tumbling, tramp, diving, acrobatics, circus, cheer, dance, martial arts, X sports … and more
One of the most unique gifts for a gymnast we’ve yet seen is a coffee table photography book by Christina Lessa.
She has many famous American and a few international gymnast posed in costume.
Most of Lessa’s photo shoots are inspiring. A few merely bizarre.
It reminded me of the work of super photographer Annie Leibovitz. Certainly I prefer the gymnastics photos in Leibovitz’s Olympic Portraits (1996).
larger image – Dominique Moceanu – Annie Liebovitz
In Australia I saw samples of equipment from the Chinese company who won the 2008 Olympic contract — Taishan Sports.
(In the end, Taishan did not win the contract.)
A friend in Canada is negotiating a major purchase with another Chinese company called GAOFEI.
Their equipment looks to be good quality, as well. In fact, GAOFEI is also the distributor for GYMNOVA (a French company) in China.
Expect Chinese companies like GAOFEI to be VERY competitive in terms of price.
sample – bars handstand trainer
Rik Feeney is one of our most prolific gymnastics coach authors.
The best guide still for parents with questions about what happens after their child is invited into competitive women’s gymnastics is his 1992 book simply titled Gymnastics.
Checking Rik’s website — Gymnastics Training Tips — is inspirational.
But did you know that Rik has has articles posted which you can download and republish for free? (One of these might be ideal for a club newsletter.)
One I particularly like is called: How to size, break in, and take care of your grips
It’s written by Mike Jacobs from US Glove and edited by John Deary of Deary’s Gymnastics Supply.
The article has information on selection and sizing of “hand guards” for bars, rings and horizontal bar:
… never borrow a teammate’s grips …
… it’s always a good idea to have a backup pair of grips broken in and ready for use in case of untimely breakage.
… keep your wristbands clean and in good condition and to discard worn or thin wristbands.
Suppliers are also often asked to recommend Velcro or buckle closure. This decision is a personal choice. What does the athlete or coach prefer? Velcro is easier for younger athletes, but many higher-level coaches prefer buckles because they are more secure and the athlete does not have a tendency to wrap and unwrap the Velcro closure constantly throughout a workout. Constant wrapping and unwrapping the Velcro straps on their handgrips causes the Velcro to wear out long before the useful life of the grip.
Athletes often complain about breaking in new handgrips. …
When not in use it is a good idea to store your grips in a separate bag to protect them from damage from other items in your gym bag. This will also keep the chalk and smell of the grips from transferring to the other items in your gym bag.
Read the full article on Rik Feeney’s website …
The most important topic of discussion is the question of water usage on handgrips.
Mike Jacobs says that water usage on leather is not recommended.
“Water can cause deterioration and rotting, as well as stretching of the leather. This can shorten the life of your grips.”
Yet many gymnasts persist in using water to both “break in” new grips and in day to day training.
Of course you must cut grips in half once they are weakened or a nick appears in either edge as they can “rip”. Don’t simply toss old hand guards in the trash (as some inexperienced gymnast might pull them out and use them). The cutting of old hand guards was a ritual in our gym — often with the gymnast jumping up and down, complaining that they are still perfectly good.
Reisport are still my favourite grips.
One of the great advantages of digital photography is the ease by which coaches, athletes and parents can get professional “action” shots from competitions.
(I still remember the day when parents begged me to come on to the competition floor in order to get a good angle for a personal photo.)
The only problem now is browsing the hundreds of available photos on-line to decide which ones to print.
Altadore gymnast at the WOGA (World Olympic Gymnastic Academy) competition, Feb. 5th, 2007.
I got a chance to visit of the 2000 Olympic site at Homebush near the airport in Sydney, Australia. It still hosts about 1800 events each year, an impressive legacy.
Not bad for land which was once written off as “industrial wasteland”.
We had a personal tour of the impressive aquatics facilities. (Thanks Elanore!)
It seems I won a gold medal … for something.
Rick McCharles
more photos on Flickr
Rick McCharles
In the 1990s I worked for Gymnastics Saskatchewan in a similar position to the one now available.
Gym Sask will be hiring a Technical Director for artistic gymnastics (men and women), tumbling and trampoline, as well as rhythmic. They are a quality organization.
For more information, email kmiller @ gymsask.com
I’ve seen and heard of more serious accidents from a seemingly “harmless” skill than from any other single difficult skill.
What is it?
Cast to low bar. Then jump from low to high bar. (There are 2 places where kids are often injured.)
Click PLAY or watch the short video clip on YouTube.
The frequency of injury has increased steadily as the rails have widened for younger and younger girls.
Gymnastics Zone cautions:
Don’t Underestimate this Maneuver
Perhaps the apparent simplicity of this movement is one of the causes of accidents. The dangers, as evidenced by the accidents we have seen, are real and significant. All of the injuries occurred the same way with a jump to the high bar from a stand on the low bar (as in the Level 5 and Level 6 bar routines). The bar is caught initially, the feet swing forward and the grip is lost.
Often Causes Arm Injuries
During the resulting fall, the gymnast instinctively reaches back with one or both arms and the weight of the body on the arm causes an injury ranging from shoulder or elbow sprain, fracture, compound fracture to dislocation. It is possible that this skill could cause a neck or back injury, if the gymnast peels very late. …
Spotting This Skill Safely is Very, Very Difficult
Spotting this skill is deceptively difficult. We do not believe that any coach can safely spot this skill standing under the high bar waiting to see if the gymnast catches the bar or not. There are two reasons for this. The first is that often the gymnast appears to have caught the bar, which makes the coach instinctively relax, and then the gymnast peels. Even coaches with the most determined level of spotting concentration can fall victim to this predicament.
This Fall Happens Faster Than the Reflex Capabilities of a Spotter
The second problem with spotting this skill from the ground is that the swinging action rockets the gymnast straight down to the floor very, very quickly during a fall from this skill. This is especially true when the gymnast jumps to the high bar with an arch jump, which causes an involuntary tap action when the feet get out in front of the bar and speeds the hands peeling off and the speed of the fall. Even coaches with the fastest of reflexes will be unable to safely and consistently catch gymnasts falling this fast, especially if it is unexpected.
Gymnastics Safety for Gymnasts
Injuries Seem to Occur with Gymnasts New To The Skill
Quick to complain when I DON’T like aspects of the new code of points, one of the trends I do like is specialization.
Specialists have always been an important part of American College gymnastics. It has finally now come to FIG in a big way.
Cheng Fei, for example, may never have made the Chinese Team in the past because she is not a consistent enough All-around competitor. She’s a Floor and Vault specialist.
Cheng Fei was the first Chinese woman to win a gold medal on vault at the Worlds. In fact, she has won more gold medals internationally than another Chinese female in history.
What a shame if she had not been on the team.
Check out how low she contacts the horse on her vault preflight.
Gymnastics clothing has really improved since 1914!
Acrobatic athletes should wear tight-fitting clothing without pockets.
Baggy clothing is OUT. It is not safe.
From a coaching point of view, it is far easier to assess technique and “line” when the athlete is wearing tight-fitting togs.
In fact, training without a shirt has become part of the “culture” of Men’s Artistic Gymnastics. It’s almost a coming of age ritual when competitive male gymnasts start taking off their shirts in the gym.
In Brisbane I met representatives of Taishan Sports and saw samples of their gymnastics equipment.
Very good quality at great prices.
Taishan won the Beijing Olympics Gymnastics contract, I understand, and will enjoy a high level of visibility for their products.
More companies, more competition, is good for coaches and gymnasts.
TAISHAN SPORTS – Gymnastics Equipment
Gymnastics Coaching.com 