In training.
Brigid McCarthy interview
Gigi Khazback Farid posted a terrific 2-part interview with the wonderful Brigid McCarthy, founder of Couch Gymnast.
Gigi: Tell us about yourself
Brigid: I live in Australia, I am in my mid-thirties and I work in a couple of universities. I am a lecturer in media and communications and in sports media. I love teaching, but I also love my research work. I just finished my PhD on sports journalism and blogging.
…
Gigi: How did you come up with the blog’s name (The Couch Gymnast)?
Brigid: It was just silly- a play on the idea of the armchair sports fan/expert, as I was never a serious gymnast, but also the fact that every would-be gymnast seemed to be put in classes because they wouldn’t stop flipping off the couch!
…
Behind The Scenes Of Gymnastics Blogging: Brigid McCarthy, TCG Creator And Editor – PART 1
Gigi: If you had the chance to design a new CoP for gymnastics, what would you do?
Brigid: Fix how artistry and dance elements are awarded. That I know for sure. But then when I ask myself ‘how?’, within five minutes of thinking it out I feel compelled to put my head down on the desk and shut my eyes and moan ‘too hard’.
…
PART 2
🙂
MAG WAG training?
Nick Blanton:
Males holding a ‘Back Support’ on the Balance Beam is a prerequisite for circle extension on Pommel Horse
… What other ways can Men use Women’s specific equipment (and vice versa)?
i.e. Women using Men’s Parallel Bars for support swings in order to develop casts towards Handstand.
Chusovitina v Moreno
Looks like Oksana Chusovitina took down the AA Champ Jossimar Calvo Moreno at the Mexican Gala. Hope he learned his lesson. There’s a reason Chuso’s survived a dozen Olympics, or so. 🙂
Uzbekistan news article:
… when she won a silver medal in Beijing, one official said that this medal should have belonged to Uzbekistan not Germany, he said.
“I hope she has forgiven us,” he added.
(via GymCastic Episode 61)
most artistic gymnast?
Jim Holt argues the most “artistic” male gymnast was Valentin Mogilny.
Click PLAY or watch his Pommels on YouTube. (1989)
My favourite memories of Valentin are of him being coached by his ex-wife Olga Bicherova. 🙂
I’d suggested Vladimir Artemov.
Click PLAY or watch his Floor on YouTube. (1989)
Leave a comment if you have anyone else to nominate.
How about Li Ning?
MOST in contention will be from the former Soviet Union.
Voronin Cup results
Dec. 3, Moscow
Amanda Turner:
Ukraine’s Alyona Vasilyeva and Russia’s Dmitry Gogotov won the senior titles at the 20th Voronin Cup, held Tuesday at Moscow’s Olimpsky Arena. …
This year’s competition included 120 competitors from 23 nations, including gymnasts from Iraq and Syria. … (And the USA)
SENIOR WOMEN’S ALL-AROUND
1. Alyona Vasilyeva 53.900
2. Anna Pavlova 53.600
3. Marina Nekrasova 51.000SENIOR MEN’S ALL-AROUND
1. Dmitry Gogotov 87.699
2. Artur Davtyan 86.533
3. Yaoto Hayasaka 85.766JUNIOR WOMEN’S ALL-AROUND
1. Daria Mikhaylova 53.300
2. Kristina Yaroshenko 52.600
3. Raisa Batyrova 52.200MEN’S JUNIOR ALL-AROUND F
1. Kazuma Kaya 84.032
2. Alexander Nagorny 83.765
3. Fumiya Kitamura 82.398
That’s got full results and commentary.
Click PLAY or watch specialist Matvei Petrov’s Pommels on YouTube.
related – FIG – Eastern Europeans dominate 20th Voronin Cup
the artistic Aliya Mustafina
Riveting to watch. Most everyone would agree she’s “artistic“. Yet Aliya does not always have perfect form.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
There’s something compelling about Aliya that a computer would have trouble identifying.
It’s art. Not science.
GM needed in Ottawa
Tumblers Gymnastics in Ottawa, Canada is looking for a General Manager to oversee the administration and operations of the Centre.
Qualifications, experience and skills:
A university/college degree in sport management/physical education or related field or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience;
3-5 years of experience in a mid to high level management position in a sporting organization;
Excellent organizational, management, communication and interpersonal skills;
Excellent written and oral communication skills. The ability to communicate in French and English is a strong asset;
Demonstrated ability to work in a team environment, with volunteers, and customers;
Experience within the Artistic Gymnastics disciplines is an asset.
details – General Manager 2013 (PDF)
The current GM, my long time friend Karl Balisch, is rejoining Gymnastics Canada as Program Director – Artistic Gymnastics.
Anna Pavlova AZE – Beam
How did Azerbaijan do in their first major international?
Voronin Memorial
1. Alena Vasilyeva UKR
2. Anna Pavlova AZE
3. Marina Nekrasov AZE
Anna finished top 3 in all Finals.
Russia was first in Team. Azerbaijan second.
Click PLAY or watch Anna’s Beam on YouTube.
(via Anna Pavlova on Facebook)
the Artistry dilemma
NORA SCHULER:
Artistry, or the lack thereof, is one the hottest topics in gymnastics.
Bemoaning the demise of artistry – in combination with the assurance that everything was much better in the 80s – is something of full-time job for a lot of gym fans. While fans have the luxury of sitting back and yelling “are the judges blind?!!! That routine should have been hammered for lack of artistry!” at their computer screens, the FIG has to come up with actual rules that can be applied by actual judges in actual competitions.
The FIG Academy Program organised two artistry and music workshops during the World Championships in Antwerp. One for the coaches and another one for the judges. The workshop was run under the title „It’s time to put the artistry back into gymnastics!“ and was the first of a number of workshops planned for the Olympic cycle. …
The All Around – All About Artistry
That’s a fascinating read. Thanks Nora.
Lasse Nettum of the Norwegian College of Sports Science and Lyn Heward from Cirque du Soleil presented.
Uncle Tim seems to be struggling to document the Evolution of Artistry in both Women’s and Men’s Gymnastics.
There’s no solution, so far as I can see.
You can’t consistently quantify “artistry”.
Final scores in competition should be valid, reliable and consistent competition-to-competition. They never will be if Artistry is factored.
I propose a SOLUTION. In future judges should not consider artistry in scoring. Instead, simply applying the code as written. Deducting for poor form and line. Feet crossed during twisting would be deducted. Poor body position would be deducted.
IF judges did that, gymnasts I consider artistic would be rewarded in any case. Uchimura and Kyla Ross, for two.
Artistry, I propose, would be rewarded separately. Prizes like the Longine’s Elegance Award. “Best Choreography” on Beam. “Best Choreography” on Floor.
There’s no need for certified judges to pick those. For example, at the Mexico Open in Acapulco the Elegance award was chosen by Nadia Comaneci, Svetlana Boginskaya and others.
related:
• Lauren Hopkins – The Development of Artistry (Aug 12, 2013)
• Examiner – The Corner Problem and its rather dubious solution on women’s floor (Mar 5, 2013)
• Unorthodox Gymnastics – Corner Flamingos (Mar 20, 2013)
The solution to the Artistry dilemma crystallized for me, in fact, during a Skype interview with Dvora of Unorthodox Gymnastics. It now seems obvious. And inevitable, in the long run.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 