Gymnastics Coaching.com

Via the The All Around Gymnastics News on Facebook:

Romania names European Championships teams:

MAG Senior: Flavius, Koczi, Adrian Bucur, Ovidiu Buidoso, Alin Jivan, Cristian Bataga;

MAG Junior: Andrei Muntean, Daniel Raducanu, Andrei Groza, Ioan Nistor, Adelin Kotrong;

WAG Senior: Ana Porgras, Amelia Racea, Diana Chelaru, Raluca Haidu, Cerasela Patrascu;

WAG Junior: Diana Bulimar, Larisa Iordache, Anamaria Baicu, Maria Balea, Madalina Neagu.

(Note that names in Romanian use font characters not available on some websites.)

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.js

Marian Dragulescu not named due to ankle injury, but could be included later.

Aunt Joyce says Marian’s remarried. True?

Sadly I’m missing Wild Rose this year. But my spies tell me the Chinese girls are awesome.

Canadian national beam champion Miranda Meyer, left, and Chinese Olympic gold medallist LinLin Deng pose for a photo at a news conference for this weekend’s Triple Flip Wild Rose International gymnastics competition.

Photograph by: Bruce Edwards, The Journal, Edmonton Journal

… Deng, a pixie-like four-foot-six who still looks to weigh about 70 pounds, was only part of a team at the Olympics, but she began emerging as an individual star when she won the balance beam gold medal at the 2009 world championships.

She brings that growing reputation to Edmonton this weekend for the Triple Flip Wild Rose International Women’s Gymnastics Invitational. The event runs all day today and Saturday at the Northlands Expo Centre with the finals beginning Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

More than 500 athletes, including three from China and three from Great Britain, will be competing in the event. Most eyes will be centred on Deng and teammate Yuguan Jiang who was also a member of the Olympic gold-medal team, who aren’t expected to have much difficulty dominating the various categories. …

… Saying her first impression of Canada was the “fresh air” Deng smiled, then laughed when asked if her title has raised her profile back home.

“I was really happy, it was the highlight of my career,” she said of the world title. “But I am not famous in China. Yet.” …

• official website – Triple Flip Wild Rose International
• live results and video streaming
• title sponsor’s blog – flipgirl.ca
• full Edmonton Journal article – Shining star falls on Edmonton

Here’s that routine from Grishina’s dominating all-around score at the Jesolo meet last week in Italy.

Click PLAY or watch her Bars on YouTube. 15.9 (9.4 E score)

Great stoop Stalders.

Aunt Joyces calls Grishina Reason #43525 Why Team USA Is Screwed. (Click through to see Beam and Floor.)

Couch Gymnast had a Grishina-gasm over that Floor routine.

Aunt Joyce has a caution:

… Anastasia owned the meet. Based on her scores, it was a little worrisome that she may have peaked before Europeans. Based on her performances, there are loads of little little areas to work on. They’re the little things any other girl would dream to have as her only areas in need of improvement. Grishina vs. Komova at Junior Europeans is going to be quite epic. …

Projecting forward to London, it’s difficult to see how the U.S.A. is going to be competitive with either Russia or China on Bars.

Every time I see one of these tragedies reported, my first reaction is: “I wish she had been in sports.”

… The prosecutor brought charges Monday against nine teenagers, saying their taunting and physical threats were beyond the pale and led the freshman, Phoebe Prince, to hang herself from a stairwell in January. …

NY Times – 9 Teenagers Are Charged After Classmate’s Suicide

When we sport coaches are challenged that our training / competition environment is “too tough” or “too dangerous”, ask:

What about the alternative? Real life.

It’s not easy being a teenager today. There are more bad options tempting kids than ever before.

Growing up with a high priority on sports is one of the best, very best, ways to survive your teens. The gym is a tightly controlled environment with much higher ethical standards than High School.

The next Artistic World Championships will be hosted in Rotterdam, Oct. 16-24, 2010.

The official website is posting informed and entertaining preview updates called, “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth …”

How are gymnasts across the globe preparing for the 2010 Worlds, and what are their dreams, intentions and expectations? We are keeping an eye on the various teams’ and individual gymnasts’ preparations for Rotterdam. Watch this space for frequent updates…

They have mini-profiles on Oksana Chusovitina, Celine van Gerner, Igor Cassina, Daria Joura, coach Peggy Liddick, coach Eddie van Hoof, and others. The most interesting story, by far, is fan favourite turned bad boy, Dutch gymnast Yuri van Gelder:

In July 2009, Yuri van Gelder made headlines for all the wrong reasons when news broke that he had tested positive for cocaine at the 2009 Dutch Nationals. The story got even bigger when the rings specialist was revealed to have been addicted to cocaine for quite some time. In the months following the scandal, Van Gelder lost his job with the Dutch Ministry of Defence, was suspended for a year and spent several months in a Scottish rehab clinic. …

… Van Gelder still very much intends to compete in the 2010 Worlds, held on his home turf. …

Straight from the Horse’s Mouth, Part 2

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.js

(via Full Twist)

related – why blogs are better than OLD media

At exactly 15:17 UHT, it’s time for you to bust out that standing back somersault.

Due to the Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect relative gravity on Earth will be 1.74% less than normal. In fact this is the lowest gravitational pull since 1 April 1976.

This phenomenon was first reported by respected English astronomer Patrick Moore.

As Pluto passes behind Jupiter, the combination of the two planets’ gravitation will slightly but noticeably decrease gravity on Earth. If you jump into the air at that exact moment, you will feel a “floating sensation”.

An elegant routine from the 2009 European Championships AA competition. It was linked by Dead Hangs R Us, a new blog … presumably dedicated to Chinese Bar routines. … kidding … April Fool’s.

It’s edited by Macassar88 whom you may have seen on IG forum.

Click PLAY or watch Ksenia on YouTube.

Check it out – Dead Hangs R Us

(Note: YouTube is rolling out a new cleaner page format. But the smallest embed size for many videos is the size above, 560 pixels, a little wide for this site.)

Many coaches I know will hate this speech. If you do, consider it an April Fool’s prank.

It’s apparently a real life pregame rallying cry given before a leland High School football game. … This team won that game.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I’d love a copy without the added movie music soundtrack.

(linked by GymDrills.com on Facebook)

Gold Women’s Vault and Bronze Beam Medallist at the recent FIG World Cup in Doha (QAT), the South African wonder Jennifer Khwela was given a triumphal entry at Durban International Airport …

… Jennifer’s success is even more inspiring when seen against the backdrop of where she grew up and trained. Her success is a triumph for her entire Township community, an inspiration to the youth of South Africa, and a personal victory for a young woman who laboured patiently alongside a coach who never once doubted her abilities, Julie Adamson Schürman. …

read more – FIG – Jennifer’s triumph!