Year: 2011

Amy Van Deusen of About.com Gymnastics is now also writing for espnW, a new branch of espn.com committed to spotlighting women’s sports, gymnastics included.

Check out a sample post, Amy’s write up on VISA Championships – Wieber dominates nationals; Bross injured

Rather than try to legislate “equality for women in sport”, far better is to create products that the general public want. Women’s Artistic Gymnastics is super marketable.

The new Chellsie Memmel looks fantastic. Much better to me than when she won Worlds 2005. (Back then I was disappointed by her bad basics and poor artistry.)

Click PLAY or watch her Beam on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch her Floor on YouTube. (Very smart choreography and music.)

Right now I have more confidence in Chellsie and Alica hitting at Worlds Tokyo than anyone else aside from Wieber.

… Is this a new coaching strategy under an ultra-demanding code? Retire. Heal completely. Get back into shape. Train specifically for the target meet. … Try to avoid the chronic overuse injuries that plague the girls who have trained relentlessly for years.

The psychology of the “comeback” is easier than staying at the top, too.

CONGRATS to Chellsie. And please heal that shoulder quickly.

related – Star Tribune – A step backward after making strides

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There were plenty of problems at USA VISA Championships this year. But the event website and communication was superb. … USAG has really got this internet thing figured out. 🙂

From the event page it’s easy to find results, photos and videos

MAG, WAG and Rhythmic are all linked from that page.

Sky Corbett-Methot was a Canadian National Team member. At a training camp a week before nationals 2009, she was injured on a vault landing.

In this Gymn.ca exclusive, she opens up about the heart break of injury and later finding success in a new sport! …

Gymn.ca: When and how did you discover diving?

… My favorite thing about gymnastics was the flipping. So while I was recovering from my crushed knee I thought to myself “what other sport can I flip in and not hurt my knees in?” …

The biggest adjustment of switching from gymnastics to diving would be the standard attempt to “stick it” in gym to landing headfirst. …

read the rest of the interview on Gymn.ca – Sky Corbett-Methot

After a very short career as a diver, Sky accepted an NCAA scholarship to Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Congratulations.

MR Times – Athlete swaps out gym for pool

A dream has come true for a Hammond diver who always wanted to compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association

Valeri Liukin is one of the very best coaches in the world. Yet after the injury on Vault (Double Twisting Yurchenko) to Rebecca Bross on National TV, criticism rains down.

If she had pulled out a typical Bross miracle, we’d say he was a savvy God of coaching. She’s tough as nails. Everybody knows it.

Gymnastics Examiner:

… Liukin’s decision to let Bross vault a double-twisting Yurchenko — and rest assured, had he told her to vault a full twist, or a Yurchenko layout, or to scratch completely, she would have complied — was the wrong one, as events have shown. It has cost Bross the opportunity to compete at this fall’s World Championships, and given her yet another hurdle to overcome before next year’s long, drawn-out Olympic team selection process. …

Examiner – Rebecca Bross at the 2011 U.S. Championships: A reflection after an injury

Coaching gymnastics, at all levels, requires decisions on whether or not to compete a difficult skill. (Level 8 Tsukaharas in many competitions can be terrifying.)

Liukin made the decision. Right or wrong.

But why?

Rebecca’s goal is to win the Olympics. In order to do that he has a timeline over the next 12 months. Success at the World Championships is part of that plan. But to make Team USA, Marta wants the team fit NOW, fine tuning up to Tokyo.

Certainly if VISA Championships were not for a month yet, Rebecca wouldn’t have been doing that vault on to hard surface. Her ankle is not fully recovered.

Liukin won the 2008 Olympic AA with Yurchenko 1 1/2 twist. But obviously he felt that Rebecca had to show DTY or risk being left off the Worlds Team.

USA is not going to win Tokyo with clean execution. They must do more difficulty than Russia & China.

Couch Gymnast:

… Can I just say for the umpteenth million times, I do not like this code?

In her review of the shambles that was the first night of the Visa Nationals, Blythe at The Gymnastics Examiner ever-so-aptly described it as an “embarrassing display of non-mastery of difficulty.” And in many ways she wasn’t far wrong. The general improvement in many of the women’s performances on Day 2 proved that for some the ‘hot mess’ that was the first competition could be put down to nerves. Still, there is something in what Blythe says. …

We have all said it before, there is too much focus on difficulty in this code. Sometimes we are saying it because of the persistent and probably salient truth that all this difficulty sacrifices execution. It is also sacrificing both the quality of the sport and the gymnasts themselves. …

Dear FIG…

I agree. This code rewards high start value. The coaches know it. And they coach for difficulty.

Kelly Manjak told me the same thing. If Canada wants to qualify as a team to the London games, they need DTY. He’s had two gymnasts injured on DTY.

Blythe Lawrence disagrees:

… As it was foolish of Aliya Mustafina’s coaches to let her attempt an Amanar in a European Championship she would have won by a wide mile without it in April, it was ridiculous of Bross’ coaches to let her vault the Yurchenko double when she could not have won even if she had done it perfectly. …

Yet the 2012 Code is not all bad. Vault is not much more dangerous than in the 2008 Code. Here’s my “Report Card”. (Red is bad.)

FIG needs to kill the score of any gymnast who does dangerous looking gymnastics. That’s the only way to stop them from taking grave risks in order to win.

After any injury we need reflect on what could have been done to prevent it. In this case, injury preventable, I’d say the coach and the code share the blame.

When we look back at this Code of Points 10yrs from now, most will agree it was a failed experiment.

Perhaps the American Team selection system contributes, too. Valeri felt that Rebecca could not be injured right now (like Bridget Sloan) or Marta might feel that her best days were behind her.

One more thing. If she had been landing on the FIG Double Mini-tramp landing surface, rather than the FIG 20cm Vault mat, the chance of injury would be less. It’s a much more forgiving surface. Wider and longer.

related:

• Examiner – Women’s night one: Why we should not despair

• Aunt Joyce – Nationals: A Reflection

For the first time I’m actually starting to believe Shawn has a chance to make the American Olympic team.

Bars is crucial.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch her Vault on YouTube.

Senior routines are coming up on YouTube already.

Jordyn Wieber
McKayla Maroney
Aly Raisman
Mackenzie Caquatto
Sabrina Vega
Bridgey Caquatto
Gabrielle Douglas
Chellsie Memmel
Alicia Sacramone
Shawn Johnson
Rebecca Bross

Anna Li and Amanda Jetter not selected. Nor Bridget Sloan.

Congratulations.

… Jordyn Wieber lived up to the hype and then some, winning her first title at the U.S. gymnastics championships in a rout Saturday night.

Wieber finished with 121.30 points, 6.15 points ahead of McKayla Maroney. ..

Next up: the world championships, Oct. 7-16 in Tokyo, where Wieber will be the heavy favorite to win. …

Nancy Armour – Wieber wins 1st US gymnastics title in a rout

Jordyn Wieber’s Fan page on Facebook

I’d agree that Jordyn Wieber is the favourite for Worlds. Especially now that Bross is out.

But VISA Championships day 1 goes to show how quickly the scores can plummet under this Code when something goes wrong.

Defending champion Rebecca Bross is out of the U.S. gymnastics championships after injuring her right knee on vault. …

sacbee.com

Sounds like ACL. Gymnastics Examiner says it’s a dislocated kneecap. Whew. That’s the same injury Peng Peng Lee had. Same skill. She’s recovering quickly.