Author: Rick Mc

An inspiring Powerade TV ad.

At certain points in their journey, every athlete faces moments that make them want to give up. We asked four athletes how they Power Through… in the hopes of making Olympic history in London in 2012.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

In the era of smart phones, Twitter has caught on with gymnasts, especially from the USA, Canada and Great Britain.

Couch Gymnast posted a few to humourous effect, including this one from Danell Leyva (who’s flooding my Twitter client. Slow down, dude.)

see more gymnastics tweets

Have you seen the new Trampoline and Tumbling blog – flipping out TNT?

Jenny links to videos from the Trampoline Olympic Test Meet, noting that the Men’s videos are better.

Women’s Prelims
Men’s Tramp

Click PLAY or watch Dong Dong’s optional on YouTube.

Congratulations to Rebecca Morrison, Tara Purvis (reserve), Brittany Robertson (North Harbour), Charlotte Sullivan, Millie Williamson, Hanna Malloch, Courtney McGregor, and Waverley Gee (reserve) who have been named as New Zealand Team to the 2012 Pacific Rim competition in Everett, Washington, USA in March.

Five of that team are from Christchurch School of Gymnastics, impressive since their city, gym and lives have been so disrupted by earthquake.

Thanks Kendra.

Update. The Gym Club is the last sport still operating in the damaged QEII Complex. There’s even a chance they’ll eventually lose the building. Click through to learn of the Earthquake Fundraising campaign.

Early in the season, with a team average score of 196.775 (tied with UCLA) this is the first time Arkansas has ever been atop the page on the GymInfo rankings. The program is exactly 10yrs old.

Congratulations.

The worst start to the season must be Michigan. They suffered a 193.15 splatfest this past weekend, and rank … 36th as a team.

When old timers complain about ‘lack of artistry’ in modern gymnastics, they harken back to the great Soviet girls.

nastia2012:

Olga did not have a fairy tale career, and is remembered for many things that were out of her control, including age falsification, the 1984 boycott, and the “injuries” that kept her and Irina Baraksanova out of the all around in 1985 …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

She was first (1983) to compete Onodi. Yes, that’s another named gymnastics skill bungled by the FIG WTC.

This song happens to be called “Eighties”

Life without limbs.

From no limbs to no limits.

Next time you or yours start feeling sorry for yourself, think of Nick.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

… As a child, he struggled mentally and emotionally, as well as physically, but eventually came to terms with his disability and, at the age of seventeen, started his own non-profit organization, Life Without Limbs. Vujicic presents motivational speeches worldwide, on life with a disability, hope, and finding meaning in life.

I’ll bet Nick inspires this child.

Do you use the compliment sandwich when coaching?

… begin your criticism with a compliment follow up with your criticism/insult and then end with a compliment or something favorable …

There’s a time and a place for that kind of diplomacy.

Best is straight talk / honest feedback between athlete and coach. But only after the athlete is self-confident and trusts the coach.

Ono points out that Paul Hamm, David Sender and Charlie Tamayo are on the list of 91 to compete in the 2012 Winter Cup Challenge, Feb. 2-4, at the Las Vegas (Nev.) Sports Center.

That includes 41 collegiate gymnasts and 14 members of the Jr National team.

Paul’s listed with Swiss Turners Gymnastics Academy, Waukesha, Wisc.

USAG – 2011 World, Pan Am Team members expected to compete in 2012 Winter Cup

I’d rank USA 3rd in the world right now, ahead of Germany, Russia and GBR. Rings and Pommels are the apparatus most needed. They’ll carry one specialist, at most. Likely Rings.

Defending champion China is worried, I think. The red and gold are weak in the AA. The smaller team size hurts. And nothing less than team Gold will do.

Lieven Vercruyssen, founder and chief evangelist of Eurogym / Eurotumble Belgium, explained their Inflatable Pit:

One or both bladders can be inflated to the desired firmness simply by pushing a button on the wall. Wow. From resi-pit to landing “table” in minutes, without moving a thing.

… As a simpler alternative, what about stacking Air Pits like these available from Tumbl Trak or Eurogym?

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Having many independent air pits stacked would leave you many future options.

Any air base would have a top mat made of foam, of course.

Leave a comment if you’ve used any kind of ‘air pit’ system.

Air is the future, I’m certain.