Out magazine – Gymnast Josh Dixon on Why It’s Important to Be an Out Athlete
A good read. He’s healthy and training for Olympic trials.
Category: ethics
how parents can keep Gymnastics FUN
1. Focus on improving skills and not on the result of the competition.
4. Remind your child how far she has come since she began the sport.
9. Don’t compare your child to teammates.
12. Build on the sports experience to create happy childhood memories.
Click through to <a href="https://annejosephson.wordpress.com/2016/03/21/12-ways-to-keep-gymnastics-fun-for-your-child/ ” target=”_blank”>Jag Gym Blog to read the rest.
Alyssa DiFrancesco – Why I quit Penn State
My morals, values and mental health were a million times more important to me than seeing my name on the wall in the locker room
… I was practically raised by my Russian coaches and knew nothing but tough love and endless yelling. “Eat, sleep, breathe gymnastics” was what we used to say to make fun of ourselves but it was accurate. I couldn’t count the amount of unattended school activities because of practice, the long weekends spent in hotels for competitions and the quarter-sized rips on my hands. However, with all those hardships came the rewards and the gratitude of winning a competition or perfecting a new skill. It was the highs and adrenaline that kept me going – I loved it.
It’s very clear that sports are physically exhausting and injuries happen all the time – I’ve been aware of this since I was maybe seven. When I walked-on for the Penn State Women’s Gymnastics team, injuries became a whole different story. …
Leave a comment if you’ve seen any response from the Team.
THE ARTIST – Ivana Hong
Ivana Hong can be defined by her grace, and her family for its courage
“How do you capture Ivana in words?” wondered Chris Swircek, Stanford’s women’s gymnastics associate head coach. “Her movement is so fluid and graceful, all the way down to her hands and her fingertips and the way she holds her head.
“It’s art, right?” …
Hong doesn’t compete to win, she said. She never has. She competes for perfection, or at least the pursuit of it.
Click PLAY or watch her Beam in Finals at Championships 2015 on YouTube.
Ivana’s Mom was one of the Vietnamese Boat People who fled the war as refugees.
Click through to read a fantastic profile on Go Stanford – The Artist
Thanks Cordelia.
Thema Williams to Test Event
Thema Williams has been confirmed as the representative for this country at the Aquece Final Gymnastics Qualifier at the Rio Olympic Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from April 16-22, according to a media release last evening from the Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation (TTGF).
The decision effectively ends weeks of speculation regarding whether Williams or her alternate Marissa Dick would be handed the spot …
Of course both Thema and Marissa will be training for Rio. Marissa is the alternate and must be ready in case Thema has to drop out for any reason.
Misty Copeland and Barack Obama
They discuss topics including racial discrimination and female empowerment.
The first African American president and the first black principal dancer at the American Ballet Theater have much more in common than their success. Both have risen to the pinnacle of institutions that have historically been led by whites. Both were raised by determined single mothers and born into multi-racial families. And both seek to use their unique positions of power to inspire a generation of kids who may not see a clear path forward toward success.
Click through to Time to watch the interview.
Gymnastics USA – “explosion of diversity”
Team USA:
Penny said his federation does not chart participation demographically, but his intuition and that of federation Chief Operating Officer Ron Galimore from watching events at all age levels since the 2012 Olympics suggests an “explosion of diversity.”
Such a change has been slow coming to the elite level of a sport where public tumbling programs, often free or very inexpensive, give way to private clubs for top-level training, which is costly. …
via David Holcomb
related – GymCastic 189: Blinded by the Swag 2016 American Cup:
The Under Armour gymnastics commercial featuring an all white team: We know Aly, Gabby and Simone can’t do the commercial because they are signed to other contracts! We are talking about the lack of diversity! Gymnastics isn’t dominated by white girls!
Ebee Price – 10.0 Bars
That’s the score EVERYONE gave (including Greg Marsden) … aside from the judges.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
… In scoring news, it’s March. That’s all you need to know. The judges felt like they had permission to start throwing out the 10s like candy again, to least to everyone who isn’t named Elizabeth Price. …
… the craziest scores weren’t the 10s but unjustified 9.925s and 9.950s that pushed the totals up and made the 10s almost necessary. …
Many feel Ebee is the girl to beat in the AA at Championships 2016.
Aly Raisman Talks Code of Points & Injuries
I hope FIG WTC listens to their Olympic Champion. She’s right.
Rules should be set with respect to the health and safety of competitors.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The FIG Medical Commission should have more input to WTC. 😦
(via Inside Gymnastics)
Brittany Rogers 10.0 Vault
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I recall her doing pretty much exactly the same Vault at NCAA Championships one year … and getting 9.85. 😦 The WRONGEST score I saw at the meet.
I felt Brittany’s DTY was as good as any at Worlds 2015.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
NCAA related – Gym Digest – Decoding The New Vault Code
Gymnastics Coaching.com 