Author: Rick Mc

Under the new code, this guy is getting tough to beat on Pommels.

Born in Sydney (1986), Prashanth may be more of a medal threat for Australia than World Horizontal Bar champ Philippe Rizzo. There are plenty of guys with high start value bar routines, very few with as much variety and difficulty as Sellathurai on “the pig”.

To see his World’s 2006 silver medal routine click PLAY or watch the clip on YouTube.

Australia had their best world championships ever in Denmark. Sellathurai is just one of many stars.

The Book Of Cool

The Book of Cool is a set of DVDs plus a companion photo book demonstrating how to do cool … tricks.

It includes as your tutor the world’s greatest female skater, Fabiola da Silva.

(via Roller News)

Yet another creation announcement. Athletes needed.

Cirque du Soleil, the Montreal circus troupe with a permanent base in Las Vegas, is ready to take on New York.

The company announced Monday that it has signed a four-year deal with Madison Square Garden Entertainment that will see Cirque creating a show every winter at the famous New York City venue. …

… The new show, with a winter theme, is being created specifically for a Madison Square Gardens audience, he said.

CBC.ca Arts – Cirque du Soleil signs deal for New York show

Click PLAY or watch the video on YouTube.

This seems to be a project done by the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. See 3 more animations on their Computer Aided Design Laboratory. (links on bottom of the page)

Is the world record for twisting on a trampoline (and bouncing out) still 7?

Set in 1978?

I have to believe this record has been surpassed somewhere, sometime. Leave a comment below if you know.

Click PLAY to see a trampoline video clip or watch it on YouTube. (Uploaded by Justice Frangipane.)

The 13th World Cup Final of Artistic Gymnastics – planned for December 15 & 16, 2006 – will no longer take place in Monaco. The new place will be Sao Paulo (BRA) … again.

The Monegasque organizers were unable to raise the money. Brazil immediately made a bid.

The 8 best gymnasts / apparatus on the FIG World Ranking List are invited. This is the “All Star Game” of our sport. The athletes love this meet.

Thanks to Kyle Shewfelt for letting us know of the change. And good luck to Kyle in the competition!

There has been a long history of zany architecture associated with Olympic Games. The tower in Montreal (1976) was never used though — at one point — there were plans to put a gymnastics club on one level.

The “bird’s nest” is no exception.

Sports stadiums have long followed the enduring design of one of the original wonders of the world, Rome ‘s Coliseum. Herzog & de Meuron’s National Stadium in Beijing is an attempt to rethink the classic sports-arena layout for more ecologically correct times.

The Swiss architects (of Tate Modern fame) wanted to provide natural ventilation for the 91,000-seat structure — perhaps the largest “eco-friendly” sports stadium designed to date. To achieve this, they set out to create a building that could function without a strictly enclosed shell, yet also provide constant shelter for the audience and athletes alike.

To solve these design problems, they looked to nature for inspiration. The stadium’s outer grid resembles a bird’s nest constructed of delicately placed branches and twigs. Each discrete space within the facility, from restrooms to restaurants, is constructed as an independent unit within the outer lattice — making it possible to encase the entire complex with an open grid that allows for natural air circulation. The architects also incorporated a layer of translucent membrane to fill any gaps in the lacy exterior.

See images of this and other modern Chinese architectural projects: 10 Wonders of the New China – Stupid Random and Hilarious

BBC NEWS | In Pictures | Olympic preparations in China

You may recognize the logo from my OLD gymnastics site (www.i-needtoknow.com/gymnastics/) which lists resources (websites, blogs, articles, people, etc.) for coaches.

The old site is very Web 1.0 (difficult to update, no interactivity, problematic).

I will keep it live on the internet as it is very popular, but likely put it in maintenance mode. Not adding much in future. GymnasticsCoaching.com is the place to go for new content.

I will be copying the best resources from that site here.

GYMmedia posts results from the most important international competitions since Worlds in Anaheim in 2003 including recent World Cup meets.

Nice article on Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs — the first Canadian female gymnast to bring home a medal from the World Championships.

She’s a superb student, averaging about 92 per cent at Northview Heights Secondary School while winning annual academic awards. She has a preference for biology, her favourite TV show is House, and right now she’s contemplating a future as a chiropractor or physiotherapist, though as she points out that changes often. She’s already agreed to a five-year scholarship at UCLA, which has been deferred until after the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

TheStar.com – Beam there, done that

The first medal at World’s for any nation does shatter a psychological barrier. Look at Brazil. At Greece. The first medal can lead to more.

Gymnasts in those countries now believe they can podium at the highest level.