Gymnastics Coaching.com

I see my old friend Bogdan Dudziak hosted a major training camp.

Robert Akers Photography was so excited to have the chance to attend a USAG clinic with 2008 Olympic Gymnastics Team Captain Alicia Sacramone, and her coaches Mihai and Silvia Brestyan.

larger original

More photos on the Robert Akers Photography blog.

14th World Gymnaestrada 2011 in Lausanne

… The city of Lausanne, nestled in Switzerland’s southwest corner, is preparing the 14th World Gymnaestrada, set for July 10 – 16, 2011. The event just might break a record for participation with the arrival of more than 20,000 expected gymnasts …

FIG

I’ve been to two Gymnaestrada festivals. And would love to get to one again.

I’m marking this on my calendar NOW.

Piked has been tracking who confirmed and who declined invitation to the World Cup Final, Dec. 15-16 in Madrid. The timing is terrible, of course, for Olympians from Beijing.

Vault
1. Cheng Fei
2. Yelena Zamolodchikova
3. Jana Komrskova
4. Ariella Kaeslin
5. Dorina Boczogo
6. Aagje Vanwallenghem
7. Marissa King
8. Elsa Garcia

Uneven Bars
1. Dariya Zgoba
2. He Kexin
3. Jana Sikulova
4. Yang Yilin
5. Anastasia Koval
6. Jiang Yuyuan
7. Koko Tsurumi
8. Daniele Hypolito

Balance Beam
1. Cheng Fei
2. Sandra Izbasa
3. Li Shanshan
4. Yulia Lozhecko
5. Daniele Hypolito
6. Lauren Mitchell
7. Dariya Zgoba
8. Alina Kozich

Floor Exercise
1. Cheng Fei
2. Sandra Izbasa
3. Jiang Yuyuan
4. Alina Kozich
5. Suzanne Harmes
6. Daniele Hypolito
7. Yelena Zamolodchikova
8. Koko Tsurumi

Piked

Hopefully it will still be an entertaining competition despite many of the highest ranked gymnasts giving it a miss. (See the original list of invitees.)

If you are wondering where the Americans are … be informed that the World Cup Circuit has always been Eurocentric, even now only slowly expanding to Asia.

Past Men’s Technical Chairman Hardy Fink made a real effort to have FIG turn the series into truly a “World” Cup. But faced stiff resistance.

Elsa Garcia – official website

Over 200,000 views.

There’s a lot of truth in this short montage about what it’s like to get older as a gymnast.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Music by Leona Lewis – Bleeding Love.

Thanks Sarah.

Gymnast has posted a terrific photo gallery from the World Cup.

Geng Ruo Wei – Uneven Bars – 2008 Massilia Gym Cup

Copyright Melissa Perenson

A second photo gallery from the meet is posted here.

As selected by PIKED. (Formerly Gymnicestics)

The #1 is Ludivine Furnon winning the 2000 European Championships. Choreographed by Adriana Pop.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

It’s got some great stuff. And NCAA quality choreography.

2. Yvonne Tousek 2000
3. Svetlana Khorkina 2000
4. Isabelle Severino 2008
5. Kate Richardson 2004
6. Sabina Cojocar 2001
7. Daiane Dos Santos 2003
8. Cheng Fei 2004
9. Alona Kvasha 2002
10. Zhang Yujiao 2008

read the rest of the list – PIKED – Top 100 Floor Routines of the Last Eight Years

In a related post on Double Salto … the top ten funkiest gymnasts on Floor.

Two expert coaches are consulting at my club. Sue Raffin (flexibility) and Ed Louie (strength).

Both know the “big picture”. Sue has coached at an elite level for decades. Ed works with Canadian National Team gymnasts as a massage therapist.

Both believe in preventing — or minimizing — chronic overuse pain by preventative exercises.

… The five worst words in the English language are “maybe it will go away.” If something hurts, it means that something is wrong. Figure out what that something is and correct it before it turns into a bigger problem.

Oftentimes, little, nagging problems can be fixed by incorporating some stretching and corrective exercise into your daily routine. This doesn’t mean you have to join a yoga class or stop lifting heavy and pick up five pound dumbbells and wave them around like an idiot on one leg. But, it does mean that you need to be aware of what is going on with your body and know what to do to fix it.

Corrective exercise and stretching are not stressful on the system and can help with your recovery and regeneration. …

Straight to the Bar – Recovery and Regeneration for the Strength Athlete

We have a number of older gymnasts that train in near constant pain. Several wear devices to relieve knee pain, for example.

The Fluk provides support without discomfort at the back of the knee. For Osgood-Schlatter’s disease or other knee cap conditions. A uniquely designed foam pad that can be placed according to the gymnast’s needs is the secret of this new brace’s success.

Ten.0

Right now I want to improve our “injury prevention” conditioning programs.

Leave a comment if you have exercises that work for you.

Tracey Morrison linked to this pommel horse animation:

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

More amusing is this commercial – Stupid Things to do in a Canoe: Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Triple Twist linked to a video of Fabian Hambüchen’s world record (7.5 start value) Horizontal Bar routine.

He does a Pineda (piked body position) and a Kolman (tucked).

I’ve got no problem with that.

But what happens when the next guy tries to compete a Pineda (piked) and a Cassina (layout Kolman) in the same routine?

They are two separate skills in the code of points.

In reality — they are almost the same skill. It would be unfair to credit them both with a G.

related post: who invented the Kolman on Hbar?

I WISH I was going to this competition.

2009 Cancun Classic
Friday, January 2, 2009
Hilton Golf and Beach Resort
Cancun, Mexico

Afternoon Session: LSU, Michigan, North Carolina, and Boise State

Evening Session: Oregon State, Stanford, Denver, and Brigham Young

It’s the first meet for those teams.

There’s also an age group competition over that weekend for Levels: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and Open Women.

CancunClassic.com