Year: 2011

Myself and “piibunina” from Estonia are two conspicuous foreigners at the Henderson Cup 2011 National Gymnastics Championships in Hong Kong. (details and links)

WAG prelims are completed. MAG goes today.

piibunina has been sleeping little, staying up late editing and posting routines to YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch Deng Linlin on Bars on YouTube.

See more videos.

The Tokyo Worlds team (aside from Wu Liufang) and some others from the top group were excused from this competition. Actually, the meet seems very low stress as it’s not qualifying for any major meets.

Everyone is happy to have Nationals in Hong Kong, especially for shopping. 🙂

Here are some general impressions of the Senior competitors.

• Firstly, it’s an honour to be here. China is clearly the top gymnastics nation, MAG and WAG combined, in the world.

• Chinese girls show better form and body position than any other nation, including Russia. Twisting is generally very clean. Feet are together on round-off and backward handspring. Impressive attention to detail.

• very few girls used simple jumps out of tumbling. It seems China feels that trend will end soon. Most girls were trying to land tumbling lines like men.

• strongest apparatus = Bars, especially amazing el-grip and el-grip Endo combinations. Jaegers are strong. All other release moves, including Tkachev, not strong nor consistent.

• dismounts and low to high Bar transfers are weak elements, for the majority of girls. I cannot understand why.

• almost every competitor used Pak rather than overshoot. Almost every competitor had significant deductions getting out of Pak.

• about half the Seniors wear grips

• There was much excellent Beam work, as expected. But more falls that I expected. In China gymnasts and coaches show very little emotion during the meet. There are no tears nor fist pumps.

• Vault is the weakest apparatus, as you might expect. There were more Tsuk pikes than DTYs. Many use Handspring front vaults. There was one Tsuk double twist.

• One thing I’ve always admired about Chinese coaches is that when the skill is not ready … they replace it with a simple skill. One tiny girl competed only Handspring, quite proudly. Coach and gymnast both smiling.

• Floor was good but not great. Most girls in this competition had only just enough power to barely complete double pike or double tuck. (The Floor is not springy.)

There were no double layouts. Only two 1/1-ins … that I can recall. In China the strategy is to use twisting elements.

• China in WAG would definitely benefit from reducing the importance of difficulty, rewarding more execution.

There were very few girls in the gym who you could call “power” gymnasts. If the Code continues in the direction we’re going, the talent I.D. system in China needs look for girls with better leg strength. Likely that will result in less flexible kids in future.

They need more gymnasts like Cheng Fei.

Initially I was surprised to see some gymnasts competing who were past the peak of their careers. And some conspicuously weak gymnasts, as well. It was explained to me that each Province is dependent on government funding, based on results. Many girls are asked to continue to support their gym and region.

Congratulations to all the girls and coaches who competed Hong Kong. You put on a good show.

I’ll try to get my hands on printed results and get the names translated.

(via Couch Gymnast … who managed to post a link to these videos before I did.)

Here’s how it looks after prelims … UNOFFICIAL

Women: 2 China, 2 Canada, 1 Germany, 1 Belarus, 1 Great Britain, 1 USA.

Men: 2 China, 2 Japan, 2 Russia, 1 France, 1 Ukraine.

Those nations (so far) have confirmed those invitations for the individual competition at 2012 Olympics.

… the rest will qualify through the “Test Event” in London in January.

China had four women in the top eight, but nations can only qualify a maximum of two Olympic berths each. It was great to see the host nation GBR confirm one of the Tramp spots.

FIG – Individual Trampoline Qualifications

Click PLAY or watch a teaser for Worlds on YouTube.

Rewriting Russian Gymnastics has a translation of an interview her coach did with RIA Novosti.

Is it easy to work with her?

You know, it depends. She is far from being sweet and easy to work with, but she is very determined. If she wants something badly, she works very single-mindedly to achieve it. Sometimes she quarrels with me and it’s difficult to convince her.

read more – ‘Vika has no less potential than Aliya’ – interview with Gennady Elfimov

That photo is from Vika’s website.

… Team Romania and coach Octavian Belu. This workout was filmed in Tokyo just 24 hours before the 2011 World Championships Team Final where Romania finished in fourth.

Despite having high expectations coming into Tokyo, the Romanian team left without a single medal. Their eyes are firmly set on the 2012 London Olympics and getting reigning Olympic floor champion Sandra Izbasa healthy. 2004 Olympic beam and floor Champion Catalina Ponor began training just six months prior to the World Championships and looked fantastic in Tokyo. She will likely lead the team in London.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/NDUzNTE3Mjgz?related=1

Watch more videos on Gymnastike

What jumps out at me from that edit is that Romania is still strong on Beam. After the USA, they were likely the second most stable in training.

Next … what the current Code has wrought. It’s obvious that start score and consistency is the goal. Quality of individual skills is much worse than Romania of old.

The best robot today can run and jump like a 2yr-old.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

How soon will it be before this kind of humanoid robot can do a standing salto?

I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords. 🙂

The other coach accused in the court of public opinion by reporter SCOTT M. REID was Doug Boger. That article resulted in Doug getting fired.

Yet Doug Boger is not Don Peters. Neither is Jerry Sandusky. … All three get tarred by the same brush.

Many have come forward to support Doug Boger. None, so far as I’ve heard, have done so for Don Peters. Most want Sandusky in prison for life.

