why Shawn wasn’t at Camp

Shawn Johnson has been getting into shape at the Michael Johnson Performance Center in McKinney, Texas. Here she is there alongside discus thrower Jarred Rome.

From Shawn’s blog on ESPN W:

I’m focusing solely on getting my body — specifically my knee — where it needs to be in order to be ready for the U.S. national championships and Olympic trials in June.

I see a physical therapist daily for about two to three hours. We do a lot of strength training and biometrics work with high-tech tools like the Nike SPARQ Sensory Performance Lab, Dartfish digital movement analysis and Myotest. I do a lot of jumping and landing and things that really cater to my sport. In the evenings I head to a local gymnastics club for a few hours of skill work …

I’m pleased to say my knee feels a lot better. It’s still not back to normal, and I don’t know if it ever will be, but I’m learning to deal with it instead of expecting it to be like it was before. In two weeks I’ll return to Chow’s gym in Des Moines and from there will press on with full gymnastics training.

read more – Shawn Johnson rehabbing, eyeing London

Tokyo World Cup cancelled

FIG via email:

LAUSANNE (SUI) – FIG Office, February 2, 2012: Due to a conflict in scheduling, Japanese organizers for the FIG World Cup stage in Artistic Gymnastics, slated for April 14 – 15, 2012 in Tokyo, were forced to cancel the event.

The decision comes in response to an inability to coordinate major dates for gymnasts on the sport calendar with availability of the host broadcaster for production. A lack of television coverage would have a negative impact on announcer participation and bring about weighty financial consequences. …

Here’s the official press release.

First Paris. Now Tokyo. More financial problems for the World Cup circuit. I’ll bet yet another “restart” will be announced soon.

Justin Spring, Paul Ruggeri

Illinois all-time title winners

1. Charlie Lakes 112
2. Travis Romagnoli 89
3. David Zeddies 68
4. Paul Ruggeri 60
5. Justin Spring 59

… “I’ve said it from the beginning, and I’ll say it now,” said Spring, current Illinois head coach and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist. “I always knew Paul would come and break all my records.” …

… Spring has a new goal for himself: making a four-year turnaround return to the Olympics — this time as a coach. …

Ruggeri passes coach, mentor Spring on all-time titles list

Shaun White – perfect 100

… Shaun White proved yet again that he is the world’s top halfpipe snowboarder with an unprecedented perfect score of 100 in the superpipe final at Winter X Games, winning his fifth consecutive gold medal in the discipline.

… White executed the first truly perfect performance in Winter X Games history, including an 18-foot backside air, a 17-foot frontside double cork 1080, an 11-foot switch frontside double cork 1080, a 14-foot frontside cork 540, a 13-foot backside double cork 1260 and a 12-foot frontside double cork 1260 — the first back-to-back double cork in Winter X.

The judges awarded the perfect 100. …

USA Today – Shaun White wins Winter X superpipe gold with perfect run

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Europa Gymnastics Centre, London

On recommendation from Hal Halverson, I visited Europa Gymnastics Centre, the newest and quite possibly best facility in the U.K.

By accident I arrived first at the OLD gym, a … unique set-up.

Head Coach Yvonne Arnold (British captain 1972 Munich) happily drove me over to the NEW gym.

(She and husband Len have been living above the old gym to help make this project a reality. … They’ve got a new house planned right beside the NEW gym.)

… What do you think of the new gym?

All equipment is new.

more photos

The new building is being used as an Olympic venue. So the final move won’t happen until October. But first it will host MAG and WAG English Championships 2012, March 2-4th.

They will eventually be offering WAG, MAG, Tumbling, Double-mini, Team Gym and Acrobatic Gymnastics.

LIKE their Facebook page

GYMNOVA pit advice

Pascal Tremblay from GYMNOVA Canada responded to my request for advice on best pits:

From our perspective, choosing the right type of pit will take a complete analysis considering every factor involved with this purchase (primarily the security of the users of course!).

1-Your actual gymnasium’s realities and impositions. For example, it is quite possible that to create a sunken pit in a gym situated on the 2nd floor is simply impossible.

2-The desired dimensions as well as all of the equipment you would like to into the pit.

3-The available budget (whichever type of pit you end up choosing, this project will be expensive.)

4-Your preference base on your experience. From a gymnast and coach point of view, a pit with foam cubes is psychologically more inviting to attempt difficult and complicated movements. From an administrator point of view, the pit with foam cubes seem less hygienic (even if the foam cubes are protected with covers…. covered or not, if a child vomits in the pit, it is a pain!).

From my personal point of view, I would opt for a suspended sunken pit for it’s easiness regarding maintenance and especially for the possibility to adjust the elasticity of the net and re-tension the pit (it is also cheaper in term of $$). I also believe that mixing a suspended pit and a pit with foam cubes could be a great compromise! Attractive proposition because it offers a sense of security for the users with the net preventing athletes to reach the ground between cubes, maintenance is easier and cheaper (less cubes).

Whichever pit you choose, you should always use it with a foam safety mat to prevent tearing up the pit’s foam. …

Pascal sent some additional pit diagrams:

If you have additional questions, Pascal invites you to contact him:

GYMNOVA Canada / GymRep et Cheer-Rep
450-662-9901 poste 2 (bureau)
514-894-3872 (cell.)
ptremblay a gymrep.com

wall tramp to X Games?

… The marketing side of me says, “YAY! I support the effort!” It could possibly bring more attention to the sport of trampoline, increasing visibility and interest. You can never have too much attention.

Then, there’s the artist in me. She says, “Do you really want to place rules and parameters on such freedom of movement?” …

That quote’s from Trampoline Pundit linking to a NY Times article on the idea being pushed by some at the Quebec Circus School:

… “The ultimate goal is to have wall trampoline be in the X Games,” said Julien Roberge …

… Roberge, who trains with members of Canada’s Olympic trampoline team and is considered one of the country’s top bouncers, acknowledges that there must be an organized way to judge an event. He and his fellow trampolinist Ignacio Adarve have written criteria for judges to use to assign points to moves and tricks. In a typical contest, bouncers will perform a series of 10 consecutive tricks, each following a bounce on the trampoline. The highest marks will go to those who perform the most difficult acrobatics. …

read more – Defying Gravity With Creativity

I’m not against the idea either. But Wall Tramp is many years away from getting into the X Games, if ever.

Trampowall first gained popular attention at Cirque’s La Nouba in Orlando.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.