top qualifiers Doha

Here are the top 3 from prelims.

Vault
Giulia Steingruber (SUI)
Larisa Iordache (ROU)
Teja Belak (SLO)

Bars
Jiaxin Tan (CHN)
Larisa Iordache (ROU)
Gabrielle Jupp (GBR)

Beam
Siqi Zeng (CHN)
Larisa Iordache (ROU)
Gabrielle Jupp (GBR)

Floor
Larisa Iordache (ROU)
Diana Bulimar (ROU)
Siqi Zeng (CHN)

official results (PDFs in a flash file)

I love Doha. But that’s near the worst way possible to post scores.

Doha

Finals – average 2 vaults, again

I’d not yet formed much of an opinion on the CHANGE in Finals Vault scoring …

Never mind.

The new rule seems to have already been rescinded.

Maroney-takes-silver-after-fall-in-vault-1I20KTL0-x-large

If the revised vault scoring had been used at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, vault silver medalist McKayla Maroney, who fell on her second vault, would have been fourth. …

details on IG – FIG Abandons New Vault Scoring System

Patrick Chan would prefer the OLD rule. He won gold at Worlds despite three falls in the Men’s Free Skate.

Affair of the Art

Partner Cirque du Soleil has been collaborating with FIG trying to better define “artistry”.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Some beautiful sequences.

I respect and appreciate the initiative. But am not yet convinced Artistic Gymnastics will be any more Artistic in Rio than it was in London.

A much more realistic solution would be to require form and technique. Apply the current Code as written.

Legs straight, feet together, feet stretched, good “line”, kick out before landings.

Aliya and Nastia, so often examples of good artistry, twist like figure skaters.

Aliya Nastia

The example of Artistry on Floor I like best is Courtney McCool 2004.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Gymnastics in Africa

Two of seven 5-day FIG Age Group Programme Camps for Artistic Gymnastics on the African continent were completed over the weekend in Nigeria and in South Africa.

I’m leading in Nigeria and Senegal. Hardy Fink, the Director of FIG Education & Academy Programmes, is on tour leading 4 camps, including South Africa:

NIGERIA: The camp in Nigeria was hosted by the Gymnastics Federation of Nigeria in the planned and new capital city of Abuja from March 18-22 and within the impressive gymnasium in the National Sport Complex.

Thirty Nigerian coaches from all parts of the country attended. … Nigeria has an enormous population and a large pool of potentially super gymnasts.

Nigeria coaches photo

SOUTH AFRICA: The FIG Age Group Camp in Pretoria, South Africa was for Men’s Artistic Gymnastics only and was held from March 20-24 …

South Africa has among the most advanced and well-prepared gymnasts and also among the most educated coaches from among the 25 countries to which this programme is being introduced. For that reason, it was possible to also explore the higher levels of the technical skills testing program and the higher levels of the compulsory exercises.

… The camp was highly successful and has served to energize the coaches to make greater progress in the near future.

© FIG
© FIG

In the coming week, three such Age Group Training Camps will be conducted at the same time in three different African countries. Two of them will be French language camps in Congo and Senegal and one will be an English language camp with Portuguese translation in Mozambique.

details on FIG

I’ve seen superb talent in Africa. Strong, flexible and tough.

A 2012 Olympic Gymnastics Champion is an African American. Any argument that Africans are not well suited to Artistic Gymnastics is nonsense. They’ve simply not had enough opportunity to train the sport.

Click PLAY or watch Fakiyesi Oke Tayo on YouTube.

He’s never competed outside Nigeria.

Marta staying to Rio

… “I love it. I definitely want to stay until the Games in Rio de Janeiro to once again have great success with team USA. However, the 2016 Games will be my last Olympics” tells Karolyi. …

Marta

That from a GymPOWER interview in Jesolo.

2013 Bar Boot Camps

Is Bars the weak apparatus in your gym?

Boot CampHands on bar clinic for coaches (20 maximum) conducted by Tom Forster and Neil Resnick.

June 28-30 Seattle, WA
July 19-21 Newport News, VA
August 2-4 Colorado Springs, CO

The price for each Boot Camp includes all meals and materials – $750. Additional coaches from the same gym are discounted to $650.

Questions? 719-322-7826 | Register: 719-260-1893 | tom@ziptimeclock.com

Kyla Ross – Jesolo Bars

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

GymPOWER interviewed Kyla in Italy:

“The Jesolo Trophy, for me, was a great start of the new season, National Championships in Hartford and the WCH in Antwerp are the biggest meets for me.

I will try to increase my difficulty, because I want to reach the All Around Finals in Antwerp at the WCH. This is the only one I have not yet made during my career”.