Author: Rick Mc

The venerable magazine leaps into the 21st century with something truly cool.

International Gymnast moves from 2 to 3 dimensional!

… International Gymnast magazine will be the first to distribute a digital version of its magazine. Yes, for the next several months, at no charge, you can read the latest complete issue of IG magazine online! Our December issue is available right now. The October issue, which was our acclaimed coverage of the Stuttgart World Championships, also can be viewed as an archived issue. We will offer the January/February (one of our two annual double month issues) online at no charge too.

Please take this opportunity to sample the quality of the magazine that has brought the entire gymnastics community the best and most accurate coverage of the beautiful sport of gymnastics for the past 51 years. No gymnastics entity has a richer history, or more complete library, covering gymnastics, as does IG! We have been the leader in our industry, and we plan to remain the leader.

As you can see, International Gymnast will now be available in 3 ways-our printed magazine, our digital magazine and our IG Online. Three ways to keep you better informed about gymnastics globally.

Happy Holidays from our entire IG family!

Paul Ziert
Publisher

This will work. I look forward to hearing how much their print publication subscriptions increase based on this promotion. Congratulations to the IG team!

There are many interesting features to explore. It’s a fairly intuitive interface. See for yourself:

International Gymnast – digital magazine

Subscribe to the print version: International Gymnast

Thanks George.

by Rick McCharles

Lisa Smith from University of Calgary and myself will be leading an intensive 4-day coaching clinic Dec. 27-30 at my old home gym, Altadore Gymnastics.

I’m really looking forward to it. Coaches must be irrationally dedicated to sign on for a course during the holidays. Those are the keeners I like best.

For this workshop I hope to have two video cameras rolling, creating an archive of my favourite drills. (Inspired by the excellent Gymnastics on Demand video training service.)

Ask Me Gymnastics Light T-Shirt : gymnastics : CafePress.com

I’ll post the highlights here.

The competition will be tougher for the hosts at the big show.

But — so far — China is looking very, very good.

Clear superiority demonstrated by the host team

Judging by the number of medals taken, China got 12 of the 36 medals on offer, among which nine were golds and three silvers. …

read the entire article on the official website

That’s just common sense. You only have to look at basketball players!

That kind of illogic we hear all the time: “Gymnastics stunts your growth.”

Yeesh!

Here are the facts:

There is no evidence that intensive training can hold back the physical development of young female athletes, say UK experts.

Demanding training programmes for athletics, gymnastics and other sports may be delaying the onset of puberty, it has been suggested.

It is important that they have a proper rest and recovery period – and that they are well nourished while they train

However, Professor Nicola Maffulli, writing in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, suggests there is no evidence of a link.

The professor writes: “In general, the differences observed in stature between athletes and non-athletes are mainly the result of nature rather than nurture.

“With regard to pubertal development, the evidence suggests that the tempo is slowed down in some sports, but it has not yet been possible to identify whether this is an effect of nature or nurture.”

…

The professor said that the fact that so many elite gymnasts were smaller than average was probably at least partly due to the fact that smaller girls were most likely to progress to the heights of the sport – and taller girls more likely to drop out or take up other sports.

And while many female athletes experienced a later than average onset of puberty, the authors said there were other potential reasons for this which at least cast doubt on excessive training as a cause. …

BBC News | HEALTH | Training ‘no harm to young athletes’

The FIG Olympic Academy curriculum addresses the myth that “gymnastics stunts your growth” and others like it in their Growth and Development section.

Tom Theobald is a fantastic photographer who includes Rhythmic and Artistic subjects in his portfolio.

This was one of his rotating Pictures of the Day – Deriugina School Visit (November 2007)

Daria

Tom Theobald – Photographer

Click through his site. You will be impressed.

Bulgarian team members perform during the group all round qualifier for the Goodluck Beijing 2007 Rhythmic Gymnastics International Invitational held in Beijing, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007.

(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

ESPN – Gymnastics Photo Wire

I’ll post results after the meet concludes.

official website

Jenn Isbister of GymnasticGreats.com recommended the page of historical articles on gymn-forum.net.

I am working my way through them now. Here’s a sample, from a 1981 article on coach Vladislav Rastorotsky.

I saw him live at a competition once — big, gruff. A brute of a man. The last person I would call a “great coach”.

Yet he trained Turishcheva, Shaposhnikova, Yurchenko and others. He must have been a genius in his time.

I’ve always been fascinated by the guy.

A Real Coaching Talent

Soviet Life, October 1985

… What is the basis for Rastorotsky’s long-lasting success? According to his wife, the closest person to him: “Vladislav loves children more than anything else in the world.” His right-hand man, assistant coach Gennday Malayev says: “He takes his time in whatever he’s doing. Today too many people are in a hurry, but not him.” Another assistant Elena Rylkova says: “Everyone of his workouts is a heated competition.” Overall world champion Natalya Yurchenko says: “He has faith in us like no other coach has faith in his athletes, and we also believe in him.”

He must have been a great motivator. A master of the psychology of the gym.

Rastorotsky was a story teller. I liked this one:

… Coaches usually try to make use of every minute of practice time. But not Rastorotsky. Suddenly he calls the girls into a huddle and begins to tell them a story: “It was at the Youth Festival in Berlin. Everybody, including me, was running a cross-country race. I finished last. Lyudmila Turishcheva came in first. One of our runners, a sprinter, came up to me and asked: ‘Vladislav, did Lyudmila ever train as a runner?’ I told him no. He couldn’t believe what he heard. ‘You’re lying!’ he said. ‘I’m a champion, and she’s beaten me!’ You see, girls, the character she had. She couldn’t lose in anything ever!”

Gymn Forum: Soviet Life – Rastorotsky

Check out the entire list of Gymn-Forum articles.

Leave a comment if you whatever happened to Rastorotsky. I’d love a photo, as well.

Scott Bird linked to a free running video with a difference. A personal look into the life of a legend. He still lives at home with his Mom, unable to make a living from the activity he popularized.

Via Parkour Videos : A great 10 minute TV report [.avi, 45mb] featuring David Belle explaining the ideas and history behind Parkour. In French, with English subtitles.

Click PLAY or watch it on Google Video.

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-7181262883122399411&hl=en-AU

I saw it here – Straight to the Bar: David Belle explaining Parkour

Superb article on the benefits of our sport.

Originally posted in American Fitness, May-June 2004 by Myrna Beth Haskell.

Most experts agree that motor skills, listening, following directions and increased attention span are important faculties your child should develop in order to be successful in kindergarten. If you want your child to develop a variety of physical and social skills without having to enroll him or her in several activities, gymnastics is an excellent choice.

Many sports teach commitment, dedication and time management. However, gymnastics, because of the complex skill progression and vast number of physical techniques required to master elements on different events, teaches more perseverance, patience and discipline than most other physical activities. When a child participates in a gymnastics class, he or she develops a variety of motor skills (e.g., speed, strength and agility) while learning balance and grace. A student must also develop acute listening skills in order to transform verbal instructions into complex, physical movements.

The balance beam event, in particular, teaches students to focus and concentrate for extended periods of time. Gymnasts tend to do well in school because they utilize this ability while studying. …

Funtastics, Idaho

read the whole article – Tumbling tots: gymnastics is a great sport your developing preschooler American Fitness – Find Articles

It may be worth printing this and posting it at your gym. Or excerpting a section for your parent newsletter. It’s very well written.

Myrna Beth Haskell is a former Level 10 judge, choreographer and athlete. She had a daughter in recreational gymnastics.