Category: safety

stretching the front of the ankle

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Of course there are some risks overdoing these kinds of drills.

Ortho resident physician here:

Although I love a gorgeous toe-extension line in artistic activities, this sort of technique, commonly used with gymnastis coaches can be quite destructive to the extensor tendons and stabilizing ligaments of the foot and ankle.

Often, relying on this method can easily lead to ankle and foot instability, premature osteoarthritis, and what is known colloquially as “turf toe” in athletes.

This method discussed by Ms. Mary-Lee Tracy relies on brute force, ergo passive plantar flexion as opposed to active plantar flexion (which athletes are using mid-maneuver).

I encourage techniques that involve active extension and strengthening, rather than brute force, to avoid unnecessary damage to athletes’ feet and ankles.

safety issues at PAGU Gymnastics competitions

Fair criticism.

I work with the Pan American Gymnastics Union (PAGU) on a regular basis — and I find them often … disorganized. This despite having many of the BEST gymnasts in the world.

The 1st thing to improve is safety at major competitions.

I assume FIG certified equipment is being used. But how can a Ring break in half at a major meet? That engineering problem was solved decades ago.

PAGU inspected the venue for safety in April.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The equipment used in this competition was from Cannice, China. It’s a subsidiary of Abéo, a French company that owns Gymnova, Jannssen-Fritssen, and Spieth. They should know what they are doing.

Iranian gymnast killed in war

Asian Gymnastics Union:

With deep sorrow, the Asian Gymnastics Union mourns the loss of Tara Hajimiri, an 8-year-old Iranian gymnast whose life was tragically taken in the recent conflict.

Tara was more than a gymnast — she was a symbol of hope and grace. Her light will never be forgotten.

We stand with her family and the Iranian gymnastics community in this time of grief.

May she rest in peace.

Enhanced Games are too dangerous

As they stand now, I’m strongly for everyone boycotting the proposed Enhanced Games.

Hopefully it won’t be financially feasible. Who’s going to pay for another multi-sport Games?

They plan to include Gymnastics — which is surprising as our sport has had so little doping compared with others.

Without question, some athletes will suffer health complications and possibly even death as they try to out-dope competitors.

Simone on internet trolls

I feel each sporting organization should set their own qualification rules.

Transgender athletes should have equal rights to participate. But they might be added to the male or female competitions, depending on the sport.

In coed sports where men and women compete directly against one another, it wouldn’t matter.

Certainly politicians are the worst possible people to decide sport qualification rules. Rather than look at what’s fair, they’ll politicize the issue.

All kinds of right wing politicians worldwide have never met a transgender person, but find they can get hateful people to vote for them if they take a stance against.

Simone regrets she engaged with some historically unimportant athlete who’s merely trying to get attention.

We should all support the rights of transgender athletes to get the chance to compete. While severely ignoring trolls.

VIDEO – Why It Sucks To Be A Gymnast

Many gymnasts will relate to this commentary.

For young kids, Gymnastics is fantastic — until the chronic pain from training begins. On average, kids are mostly chronic pain free until about age-10.

After that, competitive Gymnastics is not for everyone. It’s no failure to then switch to any other sport or activity.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Letter to Sport Parents

A fantastic short video put together by Arsenal academy players for their parents.  …

Parents in Sport

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.