Olympic Floor Champion 5’5″

The single best thing about Romanian gymnastics in 2008 is this “tall” girl.

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Romania’s Sandra Izbasa won the gold, United States’ Shawn Johnson the silver and United States’ Nastia Liukin the bronze. AFP PHOTO / LLUIS GENE OLY-2008-GYMNASTICS-FINAL-PODIUM-ROU-USA ~ larger original

She makes Nastia look short!

… Sandra IzbaÅŸa is not a typical Romanian gymnast. Tall (1.64m – 5’5”), blond, expressive, and with an impressive beauty, the leader of the women’s team always has a smile on her face. Serious and focused before every routine, she relaxes afterward, posing for the judges and the crowd. …

Triple Full – Sandra Izbasa Reviews 2008

She provides inspiration for taller gymnasts everywhere.

Truly one of the best personalities in the sport today, too.

… She says that her goal for 2009 is to win gold on floor in London at the 2009 World Championships. Of that, she says, “It will be hard, but not impossible.” …

The C Score – Nice Izbasa profile in Pro Sport

best gymnastics climbing ropes?

Shopping to replace some of our ropes, I’m looking for advice.

Some options:

A – Manila Ropes

B – Polypro “Unmanila” Ropes (more expensive)

C – “Polyplus” Ropes (most expensive)

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United Athletic

Leave a comment if you have recommendations on what company to buy from. And what ropes work best for kids in gymnastics.

related post: teaching safe rope climb to beginners

Institute of Sports Psychology

The Institute of Sports Psychology offers a number of different services for coaches and athletes.

Founder Robert Andrews worked with Sean Townsend, Raj Bhavsar and other gymnasts.

Click PLAY to watch a short TV interview on YouTube.

Robert contributes to Gymnast.com, recently posting an article on mental preparation for competition.

… External pressure comes from outside sources like coaches, parents, and specific situations in competition. Internal pressure is self induced pressure that is the by product of negative thoughts and self talk, perfectionist attitudes, and self induced stress.

Pressure itself is not a bad thing. It is a necessary ingredient to achieve peak levels of performance.

Too little pressure and you are not mentally or physically ready to perform. Too much pressure and your mind creates negative and stressful thoughts. Your body tightens up and performance is hindered.

Every athlete has an optimum level of pressure that helps them reach their peak in performance. …

Gymnast.com – Handling Performance Pressure

related: Dr. Alison Arnold videos on Gymnastike. Alison is one of the main consultants for Gymnastics USA. Her website is Head Games.

the rise of Oakville Gymnastics

The most interesting story on the recent Elite Canada competition is one club – Oakville Gymnastics in Ontario.

They have a terrific coaching staff. Depth. (They are the third largest club in Canada.) And athletes well positioned to make this one of the most important gyms in the nation, especially after the closing of Seneca earlier this year.

Sabrina Gill – Canadian Novice Elite Canada Champion 2008

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In fact, Oakville girls finished 1st, 4th, 14th, 16th and 19th in the youngest division, girls born 1996. Just old enough to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.

Oakville does not rush kids in competition. They take the long term vision.

I have a lot of confidence these girls can stay healthy and motivated through to the next Olympics.

Here’s some training footage filmed by Head Coach Kelly Manjak, posted on Sabrina’s account.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

related posts:

  • Kelly Manjak – conditioning and bars
  • Kelly Manjak – gymnastics bars training
  • Sabrina Gill – gymnastics video

    • new funding for English Gymnastics

    The one time governments are keen to cough up additional funding for sport is when they are about to host the Olympics.

    Here’s another US$17 million+ …

    london-2012-olympics-logo.JPG

    Sport England have announced an investment of £480 million to deliver grassroots sporting opportunities and a lasting Olympic legacy of one million people playing more sport.

    For English Gymnastics an increased allocation of £11.388M; Mark Gannon, English Gymnastics Chief Executive Officer said,

    “English Gymnastics is extremely pleased with the increased support given by Sport England. This support will ensure we are able to achieve the key aims within our Whole Sport Plan to grow the number of new participants in our sport, sustain those already involved and increase the talent pool that underpins the British Gymnastics programme that leads to the world stage.”

    46 sports, including all 2012 Olympic and Paralympic sports, have been awarded funding on the basis of their ability to increase the number of people playing and enjoying sport, and to create development pathways for those with talent.

    British Gymnastics – English Gymnastics delighted with Sport England funding

    Inside Gymnastics sucks, again

    Why do I even bother with this site?

    Their latest good idea — gone bad — is a “Best of 2008” year end survey.

    Though long, flawed and time consuming, I patiently filled out all those questions for which I had a strong answer. And left blank those questions for which they did not offer a good answer.

    Finally, at the end when I clicked SUBMIT, this is what I got:

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    screenshot

    Thanks for wasting my time, Inside Gymnastics.

    I’ll try to resist the urge to visit your website in future.

    related post: Inside Gymnastics bungles again?

    Woodward Copper Mountain

    The top American Olympic gymnast in 1988, Phoebe Mills, is one of the coaches at the fantastic new 20,000-square-foot “Barn at Copper” in Colorado.

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    larger version

    … “Woodward is the most progressive training environment on the planet for skateboard, BMX and in-line,” Woodward at Copper director Ben Brown said. “And we’re just going to continue that with the first-ever ski and snowboard version.” …

    Woodward at Copper will offer a vast array of programs for all ability levels. It currently plans to open before the end of January with about a half-dozen trampolines, three pool- sized foam pits, a 35-foot big air ramp and a “jib park” with interchangeable features covered in a lubricated synthetic snow material. In addition to the resi mats, there is a large springboard gymnastics floor alongside the foam pits. A massive wooden bowl designed for skaters and freestyle bikers fills a corner of the building. …

    Denver Post – Opening The Barn door

    Woodward truly leads the Action Sport industry. Congratulations.

    official website – Woodward at Copper

    1-finger chin-up

    Back in 2007 I linked to the video of some guy CLIMBING A ROPE WITH ONE ARM.

    My GOD.

    That’s tough.

    Later that year I mentioned the insane video to coaches at Woodward West Gymnastics Camp. Cisco turned to me and said, “That’s me.”

    Click PLAY to see Cisco doing 1-finger chin-up on a Ring, or watch it on YouTube.

    Thanks Don Eckert of saltocafe for posting this.

    Jackie Bender one-arm-handstand

    One of the great names in gymnastics history, Canadian gymnast Jackie Bender, did the best one arm handstands, one arm press, jump to one arm handstand, planche, and reverse planche I’ve ever seen.

    She should have been an Acrobatic gymnast.

    Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

    I was happy to see her featured on the excellent Gymnastics Crossing blog. (Click through to watch her 1991 Beam routine.)

    In fact, some of the footage I videotaped myself at a clinic with her coach, Mr. B, at CanAm Gym Club in Saskatoon after the 1991 Canadian National Championships. Good memories.