Gymnastics Coaching.com

Ashley, Katrina, and several others have recommended this weird footwear.

The second is a Men’s shoe. Click through to Amazon to see other models. And competitive products from other companies.

Five Fingers were named one of Time magazine’s Best Inventions of 2007.

And they are getting a lot of love on the blogosphere from runners and hikers.

Those convinced that traditional running shoes might be causing them injury are trying more natural footwear as an alternative.

Vibram has a store locator page if you want to try on a pair yourself.

From Wisconsin coach Jason Orkowski:

As a coach I have worn sandals so I could slip them off quickly to spot or demonstrate but I found that structurally I was developing back issues because of the lack of support while standing. The V5-Finger may be my solution. …

Leave a comment if you’ve worn them in the gym. Or have an opinion pro or con.

Click PLAY or watch Kononenko’s Bars on YouTube.

Silver medal behind Mustafina. Difficulty 6.4. (PDF)

Nice swing! … Note she has only one backward giant over the low bar. And uses a tap above the bar.

(via selecious on IG forum)

A new regular feature.

This week’s Gymnastike Stick of the Week – Kyndal Robarts, a junior at the University of Utah launched a huge vault at the end of the Utes vault lineup when they defeated the Georgia Gym Dogs at home. She nailed the landing cold a sent a crowd of 15,552 to their feet. She even received a perfect 10 from one judge!

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/assets/portal/add_ons/mediaplayer-4.2/player.swf

Gymnastics Videos on Gymnastike

Kyle’s was famous for his form and consistency on Floor and Vault.

But not many people remember his Horizontal Bar.

Not surprisingly, Kyle had superb form, line and technique. Some of the only “clean” stoop Stalders and Endos you’ve ever seen in MAG or WAG.

In 2004 I watched him do many “perfect” routines in sequence in training, often the only issue being whether or not his knees bent on the regrasp of Def.

This is how gymnastics is meant to be performed. (Horizontal Bar depresses me in 2010.)

Click PLAY or watch one of his routines on YouTube.

Kyle has a YouTube channel now where he’s archiving some of the Canadian team routines from the past.

Is Britteny Cox too young to compete in the Vancouver Olympics?

The International Gymnastics Federation would not allow her to be an Olympian, were she a gymnast.

Skyrider 95 points out I got this wrong. Britteny turns 16 in 2010 so she would be old enough under the gymnastics rules.

The rest of the post is still valid, I think.

… Her inclusion in our team to represent Australia at the Vancouver Winter Olympics is testimony to her rapid rise through the ranks …

From eight years of age Britteny has been winning titles at state and national level in her chosen alpine discipline – mogul skiing. …

15 year old falls creek skier to become our youngest winter olympian

I did a quick search of the news reports on her surprise selection. Not a single “concern” that she might be too young to handle the Olympics. Or that her coaches have pushed her too hard.

Why is it that only Gymnastics is convinced that a minimum age of 16 is necessary? Not Diving. And not Skiing.

We look like idiots in the international sporting community for putting that age rule in place. Perhaps Grandi will realize his mistake Feb. 26th.

Alabama coaches have three buses. One is for sale.

You can pick the bus you want from the three, price range from $21,000 to $31,000 . All buses are diesel and have less than 150,000 miles.

Check out biggymbus.com

more photos

Contact – biggymbus AT gmail.com

At who?

Her agent?

If you can muster any enthusiasm at all for this, click over to the U.S. Olympic contest site.

Level 10 gymnastics Keeley Kmieciak of Phenom Gymnastics in Illinois scores a perfect 10 on vault at the 2010 Bravo Classic Meet.

In 2009 she was the Level 10 JO National Champion on Vault, Bars, Beam, Floor, & All Around in her division.

http://www.gymnastike.org/assets/portal/add_ons/mediaplayer-4.2/player.swf

Gymnastics Videos on Gymnastike

For such an unusual judging system, there are remarkably few complaints about scores in Women’s College Gymnastics.

Until now …

Even though Utah’s gymnastics team beat Georgia 196.55-196.5 Friday, many in the crowd of 15,522 at the Huntsman Center were unhappy with the judging on floor and let the judges know it by booing several of Utah’s floor scores.

The No. 3 Utes scored a 49.125 on the floor with Gael Mackie recording a team-low of 9.575, and Kyndal Robarts and Jamie Deetscreek also earning low scores of 9.725 and 9.75, respectively.

While the marks might have surprised some in the crowd, they didn’t bother the Utes, who acknowledge they and the judges still are adjusting to some new judging codes and qualifications for deductions this year.

For example, on the floor judges previously could take up to a tenth of a point deduction when a gymnast crossed her legs on a twist. Now the code says the deduction is a tenth or nothing at all.

Robarts said her first pass “wasn’t very good,” and Utah coach Greg Marsden said he expects scores to be unpredictable for a bit longer.

“Everyone is still trying to get a handle on how to judge things and what deductions to take,” he said.

read more – New judging codes bring down scores

It’s time to start rewarding gymnasts who can keep their feet together on twists. Courtney McCool, for one.

Judges have been far too lenient on this deduction in both NCAA and FIG.

I’ve recently reviewed a book called Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.

Excellent.

Man became the dominant species on this planet because we could run long distances efficiently, barefoot.

Yet companies like Nike over the past 3 decades have convinced us that we need buy $150 shoes to run. And convinced us to completely change running technique in those shoes.

There’s a growing body of research indicating that expensive running shoes are causing more injury than they are preventing. Other researchers are concluding that bare foot running is more efficient.

If interested, click through to this post – are running shoes ruining your feet? – and follow the links.

Or see the technique difference explained in videos:

• BBC – Shoes may have changed how we run

• Scientific American – Running barefoot is better, researchers find (video)

If this new research eventually proves that barefoot running prevents injury, it may turn out that gymnasts have been doing the right thing all along by working out barefoot.

I hope so.