Gymnastics Coaching.com

Jessica Savona finished 2nd all-around at the Canadian Championships 2011.

She won Floor and Beam, as well. And had the highest Vault score in prelims with double twisting Yurchenko.

For Worlds 2011 in October, Tokyo, I see Savona as anchor for the Canadian Team. I’d love to see her compete the all-around. (She hit 3/3 at Worlds 2010, Rotterdam)

Why?

The goal for Tokyo is top 8 in the 3-up, 3-count Team competition.

AJ corrected me. The team qualification to the Olympics is from prelims: 6 girls – 5 compete each apparatus – 4 scores count.

Still … if Canada is to get into the top 8 they’ll need high start scores. HIT 16/20 at least, missing no more than 1 routine / apparatus.

That’s not impossible.

Savona has high start scores.

Savona is psychologically strong, too. A warrior. Enthusiastic. Tough. Energetic. She won’t get fatigued by end of a long meet in a strange land.

Click PLAY or watch an (older) montage on YouTube.

Kristina Vaculik is taking a year off the Stanford team, returning to her home gym (Gemini) to work with her old coaches, Elena Davydova and Valery Yahchybekov. That’s huge. A big sacrifice on the part of Kristina, much appreciated.

Canada was 13th in 2010 with what you’d generously call an “average” meet.

_____

For Second Olympic Qualification – Test Event January 2012, London, it’s a different story. If Canada must go, only the top 4 teams (#9-#12) get to the Olympics. Most teams will have new age eligible gymnasts. The rules change between Tokyo and London.

A different mix of gymnasts may be needed. Consistency may be more important than start scores.

_____

Savona’s Commit Status on College Gym Fans: Available

She’s focused on the immediate goal, for now.

LOT o’ flippin’ and twistin’

Click PLAY or watch him on YouTube.

Thanks Brett.

Payne won the all-round title on the opening night of the senior men’s competition at the Canadian championships, … in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Payne, 19, finished with the top three scores on the high bar, the floor and the pommel horse on Thursday, …

The reigning champ, Nathan Gafuik, pulled out of the competition after a sub-par start on the pommel.

“I am happy with the results, but I also know that in some events I can score higher. There’s room for improvement there,” Payne said …

read more on the Edmonton Journal – Payne’s plan right on track
Edmonton gymnast prepares for a run at 2012 Olympics

I saw that linked by Blythe on Gymnastics Examiner – The gymnastics week in review: Nationals, Nationals, Nationals…

Essential reading for me as I’d missed much of what happened last week, consumed by the PEI competition.

Ono sends us this link to the NY Times:

… two groups are asking the National Collegiate Athletic Association to recognize a new version of cheerleading as an “emerging sport” for women, a precursor to full status as a championship sport. If successful, dozens of athletic programs could begin to fully finance cheerleading teams, recruit scholarship athletes and send them to a national championship.

The implications go beyond giving cheerleading a stamp of legitimacy. If this more athletic form of cheerleading — technically known as competitive cheer — evolves into a sport with rigorous competitions and standards, college athletics programs will be able to count the new teams for the purposes of complying with Title IX, the federal law banning gender discrimination in education.

The development could provide relief to institutions that have struggled to show they are offering enough opportunities for women, who make up 53 percent of students at Division I institutions, but just 46 percent of all athletes. …

Yet even as the idea has been met with enthusiasm, a fight has broken out between two groups competing to have their vision approved by the N.C.A.A. Each of the proposals calls for athletic displays that incorporate elements of traditional cheerleading, like flips and pyramids, but the groups differ over how to administer and run the new sport.

One group, USA Cheer, is backed by Varsity Brands, a for-profit company that sells pompoms and uniforms and has been running competitions for high school and college cheerleaders for decades. The other group is the National Collegiate Athletics and Tumbling Association, which comprises six universities that have been competing against one another for the last couple of years and have the support of USA Gymnastics. …

read more – Born on Sideline, Cheering Clamors to Be Sport

Welsh Gymnastics is seeking to appoint a Chief Executive Officer. It’s an important role to enhance the growth of the organisation in what is a challenging but very exciting time leading to London 2012 and Glasgow 2014.

details

The closing date for applications is Friday 24th June 2011.

For application forms or further details, please contact annette.brown AT welshgymnastics.org or for an informal discussion please contact the Chair of the Board Helen Phillips +44 7970052343 or via Email Helen.Phillips AT Welshgymnastics.org

Thanks Oliver

Alex Seifert won both Sr. Men’s Tumbling and Double-mini at Canadian Championships 2011. (full results)

Click PLAY or watch an edit of his routines on YouTube.

Alex trains at Calgary Gymnastics Centre.

Thanks to Lea Rand her organizing committee for putting on a great event in Charlottetown, PEI.

Sadly, it’s all over.

We’ll keep the 2011 Canadian Gymnastics Championships blog online as a legacy.

Most of the athletes who competed are in transition phase right now. Naosaki spoke specifically to the FIG male gymnasts, advising a minimum number of days “active rest” before return to training.

Next … start building for Elite Canada and Canadian Championships 2012 Regina.

See you in Regina 2012

Klara Miller and her Saskatchewan team are famously good hosts. Nationals was last in Regina in 2007. We’re already going back.

Check out that website designed by Topwater.

… notable features include:

• Language options – choose from either French or English

• Advertising Packages – ability to add flash or static image ads into the website

• facebook and twitter integration

• Future enhancements include streaming video (courtesy of Prairie Wave Productions) so visitors can view gymnasts compete in each of the 4 disciplines, LIVE, during the event

One of my missions at the Canadian Gymnastics Championships was to promote athletes, especially those who get less than their share of press.

Cory Paterson has won Nationals 3 times already, this year in the challenging High Performance Tyro division. (Boys are growing rapidly in this age group.)

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

… includes Cory’s P Bar and Horizontal Bar routines.

Sergio Sazaki from Brazil – New Skill on Parallel Bars

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike. (Full routine 2009 via that link, as well.)

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/NTc0NDkzMjU4?related=1

Watch more video of Sergio Sasaki on gymnastike.org

We had a 13yr-old boy compete something like this … Back Toss to long swing. His name was Ashwad Springer.

_____ Update:

Click PLAY or watch Sam Mikulak training the same thing (only better) on YouTube.

Thanks for the link, Mike.

World Champion Thomas Bouhail pushing the limits in training.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via International Gymnast on Facebook)