tumbling, tramp, diving, acrobatics, circus, cheer, dance, martial arts, X sports … and more
A new study suggests that girls who begin participating in sports from the ages of 6 to 9 have higher retention rates than those who begin participating later in life.
These findings emphasize the importance of targeted retention strategies and supportive sport environments for adolescent girls and women.
Canadian Sport Information Resource Centre
Start young. But keep the main emphasis on FUN and FITNESS, not performance.
Nick Blanton:
… of 259 female competitors in the 2019 WC’s, the average age was 19.93. Since the inception of the open-ended code in 2006, the average age of female competitors has risen from 18.2 years of age in the 2005 WC’s, to 19.93 in 2019. From this comparison, federations could strategize what age to peak their athletes in contemporary high-performance gymnastics.
To put it simply, programs should be strategizing on how to support older female athletes. …
That’s just one conclusion from Nick’s new paper.
Set realistic goals and celebrate any success you achieve.
#10GoldenRulesOfGymnastics
Nick interviews Gordon MacLelland of Working with Parents in Sport.
Dealing successfully with parents is a much neglected coaching skill.
They discuss how to onboard NEW parents starting with your pre-competitive programs.
Gordon recommends offering parents 4 minute Zoom sessions on a regular basis to avoid miscommunication.
1. A moral and ethical code
2. A better education system
3. A workload and wellness monitoring system, that is specific to gymnastics.
“It’s good they didn’t peak now,” added Shane Wiskus.
“Not concerned,” Mikulak said. “Never lose faith in the girls.” …
Sports Illustrated
The story of the day is Russia deservedly defeating USA in the qualifying round.
That happened.
On the other hand, no medals are awarded in qualification. I’m expecting Simone and team to come back with aggressive routines in the Team final. They’ll be far better.
USA qualified the maximum number of Finals positions. I would have loved to see Riley in the Bars final rather than Simone, however.
National Team Coordinator Tom Forster gets too much blame when things go wrong. And too much credit when things go right. That’s in the job description.
Certainly communication has been poor.
But let’s wait until Tokyo is over before analyzing team performance.
Eventually USAG could decide mistakes were made. There’s not much time before specialist Worlds 2021 in October, however.
International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) President Morinari Watanabe is to face a challenge from Farid Gayibov for leadership of the organisation at its Congress in Antalya.
Gayibov, an Azeri who has led European Gymnastics since 2018, is Watanabe’s sole challenger for the Presidency. …
Two existing vice-presidents have put themselves forward for re-election – five-time Olympic champion Nellie Kim of Belarus, formerly the Soviet Union as an athlete, and Russia’s Vassily Titov.
China’s Luo Chaoyi will not seek re-election.
Greek Eleni Michopoulou, Qatar’s Ali Al-Hitmi, Margaret Ahlquist of Sweden, Syria’s Youssef Altabbaa and Suat Celen from Turkey are all standing to become a vice-president. …
The list of candidates can be seen in full here.
Inside the Games
Due to Covid, Yul Moldauer had to leave Oklahoma.
He decided to head back to his home club.
In this podcast he outlines his daily schedule. 100% focus on Gymnastics.
For example, on arrival at morning training there’s a hot mug of tea and healthy breakfast waiting.
Listen to it on GymnasticsVille.
From the UK’s leading children’s charity:
Via Gymnasts for Change – How can parents and carers help safeguard gymnasts?
Gymnastics Coaching.com 
