bend it like Beth

Beth Tweddle works the Bar like a guy. Check the amount of rail deflection.

Click PLAY or watch her on YouTube.

related – South Yorkshire Times – Bend it like Beth!

introducing Handspring 1/1 vault

A fun, easy, safe method. It prevents the dread problem of too early twist.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

That’s Prince George Gymnastics in northern B.C.

Cirque du Soleil in Asia

This is the most detailed road map I’ve yet seen on Cirque’s plans.

Cathy Yang in Hong Kong:

… Cirque du Soleil plans to use its current ZAIA showcase in Macau as a “springboard” to further its Asian ambitions, president and CEO Daniel Lamarre told Reuters.

… Cirque is currently touring in more than 350 cities around the world, including (Kooza) Osaka in Japan, and will be coming to Shanghai by the end of September But Macau is as key to its Asian strategy as Las Vegas is in North America. …

… expects it to follow the Vegas model where he says gambling has lost its dominance of the city’s attractions and entertainment is huge. …

“We hope to have three permanent shows in Macau one day and I see a day where we can have a permanent show in big Chinese cities like Shanghai and Beijing and who knows,” Lamarre said.

But first Lamarre said the Cirque plans to begin regularly touring key cities in China in the next 18 months with a view to establishing permanent shows within four years and spreading out across Asia. …

read more on Reuters

This means many more future jobs for your athletes.

Ghent Challenger Cup results 2

All results from prelims are now posted on the-all-around.com.

WAG BB
1.Victoria Komova (RUS) 15.175
2.Liufang Wu (CHN) 14.850

Here are the top 2 Beam routines:

Click PLAY or watch Komova on YouTube. (LINK FIXED)

Click PLAY or watch Liufang Wu on YouTube.

Gymnastics – No Ceiling has photos and commentary.

Ghent Challenger Cup results

THE ALL AROUND is there posting results:

The morning qualification session of Ghent Challenger Cup finished; here the finalists and reserves for tomorrow finals on vault and uneven bars (WAG); and floor, pommel horse and rings (MAG).

Click PLAY or watch Wu Liufang’s Bars on YouTube. – 1st 15.35 (6.8)

Click PLAY or watch Victoria Komova’s Bars on YouTube – 2nd so far 15.3 (6.7)

Click PLAY or watch Jiang Yuyuan’s Bars on YouTube. – 3rd so far 14.950 (6.3)

I’m liking all those straddle cast handstands from some of the very best in the world. 🙂

Zou Kai is second to Hypólito on Floor.

Gymnastics No Ceiling is LIVE blogging, too.

Laura-Ann Chong training elite

Canadian gymnast Laura-Ann Chong finished her eligibility with Oregon State last season, returning to train with her club coach, David Kenwright, at Flicka. I stopped by the gym to chat with David and his partner coach Dorina Stan.

We were lucky enough to have Laura-Ann demonstrate at BC Congress last weekend for clinician Steve Arkell from Gymnastics Plus in Panama City, Florida.

Click PLAY or watch a snippet from that clinic on YouTube.

David said the biggest problem transitioning back to FIG from NCAA is getting used to ‘narrow’ Bars.

We talked about a potential new model for elite performance: Older girls retire → Completely recover medically → … Then train specifically for one BIG competition. Like Chellsie Memmel.

The psychology of the comeback is easier than trying to ‘stay on top’ as one of the National Team members.

Another of David’s gymnasts was at Congress too, Kate Richardson, but not to announce she was coming out of retirement.

Kate, a physiotherapist, presented on Injury Prevention.