Author: Rick Mc

The official website still has no photos, nor news updates on the second most important competition in Canada.

Pitiful.

Finally the results have been posted. Poorly. And only as PDF files.

I’m waiting until GymnasticsResults.com or Gym Score Depot post them. Both sites no doubt wearied of waiting this weekend. Results are time sensitive.

Scores look low. But Canada tried using the 2009 Code of Points. (We love confusing people in my country. It makes the administrators feel important.)

Brittany Rogers of Coquitlam, B.C., won medals in all four event finals, including gold on vault and beam, at the Elite Canada gymnastics meet on Sunday in Gatineau, Que.

Rogers, 15, who won the women’s all around on Friday, added a silver medal on floor and bronze on uneven bars in the first major meet for Canadian gymnasts since the Beijing Summer Games.

Dominique Pegg of Sarnia, Ont., also came through with flying colours in her first competition as a senior. …

Bluewater Gymnastics – Photos Courtesy of Grace Chiu

Sydney Sawa of Calgary also had a strong performance, picking up bronze medals on vault and floor and a silver on beam. Ti Liu of Montreal earned gold on uneven bars.

In the women’s junior competition, Madeline Gardiner of Cambridge, Ont., battled back from a sore knee to win gold medals on beam and floor in one of the most talented fields in recent years at Elite Canada.

Canwest News Service – Leader Post

related: The C Score – Rogers medals on four with gold on vault and beam

I’ll get some personal feedback from coaches on the Floor and post it later this week.

There are some unhappy Canadian coaches, let me tell you.

Americans Corrie Lothrop, Olivia Courtney and Amanda Jetter swept the medals … at the 4th International Challenge in Woluwé Saint-Lambert near Brussels. Perhaps more importantly, Larisa Iordache, the twelve year-old phenom from Romania, finished only .05 points out of the medals! …

read more – C Score

Click PLAY or watch Corrie Lothrop’s Bars on YouTube.

More videos from the meet posted by Dutchfan.

(Photo: Tanja Moody)

… The victorious American girls, clad in Nastia Liukin’s pink Olympic outfit, are sitting in the front row. The Romanian juniors are sitting behind them, and the Dutch girls, dressed in black, are standing behind them. Two of the Belgian girls are standing on the side, with the two others seated in the front row next to the Americans.

Triple Full

For once Valeri could stop talking about the Olympics …

Oh, maybe not.

WOGA’s 13th Annual Men’s Gymnastics meet just concluded. By all accounts it sounds like a big success.

Gymnasts attended from Ukraine, Canada, Russia, Latvia, Kazakstan, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and New Zealand.

Anne Phillips of Gymnastike posted some interesting video interviews with coaches and gymnasts, a nice partnership with the organizers.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.
http://www.gymnastike.org/assets/portal/add_ons/mediaplayer-3-16/mediaplayer.swf

Visit Gymnastike.org For More Videos

Check the terrific photos by HEATHER MAYNEZ, as well.

Results

JBS announced the launch of CheerForums.net:

I have had a few people ask for this and it is something that could turn out to be very useful … just like The Chalk Bucket.

The format of the forum will be the same as here. Members will be able to join user groups to identify themselves as a cheerleader, parent, coach, or judge.

Please treat CheerForums.net as a sister site to The Chalk Bucket. Don’t forget to tell all of your cheer friends.

CheerForums.net

The Chalk Bucket is a very popular forum for gymnastics fans.

Shawn Johnson is the first athlete to grace the Cheerios box and it will be on sale January 1, 2009 in the Hyvee grocery stores. …

Sports Girls Play

Everyone agrees the best live coverage was posted on International Gymnast. Kudos to reporters Albert Minguillón Colomer and Laura Merrin!

When I say the World Cup Final ends, it ENDS.

This was the final World Cup Final, as the FIG has elected not to hold the event in the future.

Too bad.

But when so many of the athletes selected by the International Gymnastics Federation opt to not attend the “big Final”, how important can it be?

BEAM
1. Lauren Mitchell 15.250 – Australia
2. Yulia Lozhechko 15.200
3. Li Shanshan 15.150

H BAR
1. Epke Zonderland 16.175
2. Philippe Rizzo 15.825
3. Hiroyuki Tomita 15.325

Want to know more?

The most detailed commentary is on C Score.

International Gymnast – World Cup Final, Day Two

Triple Full – World Cup Final: Day 2

Gymblog – On the World Cup, day two

Ana Gulica’s Weblog – World Cup Report, Day 2

Associated Press – Cheng tops on floor exercise, giving China five golds in 10 World Cup events

Lauren Mitchell – photo Stefan Wurzer Gymnasticsunited

Media coverage of the competition this year has been lousy.

The official website, useless so far.

Last year Blythe Lawrence from Gymblog was there, reporting for International Gymnast magazine. IG has no stringer there this year, however. That’s a shame.

Gymn.ca has only skimpy coverage. And their Message Board seems to be defunct.

Gymnastics Canada posted only the Canadian Press blurb below, without attribution, I note.

Coralie Leblond-Chartrand of Montreal was the surprise winner in the women’s junior all-around competition at the Elite Canada gymnastics meet.

After finishing fifth at the 2008 Canadian championships in June, the 14-year-old climbed to the top of the heap on Saturday with a score of 53.30 points.

Madeline Gardiner of Cambridge, Ont., finished second with 51.90 points while Rochelle Hurt of Mississauga, Ont., was third at 51.40.

Canadian Press

I’d like to report on the rest of the Jr. competitors, but no one from the organizers bothered to upload them to the internet.

Results linked from Gym Score Depot.

Finals go tomorrow, Sunday.

Joel Parkinson wipes out on a powerful 20-foot wave during the O’Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach, Hawaii.

Picture: GETTY – original – Telegraph

UPDATE – This text is from respected Coach Sommer of Gymnastics Bodies.

I’ve removed the links to those who linked to it without proper attribution.

Mako is a two-time Olympian (64’ & 72’) and two time World Championships (66’ & 70’) team member. He was the bronze medalist in the 1965 World University Games.

… Mako coached at Brigham Young and UCLA. He was the assistant coach to 1984 US gold medal Olympic team in Los Angeles.

He was Peter Vidmar’s and Tim Daggett’s personal coach at UCLA and helped coach Mitch Gaylord. …

At age sixty, Mako is in great physical condition. On his 53rd birthday, Mako performed 163 handstand dips for thirty minutes without coming down from a handstand. …

Wow.

Already posted, with musical score, by tomitaforever. Thanks.

KOHEI UCHIMURA – Floor Final – WORLD CUP DICIEMBRE 2008. MADRID

Silver medal.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via Ana Gulica’s Weblog)