tumbling, tramp, diving, acrobatics, circus, cheer, dance, martial arts, X sports … and more
Around the world there are still some gyms using scrap foam, often available free as trim from foam factories.
It is less safe as it “compacts” more easily than the foam sold as gymnastics cubes.
Also, many jurisdictions do not allow scrap foam due to fire regulations. Most does not have fire retardant.
This van is now retired. But it served many years taking gymnastics out to kids.
Taking equipment to children rather than transporting them to a gymnastics gym solves the problem of transport. But it is a LOT of work for the mobile coach.
Adelaide, South Australia
Check this out.
One Aussie girl used some long socks funky fingerless gloves as her safety strap gloves for horizontal bar.
Functional and fashionable!
The biggest and best slide into a pit I’ve ever seen is in Launceston, Tasmania.
The gym is a PCYC (Police and Citizens Youth Club) which provides a facility for both Artistic gymnasts and trampoline.
Very cool.
TumblTrak sent me one of their fantastic new “air floors” and I toured Australia with it for 3 weeks.
Needless to say the air floor was VERY well received by the Australian coaches.
It is great for elite gymnasts who need to do many repetitions of difficult tumbling lines. (More reps, less stress.)
But the air floor was even more attractive to clubs in Australia that do not have permanent gyms. This mat can be inflated and deflated quickly for storage.
More information on the air floor.
air floor in use at W.A.I.S. (Western Australia Institute of Sport)
I saw men’s synchronized gymnastics teams from Japan in the 1970s. These were Artistic gymnasts doing simultaneous floor exercise routines.
And they were the highlight of the Gymnastrada events I attended back then.
On November 27-29 2003 five countries from two continents participated in the 1st Men’s RG World Championship – Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Canada and USA. The latest World Championship included Russia, Korea, Malaysia, Canada, USA, Mexico, and Australia.
The sport is growing. How far it can go remains to be seen.
Men’s rhythmic gymnastics is related to both Men’s Artistic Gymnastics, Wushu martial arts, and Women’s Rhythmic Gymnastics and emerged in Japan from stick gymnastics taught and performed since long ago with the aim of improving physical strength and health.
The technical rules of this version of the gymnastics came around 1970s. Only four apparatus are used: the rings, the stick, the rope, and the clubs. Athletes are judged on the some of the same physical abilities and skills as their female counterparts such as hand/body-eye co-ordination, but tumbling, strength, power, and martial arts skills are the main focus, as opposed to flexibility and dance of women’s rhythmic gymnastics. The sport has a growing number of participants, competing solo and on a team, and is most popular in Asia, especially in Japan where high school and university teams compete fiercely.
While the routines that have been performed so far by male single competitors and teams more or less look like slight variations of or synchronized floor exercises in the more traditional men’s artistic gymnastics, Ruben Orihuela from Spain has literally re-created all the physically demanding moves and routines that had been reserved for or accomplished by only females before him, and he has also demonstrated the unusual prowess of super physical flexibility that had been seen only in female rhythmic gymnasts.
Men’s rhythmic gymnastics – wikipedia
Ruben Orihuela – videos
source – EliteRG.com
Back in the day we vaulted once a week up on to mats on a trampoline at Taiso Gymnastics in Saskatoon. The landing surface is excellent due to the “give” of the tramp.
In Australia this is very popular. Many of the top gyms have it as a SAFE permanent station.
Using an old, used trampoline as a base for the landing mats is much less expensive, as well.
Gymnastics is the best sport for children.
The greatest benefit of all is teaching kids to climb, land and fall SAFELY.
For many parents this is the reason they first enrol a child in our programs.
Rick McCharles led a session on how best to integrate landing and falling activities.
Click PLAY to see his PowerPoint presentation or watch it on YouTube.
Of the dozens of different topics I presented in Australia, my favourite was a session on FUN.
We looked at many different “categories” of fun activities in the gym, then went out and “gave it a go”. Coaches and kids were asked to invent new FUN activities.
If athletes and coaches have fun, they will get fitter and be more productive.
Here’s the PowerPoint presentation from that session.
Click PLAY or watch the short video on YouTube.
Rick McCharles (many years ago) built the Altadore Gymnastics MAG program to over 400 boys.
Over the past 30 years that club has produced a number of international competitors and even an Olympic Champion — Kyle Shewfelt, Floor Exercise 2004.
But many clubs find offering boys recreational classes problematic. Discipline is a concern. Safety a concern. It is difficult to keep coaches.
Yet Rick feels it is quite possible to sign up one boy for every 3 girls in gymnastics classes. And that MAG boys greatly contribute to the overall health of a WAG program.
Click PLAY to see his PowerPoint presentation notes or watch it on YouTube.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 