looks the most ripped.

Photographer Jason Lavengood of ishphoto.

See more pics on Facebook.

From the Chinese Gymnastics blog:

Update on the upcoming March competitions from Coach Lu’s blog:

Huang Qiushuang will compete at 3/5 American Cup (how about JYY?)

Tan Sixin and Yao Jinnan (her long-awaited international debut!) for 3/11-3/13 Cottbus Cup

some (internationally) new gymnasts for 3/24-3/27 Wild Rose in Canada,

several veterans from 2010 Rotterdam will be at 3/19-3/20 French Internationals

Paris will be He Kexin, Deng Lin Lin, Wu Lifang, Siu Lu and Huang Qiushuang.

Sixin Tan of China competes in the Women’s floor final on day eight of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympics at Bishan Sports Hall on August 22, 2010 in Singapore.

source – ESPN

New Juniors joined Chinese national WAG team after the National Gymnastic Training Camp in January:

Luo Pieru, Chen Li, Liang Lixia –GuangDong
Zhou Gabei –Team HuNan
Bai Delan –Team BeiJing
Pan Ni- Team AnHui
Li Shanshan(different from 08OG:) – Team HeBei
Zeng Panpan- Team Guizhou

read more Chinese Gymnastics – Recent News on Chinese WAG