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When you are 10yrs-old, State Championships is the BIG goal. The BIG meet.

Click PLAY or watch a charming psych-up video for the little ones on YouTube.

That edit from Technique Gymnastics linked via IG forum.
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Gymnastike covered the 2010 Level 6 Texas State Championships.

… Caroline Phillips from WOGA on uneven bars. She went above and beyond on her cast handstands and hit a smooth, clean set to score a 9.85, the highest bar score of the entire meet. This routine earned her the gold medal on bars and she also won the State All Around title for the jr A2 division.

http://videoplayer.flocasts.org/player.swf

by site editor Rick McCharles

Kyle Shewfelt won the Gold medal on Floor at the 2004 Athens Olympics, the first ever by a Canadian in his sport.

Today Kyle launched the official website for his first annual “Festival”.

Why is this a Festival, and not just the old Jurassic Classic competition with a name change?

Kyle wants to host an event that’s faster, more fun and more memorable than the typically boring Canadian meets. He was inspired by the Great West Gym Fest to add a BIG SHOW FINALS where the goal is to entertain as much as to win.

KyleShewfeltGymfest.com/

When I first heard of this personal project, I instantly volunteered to help. It’s been scaled back a little since the original announcement. Only Artistic Men / Women and Gymnastrada will be full disciplines in the first year. (draft schedule)

Other gymnastics disciplines will be doing major demos.

A percentage of the profits goes to charity:

Right To Play uses sport and play as a way to teach children about teamwork, fair play, conflict resolution, self-esteem, communication, commitment, respect, and integrity. Right To Play is committed to improving the lives of children and to strengthening their communities by translating the best practices of sport and play into opportunities to promote development, health and peace.

About the Kyle Shewfelt Gymnastics Festival

After competing around the world forever, Kyle’s learned to appreciate how much work goes into a big event like this. The biggest glitch he faced so far was when Wild Rose was forced to change their dates to the same weekend.

… On the one hand, it’s a shame coaches cannot register for both (unless they’re crazy). On the other, this will make for a bit more modest inaugural ShewfeltFest. And that might turn out to be a good thing. For Kyle.

Hope you can come.

The FIG Official Channel on YouTube has now reached and surpassed the one million visitor mark. …

The FIG website has also been attracting record numbers of visitors. During the recent Trampoline World Age Group Competitions in Metz, which saw the participation of around a thousand young gymnasts representing 34 federations, website hit rates exploded, surpassing the highest figures recorded during the senior trampoline and rhythmic competitions. Only the senior Artistic Gymnastics World Championships attracted more visitors to the website!

FIG

Click PLAY or watch a World Championships preview on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch a Champions highlights edit from FIG.

There are a more, the most amusing of which is a behind the scenes goof.

Congratulations FIG.

Bea posted a translation of a GSP interview with Ecaterina (Kati) Szabo, whose real name (I learned) is Szabó Katalin. She’s an ethnic Hungarian. Like Bela.

… won 20 Olympic, world and continental medals. Although perhaps most notable for winning the all-around silver in the 1984 Olympics after an epic clash with Mary Lou Retton of the US, Szabo won gold medals in three of the individual events (vault, balance beam (tie), and floor exercise) and contributed to the team gold. …

Now age-42, what does she remember most about her Hall of Fame career?

… The hunger! I can say that I truly learnt what suffering from hunger means. If I had to name the most difficult to bare thing from the period when I was an elite athlete, that would be the diet. You must be tough in order to overcome this.

But you were still managing to run away for sweets…

It was very difficult because we were permanently watched but I remember a cute episode that happened in Moscow, i was with Daniela Silivas. After the contest we went to the tribune and started to beg for money: “Please, one rubla”. Anything was good, not just money.

I imagine that you were as well among the ones that were severely punished by Bela Karoly…

I am the type who does not like to live through the memories of 30 years ago. I turned the page and move on. But I do not regret anything that happened! Emilia Eberle called me last year to ask me if I will tell what I endured from Karoly. …

read more on Gymnastics – No Ceiling – Cati’s Szabo years of suffering

I’ll always remember how skinny the Romanian girls were at the 1979 World Championships, under the Karolyis. Story was that they were locked in a training camp with no way to beg extra food.

So far as I’ve heard, Bela has never answered that particular charge.

