Category: Uncategorized

UPDATE: IG is reporting that the hosts “won six out of 10 titles” – Russians Shine Bright in Moscow

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International Gymnast has all the qualifying scores to finals.

Diego Hypolito, as is so often the case, led Floor qualifiers with 15.625.

But watch this Finals routine where he took the Silver medal. I’m always shocked that this guy does so well in competition. He is very “beatable” — yet rarely beaten.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Where’s the “Hypolito“?

This is not a very impressive routine to me. I can’t see it in the Olympic Floor final.

American Steven Legendre did not even qualify for the top 15 to U.S. Olympic trials. Yet at VISA Championships the NCAA Floor Champion scored 15.8 from 16.50 — his routine including the best “Hypolito” that’s ever been competed.

Legendre is young. No doubt he’ll make future World Championships Floor finals.

Steve McCain is posting official Gymnast.com videos on YouTube, as well. You can see those videos on either site. But quality is far superior on Gymnast.com so long as you have a high speed internet connection.

The Official Community for the Sport of Gymnastics.

Gymnast.com YouTube channel

Champions were named in Double Mini | Synchro Trampoline | Individual Trampoline | Tumbling

The only Olympic event is Sr. Individual Trampoline. USA will send one man and one woman, though I heard the alternates will also travel to Beijing.

MEN’S TRAMPOLINE
1. Chris Estrada
2. Michael Devine
3. Logan Dooley

WOMEN’S TRAMPOLINE
1. Alaina Hebert
2. Erin Blanchard
3. Alaina Williams

The final Olympic Selection event for Trampoline, is scheduled for Kansas City, July 1, 2008

The Tramp and Tumble blog has a nice recap:

Congratulations to the elite (junior and senior) who competed in Houston this past weekend for the USAG Trampoline and Tumbling Elite National Championships. Story here, complete results here.

This was the third of the four events the Sr. Elites are competing in for a shot at the Olympics. …

Elite Nationals (Visa Championships) results

Here is one of the biggest frustrations of trampoline coaches:

… On a related note, the Visa Championships will be televised on NBC on June 8th. Or, I should say, at least part of it will be televised. From the description of the coverage, it will only include the Men’s Artistic from this past weekend. Unfortunate, since the attendance rules at the meet prohibited use of video cameras, presumably to appease NBC who paid for the TV rights. … But if they are not going to show T&T as part of their broadcast, how can we see these athletes in action?

I was there, scrambling to watch T&T, Rhthmic and Artistic meets at two different venues. And Brett, the editor of this site, is quite right. Several times I was cautioned by well meaning volunteers not to videotape the meet. (Only photos are allowed.) And I had a media credential. Unfortunately my media credential seemed only to allow TEXT.

Strange restriction.

I was specifically identified as someone trusted enough to promote VISA Championships. Then my hands were tied in how I could promote the event.

Hey, Tramp and Tumble blog has launched a social network for the global Trampoline and Tumbling community. Check it out. I’ve joined and it seems to work well.

Netherlands did not qualify any gymnasts qualified only one All-around gymnast, Epke Zonderland.

(Thanks shergymrag.)

Fans will not get to see this amazing vault from his teammate in Beijing.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I’ve heard he does it with another half twist, as well.

Related post: top gymnasts NOT going to Beijing

FIG is looking at athlete selection changes to allow more individual athletes into the 2012 Olympics.

Update: Wammes qualified 2nd in Vault finals this weekend at the Moscow World Cup with 16,063.

Trickling in already are results and videos.

Men – GymnasticsResults.com
Women – GymnasticsResults.com

Here’s the top Floor score in prelims (14,60) ahead of Dasha Joura (14,50).

Click PLAY or watch Linlin Deng in Floor Preliminaries on YouTube.

And for the first time I’m starting to realize that Ksenia Semenova is better on Beam than Bars. She was second in prelims (15,50) with wobbles in this routine.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

more crazybrasil videos

You know, we ought to all chip in to pay for someone to fly around the word to every competition specifically to upload the best routines to YouTube IMMEDIATELY. I volunteer for that job.

Gymnastics and stuff has some commentary

ZAIA is the name of the young female heroine who journeys into space.

… Cirque’s first permanent show in Asia …

The Gala premiere on August 28, will not only celebrate the official launch of Cirque Macau, but is even more likely to be a star-studded affair because it coincides with the 1st anniversary of The Venetian …

more photos from the sneak preview – Macau.com

The Criss Angel Cirque show Believe opens a few days later on Sept. 1st, 2008 in Vegas.

disclosure – I love Cirque du Soleil

Arguably the best gymnast in the world too young to qualify for the Beijing Olympics will not compete in Boston.

Rebecca Bross, who trains at Plano’s World Olympic Gymnastics Academy, won’t defend her junior national all-around title at the Visa Championships next week in Boston because of a broken foot.

Coach Valeri Liukin said Bross, 14, suffered the injury on the balance beam recently and should return to training in about three weeks.

Dallas News

more photos from Rebecca’s win at VISA Championships 2007 – WOGA official website

Gymnasts at NCAA championships qualified for apparatus finals with one vault. You need a near perfect landing to get into Finals.

Once in Finals, however, girls were required to show “2 different vaults”. In some cases gymnasts had not trained their second vault all season as it was not high priority.

I decided to videotape only landings and, as expected, there were problems.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Even the best landings are not superb technically, in my opinion. And the tradition of pivoting to present to judges on both sides of the landing podium — then rushing away — is also inelegant.

Better we study the landings shown on Floor (video) by Daria Joura 2008 at Australian Nationals.

Leave a comment if there are any other female gymnast who shows excellent landings.

I love the concept of “open” and “drop-in” gymnastics. It attracts an entirely different kind of customer than does regular structured gymnastics class.

The cost and commitment required of the family is low.

Many clubs do not offer “open” workout due to safety and liability concerns. Those concerns are valid.

It is possible to run a large open workout program. For example, check the weekly OPEN GYM schedule at Progressive Power Tumbling in Utah:

… Each participant will be asked to sign a liability release before being allowed on the gym floor. …

Shared Gym – $6 per person, $60 minimum (at least 10 people in your group)

When you schedule as a shared reservation, other groups or individuals will be allowed up to capacity. It’s a great way to meet new people!

Progressive Power Tumbling

They don’t fill every class, of course. But that is a lot of options for someone just wanting to try out the club.

It’s been successful. In fact, the club is planning on expanding their facilities.

(via Doug Davis in the Tumbl Trak May newsletter)

Thank JJ for pointing us to another great montage video by ClayBabe6.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

more videos by ClayBabe6

Her blog is Live.Breath.Love.Gymnastics

You know … what I really notice watching those quicky clips is just how LOUSY is the execution in these difficult routines. The B-panel judges have to be more severe.

related: our Olympic predictions