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Head Coach Andrei Rodionenko took action, as he promised he would, after problems with the Russian team at Worlds.

Andrei is taking some heat over this decision.

But I’m a great admirer of Rodionenko. I expect this discipline was warranted.

It might not be as bad as a trip to Siberia, but in the tightly controlled world of Russian gymnastics, it’s close.

The Russian gymnastics federation banned Maxim Deviatovski and Julia Lozhecko from its main training camps for the rest of the year for what it said were disciplinary violations at last week’s world championships, according to the Russian Web site All Sport. …

ESPN – Two Russian gymnasts barred from training camps – Gymnastics

JumpClub posted a tribute video to the mixed martial arts group Sideswipe featuring their successful run on the TV show America’s Got Talent.

Great publicity for street acrobatics.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Good, if Amerocentric, article published by Sports Illustrated.

Here are the key takeaways from this week’s World Gymnastics championships in Stuttgart.

SI.com – Writers – E.M. Swift: Five things we learned at gymnastics worlds – Sunday September 9, 2007 1:28PM

For example:

Nastia has surpassed her famous father in total number of World Championships medals.

When Kyle Shewfelt was bumped to 4th from the Bronze medal position in the Vault Finals at the 2004 Olympics, he handled the injustice with class and dignity. I wish everyone in our sport had Kyle’s cool under pressure.

The Gymblog put together a good post titled Gymnasts behaving badly, an overview of poor sportsmanship at Worlds.

Athletes named include:

Maxim Deyvatovsky – Russia
Yulia Lozhechko – Russia
Alicia Sacramone – USA
Li Shanshan – China

Even the public statements of Valeri Liukin and National Team Coordinator Martha Karolyi are questioned.

A very interesting and important topic. Check it out:

Gymnasts behaving badly « Gymblog

We’ve added a permanent link to Gymblog under the BLOGS category in the right hand navigation.

I’m not sure what to think of International Gymnastics Federation boss Bruno Grandi.

Is he a great visionary? Or a manipulative madman?

Now that the new code of points has not been the complete disaster many felt it would be — he’s looking at many more radical changes:

STUTTGART, Germany — Gymnastics judging could be going high-tech if the head of the international federation has his way.

Three years after overhauling the sport’s scoring system to provide more impartial judging, Bruno Grandi said he would like to streamline the process further by using computers, much like figure skating does. Instead of recording execution marks by hand, judges would input them into a computer during the routine.

“The computer must calculate the addition, not the judges,” Grandi, president of the International Gymnastics Federation, told The Associated Press during an interview at the world championships.

Grandi overhauled the scoring system after a series of judging errors at the Athens Olympics, most notably the debacle that followed Paul Hamm’s victory in the all-around. Hamm was forced to defend his gold medal all the way to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after the FIG announced an error had been made in the bronze medalist’s score.

Now, instead of a single mark based on the 10.0 system, gymnasts get two separate scores. One, the A score, represents the difficulty of the skills in the routine. The second, the B score, is for execution, how well the gymnast did the skills.

As execution judges watch routines, they note by hand the skills done and whether there were any flaws. When the routine is finished, each judge adds up his or her deductions and submits their final tally.

But Grandi said he is concerned that judges can alter their marks during the addition process to either bolster a gymnast in the standings or bump them down. But if judges would use a touch-screen computer as the routine is being done, that removes any possibility for impropriety, he said. …

Grandi conceded he has packed a lot of revolutionary changes into a short time. Fine-tuning needs to be done, and things like computerized judging wouldn’t take effect until after the Beijing Olympics. …

READ MORE – ESPN – Gymnastics judging could be going high tech – Gymnastics

A competent international judge would not be more or less biased with this kind of system, in my opinion. Grandi is wrong there.

But scores would come up faster — so I’m still for it.

Diving scores come up on the big screen before the athlete surfaces using this kind of system.

JPAD – Wireless Judges Scoring System (Judge or Score PAD). For use with Diving Meet Management and Recording Software

The best photos from Worlds were posted by ESPN, I thought.

frizzy front flip on the Gym Chat forum agrees:

Some awesome ones:

Nice splits from Shawn Johnson! There has been a lot of talk about Shawn’s unflexibility and not getting the 180 on her split jumps – this is good though!

"U.S. Shawn Johnson competes on the floor on her way to win the gold medal during the women’s floor final of the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Daniel Maurer)"

High flying is always awesome!!

"German Fabian Hambuechen soars through the air winning the gold medal in the horizontal bar final at the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, southern Germany, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)"

That is hard!

"Australia’s Lauren Mitchell is seen in action in the women’s balance beam final at the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, southern Germany, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)"

Pretty in pink! What a comeback!

"Anastasia Liukin of the United States is seen in action to win the gold medal in the women’s balance beam final at the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, southern Germany, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)"

photos from Worlds – ESPN

I was lucky enough to sit in on a preliminary consultation with business guru Frank Sahlein from Idaho who was meeting with coaches looking to open a new club.

Frank is a “number cruncher” who gives advice on what kind of gymnastics business will succeed in any given city demographic.

Frank also buys and sells gymnastics clubs. Or can broker the deal.

In terms of the “business of gymnastics” the USA is far, far ahead of any other country in the world.

I’m looking forward to seeing Frank again soon at Region 2 Congress in Spokane, Washington where he will be speaking on how gymnastics club owners can actually make a good living at the sport we love.

Frank’s company: 3rdLevelConsulting.com

GymnasticsCoaching.com editor Rick McCharles will be again leading sessions at the Region 2 (Pacific Northwest) Congress, one of the best in the nation.

The 2007 Region 2
Coaches and Judges Congress
Spokane, Washington
“Region 2 Rising!”
October 19—21, 2007

Just a few of the top shelf clinicians confirmed so far:

Steve Greeley—Imagymnation!

