circus turns gymnasts into artists

Read Dvora’s article on Deadspin.

How Cirque Du Soleil Turns Gymnasts Into Artists

Alabama’s Bryan Raschilla is out

After 22-years at Alabama, the gymnastics associate head coach was not renewed by Dana Duckworth. 

His annual salary was $130,858.

Raschilla said he wasn’t given an explanation.

2018 was only the 3rd time Alabama had not qualified to Super 6 over Bryan’s tenure.

I expect he’ll be getting Head Coach offers from other schools.

Friedrich Ludwig Jahn in St. Louis

After NCAA Nationals while walking in Forest Park, close to the site of the 1904 Olympics, I happened upon this statue of one of the historical founders of Gymnastics.

On either side are statues of a male and female athlete.

Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (11 August 1778 – 15 October 1852) was a German gymnastics educator and nationalist. His admirers know him as Turnvater Jahn, roughly meaning “father of gymnastics” Jahn. …

The first Turnplatz, or open-air gymnasium, was opened by Jahn in Berlin in 1811, and the Turnverein (gymnastics association) movement spread rapidly. …

A man of populistic nature, rugged, eccentric and outspoken, Jahn often came into conflict with the authorities. …

Jahn promoted the use of parallel barsrings and high bar in international competition. In honor and memory of him, some gymnastic clubs, called Turnvereine (German: Turnvereine), took up his name …

Karolyis sue USAG, USOC

In the world’s most litigious nation, we expected this.

Bela and Martha Karolyi have filed suit against the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics, seeking more than a million dollars in damages and saying they should not be held responsible for any lawsuits stemming from crimes committed at their Sam Houston National Forest ranch by disgraced doctor Larry Nassar.

The suit, filed last month in Walker County, accuses USA Gymnastics of being in violation of a purchase agreement and a lease agreement at the couple’s ranch, which until last year housed the women’s national training center, and of failing to live up to a promise to “wrap their arms” around the couple and to defend them against allegations stemming from the Nassar sexual abuse scandal.

Houston Chronicle

related – Sabrina Vega sued Bela and Martha Karolyi as well as USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Changing Gymnastics Culture by Dave Tilley

After fifteen years competing up to the college level, and ten years coaching, I have spent the last five years as a medical provider treating almost all gymnasts (Sports Physical Therapy) while also still actively coaching competitive gymnastics at the same time. …

… in an effort to help, I have spent the last twelve months writing a new e-book covering all of these topics and more. I wrote it in an effort to spark conversations on how the sport of gymnastics can move into a new era that prioritizes athlete health, builds positive training cultures, and seeks the most optimal training methods based on scientific research as well as expert coaching opinion.

Shift Movement Science

Dave’s made his book free. Click through to download.

The book is 3 PDFs.

In addition are two resources: Myofascial Release Checklist and a Splits Complex.

I’ll be reviewing my own copy. I’m keen to hear what the sports medicine community has to say. So far as I can see they’ve been very quiet on Nassar. It was gymnasts who finally took him down, not parents or coaches nor his professional fraternity.