tumbling, tramp, diving, acrobatics, circus, cheer, dance, martial arts, X sports … and more
Only once did I get to the Santa Monica Gymfest in California.
But I was lucky enough that year to see two quadruple backward somersaults off swinging rings. The gymnast landed only on sand — but a dozen or so burly beach acrobats tried to slow him down by “catching him”.
Hard to believe?
Don from Woodward West Gym Camp posted the evidence.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
More amazing stories of Muscle Beach, California.
Coach Alisson Ogle. Have a happy handstand.
You need to be a member of Facebook (free) to see the original larger version.
Coach Don from Woodward West posted this amazing clip of Russian Swing training. And more.
Looks like a blast.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I like the tag line of the club:
World’s largest trampoline gymnastics center.
Where your child’s success never depends upon another child’s failure.
This is one “recreational” club doing SERIOUS acrobatics.
ArtSportsWorld – home page – Colorado Springs, CO
Is this the single biggest foam cube pit by volume?
50 x 25 feet, 8 ft. deep
We once built a pit 100 x 8 feet, 4 ft. deep. And that was HUGE.
ArtSportsWorld is in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
A comedy to be released August 3, 2007 looks like it might be good. There is some pommel horse in this video clip preview:
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The world’s worst stuntman Rod Kimble (Andy Samberg) is training to jump fifteen buses to raise money for his abusive stepfather Frank’s life-saving heart operation.
Hot Rod – the movie
Ludmilla Tourischeva is one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, no question.
But what I really remember her for was her psychological toughness when the Bars collapsed behind her on dismount at the 1975 gymnastics World Championships.
What other gymnast in history would not have looked back?
http://www.metacafe.com/fplayer/123263/ludmila_tourischevas_amazing_uneven_bars_routine.swf
Ludmila Tourischeva’s amazing Uneven Bars routine – Click here for this week’s top video clips
Recall that the Soviet system did not use sport psychologists. The imposing coach Vladislav Rastorotsky had trained her to be that mentally focused.
My old club — Altadore Gymnastics in Calgary, Canada — has decided to add a Competitive Tramp and Tumbling program.
The facility is excellent. And new competition equipment was approved this past week. Altadore already has the superb Rebound Powertrack built by Dave Ross.
Be close to Rocky Mountain skiing and hiking in Calgary, Alberta. Calgary is an oil economy boomtown with a fast growing population.
This part time position is ideal for someone with a positive, kids come first attitude. We have had Olympians, even an Olympic champion from Altadore — but our mission is to instill a lifelong love for the sport of gymnastics and trampoline and tumbling in every athlete.
Applicant needs experience coaching from Provincial to National Level with good spotting skills. Pay commensurate with experience and certification.
Email your resumé. Please contact us by phone or email if you have any questions.
Contact: TC Edwards
Email: AGCexecutivedirector@shaw.ca
Phone: (403) 720-2711
Fax: (403) 720-3110
Though I recently complained about on-line Gymnastics Forums, there are some excellent posts if you have time to browse.
For example, here’s some advice from Gym Chat:
How to choose a gymnastics club:
Location
– how close is it to you – if you’re more than 30 minutes away from a club, for example, that’s time you could be doing homework and having more practice, or resting, eating, showering, etc…
– what the gym is next to – is it next to a factory or garbage dump or car repair place, etc. that could affect the air quality around your gym – you don’t want to breathe in chemicals right before going for your double back dismount – it does happen because gyms look for warehouses usually because you need to have the roof up high
– surrounding area – is it safe, good location
Coaches
– really important to have experienced coaches who know what they’re doing!! do they have good spotting technique, do they know what they’re doing, is there a positive environment in the gym
Equipment
– do they have the latest equipment – bouncy spring floor, the new vault table, is the equipment in shape or are the bars crooked (they’re supposed to be uneven, but parallel uneven!) or loose, do they have good 8-inch mats- if the mats are too empty, they are not good for landing and can hurt your back/knees, etc., do they have sting mats, small mats for learning skills like for placing them on the beam or on the bars for release moves, panel mats, do they have a PIT!!! Pits are very good for learning new skills, along with coaches’s instruction/spot – Pit for all events = the best! do they have a tumble trak, trampoline, softer tumbling surface, like a tumbling strip
Gym Area
– is it clean, or are there Band-Aids and blood spots everywhere, do they wash any blood spots right away
– do they heat and cool the gym when necessary, turn on the lights, or would they rather you practice in a cave and save some money
– the gym management is very important, are they in this business for the business, or for the love of the sport
– do they allow parents to watch – if not, red alert
Talk to the gymnasts in the club and the parents, ask them what do they think. Watch some practices before you introduce yourself as visiting the club for attending – you don’t want them watching what they say or what they’re doing because they know someone is watching. Watch how the coaches/owners treat the gymnasts.
Check what programs the club offers – do they do just recreational or also competitive JO program. The Gym Chat listings & ratings directory is a great yellow pages for gymnastics clubs!
How to Choose a Gymnastics Club – author wildcherry – Gym Chat
What I really need to take best advantage of Gymnastics Forums would be the ability to subscribe ONLY to the comments of specific people. (like wildcherry)
In the training gym at Canadian Championships 2007 for Rhythmic Gymnastics we needed to provide a large number of chairs.
At the time I assumed the girls needed them for sitting. (As only a few of the dozens of competitors on site could warm up at one time.)
How wrong I was.
photographer Laura Semplicemente, Italy
The strangest side story to Pan Am Games. I feel badly for the girls and coaches on Team Mexico.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 19
The Mexican women’s gymnastics team was stripped of its Panamerican Games bronze medal on Thursday after it was discovered that one of the athletes in the team had been accredited as an official.
PASO (Pan American Sports Organisation) executive committee voted unanimously to disqualify Mexico and upgrade Canada from fourth to the bronze medal position.
During the team competition on Saturday a technical delegate noticed that a Mexican gymnast was accredited as an official (“As” accreditation), not as an athlete (“Ao” accreditation) and reported it to PASO.
After an investigation, the PASO executive committee made the decision to disqualify the Mexican team for a breach of rules.
The bronze medals will be given to the Canadian Olympic Committee, who will distribute them to the women’s team which has already left Brazil and returned home.
© Reuters 2007
(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) – larger original
Gymnastics Coaching.com 