new gymnastics podcast – GymCastic

UPDATE:

GymCast, the new weekly “radio show”, is now available on iTunes.

Subscribe via that link. Each episode is automatically downloaded to your computer. Anywhere in the world.

It’s free.

_____ original post:

Jessica O’Beirne of Masters Gymnastics has launched a gymnastics audiocast with …

• Blythe Lawrence of Gymnastics Examiner
• Spanny Tampson of Big Fake Smile
• Uncle Tim of Uncle Tim Talks Men’s Gym

This week Blythe updates us on injuries during the Ontario, CA tour stop and the Russians vacation-training in Spain. Uncle Tim reviews the post-Olympic show. Spanny Tampson opines on Chris Brown and the Fierce Five at the VMA’s; and in the first of a two-part series, we talk to NBC commentator Tim Daggett about his life-threatening injury and what he wants his critics to know. …

Tim Takes On The Haters

You can listen online from that link.

GymCastic.com
GymCastic on Facebook
@GymCast
GymCastic (a) gmail.com

I’ll be a regular listener. 🙂

Cirque Worlds Away 3D

Cirque du Soleil – Worlds Away 3D – Official Trailer (HD)

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The James Cameron spectacular won’t get to my city until Christmas. But it will open the Tokyo International Film Festival on October 20th.

Aerial Gymnastics, Illinois

… Workout Wednesday … at Aerial Gymnastics in Illinois.

Aerial has a very talented group of guys lead by 2011 and 2012 VIsa Championships qualifier Bobby Baker. With the new rules In 2013, Aerial will have 5 gymnasts competing Junior Elite. …

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike. (some poor audio)

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/NzM1NjU2MTUx?related=1

Watch more video of Workout Wednesday, Season 5 on gymnastike.org

judging – Decision Fatigue?

Gymnastics judges must guard against “expectation bias”.

For example, being too cautious in scoring routines early in the day. Allowing scores for similar routines to escalate later in the day.

If the best gymnast is first to compete, they should get the highest score. Period.

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Warren & Peter Long sends a link to an interesting study by Jonathan Levav of Stanford and Shai Danziger of Ben-Gurion University.

They found a disturbing pattern to Parole Board decisions in Israel:

… analyzing more than 1,100 decisions over the course of a year. Judges, who would hear the prisoners’ appeals and then get advice from the other members of the board, approved parole in about a third of the cases, but the probability of being paroled fluctuated wildly throughout the day.

Prisoners who appeared early in the morning received parole about 70 percent of the time, while those who appeared late in the day were paroled less than 10 percent of the time. …

read more – NY Times – Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue?

The implication for judges is that they would be less likely to give “benefit of the doubt” later in the day.

I don’t see that happening in our world. Our problem is scores unfairly escalating.

Peng Peng then and now

2007 & 2012

Christine Peng Peng Lee is now at UCLA, training & recovering from her knee surgery last May.

Update from Carol-Angela Orchard:

Peng (then and now) images were created by Megan Douglas, parent of Ella Douglas, a Sport Seneca gymnast. (Ella is now at Futures with former Sport Seneca Coaches Lawson Hamer & Lisa Cowan.)

It comes from this collage.

Peng is back together with her Seneca teammate Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, a student coach for her 5th year at UCLA.

Click PLAY or watch WELCOME TO LA on YouTube.

Here’s a photo on Facebook of the 2013 UCLA Gymnastics team.

The Bruins are hosting Nationals. I’ll be there for sure. 🙂

(Peng photo via RAISTAFINA FEVER)

Beam is poetry

Inspired by a visit from Carol-Angela Orchard, coach Sally Batley put together a unique video montage of developmental kids working basics.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

That’s Renmore Gymnastics, Galway, Ireland.

Kyle Shewfelt – do the math

Marisa discovered the 2004 Olympic Floor Champion featured in her Grade 10 math text book.

CLICK to see larger version

Kyle hadn’t known he was in it. 🙂