Click PLAY or watch her optional Floor from the L.A. Olympics on YouTube.

original post (Google Translate)

After the SHAWNEYJ return to the Karolyi Ranch, she tweeted:

Anybody out there know of an extremely qualified nutritionist Dietitian??? Im looking for one to work with… HELP!

That’s the new Karolyi way, I’m thinking.

From THE ALL AROUND:

Zsolt Borkai, the 1987 World Champion and 1988 Olympic Champion on pommel horse, ran unopposed and was elected President of Hungary’s National Olympic Committee. He will take over from Pál Schmitt, who has headed the NOC for nearly 21 years and was elected President of Hungary in August. Borkai is not a stranger to politics, also serving as Mayor of Gyor and as a parliamentary deputy in the government coalition led by the Fidesz party.

Click PLAY or watch his routine on YouTube.

It’s always to good to see ex-gymnasts in High Office. And good to see a gymnast with a moustache in Movember.

That’s from the new ALL AROUND Weekly round-up:

• Argentina Nationals
• Hungarian Masters
• Birthdays this week
• Tribute to Patricia Wade (RIP)

Men
1. Dong Dong (CHN) 44.500
2. TU Xiao (CHN) 43.800
3. SOTOMURA Tetsuya (JPN) 42.400

Women
1. HUANG Shanshan (CHN) 41.400
2. HE Wenna (CHN) 40.900
3. KHILKO Ekaterina (UZB) 39.500

full results and commentary on FIG

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.js

Note the arms down twisting technique.

UCLA gymnasts still can’t get on Ellen’s TV show. But the obscure acrobatic sport of Mallakhamb did.

Some call it Men’s Pole Dance.

Click PLAY or watch it on Ellen.

http://wbads.vo.llnwd.net/o25/u/telepixtv/ellen/us/video/player/embed.swf

Andreea Raducan is the 2000 Women’s Olympic Gymnastics Champion.

That’s what I believe. That’s what everyone believes.

After the meet Andreea tested positive for pseudophedrine. (Her team doctor prescribed Nurofen, a common over-the-counter medication. Amânar took it as well, but did not test positive. There is no performance enhancement for gymnasts.)

The gold was re-awarded to Amânar, Olaru was promoted to silver, and former fourth-place finisher Liu Xuan from China was given the bronze medal.

All three declined to attend the ceremony where the Olympic medals were re-awarded.

It was one of the most distasteful injustices in Olympic history. And I can’t wait to read all about it in Andreea’s new book – “The Other Side of The Medal”

I’ll learn Romanian, if I must. This is going to be a terrific read. (Seems there’s some hold up at the publisher. Something to do with the photos.)

Unfortunately, Andreea says she was too young in Sydney to really know what was happening. She has to rely on coaches and others for the details on that chapter.

But since she’s now a journalist. With media training. I’m thinking it’s going to be excellent.

(via fangymnastics and Gymnastics – No Ceiling)

Celebrate the book launch with an Andreea montage by nade00.

This is cool.

Roman Kulesza (Poland) Horizontal Bar in training.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

He didn’t use it in the World Cup Stuttgart 2010 HBar Final (VIDEO). But did do it in training at Worlds.

I assume that’s a new skill, yet to be competed. He better hope “Long” Zhang doesn’t see this clip. And steal the idea. 🙂

Leave a comment if you’ve heard of anyone else training the Kulesza.

(via The All Around Gymnastics News on Facebook)

I blame the code of points.

Let’s compare 2008 Olympic Champion Zou Kai’s Floor routine with great Olympic routines past.

Click PLAY or watch Zou Kai on YouTube.

What exactly was artistic in that routine? Stylish? Unique?

If I want to see only great tumbling, I’ll go to a Trampoline and Tumbling competition.

Click PLAY or watch Shewfelt (2004) Gold.

Click PLAY or watch Nemov (2000) Silver.

Click PLAY or watch Milissandis (1996) Gold.

Personally, I like even better the stylin’ routines of the distant past, including Kurt Thomas.

Click PLAY or watch his winning Floor from Worlds. (1979)

He didn’t need to hold that press as the V-sit to Press fulfilled the requirement. And the start score was already the maximum 10.0
🙂

So why are Men’s routines today less artistic than ever before in history? And why doesn’t the Men’s FIG Technical committee do something about it?