Author: Rick Mc

Not really a good idea, Dad.

#cangym2014

The silver medalist from Commonwealth Games 4yrs ago threw the BIG routine at Canadian Championships.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

6.80 difficulty, 14,550 2nd

Yes we wish the video man would use a tripod. 😦

What Canadian beat that routine you should ask?

Kevin Lytwyn 6.500 difficulty, 14,800 1st

Here are the men’s Senior results. None of the top guys did the all-around for one reason or another. Protecting injuries, for the most part. Trying to make Commonwealth Games based on their best apparatus.

Kevin Lytwyn and Scott Morgan look fantastic. Competitive with the best in the world.

Look out world. 🙂

1. Ellie Black 58.05
2. Onyshko, Isabela 56,100
3. Moors, Victoria 54,975
4. Merkle, Stefanie 54,600
5. Woo, Victoria-Kayen 54,200
6. Vaculik, Natalie 53,450

full results

Junior
1. Woo, Rose-Kaying 59,050
2. Olsen, Shallon 55,750
3. Roberts, Megan 55,375
4. Rousseau, Audrey 54,875
4. Townsend, Sydney 54,875
6. Soloski, Sydney 52,550

full results

Gymnastics Canada:

Ellie Black wins her second straight women’s senior all around title at the Canadian Gymnastics Championships with Isabela Onyhsko and Victoria Moors in second and third.

In the women’s junior all around, Rose Kaying-Woo won gold, with Shallon Olsen and Megan Roberts, taking silver and bronze.

Keiji Yamanaka, Ellie’s Head Coach, told me she tried her hard routines today with the goal of reaching 58 all-around.

She met her goal.

Victoria fell again on her new Bars dismount, double front.

Unofficial.

That’s the way it looks to me. 🙂

//instagram.com/p/oi482gACFs/embed/

Click PLAY or watch her Finals vault on YouTube.

She’s the gymnast featured in the “Perfect Balance” documentary.

Great Beam.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Game day hydration. 🙂

//instagram.com/p/olnoLfiBFH/embed/

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

… “Tumble” will be broadcast this summer with two time Olympic gymnast Louis Smith and five time Olympic medallist Nadia Comaneci acting as judges. Also joining them on the judging panel will be Comonwealth Games gold medalist Craig Heap and reknowned choreographer and aerialist Sebastien Stella. Acting as a mentor is Britain’s most successful female gymnast Beth Tweddle. …

Full Twist

No doubt Louis will still have time to train his one apparatus for Commonwealth Games.

English teams will be announced May 30th. Here’s the appeal process, if Louis is not selected. 🙂

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I love JAOs video tutorials. The tight editing. High quality of gymnastics.

But what I like most is that he doesn’t simply copy the drills of established Bars gurus. He analyzes the skill. And comes up with his own series of drills.

In this case, one of our biggest problems on pirouettes is turning too late. Right from the start he preps kids to be comfortable finishing in handstand.

Keep them coming, please.

Historically, coaches frowned on tattoos. The Bible warns against them.

UCLA Basketball legend John Wooden did not like them.

But in 2014 they are increasingly common. Not many would question double Olympian Jon Horton’s ink.

Alicia can do no wrong.

But at some point, some are going to start questioning whether tattoos are too large? Or too conspicuous.

Like most parents, (and all old curmudgeons), I worry that young people will decide to get a tattoo too soon. And later regret it.

I worry they will feel peer pressured into it.

This random Facebook image featuring someone I don’t even know caught my eye.

A comic argument against the trend of tattoos.

Here’s an even better argument from We Re The Millers. 🙂

___ Update. Our Olympic Silver medalist has gone way, way too far, in my opinion.