Year: 2011

The latest edit from our most entertaining acrobat.

Professional stuntman, gymnastics coach and free runner Damien Walters returns with his annual video: Damien Walters 2011 Showreel.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Lots of new stuff there.

Often I’ve listed Natalia Shaposhnikova my favourite gymnast, all time.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. (1979)

I’d urge current gymnasts to steal everything they can from that choreography. 🙂

Like Yurchenko, Natalia was the total package: charismatic, artistic, flexible, strong … and yet still did big difficulty, for the day.

Happily we are reminded of her often due to the popularity of her Bar transfer.

Related – Whatever happened to Natalia Shaposhnikova (URS)

(via Vídeos de gimnasia)

Examiner – NCAA signing day: Who’s headed where?

Click PLAY or watch a Utah TV spot on YouTube.

(via Greg Marsden on College Gymnastics Board)

Age-11.

… Canadian junior Rose Kalam Woo made a grand impression by winning the Hopes Division of the Combs-la-Ville Tournament that took place this week just south of Paris. On bars, Woo showed a dismount I can’t recall seeing before: a double front in the pike position. …

read more on Examiner

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

That’s the most extreme version of the “whippy technique” for low to high Bar transfer I can recall seeing. It’s used by very short kids on FIG setting or wider.

… Australia was elected to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The Queensland bid defeated the only other candidate, Hambantota, Sri Lanka to win the honour. The vote count was 43 to 27.

read more on Games Bids

(via @ozgymblog)

I don’t see this on the USA Gymnastics homepage, but it looks true.

USA Gymnastics tightens rules on banned coaches

USA Gymnastics, the sport’s national governing body, has adopted new rules designed to prevent coaches banned for sexual and physical abuse from remaining in the sport, the Orange County Register has learned.

USA Gymnastics will announce today a policy change requiring any organization or individual hosting or organizing USAG events to be in compliance with the rule prohibiting employment of people on the permanently ineligible list. …

… Boger was banned by USAG in 2010 but continued to coach at a Colorado Springs gym. His continued involvement in the sport spurred a number of former students to go public, for the first time, with accusations of abuse.

Boger has repeatedly denied the allegations …

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Actually, it affects only about 300 more gyms than in the past. USAG can’t police non-affiliated businesses.

… “This is a start,” Vidmar said. “We’ve got more to do.” …

With the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal all over the news, I doubt they’ll be much discussion.

This rule change doesn’t much alter the biggest remaining issue — if you are innocent yet somehow placed on the ‘permanently ineligible list’, your coaching career is over.

I had a teacher friend wrongfully accused who spent years in prison. It’s a sore point with me.

The 2010 world champion tried to compete Bars / Beam at DTB Cup this weekend. But had some knee pain. It was a no go.

As reported by Brigid McCarthy:

“The DTB ticker, after saying Mustafina had withdrawn, commented that as she helped her team prepare bars, she did not look happy at all. The crowds and many fans around the world are equally unhappy about this gymnast’s unfortunate luck of late. Let us hope we will see her soon.”

related – Examiner interview with Aliya

Russia finishes 3rd as a team without her, behind Australia and Germany – Couch Gymnast

via @Double_Front and @Full_Twist

Blythe had questioned whether or not it was too soon.

It looks that way. But I’ve seen astonishingly fast recovery from ACL from super fit, super motivated young gymnasts before.

Just what we need … 🙂

… Actually this was just a school project for ex-gymnast Elizabeth Grimsley at University of Georgia.

Some good content: Code, Injuries, Age Limit, etc.

Check it out – Gymnastics Controversies blog

related article by Elizabeth – What If You Were the Best in the World, but Not Allowed to Compete?

If you enjoyed the British documentary Gymnast, here’s a montage using some of that footage.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via gymtage)

Ivan Cuk, Samo Penic & Dejan Krizaj at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia have been experimenting with technology for measuring springboard actions on Vault.

The new device is composed of a processor unit with LCD display and is connected to accelerometer sensors that are placed under the top desk of the springboard.

… accelerations velocities are calculated … and several parameters such as time to maximal springboard compression and maximal velocity at take-off are determined and displayed. The data is directly transferred to a PC for further analysis ….

Matlab software was used to record, filter and analyze the measured data.

Results are in good agreement with simultaneously obtained results from the force plate and laser displacement sensor measurements (similar time and vertical velocity).

With developed equipment it will be possible to determine typical springboard action parameters for individual gymnast, optimal springboard parameters for a required jump, to analyze repeatability of springboard jumps, to analyze transverse movements and to optimize training and its efficiency. The developed device has good potential for use as a fast information system as well as a device for suitable science/research projects in vaulting.

Details in this PDF – TOWARDS A SMART SPRINGBOARD (CASE STUDY)

I saw that posted in the latest issue of the Science of Gymnastics Journal.