Author: Rick Mc

One of the great personalities of recent years joined her former team as a coach this season.

Click PLAY or watch a profile on YouTube.

(via Gym Dogs and Aunt Joyce)

Just when I was going to write off the defending champions, they put together a meet tonight:

UCLA 196.675
Oregon State 196.625

Due to a depleted Bruin lineup, they had to use 4 all arounders !! (Sawa, McCullough, Hopfner-Hibbs, Courtney)

The Beavers had some problems.

Miss Val will be a little happier this week.

Florida posted an NCAA season high 197.5, so she won’t get too excited.

#2 Stanford 196.825 defeated #4 Utah 196.500.

Is this true?

Gymnastics was one of the founding sports at the Australian Institute of Sports, 30yrs ago.

Now I’m hearing the residential program was canceled December 31st, 2010

The official website states:

… In 2011 AIS Gymnastics will be delivered as a camps based program. This means that up to 20 gymnastics camps will be held at the AIS for Olympic squad members. …

Leave a comment if you can confirm.

Thanks for the tip, Bob.

This is on the TV Sport highlights tonight.

A boy dunks himself by accident through a basketball hoop during the halftime of a Phoenix Suns game.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

UPDATE: 18yr-old gymnast Nick Corrales plans never to make that mistake again.

The Men’s Technical Committee, after the World Championships in Rotterdam, during its meeting in December, Tel Aviv, ISR made some decisions on new skills submitted & evaluated at the 2010 World Championships Rotterdam.

Click to open it on your computer – FIG_MAG_Newsletter_25

Note: That PDF links to YouTube video examples. But you can only watch the video after clicking through via the PDF.

… I’ve no idea why that privacy feature is necessary. Seems to me the more widely and transparently code changes are circulated, the better.

The most important change is a good one:

After careful review, the MTC has determined that the original Hypolito element cannot be developed with further turns.

Men’s Floor was including far too many double Arabian type skills.

Blythe Lawrence:

A few days ago Thierry Large, director of the Complexe Sportif Gymnique in Arques, France sent out some beautifully shot images of the city’s new gym, which was finished in 2010 and christened with a celebration just it hosted the 2010 Pas-de-Calais International. (Videos of that event here.)

The Arques complex is being marketed as the ideal training spot for countries who want to train near (but not in) London during the summer of 2012. Among the first teams to think this is a good idea are the British, who have reportedly made arrangements to travel to Arques in order to avoid the madness of London during the Olympic run-up. …

read more – Gymnastics Examiner – Photo gallery: Where 2012’s Olympians will prepare

more photos

GymNOVA is providing equipment for the London Olympics.

Most of the top Artistic gymnastics nations designate national team training centres. (Karolyi Ranch, Australian Institute of Sport, Lilleshall, etc.)

If you don’t have such a centre (I’m looking at you Canada) you’re not likely to be competitive with the top nations.

In the glory days of the former Soviet Union (and the new Russia) the centre is Round Lake.

Some athletes live there year round, some come to “camps” on a regular basis.

Brigid discovered a book called The Russian Heart: Days of Crisis and Hope (1992).

It includes some interesting content concerning Round Lake, back in the day:

… While the training is completely professional and disciplined, the facility is rudimentary and the dormitory conditions sparse. Though the food is much better that that available to the general public, it is, by Western standards, very basic. …

details on Couch Gymnast – Soviet Gymnastics: Days of Crisis and Hope

I love this drill for double back. It’s safe. Easy. Fun. And encourages good technique.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I assume that’s Al Fong’s ‘new’ gym.

Recall that he fled his old landlord, shutting down G.A.G.E. without warning the parents in advance.

Men’s Head Coach Wesley Chirima gave me a tour of their brand new gym in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Privately owned, they had Gymnova, the official supplier of Gymnastics Canada, outfit with all new apparatus. Their Parallel Bar boxes are as good as any I’ve seen anywhere.

But their sprung vault horse “device” is not as good as the one (sadly) no longer sold by TumblTrak.

The pit foam had not yet arrived. But looks to be good.

The club offers, so far, competitive MAG, WAG and Trampoline sports.

See more photos.

CONGRATS to Sky High Gymnastics. A great new facility for gymnastics in Canada.

United States National Team coordinator Martha Karolyi looks on during a training session at the Karolyi Ranch on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011, in Huntsville, Texas. The Karolyi Ranch, which is approximately 60 miles north of Houston and has been the training home of the women’s gymnastics team since 2001, was officially designated by the U.S. Olympic Committee today as a U.S. Olympic training site for women’s gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling and acrobatics.

ESPN

Colorado Springs remains the Men’s venue, I assume.

This means teams will be training at the Ranch long after Marta retires in 2012.

… The Karolyi Ranch includes housing for 300 athletes, coaches and administrators; three training gyms, two artistic and one multi-discipline (rhythmic, trampoline/tumbling, acro); a dance studio; dining and recreational areas; medical and rehab facilities; and office space. The training gym for rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, and acrobatic gymnastics was added in 2010. …

USAG

Gymnastike has plenty of photos and videos from the announcement day.

(via Going for Gold)