Author: Rick Mc

The updated list has just been posted.

WOGA has 5 gymnasts, the most of any club. That’s not counting Nastia.

Cassie Whitcomb announced her retirement from international gymnastics, yet is still listed on the Team.

Are they hoping she changes her mind?

Most interesting WAG NCAA meet this weekend.

One of the nation’s top dual meets of the 2011 collegiate gymnastics season is set for this Friday when the No. 1 Florida Gators (5-0, 2-0 SEC) face the No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide (6-0, 1-0 SEC) …

Both programs are coming off season-high team totals and those totals rank among the top three turned in among the nation’s teams in 2011. Florida’s 197.50 is the nation’s highest posted and Alabama’s 196.825 matches the third-highest total of 2011. …

Gator Zone

HGB Backstrand is a Swedish company that manufactures sports mats. They’ve provided wrestling mats to 4 Olympics. (Google Translates to “Sports Rugs”. Cute.)

They’re now marketing mats to Gymnastics and Cheer, selling over 250 airfloors to 22 different countries. Feedback has been good.

It’s a TumblTrak alternative available in 5, 10, 12 and 15m lengths. It’s sold through partner companies worldwide. Prices vary depending where you live.

Here’s one in use at Kauai Gymnastics Academy, Hawaii.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

In this video a 78yr-old does his first 1/1 twist in 30yrs.

Here’s a video showing how to inflate the Floor and install the new run-up attachment.

These are marketed these under the air4tumble brand. I’ve posted a link in the right hand navigation.

The future of gymnastics matting is inflatable, I project, especially for Cheer.

Costs will be lower than petroleum based foam. And ultimately we’ll be forced into some sort of tumbling surface that is proven to reduce knee and Achilles injury.

So far, so good. Pia Velander tells that the company is expanding the range of products. I’ll post new equipment as it comes online.

Leave a comment if you’ve tried this floor.

On a recent post about an American lawsuit I mention, as an aside, that I don’t like the hair styles of many current gymnasts.

That hair might be appropriate for a rock star.

via KP

But not, in my opinion, for Artistic Men’s Gymnastics.

The comments on that post, however, were mostly supportive that boys be able to wear their hair any way they want.

Women’s Artistic coaches have multiple hair ‘requirements’ for their girls. Why should it be any different for the boys?

… Cosma has already been greatly missed among Romanian gymnastics fans who celebrated the coach’s wonderful work bringing some originality and elegance to the Romanian beam work. Since Cosma’s reign over the Romanian beam, many, many Romanian gymnasts have won beam titles or medals, more than on most other events, including Amelia Racea, Raluca Haidu, Anamaria Tamirjan, Gabi Dragoi, Sandra Izbasa Steliana Nistor and, of course, the World beam champion, Ana Porgras.

This news follows the departure of former Romanian head coach, Nicolae Forminte’s departure to Italy to coach and develop talent. …

read more on Couch Gymnast – Lili Cosma signs Italian Coaching Contract

… For 19 years I worked in the Romanian gymnastics in the sphere of performance, without leave and many sacrifices. I’m not complaining, because that I wanted and not one forced me, but I think it’s time to try something else. …

Good luck.

NCAA Schedule | CollegeGymFans.com | NCAA Friday | American Gymnast videos FREE

… ANNOUNCED a new Recreational Gymnastics blog

From January 16th on Gymnastike:

Routine of the Week goes to Chad Wiest of Illinois and his #1 nationally ranked floor routine.

http://videoplayer.flocasts.org/player.swf

I saw that on Gymnastike’s Best of January page.

Shawn Johnson, Ivana Hong and Bridgette Caquatto are now members of the US National Team.

No official announcement has been made by USA Gymnastics but AP writer Nancy Armour tweeted that Johnson was back on the roster. …

DOUBLE FRONT

Note that DOUBLE FRONT has a new URL: www.doublefront.net, now hosted on Tumblr. You need resubscribe if you were subscribed to the old site.

… Nastia?

The new issue of the excellent Russian Gymnastics Federation magazine is free online … in Russian.

You can download the PDF from this link.

(via Rewriting Russian Gymnastics)

The new Science of Gymnastics Journal (vol.3, num.1, 2011) is out, Ivan Cuk, editor:

Dear friends,

last October we attended the World Championship in Artistic Gymnastics in Rotterdam. We had a lot of meetings, but the most important was meeting with the president of the International Gymnastics Federation professor Bruno Grandi. We presented him our work during the last year. At the end of December we have reached agreement about collaboration between FIG and Science of Gymnastics Journal. We have got a new editorial board member –Keith Russell, Ph.D., who is the president of the FIG Scientific Commission and Hardy Fink, M.Sc., a member of editorial board as the director of the FIG Academy. Both FIG institutions – scientific and educational ones will be involved in further development of our journal. …

read more

Laurita Marconi Schiavon, Roberto Rodrigues Paes
THE FORMATION OF BRAZILIAN FEMALE GYMNASTS TAKING PART IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES (1980-2004)

José Ferreirinha, Joana Carvalho, Cristina Côrte-Real, António Silva
THE EVOLUTION OF REAL DIFFICULTY VALUE OF UNEVEN BARS ROUTINES FROM ELITE GYMNASTS IN LAST 5 OLYMPIC CYCLES

Saša Veli?kovi?, Dragoljub Petkovi?, Emilija Petkovi?
CASE STUDY ABOUT DIFFERENCES IN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RUN-UP APPROACH ON THE VAULT BETWEEN TOP-CLASS AND MIDDLE-CLASS GYMNASTS

Marise Botti, Juarez Vieira do Nascimento
THE TEACHING-LEARNING-TRAINING PROCESS IN RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS SUPPORTED BY THE ECOLOGICAL THEORY

Vasilis Kaimakamis, George Dallas, Panagiotis Stefanidis, George Papadopoulos
THE SPREAD OF GYMNASTICS IN EUROPE AND AMERICA BY PEDAGOGUE-GYMNASTS DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY

Here’s the current issue. And previous issues.