#1 Olympic Halfpipe – Shaun White

… the performance which gave White the incredible score of 48.4 at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games. …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Gym Club survives earthquake

This photograph of the ruined QEII complex taken in June 2011 shows the gymnastic buildings in the foreground that are OK and still in use:

QEII

I coached there for the 2001-02 season. That’s the Christchurch School of Gymnastics. 🙂

The Gymnastics Gyms are the only facilities left open in the massive QEII sports complex damaged in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

A recent news report:

‘You’re at QEII Park? I thought that was all closed?”

People working at the Christchurch School of Gymnastics hear this a lot. …

During 2011, the gym lost about 35 per cent of its members, says school chief executive Avril Enslow. But numbers are building back up now as homes in the area are repaired and people become more confident about where they’re going to live. …

Enslow is proud of the achievements of her competitive gymnasts. Seven of the school’s members are on the long list for the Commonwealth Games so they’ll be going to trial later this year and early next for the New Zealand team. …

Gym school bouncing back

Iordache, Bragger win Arthur Gander

World bronze medalist Larisa Iordache and rising Swiss star Pablo Bragger took the titles at the 30th annual Arthur Gander Memorial Wednesday night in Morges, Switzerland. …

… a modified all-around competition. Women’s gymnasts choose their best three events, while the men compete on four. …

Arthur Gander traditionally serves as a kind of warmup to the Swiss Cup, gymnastics’ most popular mixed pairs competition, which will be held in Zurich next weekend and feature many of the same athletes. …

read more – Larisa Iordache, Pablo Bragger win 30th Arthur Gander Memorial

Bragger

Kyla Ross photos

Gymnastike:

Of the thousands of still shots taken by Gymnastike photographer Melissa Perenson during the 2013 World Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, one athlete stood out to us as “most photogenic“. That athlete is the one and only Kyla Ross of Team USA. …

Kyla Beam

See more on Gymnastike.

That links to an entire Kyla gallery.

Kyla and Kohei were the most elegant. The most photogenic at Worlds.

related – Kyla’s choreography:

• Dominic Zito: Something Different Part 1

• Dominic Zito: Something Different Part 2

Dan Keatings 7.2 pommel

With Flare Hand Flare and triple Russian between the Pommels.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

GBR is the best team in the World on Horse.

preventing sexual abuse

GymCastic Episode 56 is well worth a listen:
We start our special episode by looking back at some of the physical, emotional and sexual abuse stories from gymnastics’ recent past. We start in the 1980?s. If you are a long time listener, you’ll find out why Jessica always calls the 80?s the Dark Ages. With three special guests we discover the history which brought gymnastics to this point of change, what has been done to stop abuse, what loopholes still need to be shored up, and what educational and policy programs for prevention are now available. In addition, you’ll find out how to stop and report gymnastics child pornography. Our guests are, Scott Reid, investigative reporter for the Orange County Register, Katherine Starr, two time Olympian and founder of Safe4Athletes, and Lynn Moskovitz-Thompson, Director of Educational Services at USA Gymnastics. … Episode 56: Preventing Abuse in Gymnastics
Olympic swimmer Katherine Starr was abused as an athlete. She points out that those in sports where athletes peak at a young age are more vulnerable. Good links are provided for those looking for resources. • safe4athletes.org • USA Gymnastics Clubs Care Campaign • USA Gymnastics We Care Campaign Every coach, every club should have policies and procedures to protect athletes and coaches. For example, coaches should never be responsible for athletes alone. Not in the Gym. Not in the hotel. Not even in the car. Coaches should sign a Code of Conduct. There can be no sexual relationships between athlete and coach at any age. (Unless married, for one exception.) I endorse the episode. But when it comes to discussions on coaching ethics, there’s far too much emphasis on sexual misconduct, not nearly enough on far more prevalent psychological abuse. And, as usual, there was not a mention about the wrongfully accused. Any coach accused in 2013 is assumed guilty, whether he’s guilty or not. I’ll ask GymCastic to do a future segment on psychological abuse. Sexual abuse is less prevalent in Gymnastics than in the general population. Psychological abuse is far, far more prevalent in Youth Sport than in the general population.