Likely the last in the excellent series of Worlds recap videos produced by FIG.
When have you ever seen 8 vaults simultaneous?
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Author: Rick Mc
Career gymnastics coach who loves the outdoors, and the internet.
Air Floor – Elephant Vaulting
Another in my ongoing video series – how to void the warranty on your TumblTrak Air Floor. (See also water Air Floor tumbling)
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
At Glacier Gymnastics, this was a blast. Elephant vaulting is one of my favourite gymnastics activities. It teaches motor fitness: agility, balance, rhythm, etc.)
related post – Rec Gymnastics – Elephant Vault
Here are a couple more photos from Glacier Gymnastics.
A nice way to store grips and wristbands:
Happy Meal Art Project
Another reason not to eat a Rotten Ronnies.
… the latest project of New York City-based artist and photographer Sally Davies, who bought a McDonald’s Happy Meal back in April and left it out in her kitchen to see how well it would hold up over time.
The results? “The only change that I can see is that it has become hard as a rock,” …
After 6 months:
… Wellness and nutrition educator Karen Hanrahan has indeed kept a McDonald’s hamburger since 1996 to show clients and students how resistant fast food can be to decomposition. …
Preservatives help us keep from getting sick. But what are the unforeseen consequences?
gymnastics – training sole circles
My family had a summer home near Nelson, British Colombia for 30yrs. I was pleased to be asked to be guest coach at a clinic / camp at Glacier Gymnastics in Nelson.
In a remote town population 9,258 (2006), this club has 600 kids a week!
The coaches there are doing a great job on this key basic skill. Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The plan is to introduce baby sole circles (AKA froggie circles, monkey circles) to the beginners.
Next put them on the Tower of Power. (credit John Carney)
And work up to handstand step down to 2ft sole circle back to handstand, as shown. First on straps. Later on single rail.
When the kids start giants and free hip handstand on the real bar, early grip change will be no issue. It’s already been perfected on the easier sole circle.
related post – gymnastics bar grip changes
A major weakness in the American compulsory program on Bars is that young girls get expert at “mill circle”, not bothering with the much more important sole circle.
on Gymnastics in China
Another terrific article by the British journalist Ollie Williams:
At World Championships Rotterdam:
… He, the Olympic uneven bars champion at Beijing 2008 and possessor of the most technically challenging routine in the world, fell spectacularly from the bars minutes earlier – as did her young team-mate, Huang Qiushuang.
… A day later it will be their coach, Lu Shanzhen, standing here under the spotlight of Chinese state television, China’s women having ended a World Championships without a gold medal for the first time since 2002.
As He’s tears flow and the teenager forlornly fights for air beneath a carpet of faces and dictaphones, a journalist from another organisation turns to me and says: “Can you imagine what she’s going to face back home?” …
(via Full Twist)
Marci Bernholtz now UCLA coach
Some wondered why Marci Bernholtz was not on the UCLA roster.
Senior Marci Bernholtz has injury retired and will stay in the gymnastics program as an undergraduate assistant coach for the 2011 season. …
The Bruin’s first weekend intrasquad of the season took place last Saturday. Details.
Georgia posted video of their intersquad. VIDEO highlights.
John Deary – DGS gymsupply.com
Welcome DGS.
I’ve added a link to the site in the right hand navigation.
DGS is Deary’s Gymnastics Supply. They are the official grip supplier to the USA Gymnastics Men’s and Women’s national teams.
Here’s the backstory on the company and founder John Deary:
I was influenced as a young gymnast by athlete coaches from Springfield College and later my college Coach Abie Grossfeld at Southern Connecticut State College 1976 to 1981.
Like most gymnasts, the gymnastics bug infected me and the passion for the sport became part of who I am.
Combining this passion with my family influences in business and my many years of experience working for AAI as a sales representative, I started the company in 1993 as a gymnastics equipment distributor. …
Along with some success in business came the feeling of wanting to give back to the sport that has been so good to our company. In 2004 our company offered to sponsor the USA National Teams as their Grips Supplier and are in the second quadrennium as the USA Official Grips Supplier.
Office: 800.932.3339
How to break in Grips. (PDF)
Of course DGS distributes a full range of products for gym, cheer, fitness and more.
do you love your hair?
A Sesame Street video has gone viral. It touches a nerve with many women.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The back story is of a very young African American child who wanted straight, blonde hair. Her Dad, Sesame Street head writer Joey Mazzarino, put this together for her.
“She really is loving her hair right now,” Mazzarino told CNN.
Many are working on remix versions. Here’s Willow Smith’s – Whip My Hair Sesame Style (VIDEO)
nostalgic for Rotterdam already?
FIG gets more OPEN
Praise for the International Gymnastics Federation.
At the World Gymnastics Championships 2010, for the first time, the training gyms were opened to media. It was great.
I heard of no incidents of over zealous reporters hounding gymnasts or coaches. Everyone was cool.
And it was fascinating to see different approaches of different nations. (Brazilians spend more time on Facebook than any other country, for example.)
A Look Inside the Training Hall with China, Australia, Japan, and Romania
Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.
http://videoplayer.flocasts.org/player.swf
Formal press conferences were almost non-existant. All media preferred the new “mixed zones” where they could ask questions one-on-one at the end of each session. That’s one reason why there are so many personal interviews posted online this time.
I did hear complaints (second hand) that some of the good old media hands were less happy to be sharing the wealth with new media. (And with one chicken.)
Personally I avoided the scrums so did not see any media fist fights myself.
But, as you know, old media is dying. Money for events like this drying up. Canadian TV did not attend this time, for example. Budget cuts.
FIG and USAG have embraced the future, posting immediately to YouTube this Worlds, updating 24/7. Encouraging bloggers.
This was by far the best coverage of a World Championships ever online. … Old media has big problems trying to compete online.
New media is the future, good or bad. If you’re reading this blog, there’s a strong chance you’ve already canceled your newspaper subscriptions.
Security was good in Rotterdam, but not too strict, … aside from the time Gymnastike got kicked off the bus.
🙂
But Tokyo will be a madhouse for media. I hope stricter rules are put in place for the mixed media zones. They could have bloggers speak to athletes last, if that will keep the AP happy.
Note that Gymnastike and Gymnastics Examiners are not blogs. They are both even newer kinds of media than blogs.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 