Gymnastics Coaching.com

Alabama averaged 12,826 spectators over the 2014 season at home. There were nowhere near that many at NCAA Championships in Birmingham, an hour away.

Why?

Interview with Auburn Head Coach Jeff Graba:

GNN: We’re you shocked at the lack of attendance for the Championships?

Jeff: I was a little shocked by it. It seemed to me we had a better turnout for our SEC Championship. I think it is tough to get all 3 days to be well attended so I’m mainly looking at the Super 6 attendance.

GNN: What’s your opinion about that?

Jeff: My belief is that we are a unique sport where a lot of families want to attend. This means that community, event price and options, competition times, and the fact that this particular event took place on Easter weekend all need to be taken into account.

GNN: Do you agree that someone needs to step up and start showing college gymnastics live?

Jeff: Yes, I do believe that is the case and have believed that for quite some time now.

However, I think we will need to get to a 4-team final before anyone will carry us live. I believe that the PAC 12, SEC and Big 10 all have a 4-team final so it really isn’t that much different than quite a few of our current conference models. It’s quite an issue right now because it really means that we as a gymnastics community need to make some tough decisions without really knowing the payoff ahead of time. …

GNN – Gymnastics News Network Q & A Interview with SEC Coach of the year Jeff Graba

Jeff was an assistant at Utah. Greg Marsden at Utah has been the most vocal proponent of a Super 4 televised Final.

Traditionally, Teams hosted this meet in their own gyms. But the NCAA has been looking for larger arenas in order to better accommodate the floor layout and participants.

The problem of “home team advantage” scoring is a factor, too.

I thought 2014 might sell out.

Nope.

Leave a comment if you’ve seen final attendance stats for the 3 days.

There are pros and cons.

But consider how tragic it would have been if a tie breaker had dropped Oklahoma to second. Again. 😦

Watch the Sooner celebration video.

(via GymCastics)

Dates have been posted for my favourite invitational gymnastics meet.

GreatWestGymFest.com – Idaho

Put it on your calendar. 🙂

Osijek Challenge Cup

North Korean 2008 Olympic Vault Champion Hong Un Jong

… Jong decided to show her more difficult second vault in the final. Her Cheng is usually better than her Amanar, in my opinion, but she did not seem to get the necessary block and landed knees first. There was a long wait for her score but the judges decided her score was a zero as her feet did not hit the mat first.

Arabian Punch Front

Click PLAY or watch the zero vault on YouTube. (1min 55sec)

The judges got that one right.

They got this one wrong. In prelims. A Handspring double front.

RT @Kyla_Phillips: … questionable handspring DOUBLE front from MAHMOUD score 13:80 @SAGymnastics pic.twitter.com/fCuehu9pEq” #AfricanChamps

— SAGF (@SAGymnastics) March 28, 2014

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Fadwa Mohamed went on to win Gold at African Championships in Finals. (VIDEO)

Obviously a 1.0 deduction for a “fall” does not nearly enough penalize those kind of landings. If not a zero vault, a very dangerous landing should be deducted something like 4.0.

How long before these Japanese robots can do release move series like Olympic Champion Epke Zonderland?

Click PLAY or watch Geinger and Gaylord 2 on YouTube.

It can do Kovacs and Triple back dismount, as well

(via gymnastikfabriken)

Two more of the FIG Follow-up and Monitoring camps for the Age Group Development and Competition Programme were completed recently in different sides of the world. One was held in Nassau, Bahamas on April 22-24 and the other one in Hong Kong on April 23-25, 2014.

more photos

Educational camps for the FIG Age Group Development and Competition Programme continue in the coming two weeks with four additional Follow-up Camps scheduled for Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Two FIG Age Group Programme Camps held on different sides of the world

Have you booked a summer gymnastics camp yet?

Recall we were worried for the future of the Woodward Camps when they were purchased by Powdr Corp. in 2011.

So far, so good. It seems.

Click PLAY or watch a Woodward East promo video on YouTube. (9min)

Leave a comment if you know what’s happening with the Woodward chain of Camps.

Also known as Cha Yong-hwa. Outrageous 2009 routine from the North Korean.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via Couch Gymnast – 18 Videos from the Gymnastics Week)

Trinidad and Tobago gymnast William Albert Gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Gymnastics Invitational, Perth, Scotland.

This really strengthens his chances to qualify to Commonwealth Games.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Thanks Ricardo.

Guy Lavoie and myself were volunteer clinicians in Barbados and Trinidad.

more photos

FIG:

Two days after completing an FIG Follow-up and Monitoring Camp for the Age Group Development and Competition Programme in Barbados, the two assigned FIG experts started a similar camp for Trinidad and Tobago on April 13 – 15, 2014. ..

The FIG Age Group programme includes a testing and monitoring programme for Men’s (MAG) and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) physical abilities and technical skills as well as a complete competition programme with modified optional rules for age-group gymnasts and compulsory exercises for all ages. It also includes a variety of additional information related to developing a systematic gymnastics programme that can lead to high performance. …

Trinidad and Tobago host an FIG Age Group Camp before Easter

more photos

Both camps were excellent. Caribbean nations have potential to quickly develop in gymnastics sports. As Panama has done.

Shout out to Trinidad for a best ever international performance shortly after we left:

Trinidad and Tobago gymnasts Marisa Dick and William Albert both earned podium finishes at the 2014 Commonwealth Gymnastics Invitational, which took place at the weekend in Perth, Scotland.

Albert, a 23-year-old based at the University of Iowa, won gold in the rings (13.900) while Dick picked up three medals – gold on the uneven bars (13.200), silver on the balance beam (13.300), bronze in the vault (14.050) and bronze in the all around competition (72.950).

The Invitational also served as a test event for the 2014 Commonwealth Games …

Commonwealth Gymnastics medals for Albert, Dick

Click PLAY or watch Marisa’s Bars on YouTube.

Though both grew up in Canada, both will be back for Trinidad and Tobago National Championships June 6-8th, hoping to qualify for Commonwealth Games.

(via Arabian Punch Front)