Author: Rick Mc

The Trampoline and Tumbling Elite Development Program Camp in Huntsville was a success.

A nice photo slideshow by Laura Baer is posted on Smilebox.

(via Tramp and Tumble)

I have a Romanian coach at my gym still learning the differences between the gym cultures in Canada and his homeland. It’s a challenge.

Here Latvian coach Sergei Pakanich, who coaches the excellent men’s team at WOGA in Texas, “talks about the differences in the Soviet system he grew up in versus coaching in America”.

Now working with his 4th generation of American gymnasts, he’s much more “laid back”.

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

Another extreme sport I don’t want to try.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via Straight to the Bar)

Gymnastics for All is a wonderful concept.

However, our demanding sport is MUCH easier for youth.

An FIG event in the Canary Islands offered some interesting workshops for adults:

… targeting gymnasts 50 years and older and coined the “Golden Age Gym Festival”. The festival will put to good use the existing infrastructures in Grand Canary, and will be an opportunity to profit from the expertise of local organiser Jose Télo. A diverse line-up of sporting activities has been grouped into more than 20 workshops. To name a just a few: Aqua Gym Fitness – FunHydro Bio – Fit Ball Wellness – Tai Chi Chuan for beginners and advanced – Latin Aerobics – Line Dance – Chrisrobic – Flamenco Dance – Baile Salsa – Nordic Walking. All courses will be given by highly qualified instructors. …

Traditional Festival Blume

OK. Nordic walking is not an activity that anyone would call “gymnastics”.

But this is an interesting initiative. Expanding the definition of our sport.

I hear very good things about the FIG Sport for All organization , by the way.

The bible for me has always been Bompa.

Periodization Training For Sports

Some pages of the book are available as a preview free online from Google Books.

But rather than fill in the complicated YTP (Yearly Training Plan) forms that he recommends, I’d love to use an online version.

Features should include:

The best I’ve seen in the past have been Excel spread sheets.

But an online database would be easier.

Leave a comment if you can recommend anything like that.

I see my old friend Bogdan Dudziak hosted a major training camp.

Robert Akers Photography was so excited to have the chance to attend a USAG clinic with 2008 Olympic Gymnastics Team Captain Alicia Sacramone, and her coaches Mihai and Silvia Brestyan.

larger original

More photos on the Robert Akers Photography blog.

14th World Gymnaestrada 2011 in Lausanne

… The city of Lausanne, nestled in Switzerland’s southwest corner, is preparing the 14th World Gymnaestrada, set for July 10 – 16, 2011. The event just might break a record for participation with the arrival of more than 20,000 expected gymnasts …

FIG

I’ve been to two Gymnaestrada festivals. And would love to get to one again.

I’m marking this on my calendar NOW.

Piked has been tracking who confirmed and who declined invitation to the World Cup Final, Dec. 15-16 in Madrid. The timing is terrible, of course, for Olympians from Beijing.

Vault
1. Cheng Fei
2. Yelena Zamolodchikova
3. Jana Komrskova
4. Ariella Kaeslin
5. Dorina Boczogo
6. Aagje Vanwallenghem
7. Marissa King
8. Elsa Garcia

Uneven Bars
1. Dariya Zgoba
2. He Kexin
3. Jana Sikulova
4. Yang Yilin
5. Anastasia Koval
6. Jiang Yuyuan
7. Koko Tsurumi
8. Daniele Hypolito

Balance Beam
1. Cheng Fei
2. Sandra Izbasa
3. Li Shanshan
4. Yulia Lozhecko
5. Daniele Hypolito
6. Lauren Mitchell
7. Dariya Zgoba
8. Alina Kozich

Floor Exercise
1. Cheng Fei
2. Sandra Izbasa
3. Jiang Yuyuan
4. Alina Kozich
5. Suzanne Harmes
6. Daniele Hypolito
7. Yelena Zamolodchikova
8. Koko Tsurumi

Piked

Hopefully it will still be an entertaining competition despite many of the highest ranked gymnasts giving it a miss. (See the original list of invitees.)

If you are wondering where the Americans are … be informed that the World Cup Circuit has always been Eurocentric, even now only slowly expanding to Asia.

Past Men’s Technical Chairman Hardy Fink made a real effort to have FIG turn the series into truly a “World” Cup. But faced stiff resistance.

Elsa Garcia – official website

Over 200,000 views.

There’s a lot of truth in this short montage about what it’s like to get older as a gymnast.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Music by Leona Lewis – Bleeding Love.

Thanks Sarah.

Gymnast has posted a terrific photo gallery from the World Cup.

Geng Ruo Wei – Uneven Bars – 2008 Massilia Gym Cup

Copyright Melissa Perenson

A second photo gallery from the meet is posted here.