Year: 2011

I love this drill for double back. It’s safe. Easy. Fun. And encourages good technique.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I assume that’s Al Fong’s ‘new’ gym.

Recall that he fled his old landlord, shutting down G.A.G.E. without warning the parents in advance.

Men’s Head Coach Wesley Chirima gave me a tour of their brand new gym in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Privately owned, they had Gymnova, the official supplier of Gymnastics Canada, outfit with all new apparatus. Their Parallel Bar boxes are as good as any I’ve seen anywhere.

But their sprung vault horse “device” is not as good as the one (sadly) no longer sold by TumblTrak.

The pit foam had not yet arrived. But looks to be good.

The club offers, so far, competitive MAG, WAG and Trampoline sports.

See more photos.

CONGRATS to Sky High Gymnastics. A great new facility for gymnastics in Canada.

United States National Team coordinator Martha Karolyi looks on during a training session at the Karolyi Ranch on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011, in Huntsville, Texas. The Karolyi Ranch, which is approximately 60 miles north of Houston and has been the training home of the women’s gymnastics team since 2001, was officially designated by the U.S. Olympic Committee today as a U.S. Olympic training site for women’s gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling and acrobatics.

ESPN

Colorado Springs remains the Men’s venue, I assume.

This means teams will be training at the Ranch long after Marta retires in 2012.

… The Karolyi Ranch includes housing for 300 athletes, coaches and administrators; three training gyms, two artistic and one multi-discipline (rhythmic, trampoline/tumbling, acro); a dance studio; dining and recreational areas; medical and rehab facilities; and office space. The training gym for rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, and acrobatic gymnastics was added in 2010. …

USAG

Gymnastike has plenty of photos and videos from the announcement day.

(via Going for Gold)

USA Gymnastics national team members, from left, Mattie Larson of Los Angeles, Calif., Bridget Sloan, of Pittsboro, Ind., Alexandra Raisman of Needham, Mass. and Alicia Sacramone of Winchester, Mass., wear hotels robes along with towels on their heads in a light hearted salute to new corporate sponsor Hilton Worldwide during a press event at the Karolyi Ranch on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011, in Huntsville, Texas.

ESPN

Part of the Hilton deal sponsors specific athletes.

The 10 members of Team Hilton HHonors heading into Winter Cup are:

Alexy Bilozertchev of Hilliard, Ohio/U.S. Olympic Training Center
Chris Brooks of Houston/University of Oklahoma
Andrew Elkind of Cherry Hill, N.J./U.S. Olympic Training Center
Wes Haagensen of Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Olympic Training Center
Joey Hagerty of Albuquerque, N.M./U.S. Olympic Training Center
2004 Olympic all-around champion Paul Hamm of Waukesha, Wis./Swiss Turners
RJ Heflin of Harrisburg, Pa./Houston Gymnastics Academy
Jonathan Horton of Houston/Cypress Academy
Danell Leyva of Miami, Fla./Universal Gymnastics
Tim McNeill of Falls Church, Va./University of California, Berkeley

official USAG announcement

… The basics of the deal include a range of $1,000 to about $2,500 per month as a stipend along with bonuses for international medals. …

… According to several sources, Sasha (Artemev) has opted to sign with Team Gattaca for his 2012 Olympic Run. Details of the sponsorship will be announced soon but you can expect to see Sasha sporting Gattaca as (soon) as the upcoming Winter Cup. …

IG forum

As always, a great catch-up on Gymnastics Examiner

Anna Li, Chellsie Memmel, Anja Brinker & Fabian Hambuechen (Achilles), Dominique Dawes, Cerasela Patrascu, Daniel Keatings, Nicolae Forminte.

Gymnastics Examiner

Dominique Dawes’s latest video is interesting. She’s doing personal fitness with her pet – Work out … with your dog!

These days I don’t say much about the regular Skating and Gymnastics Spectaculars.

I have no interest. But there seems to be a market. And I don’t begrudge any gymnast or ex-gymnast who wants to make a few bucks.

But in the last one, Nastia Liukin and friends, Spanny caught a deception:

… in real life, Hollie (Vise) fell on her front aerial. But we couldn’t have that on TV now could we? So Hollie had to reshoot at least that portion of the routine, I’m assuming after the audience left. Which is why she is shot from below, because you can’t see that there is no audience. Very very tricky. …

read more – Big Fake Smile – they look like deep fried deep poop.

You simply can’t believe what you see on a TV Craptacular.

Shocking and cruel? … YES.

There’s something … unnatural about combining gymnastics and ice skating.

Tumblequeensmom on Chalk Bucket linked to a blog new to me: Keeping Balance

It’s written by Courtney, a 17 year old high school senior who reached level 10 at age 13, invited age-10 into Tatiana Perskia’s elite training group at Capital Gymnastics NTC.

… Then quit angry at the sport at age-16.

A Gymnast’s Tale: Part Five:

… When I reflect on the year I spent in Elite group, I automatically think of two days. The first is a hot summer afternoon, and I’m in a shiny red leotard for good luck on my very first day. I’m honored to be training in the same group as World Champions and World Class Elites. The other day I see took place in the following summer, and I’m walking towards Tatiana to inform her that I will not be returning to the sport of gymnastics.

Between those two summers, one would think that I was the happiest girl on Earth – I had amazing competitive seasons, placed in the top three at nearly every meet I went to, and was the only Capital level 9 to qualify for all four event finals at the Hill’s Classic. I was in the best shape of my life! Eight practices a week and conditioning tests every morning practice made sure of that.

But inside, a hatred for the sport consumed me.

I developed an intense aversion to ANYTHING that reminded me of gymnastics. I would not touch a leotard at home.While doing laundry, I’d hold it at arms length by my fingernails, like it was poisonous. I would not say the word “gymnastics” and I would not talk about practice. If I found myself visualizing routines in my head I would shake the thoughts out and think about something else. I hated going down Clifton Rd. because it made me feel like I was going to gym. …

read more

She’s an eloquent writer, happy now to be coaching rather than training.

Check it out for yourself – Keeping Balance

I’m still not sure why this psychological dynamic is so common in women’s Artistic gymnastics, but not in men’s nor other female acrobatic disciplines.

This post via RecGymnastics.com, the new site dedicated to all things non-competitive. (We’re still looking for Rec experts to contribute there.)

Meet Darlene Fedyna, owner of Gymtastics in Calgary, Canada.

She’s just launched Gymtastics GymTools:

From little things, big things grow

Educational Teaching Tools • Gymnastics Program Tools • Specialty Program Tools • Visual Aid Tools • Marketing Tools • Management Tools

There’s more to come. But you will get a good idea of what’s offered by checking out the new website – GymtasticsGymTools.com

Rik Feeney produces these free calendars.

Click over to GymnasticsTrainingTips.com for a high resolution PDF version.

He’s announced electronic editions of many of his books:

* Gymnastics Choreography
Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/65ar5rw

* Back Handsprings: The Secret Techniques
E-book: http://tinyurl.com/5wot6pn

* Cheerleading: Conditioning for Back Handspring & Tumbling Success!
E-book: http://tinyurl.com/5wot6pn

* The Gymnastics Journal
E-book: http://tinyurl.com/5wot6pn

See all Rik’s books on his Gymnastics Library page.

Corey has something like this stack of different sized mats as a permanent station in the gym. It’s used for bar releases, clear hips, etc.

$2,625 – details on Mancino