Jeff Metzger—Without question, the world leader in gymnastics business education!

Todd Gardiner—One of the USA’s top coaches, Todd is a national team coach and gym owner, and is one of the top bars and vault coaches in the country!

Frank Sahlein—An industry leader in business solutions for the gym owner!

Bill Sands—Head of USOC Sports Science Department

Linda Mulvihill—3 time Olympic gymnast and 4 time Olympic judge! USA’s highest rated judge.

David Holcomb—Owner of Buckeye Gymnastics. Member of the USAG board and 2007 USAG Businessman of the Year!

Linda Thorberg—Brevet Judge, master pre-school clinician and so much more! She will also be teaching a H.O.T. course, the follow-up to the KAT program!

Hideo Mizoguchi—Teacher extraordinaire! Long time director of the USAG Junior Men’s program, and one of the USA’s top coaches!

Connie Maloney—USAG Women’s Program Manager and Brevet judge

Jeff Lulla—The Fun & Fit guru!

For more Information, contact Dave Adlard funnflip @ msn.com
208-664-0135
www.funtastics.org

Chantal Chauzy [mailto:chantal @ strandreleasing.com] sent me the details on yesterday’s North American release of the DVD: WHITE PALMS – starring Olympic Champion Kyle Shewfelt and “Uldi” Zoltan Miklos Hajdu (Cirque du Soleil).

I coached with Uldi at Altadore Gymnastics, Kyle’s home club. The movie is very, very loosely based on a true story.

Without question this is the most critically acclaimed gymnastics movie of all time. (Recall Gymkata anyone?)

It may be a long while before another gymnastics film is nominated for an Academy Award.

WHITE PALMS a film by Szabolcs Hajdu

Having suffered as a boy under a brutal Communist-era coach, champion Hungarian gymnast Miklos moves to Canada years later in search of a new start – only to find himself unwittingly perpetuating the very same cycle of abuse among his own pupils.

Redemption appears in the unlikely form of Kyle, a troubled, young Canadian teen with the potential to become a world champion. The friendship and rivalry between teacher and student – each played by actual gymnasts … forms the basis of this gripping, resonant sports drama.

Beautifully shot and edited, effortlessly evoking its respective time-periods, and through them, the clash of different cultures and values, WHITE PALMS made its international premiere in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes 2006 and was the official Hungarian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award®.

Strand Releasing

White Palms (DVD): $27.99 100 minutes … In English and Hungarian with English Subtitles

Also starring Orion Radies, Silas Radies, Gheorghe Dinica.

Directors’ Fortnight – CANNES International Film Festival
Official Selection – TORONTO International Film Festival
Special Mention- Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

The New York Times called the film “Beautiful” and The Village Voice “Riveting!”

White Palms – Amazon.com

As usual, Men’s Vault was the most extreme and exciting apparatus at Worlds. The level of difficulty is far beyond that of the Women.

– GOLD — BLANIK Leszek POL
1. Handspring, piked double salto fwd (“Blanik”) .. small hop (17.0) – 16.450
2. Tsukahara, piked double salto bwd. … rotation not quite completed. (17.0) – 16.575
– total = 16.512

* SILVER — POPESCU Daniel ROU
1. Kasamatsu, 2/1- .. Landing (17.0) – 16.675 (looks like triple twist)
2. Handspring, stretched salto fwd. 2 1/2- … hop on landing .. (17.0) – 16.325
– total = 16.500

* BRONZE — RI, Se Gwang PRK
1. Handspring, double salto fwd 1/2 turn (Dragulescu)..(17.0) – 16.500
2. Tsukahara, piked double salto bwd… (17.0) – 16.275
– total = 16.387

4. RI, Jong Song PRK
1. Kasamatsu 2/1- … large step backwards.. (17.0) – 16.200
2. Handspring, stretched salto fwd 2 1/2- … out of plane, correction.. (17.0) – 16.525
– total = 16.362

5. ISAYEV Andriy UKR
1. Dragulescu , rotation incomplete … (17.0) – 116.075;
2. Tsukahara, piked double salto bwd. – hop .. (17.0) – 16.425
– total = 16.250

6. HAMBUECHEN Fabian GER
1. Yurchenko, 2 1/2- forward hop .. (16.6) – 16.100
2. Kasamatsu, 1/1- … good landing … (16.2) – 15.850
– total = 15.975

7. KOCZI Flavius ROU –
1. Kasamatsu, 2/1- … 2 steps …(17.0) – 16.059
2. Handspring, stretched salto fwd, 2 1/2-.. lands on knees, fall (17.0) – 15.700;
– total = 15.825

8. BOTELLA PEREZ Isaac ESP
1. Kasamatsu 1 1/2- … landing to sit…(16.6) – 14.875
2. Handspring, stretched salto fwd. 2/1- … correcting step.. (16.6) – 15.900
– total = 15,387

Commentary:
… what a vault final!! 12 vault with starting values of 17.0 (!!) – 12 vaults with starting values of 16.0 !!

– BLANIK – at last without fault and so this Polish vaulter extraordinary fianlly wins the title he has been dreaming of, the further significance being that as world champion he is qualified for the Olympic Games!

– POPESCU – there was little difference in quality between the two top athletes – what significance can a difference of 0.012 points have?

– RI, Se Gwang – another athlete with two 17 vaults, however the vaulting table of the new Code de Pointage seems to be pretty well exhausted, and small errors in executing these super vaults can cost medals, as the other North Korean named RI, who ended up in fourth place, had to learn at his expense…!

Dieter Hoffman – GymFamily.Com
FINAL: VAULT, Men

Click PLAY or watch Blanik do his two piked double somersault vaults at World Stars Moscow 2007 on YouTube.