Trevor Coolidge in the comments of … this post

I am a parent of a recent gymnast of Doug’s. He was probably the finest coach I have ever seen. The way he could motivate the kids was truly amazing. It is one of the gifts of great coaches. He gave my son the confidence to try skills that were truly unbelievable. …

He knew when to apply pressure and when to give a hug. He brought the best out of Aubree (who I have met) and every other gymnast I saw him coach. Every trampoline gymnast in the country wanted to train with Doug. They still do. Our whole family was heartbroken when Doug left Southern California. All we knew was that someone made some allegations. No names, no dates, no day in court.

To add insult to injury – it was the week before the national competition.

It amazed me at the time that USAG could do such a thing – with absolutely no criminal conviction. An allegation was sufficient.

Now a knucklehead fish-wrap writer can cause the man additional pain. Of all professions, a writer is one I would expect to presume innocence. Shame on you. I don’t suspect you would like it if you got fired because someone claimed you copied their work (with no proof).

I prefer to stand solidly behind Doug.

Doug Boger may be innocent or guilty. I don’t know. But it hardly seems the way he’s been ousted from the sport has been fair or ethical.

Does anyone have the document that outlines how USAG decides who is added to the “permanently ineligible for membership” list?

A very cute Olympics preview in L.A.

See more from that event linked from Examiner – Check it out: The U.S. women’s “British” Olympics shoot!

Meanwhile, Lauren Mitchell’s been shooting a TV ad for VISA. There are stills from that session posted on Facebook.

UPDATE:

Visa, a proud sponsor of the Olympic Games for 25 years, announced today that Australian gymnast Lauren Mitchell will join sporting greats including swimmer Michael Phelps and shot put gold medalist Valerie Adams as the face of its London 2012 Olympic Games campaign. …

VISA MEDIA RELEASE linked by Lauren on Facebook.

Meanwhile …

@John__Orozco: To go pro or not to go pro! #Indecisive

Sure. Why not. … EVERYBODY go pro. 🙂

I’ve announced my own decision to GO PRO on Twitter. … #waitingforthecallfromNike

It’s all over the mainstream news.

… USA Gymnastics, the sport’s national governing body, placed Peters, 64, on the organization’s permanently ineligible list and removed him from the sport’s Hall of Fame on Wednesday after at least three women accused him of sexually abusing young gymnasts in the 1980s.

“A USA Gymnastics’ hearing panel has concluded the investigation regarding Don Peters and has ruled that Peters will be listed as “permanently ineligible” for membership in USA Gymnastics, and that Peters’ membership in the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame will be revoked, along with any rights and privileges connected to either,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement Wednesday. The organization would have no further comment, a spokesperson said.

The hearing panel’s decision is final and concludes the disciplinary process per USA Gymnastics’ bylaws. …

If you believe it’s a witch hunt, SCOTT M. REID of THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER is leading the pitchfork wielding mob. Here’s his take on the announcement – Don Peters, iconic Olympics coach, banned by U.S. Gymnastics

Let’s say Don Peters is guilty. Justice has been served though not with the due process he’d get in a court of law. I hope the victims get some closure and relief. I only wish he’d have been found “guilty” sooner.

Let’s speculate that he’s innocent, or guilty of lesser crimes, he’s finished anyway, with or without this official relegation to the Hall of Infamy.

All male coaches are tarnished, too, in the minds of the general public. 😦

… What about others who knew and did not act?

I’m still looking for the right wrap-up on the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal in so far as it relates to gymnastics coaches. How much are enablers to blame?

It’s a more complicated issue than it appears to the pitchfork wielding mob.

I’d pretty much ignored this thread of discussion as empty speculation. But it’s true.

Raisman was expected to sign with the University of Florida this week after announcing her intentions to represent the Gators in NCAA competition during the August Visa Championships …. By taking on professional status she has relinquished her NCAA eligibility.

The value of a scholarship and degree from Florida is considerable. It’s difficult for me to believe she can match or better that with prize money and by signing with Octagon Sports.

But perhaps it’s getting more lucrative to go pro than in the past. Blythe Lawrence considers the issue.

I’m all for more money for gymnasts and coaches. If this works for Aly, it’s good news.

I’m at the Henderson Cup 2011 National Gymnastics Championships, hosted for the first time in Hong Kong. Competition begins today for 90+ Sr men and 50+ Sr women. The Worlds Teams from Tokyo are not here, still in recovery mode from that peak meet.

That gives an opportunity for the best of the rest to shine.

Facebook page.

official home page in Chinese and Google translated

You might be able to watch some LIVE coverage online on Nov. 20th, Hong Kong time:

… 2-hour live broadcast will also be broadcast in real time, on-line, so that people can have more ways to enjoy this wonderful event. Visitors can log in from anywhere via the Internet to watch event …

details

Internet in Hong Kong is not restricted as it is in the mainland. In fact, it was very difficult for China to host the meet in Hong Kong as much cost and paperwork was required to bring everyone over.

Under the principle of “one country, two systems“, Hong Kong still has a different political system …

A guest of Cirque du Soleil’s Jun Chen, I don’t have a media credential, but I’ll still try to get stories out as best I can.

Leave a comment if you are following the meet elsewhere, on Chinese blogs perhaps.