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A friend on Staff at Air Grouse Mountain Ziplines in Vancouver, Canada invited us to fly. I’ve done a number of ziplines in the past, but nothing like this.

Speeds of up to 80km/hr.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Air Grouse Mountain Ziplines – official website

(via Rick McCharles)

NCAA Gymnastics
2010 GymInfo Preseason Coaches Poll
First-Place votes in parentheses

The defending National Champion Cardinal are again ranked best of the rest.

1. Stanford (8)
2. California (4)
3. Oklahoma (3)
4. Michigan (1)
5. ILLINOIS
6. Penn State
7. Ohio State
8. Minnesota
9. Nebraska
10. Iowa

see the full list on troester

The Women’s list is not available yet.

… a few Yurchenko drills to help straighten the round-off entry and lifting the upper body at the end of the round-off from Kellie Mizoguchi.

Click PLAY or watch it on Tom Beach’s GymSmarts Community blog.

I strongly agree with Kellie on the importance of hand placement on the round-off. If you neglect those drills, many young gymnasts will “overturn”, resulting in less consistency. And – perhaps – less power.

(Don’t be fooled by watching the best in the world overturn their round-offs. That’s a technique for the elite only. Most were taught to keep their hands in line with the direction of run when they started.)

Watch more gymnastic training videos on The Gymnastic Minute Channel on YouTube.

Follow on twitter @gymsmarts

Related posts:

• gymnastics – Yurchenko vault round-off drill

• best Yurchenko vault hand mat?

The good news … his injury looks minor and should heal rapidly.

Following his foot injury in podium training, Germany’s Fabian Hambüchen said that he is reconsidering his competitive schedule for next year. “I didn’t have a break from competition this year at all. I tried to please everybody. I’ve realised that sometimes you have to be a bit more selfish and look after your own interests. …

read more – The All Around – Hambüchen rethinking 2010 schedule

It would have been a much more interesting World Championships with the charismatic Fabian contesting.

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

I weary of the comments we hear every time I bring up the issue of underage Chinese gymnasts:

They are innocent until proven guilty!

You bash the Chinese because you wanted the American gymnasts to rank higher!

Not true. I bring up the issue because it is so unfair to those gymnasts disallowed to compete at the Olympics due to their age. It’s a big competitive disadvantage for those majority of nations that abide by the age rules.

I’m certain that Dong Fangxiao and Yang Yun were both underage at the 2000 Olympics. Both admitted it.

Yet the FIG Disciplinary Commission has still not ruled on those charges.

I’ve emailed a link to this newspaper article to that Committee. In it, Dong’s husband admits she was underage at the Sydney Olympics.

One of the gymnasts at the centre of an Olympic controversy is now in New Zealand and is looking to further her coaching career in Waikato.

Dong Fangxiao, who was part of China’s bronze medal-winning team in 2000 in Sydney, isn’t assured of keeping her Olympic medal but is keen to help New Zealand gymnastics. She is now living in Hamilton after moving in June this year to study English at Wintec, following her husband Li Te, who studies at Waikato University.

But the International Gymnastics Federation is still investigating the eligibility of Dong and fellow Chinese gymnast Yang Yun at the 2000 Games, where they were thought to be underage.

Gymnasts must be at least 16 by the end of an Olympic year. Dong’s official birthdate is listed as January 23, 1983, but the federation said accreditation information for the Beijing Olympics, where Dong worked as a national technical official, listed her birthdate as January 23, 1986, which would have made her 14 in 2000. …

Li, whose English is much better than Dong’s, told the Waikato Times that Dong was born in 1986 and turned 23 in January this year, making her underage at Sydney. But he said she was cleared of any wrongdoing and the “investigation has already passed”. …

Stuff – Olympics age-dispute gymnast living in Waikato

Did Dong’s husband misspeak too?

The minimum age rules are not enforceable. And likely do little to protect young athletes.

The best solution for FIG would be to drop the age requirement.

Most coaches would agree with that, including Valeri Liukin

More controversial is what to do about the 2000 Olympic results should the FIG finally admit the obvious?

I don’t blame Dong Fangxiao. She should not be punished in any way. But the Chinese Gymnastics Federation should be punished retroactively.

The terrific Adidas commercial.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Thanks Fred.

Every Artistic coach needs to read the wrap-up commentary posts from Andrew Thornton:

Andy’s Angle on the 2009 Worlds Part 1…

Andy’s Angle on the 2009 Worlds Part 2…

A sample:

…
The women’s scoring in particular was the most unpredictable and undecipherable I’ve ever seen. I was confused, lost, and actually ostracized as a knowledgeable fan. I can’t imagine how lost the fans were who haven’t followed the sport for 20 years like I have.

Execution scores on the women’s side are ridiculous beyond explanation. They give every gymnast a mid-8 regardless of the performance. High 8’s and rarely a 9 are only possible on vault. What a bunch of nonsense! …

In fact, Andrew was driven to draft his own Code of Points.

Alexander Shatilov made history.

The 22-year-old is the first Israeli gymnast to get on the medal podium at World’s. He took bronze on Floor. Congratulations.

He’s listed at 183cm or 6′ 1″. … Impressive!

He immigrated from Uzbekistan to Israel in 2002.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Sweet forward layout 2 1/2 twist. The best I’ve ever seen.

Job in Auckland, New Zealand

Are you an experienced senior coach and programme manager? Are you interested in relocating to New Zealand on either a permanent or for a fixed term?

We have a full time position available for men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics at target=”_blank” Counties Manukau Gymnastics. Fantastic $5m purpose built gymnastics facility. One of New Zealand’s top achieving Clubs. Check out our website www.gymsport.co.nz

Please send expressions of interest and a copy of your resume to Marie Stechman at maries @ gymsport.co.nz

INTERNATIONAL GYMNAST Editor Dwight Normile part way through the 2009 World Gymnastics Championships:

… While scanning the hundreds of scores from the women’s qualifications here in London, I realized something odd. The results sheets included zero scores above 9.0 for the E-score (execution). And how many scores of 9.0 appeared? Two: one each for American Kayla Williams and North Korean Hong Un Jong on vault.

What shocks me most is that I saw some very good routines that would have scored 9.5 and above under the old 10.0 system. …

The men’s scores were more realistic, with numerous gymnasts cracking the 9.0 barrier, and well into the mid-9.0s.

It’s a pity that men’s and women’s gymnastics is judged so differently right now. This new Code was supposed to restore artistry by emphasizing execution over difficulty. The best way to do that is to lower the value of the D-score as severely as the E-score is being evaluated. …

Is 9.0 the new 10.0 for women?

I agree with Dwight. The Men’s judges are more confident to adjudicate. The range in execution scores is greater between best and worst.

Why are the Women not doing the same?

Are they afraid of being “out of range”?

Or, … are there so many vague deductions listed in the women’s code that they feel obliged to deduct something on every skill?

Leave a comment if you have an opinion. Especially if you are a judge.