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Here’s the original (.gif).
Author: Rick Mc
Career gymnastics coach who loves the outdoors, and the internet.
Shaposhnikova variations
Love this skill. And all the variations.
Who does it best on this compilation?
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I like Komova.
… Certainly gymnasts should be only allowed to compete one variation / routine.
1bravenewworld:
Very nicely done!? Just a little remark: The ‘Yao’ wasn’t officially named – it’s known in parts of the internet gymnastics community as the ‘Yaostafina’ since Yao Jinnan and Mustafina both competed it at the same time.
via @ArabianPF_blog
Florida the team to beat
Though Michigan had the same opening night team score — 196.575 — Florida is cursed, once again, as being the Gymternet’s pick to win it all in 2013.
They look deeper than ever.
Click PLAY or watch highlights from weekend #1 on YouTube.
Kytra Hunter’s Floor (last routine) looks electrifying. Can’t wait to see it LIVE.
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Drama. Always drama at UCLA. Check video highlights of their season opener.
They do seem to have more injuries than any other of the top teams.
Consensus is that scores were too high first night in the newly renovated Pauley Pavillion, site of Championships 2013.
related:
• Iowa State posted a dreadful 191.525 in their season opener.
• Lauren Hopkins – NCAA Week One Wrap-Up
Beth Tweddle can skate?
How many times has she actually put on on skates?
Beth Tweddle made her debut last night on ITV’s “Dancing on Ice”. She’s the early favourite to win. Former Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson was first to be voted off last night.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Gymnastics in Yemen
FIG:
… December 17-21, Yemen hosted the third of a series of FIG Age Group Programme training camps in the city of Sana’a… The training camp was for MAG only as Yemen does not formally train female gymnasts at this time.
The FIG expert for this camp was once again … Rick McCharles of Canada. … leader for this three-week three-country Age Group Programme Camp tour that featured the participation of 37 coaches from 14 different countries.
These camps are intended to expose as many coaches as possible from the host country to the FIG Age Group Programme so that it will be implemented and understood uniformly. …
read more – Yemen hosts last FIG Education event of 2012
”
GAAR ADAMS summed up the situation eloquently in an August 2012 article:
Inside a stuffy, ramshackle warehouse on the northern outskirts of Yemen’s capital, a dozen male gymnasts line up at the end of a tattered vaulting runway. Wedged into a tight corner on the opposite side of the warehouse, the bright red steel of a high-tech Gymnova vaulting table donated by the Japanese Embassy in Sana’a to the barebones Yemen Gymnastics Federation stands in stark contrast to the corrugated metal and cracking cement of the building surrounding it. …
Four years ago, Nashwan al-Harazi did something only four-dozen other people in his country of nearly 30 million people can say – he competed in the Olympic Games. At just 21 years old, not only was Al-Harazi the first Yemeni to compete in gymnastics at the Olympics, but he also did so representing a country with a tradition in the sport barely older than he was. …
“There is no money,” says Ali al-Harazi, Nashwan’s brother …
Things are a little better now.
The gym is crammed with boys excited to do Gymnastics and the relatively new sport of Tricking.
The level of skill and technique on Pommels, Floor and Vault is surprisingly high. A number of the boys do good two and a half twist on Floor. Twisting forward and backward is strong. Many want to be the NEXT Nashwan.
Coach Jim Holt has some good stories on Nashwan’s incredible story. He identified the 10yr-old boy as “potential” back in 1996.
Click PLAY or watch Nashwan’s Floor on YouTube.
related – IG – Al-Harazi “Still in Shock” Over Wild-Card Olympic Berth (2008)
what happened last year?
Blythe can fill you in:
related – Couch Gymnast 2012 Retrospective: The Lowlights
related – FIG – Happy New Year and welcome back …
Ponor – Beam – Gala Antwerp
One of the few WAG Gala performances to get good reviews from gymnastics insiders.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Grishina interview
The brilliant — but inconsistent — Anastasia Grishina is introspective in a new interview about London.
Translated by Fanatic:
… After (the competition) I analyzed my mistakes, and I will probably continue to do so over and over again.
I was burned out and very nervous. Why did it happen? Perhaps from lack of experience at major competitions. What I can say, is that I felt a huge responsibility. …
Click PLAY or watch a montage (with falls) on YouTube.
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The same site translated an interview with Viktoria Komova. The most mature and nuanced I’ve yet read.
routine training strategies
Nick Blanton gives some examples. And asks for more.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
For a majority of gymnasts, my main strategy when training routines is to start with the dismount. And work backwards, adding subsequent elements as quality improves.
That way the athlete ends up with more last half volume of training. They can “finish”, even when tired (or in case of problems) during the competition routine.
My second strategy is “mini-routine” ~ mount to dismount with whatever parts of the set the gymnast can do easily.
In season, with gymnasts who can get through imperfect target routines in series, I like best “start / stop” sets to improve quality. The gymnast starts the routine … I call STOP if there is any significant error. The grumbling gymnast must start over.
The degree of error depends on the gymnast. 🙂
Gymnastics Coaching.com 