Author: Rick Mc

The final BIG meet of the year will be held in Spain, Dec. 13-14th.

The best eight MAG and WAG gymnasts on the world ranking list qualify for the apparatus finals, together with the wild cards (if any).

The gymnasts officially invited will be decided after the last World Cup series event of the 2007-2008 season, scheduled to be held in Stuttgart, from 14 to 16 November, 2008.

Athletes who make the cut LOVE the World Cup Final. It’s like qualifying directly into Finals!

There’s not much on the official website yet.

The Gym World Cup DTB Pokal is on now. Triple Twist posted the best summary of the qualification round. (Cheng Fei is kicking butt!)

Mia.

Some kids find ways to do trampoline at home.

I saw this telling photo on Facebook.

This is my life.

Laura-Ann Chong

In the flood of 2010 NCAA gymnastics signings, I’ve only time to post a few.

This one is interesting. A bit of a gamble, I think, for the normally savvy recruiting team at Utah.

(Chloe claimes to be a completely different person, now.)

Chloe Sims was a superstar who unexpectedly quit on the 2008 Olympic team. Struggled with an eating disorder. And turns out to be a bit of a poet.

Check out her cool bar routine. Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Utah Gymnastics Team Signs Three

A semi-retired gymnast named Meredith started a new blog with a memorable name:

He Kexin = 14.

… Please don’t get offended. This is just good, clean fun. I respect the Chinese Gymnasts for all their hard work and their great gymnastics, including their perfect artistry, and extreme difficulty.

Her YouTube channel handle is nightflare514:

youtube.com/user/nightflare514

Here’s Randy Couture, current heavyweight champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

A big tough guy like Randy trains on trampoline?

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Sky Zone has two locations: St. Louis, Missouri and Rocklin, California. (Looks like fun. But how do they get insurance for those facilities?)

Randy’s next fight back will be at UFC 91 on November 15, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada against Brock Lesnar.

Subscribe to more gymnastics training videos like this at GymnasticsOnDemand.com

http://gymnast.com/flashplayer/FlashPlayer.swf?v=http://www.gymnast.com/media/gymnast//upload/Videos/TTs/Flexibility/Stretch2.flv&eb=1&ap=1&av=sportnet.gy.videos&pv=video&szv=320×240&apv=doubleclick

I just taught my first “Gymnastics Foundations Introductory Course”. It’s the introduction for coaches age–15 16 and older who want to teach “gymnastics sports”.

I was to “mentor” to a new (younger) course conductor. No new course conductor was available, so two of us veterans taught the course ourselves. (With the change this year to the Foundations model, it’s a good time to move out the OLD course conductors like myself — and start a new generation of course presenters. “Learning Facilitators” in the new parlance.)

For one thing, the new structure is confusing to OLD TIMERS. Does this flow chart make sense to you:

One problem in Alberta, where I live, is that some of the subsequent courses are not yet available. My coaches may get stuck in limbo, waiting for those to be offered.

I’ve been teaching the OLD Canadian Introductory Gymnastics Coaching course for 30yrs. And love it.

On the other hand, I have to concede that the new manual is a big improvement.

I guess it’s to be expected that any transition has some bumps.

more information on the Foundations Program (PDF file)

Canadians, leave a comment if you have an opinion on Foundations.

When Thanh Smith started taking gymnastics, she could barely do a handstand and couldn’t do a cartwheel

But Smith figured that it wasn’t too late to learn — even though she is 67. When she heard about an adult gymnastics class at the Victory Family YMCA in York County, Va., she jumped right in.

“The first day, it was a disaster,” said the Yorktown, Va., woman, who teaches yoga and tai chi at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va. “I had the flexibility, but this was much more about speed and momentum. I fell all over, but then I got more confidence. I’ve had to get my brain moving at a faster speed.”

While most gymnastics classes are packed with little kids, the weekly adult class at the York County YMCA — one of a growing number of programs nationwide — draws a different crowd. In addition to Smith, participants include Sam Parrucci, 61, of Newport News, a former college gymnast who never learned the flips of floor routines, and Kathy Childs, 34, of Yorktown, a mother of three who regrets not taking gymnastics as a girl.

“I just never had the opportunity,” Childs said. “I guess I’m living out a childhood dream.” …

More adults of all ages are taking gymnastics classes

original – flickr – brookenovak