The wonderful JibJab site lets you put your face (or a close personal friend) on to a Rhythmic gymnast. And email the video.
Click through to JibJab to see a sample video. And get started.
advice for potential NCAA recruits
Tom Kovic of Victory Collegiate Consulting posted a nice summary article on College Gym Fans. He’s one of the top consultants for gymnasts, parents and coaches.
Click through if you have athletes who might want to try for a College Gymnastics Scholarship in the NCAA one day.
Initiating Phone Calls to the Coach
I think one of the toughest challenges prospects face in the recruiting process is initiating that first phone call to the college coach, and for good reason: they are scared! Somehow, many young athletes envision an unapproachable coach on the other end of the line and view the task of calling the coach with fear. …
read more – Navigating the College Recruiting Process
related: Kovic on The Role of Parents in College Athletics Recruiting
British Gymnastics cuts Rhythmic funding
Here’s a sad story.
Despite hosting the Olympics in 2012, there’s no funding for their 3 time National Champion in an Olympic sport for women.
A gymnast who had her sights set on competing in the 2012 Olympics has been forced to give up full-time training after her funding was withdrawn.
Welsh and British rhythmic gymnastics champion Francesca Jones, 18, had been at the national athletics training centre at Lilleshall, Shropshire.
But after two-and-a-half years’ training for seven hours a day she has had to leave after funds ran out. …
read more – BBC – Gymnast upset at Olympics funding
Whip It – roller derby movie
A friend gave a positive review for Drew Barrymore’s Directorial debut, Whip It.
He found it a positive girl coming of age/sports movie. As you know, there are far too few roles for females in Hollywood films. (Love interest and Princess)
The star is Ellen Page, who I loved as the title character in the film Juno. On The Simpsons she cameoed as a character named Alaska Nebraska, a parody of Hannah Montana.
In Whip It she plays Bliss, a rebellious Texas teen who throws in her small town beauty pageant crown for the rowdy world of roller derby.
Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube.
At my gym one of the Moms joined a Roller Derby team. Got fit. Loves it.
top 10 gymnasts at World’s
From a thoughtful post from The All Around:
The AA top scorers this year, of those who appear doing all four apparatus in the London Worlds nominative roster:
1.Bridget Sloan USA 59.850 (USA Championships Day 2)
2.Ksenia Afanasyeva RUS 59.600 (Russian Championships qualifications)
3.Ksenia Semyonova RUS 59.000 (Russian Championships qualifications)
4.Koko Tsurumi JPN 58.650 (Japanese Championships Day 1)
5.Rebecca Bross USA 58.550 (USA Championships Day 1)
6.Yana Demyanchuk UKR 55.800 (Ukrainian Championships AA)
7.Deng Linlin 58.375 (CHN National Games AA)
8.Yang Yilin 58.100 (CHN National Games AA)
9.Elsa Garcia (MEX) 58.100 (Worlds Trials Day 1)
10.Youna Dufournet FRA 58.000 (Mediterranean Games qualifications)
Click through to see scores and predictions on each apparatus.
http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.js
… Of course it’s impossible to compare AA scores exactly from meet to meet. American Cup scores are high, for example. But those lists give a good general overview of the favourites.
gymnast Tim McNeill – new website
Gymnastike announced the new home page for World Championships Team member Tim McNeill from Cal Berkeley.
I’m a big fan of Tim’s elegant gymnastics.
Check it out.
Gymnastike will be adding more gymnasts.
preview latest IG magazine online
I love this feature. … But could they not have published a better photo of Bridget Sloan?
International Gymnast – digital
You can read the first pages of the magazine for free as a “teaser” to encourage subscription to the print or digital versions.
Tiger Woods in Olympics 2016
COPENHAGEN — All those beautiful beaches and Tiger Woods, too!
After more than a century on the sidelines, golf will return to the Olympics at the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. Rugby, last played in 1924, is coming back as well.
Both were reinstated for the 2016 and 2020 games after a vote Friday by the International Olympic Committee. …
Each sport received majority support in separate votes after leading athletes and officials from both camps gave presentations, including a taped video message from Woods and other top pros. Woods has indicated he would play in the Olympics if golf were accepted for 2016. …
Golf will stage a 72-hole stroke-play tournament for men and women, with 60 players in each field. Rugby will organize a four-day seven-a-side tournament — instead of the more traditional 15-a-side game — for 12 men’s and women’s teams. …
http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.js
Thanks Kyle Shewfelt who linked to this article. Kyle feels that the golf vote was all about the $$$.
I agree. London will not be a “reasonable budget” event as I once thought:
… record $3.8 billion in television revenues from the 2010 to 2012 Olympic Games package, a $1.2 billion increase from the 2006 to 2008 cycle. …
With the money rolling in, perhaps organizers can finally decide on a Rhythmics venue.
Rugby 7s is a thrilling spectator sport. But is it played worldwide?
There are other sports I would have chosen over these two.
prediction – MAG popular at Worlds
With the Olympics coming to London in 2012 …
With terrific male gymnasts Junior and Senior in the U.K. …
With a fantastic field in Men’s Artistic Gymnastics, especially this rivalary: Uchimura vs. Hambuchen vs. Horton …
With no Nastia Liukin. No Shawn Johnson. …
I’m predicting this World Championships the Men’s competition may finally start to approach the WAG in popularity with fans and the media. Even those who normally pay no attention to men’s gymnastics will start to get interested.
What do you think? Am I dreaming?
Leave a comment if you have an opinion.
Yaeger to Pak – Zhang Yufei
Andy Thornton has relaunched his Smooth Skills video blog on American Gymnast. (He formerly posted on the currently defunct Gymnast.com.)
In Episode 2 he looked at the Mo Salto (Gaylord 1 for Men) on Bars, comparing 4 different Chinese gymnasts who competed it.
One of those was Zhang Yufei, a name I only barely recognize. She was an amazing gymnast but her only big international meet was the 2005 World Championships.
Check her bars. Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
…love the Yaeger to Pak salto! It’s amazing how we NEVER see this combination anymore (except from He Kexin), and I don’t understand why. Everyone in the world is doing these Pak saltos from a cast handstand nowadays, and I’m sick of seeing it! So many Chinese gymnasts in particular are doing these huge Yaegers but for some strange reason don’t do the Pak salto immediately out of it – this reminds us how much better this looks when done connected.
Does anyone know what happened to this amazing gymnast?
Click through to American Gymnast to see her other apparatus. And the 4 Mo saltos, including the one competed by Zhang Yufei.
Hey, I’ve heard a rumour that an American Level 10 female gymnast will be competing Kovacs this season. That would be a first worldwide.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 