Author: Rick Mc

Bruno Grandi:

… Ten years ago, on October 28, 2001, the vaulting table debuted at an official FIG competition. It was in Ghent (BEL) where the first Men’s qualifying subdivision was underway for the 35th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. …

A long re-evaluation process came to an end when the table replaced the vaulting horse. The abrupt change from tradition to contemporary has been a shock to some. And in that context, my compliments and deepest respect to the FIG Vice-President at that time, Siegfried Fischer (BRA), for fervently defending the new table as President of the Apparatus Commission.

Safety was the driving force behind the change. …

FIG

All now agree that the change was a huge improvement. But at the time it was controversial, for WAG.

On the Men’s side, under MTC Chair Hardy Fink, it was a no brainer. The first time we saw the new horse in my region — at Jurassic Classic — every FIG MAG competed on it. First day.

In fact, I can’t conceive of a better design other than to better pad the front and back, under the table. That’s best done with separate donut mats.

There have been very few innovations in 10yrs. The best would be the Tarpan TM available out of Denmark. It’s easy to move and store. And goes up to 165cm for Mini Tramp Vaulting.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

details

Good news. MostepanovaFan is updating her WAG Code of Points skills videos in the run-up to the 2012 Olympic Games.

This video includes vault groups:

1 – Vaults without Saltos
2 – Handsprings with Saltos
3 – Tsukaharas

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

4 – Yurchenko-entry vaults
5 – Yurchenko with 1/2 turn in pre-flight vaults

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Kalon Ludvigson of Pocatello, Idaho/Team Revolution, won the tumbling title at the 2011 World Cup in Salzgitter, Germany. …

Ludvigson, who also won this event in 2009, posted a 75.500 to easily win the World Cup gold medal, scoring nearly two points better than runner-up Mikhail Kostyanov of Russia (73.700). Canada’s Alexander Seifert was third at 72.400. …

read more on USAG

Click PLAY or watch Kalon on YouTube. (3/1 twisting double layout dismount)

Two North Americans on the podium. Congrats.

Many in the gymnastics community attended the Calgary premiere of OVO this week. I was going to write a review … but Heath McCoy in the Calgary Herald pretty much nailed it:

… as in most Cirque shows, the storytelling plays a distant second to the spectacle, and, happily, the latter aspect of OVO is grand.

The staging, with its vibrant ecosystem, complete with giant-sized webs, cocoons and a monolithic egg (a thematic symbol of the bugs’ life cycle, ovo means egg in Portuguese) is spectacular.

The dazzling costumes — an inspired hybrid of superhero spandex and historical suits of armour — are suitably outlandish.

And the stunts — played out to the Brazilian electro-pop sounds of a cockroach band, which run the gamut between romantic and sizzling — are nothing short of stunning. …

Magnifique! Cirque du Soleil’s OVO must be seen to be believed

Click PLAY or watch the Calgary preview on YouTube.

OVO IN CALGARY

At intermission we chatted with gracious Head Coach Eric Heppel. He informed that slack wire solo performer is by far the best in the world. He shows handstand, handstand walking and 1-arm handstand on a pendulum. Rock solid. No balance adjustments.

I never get tired of Tramp wall. OVO is another superb variation.

Overall … the highlight of this show are the costumes. (That caterpillar is enough to give you nightmares.)

The weakest element, as usual, are the clowns. … Though I somewhat liked Flippo. He grew on me as the show progressed.

Disclosure – As a Casting consultant, Cirque gave me 4 tickets. Merci. … I took a former gymnast who wants to audition.

I had her watch the House Troupe performers, rather than those specialists in the spotlight.

Here’s another edit of the drunken Paul Hamm police video.

Click PLAY or watch it on CNN.

http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=bestoftv/2011/09/08/mxp-diaz-hamm-arrested.hln

If Paul was going to apologize and declare mea culpa, he should have done it by now. The sooner the better.

…I’m guessing he’ll, instead, lawyer up and try to find someone else to blame.

Good news from Jean-Paul Caron, Gymnastics Canada President and CEO / Président & directeur général, via email:

GCG in partnership with CBC, has secured the TV rights for all 3 World Championships – RG, Artistic and TR. With this partnership, GCG has secured 10-12 hrs of prime time National visibility through the CBC broadcasts.

… One year out from the start of the 2012 Olympics, 2004 Olympic champion Kyle Shewfelt sized up Canada’s chances in gymnastics in an interview with CTV’s Sandie Rinaldo. Kyle will be part of CTV’s broadcast team for the Games …

Gymnastics Canada

Linked above is a video interview with Kyle Shewfelt – CTV News (July 2011)

____ Update:

Kyle will be doing Olympic commentary from London with CTV.

For Tokyo Worlds he’ll be voicing the show with CBC out of Toronto.

related – kyleshewfelt.com

Tsuk the Pain (on a new Tumblr URL) reads between the lines of one of her tweets.

Selection camp has ended. But the final team roster has not yet been announced.

… Alicia and Nabieva are the two most entertaining gymnasts IMHO.

In less than a year, the former Olympic gymnast, Amy Chow, has gone from a recreational diver to possibly qualifying for Olympic trials.

Here’s what she’s doing for fun.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Magnificent talent.

Olympian Amy Chow dives into a new challenge :

Former Olympic gold-medal gymnast from Castilleja and Stanford has resurfaced as a doctor and a potential elite diver …

… The former gymnast-turned-pole vaulter is now a diver with unlimited potential, but with limited time. Chow is competing in the Zone D qualification meet, Friday through Sunday, in Tucson, Ariz. There, a top-12 finish would qualify her for the AT&T National Championships in Los Angeles on Aug. 9-14. From there, the next step would be the 2012 Olympic Trials.

‘That’s a very big step for Chow, who is now 33 and just celebrated her one-year wedding anniversary on July 10 with Dr. Jason Ho, an orthopedic surgeon. Chow works in pediatrics …

“I’ve coached some of the best (divers) in the U.S.,” (coach) Schavone said, “and no one has trained tower like this.”

During a training session on March 6 at Stanford, Chow plunged off the tower some 26 times. Schavone said that’s unheard of for an American diver.

“I can’t imagine anyone but the Chinese doing that,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like that.” …

Palo Alto online

Brigid linked to the story on Facebook.

HGB Backstrand out of Sweden has signed on as an advertiser. Support them supporting this site.

They are big into gymnastics, tumbling, Team Gym and Cheer.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Since we started the production of the air4tumble we have sold over 300 airfloors around the whole world!

… it rewards your air time if you are tight enough during the tumbling-pass …

… safer on all landings.

The company is adding new apparatus: an inflatable incline, the flip & jump trainer and air barrel.

Details on air4tumble.se

Phone: +46 (0) 31 64 00 34
SMS/MMS: +46 703 64 00 32
Fax: +46 (0) 31 54 58 54
Skype: eurogymnasticequipment
Facebook: Euro Gymnastic Equipment

I’m impressed by this workout at CGA. Especially by the contest for toe-on fulls in sequence.

Today’s gymnastics workout video takes you inside an afternoon uneven bars workout at the well-known Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy. This was the second workout of the day for the elite team. They trained skills and routines in the morning and for this workout Mary Lee Tracy coached them through her uneven bars complex which focuses on basics and trains proper form for pirouettes.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/NTI2NTA2MTc3?related=1

Watch more video of Workout Wednesday, Season 5 on gymnastike.org