Author: Rick Mc

Should they?

I think so. In fact, they once did. After a fashion.

Both Andrew Thornton and I were bloggers in 2008 for the short lived Gymnast.com, a spinoff USAG website designed to expand the popularity of the sport.

Gymnast.com is no more. … I’m still hoping that project will rise from the ashes.

Why do all big organizations need blogs, Facebook and Twitter?

To find out watch the excellent commoncraft Social Media and the Workplace. (VIDEO 4min)

USA Gymnastics is on top of the social media thing, however. Leslie King, Sr. Director of Communications, has a great team:

Samantha Kilgore, Manager of Media Relations
Kent Koven, Director of New Media
Kyla Prows, New Media Coordinator
Kevin Smith, Web Developer
Matt Steinke, Web Content Manager

They are active on Facebook (81,000+ fans), Twitter and, best of all, YouTube. (I’m having some problems getting to all pages from Canada, though.)

They also have a special Twitter account just for live blogging events.

Is any other gymnastics national sports governing body doing a good job on social media?

Leave a comment, if so.

With Popcorn as the soundtrack, we’re not sure if this is celebrating or making fun of College Gymnastics Floor.

A bit of both, I think.

Montage of floor exercise from the 2010 NCAA season.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

MunchTheSilivasFan:

… NCAA gymnastics is meant to be FUN. Please to stop moaning. If you don’t like, don’t watch.

International Floor is my least favourite apparatus with all the empty, boring choreography. College Floor is the best apparatus in NCAA Gymnastics.

First Gymnastics Examiner posted the Gymnastics Year in Review.

Now, the Decade in Review:

The 2000s will be remembered as one of the most tumultous decades in artistic gymnastics. There were the scandals — age scandals, judging scandals, drug scandals — some of which, now almost 10 years old, have not been resolved. The code of points seemed to make things harder and harder, and fans bid a somewhat regretful goodbye to the perfect 10.

But the past decade also produced some of the most difficult — if not artistic — gymnastics. Here’s what I’ll remember about the years from 2000-2009 …

click through to read it – Decade in review: A look back at the big gymnastics stories of the past 10 years

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Fabian Hambuechen

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Cheng Fei

WOGA celebrates their two Olympic champions with decorative window coverings.

Carly Patterson 2004.

Nastia Liukin 2008.

More clubs should use window wraps. They look great and have high visibility.

High resolution version linked from GymnasticsTrainingTips.

Happy New Year to site editor Rik Feeney.

GymDivas posted a new website for the World Vault Champion.

official website

I like the look of it. But those old school templates have no RSS feed. That makes it difficult for me to know when new content is added.

via #Bluemayinchina

Blythe Lawrence on Gymnastics Examiner posted an excellent “look back at the scandals and milestones of 2009.”

Photo gallery: The gymnastics year in review

The biggest story of last year was Shawn Johnson winning Dancing With the Stars. Sad, but true.

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The most important story of last year to me, however, was the emergence of Kohei Uchimura as perhaps the greatest all-around male gymnast of all-time. I’m thinking that Fabian Hambüchen will be chasing him through to 2012.

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Predictions for 2010?

The biggest story of next year will be the continued rise of Russia as the top women’s gymnastics nation. Back in April 2008 times were tough for gymnastics in Russia. I wrote a post called is Russia the next Russia?

I think so.

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photo – Ksenia Afanasyeva

Lets call it right now. Russia will win the team competition in the Olympics 2012.

The U.S.A. and China must look at a team strategy to try to beat Russia.

The biggest scandal of 2010? That’s easy. China will be found guilty of competing 2 gymnasts who were underage at the 2000 Olympics.

Leave a comment if you have any thoughts on this.

by site editor Rick McCharles

On New Year’s Day I’d like to share my favourite top 10 list of the many floating out there on the internet right now.

Outside Magazine’s top 10 Adventure stories of the year.

Here’s #2 – surfer Kelly Slater.

… Kelly Slater put on a performance to remind everyone he’s the greatest competitive surfer ever. He scored a perfect 10 at the Rip Curl Pro Search Puerto Rico on the way to winning the event and earning his tenth ASP World Title. He then dedicated the victory to the greatest rival of his career, Andy Irons, who died just days earlier …

Click PLAY or watch an inspiring clip on YouTube.

The story of Andy Irons is #1. Click through to read it and the rest: Outside – Top 10 Adventure Stories of 2010

From THE WORDSMITH FROM NANTUCKET:

… team developmental age 3-4, my co-instructor asked me to do a station for body tightness since all the kids weren’t very squeezy in their gymnasticking.

Keeping the fun-factor in mind, I turned over one of the rainbows in the gym and pretended like we were going to do this big magic trick. …

Body Tightness/Layout Drill

Click the image to jump to the video on Gymnastics Crossing.

Watch a more advanced body tightness drill on YouTube.

Nice edit of some of her key skills. Very clean form on the Beam 1/1.

Click PLAY or watch her on YouTube.