tumbling, tramp, diving, acrobatics, circus, cheer, dance, martial arts, X sports … and more
… Make your picks for the top gymnasts in twenty-two different categories. You have until the end of 2011 to vote!
Unlike the Inside Gymnastics poll, on this one you can “write in” a gymnast in the COMMENTS box. Gabby Douglas for “Rookie gymnast of the year”, for example.
Did you get one of these for Christmas?
Jay Soucy, of Evergreen Gymnastics in Lisbon, NH recommends this product for cleaning chalky mats. It’s intended for hardwood floors and other flat, smooth surfaces.
The Shark Steam Mop and replacement Cleaning Pads.
Keeping a gym clean is one of the biggest challenges for any manager.
(via gymmomentum – A NEW WAY TO CLEAN CHALK!)
What did your female gymnasts get for Christmas?
I’m guessing many opened iPads, Kindles and smart phones.
It’s true that women are still disinterested in careers in I.T., but that girls and women are keener on social media than males.
It seems inevitable that women will one day dominate the internet. Most of the most popular gymnastics bloggers today are female.
I got an iPhone 4S, myself.
related – Waldorf Independent Schools bucks tech trend with unplugged approach
Trail, B.C. — a very artistic edit.
… alpine skis down hilly city terrain. Includes jumps over hung laundry & parked cars, railslides down stairs, etc. …
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
http://vimeo.com/sherpas/jpstreet
Dangerous, but inexpensive. He takes the public bus back up the hill at the end.
Ron Shewchuk linked to this on kottke.
Nora Schuler of THE ALL AROUND has been following the many problems:
The FIG World Cup circuit took another hit just before Christmas when the FIG officially announced the cancellation of the French International in 2012. The competition, scheduled for 17- 18 March, has been a mainstay on the FIG calendar for a long time. …
The reason for the cancellation of the French World Cup is the failure of the FIG to secure the top gymnasts for the competition.
The deadline for definitive entries was the 17 December – and not even half of the top three gymnasts per event would have been represented in Paris. And it gets worse.
… [French federation president] Jacques Rey, deplores the non participation of the best gymnasts from Japan, Russia and the USA who were qualified to the event,” the official FIG statement reads. Translated into plain English: the Uchimuras, Wiebers and Komovas can’t be bothered. Their federations don’t care. …
It’s a gross overreach to blame the athletes, of course. In the Olympic year there are many more important priorities than the World Cup.
Blythe Lawrence has attended that meet the past couple of years. They had 15,000+ spectators last year!
Here’s her take on the rotten Christmas in France:
• Sacre bleu! Paris World Cup cancelled?
• Thomas Bouhail injured, will miss Olympics
One of the greatest of Olympic history.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Are you crying?
Derek Redmond … is best remembered for his performance at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona where he tore his hamstring in the 400 metres semi-final but fought through the pain and, with assistance from his father, managed to complete a full lap of the track as the crowd gave him a standing ovation. …
Here’s the VISA commercial.
Cirque’s Stacy Clark – original photo on Facebook. 🙂
Looking for a good Christmas movie?
Dave and Lisa Adlard recommended my favourite, Love Actually. (2003 R-rated)
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
related – Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) horrible Christmas variation of The Troggs’ hit “Love Is All Around”. (VIDEO)
Gerard Atzeni pointed out that the 2011 Tokyo World Championships Men’s Floor Final was pretty good.
A new Examiner post is related – Best of 2011: The men’s floor exercises.
One routine linked from that post:
David Belyavskiy, RUS. The Russian men have been lifted by youngsters like Belyavskiy and his powerful routine, which includes a stunning double full in back pike out and an easy looking triple full to end. In addition, there’s a hint of style and choreography in the sequence after his tucked Thomas. …
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
A hint of style and choreography does elevate you above the likes of Zou Kai and Stephen Legendre. I like David’s routine.
However … the vast majority of FIG Men’s Floor routines in 2011 are rushed, ugly and repetitive. The rules are responsible. They must be improved in the next Quadrennial.
As you can see, I’m not convinced that the current rules are the best they could be, even though a handful of the best gymnasts in the world are able to show quality routines. They are succeeding despite the rules.
related – IG – Belyavsky Aims for All-Around Maximum in 2012
Gymnastics Coaching.com 