Gymnastics Coaching.com

Is Team Chevron dropping their Gymnastics Sponsorship after 2008?

They’ve sponsored Raj Bhavsar, Alex Artemev, Sean Townsend, Justin Spring, Dave Durante, Kevin Tan and many, many more over the past 10 years.

I read that in a StickItMedia interview with Team Gattaca’s Diego Garcia.

Team Gattaca has been a corporate sponsor of Men’s Gymnastics in the USA since 2003. And they plan to continue into the future.

I want to thank Team Chevron and Team Gattaca for everything they’ve done.

We need more companies to step up like this in future.

Gymnastics is a rough sport. We have a lot of injuries, it’s true.

… studies have suggested that the rate of injury in gymnastics is almost as severe as that in contact sports. For every 10,000 children doing gymnastics each year, 52 will need hospital treatment compared with 75 young rugby players. …

But this new study from data collected by Jerry Dwek at the University of California, San Diego article is over the top, in my opinion:

… In the report to be presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, researchers noted that the gymnasts studied showed a “broad constellation of recent injuries” to their wrists and knuckles and evidence of early necrosis, or “death”, of bones.

Using magnetic resonance imaging and other scans, the researchers studied the wrists and hands of 125 child gymnasts …

Young gymnasts risking a life of pain in quest for perfection – Times Online

Necrosis?

I don’t believe that for a second.

Will Dr. Dwek mention all the benefits of increased bone density due to gymnastics training along with the injury results?

related: Gymnastics Rescue – Wrist Injuries and Gymnastics

Claudine emailed us a link to an interesting article from the NY Times:

Born to Run? Little Ones Get Test for Sports Gene

Kevin Moloney for The New York Times

Genetic testing to determine if your child has “talent” for gymnastics?

I believe that day will come.

Genetic engineering is capable of anything. I fully expect to see dinosaurs (Jurassic Park) in my lifetime.

But is a genetic test for sport talent available already?

… The ACTN3 test has been available through the Australian company Genetic Technologies since 2004. The company has marketed the test in Australia, Europe and Japan, but is now entering the United States through Atlas. The testing kit was scheduled to be available starting Monday through the Web site atlasgene.com. …

NY Times

Interesting.

I’m skeptical. But would like to learn more.

The test is purported to “determine whether a person would be best at speed and power sports … or endurance sports like distance running, or a combination of the two.”

I’ll forward the article to Dr. Jeni McNeal to get her opinion.

… According to a recent study, exercise in kids plummets from 3 hours a day at age 9 to less than 1 hour a day at age 15. …

Kids Need Motivation to Exercise – Sierra Trading Post

Last week I did a short session with female gymnasts on “nutrition“.

We shared personal “tips” on healthy eating. Timely … with holiday gluttony impending.

Congratulations!

Gymnastics clubs across the country have raised more than $1 million for Children’s Miracle Network since USA Gymnastics first partnered with Children’s Miracle Network in 2001. Gym clubs and their members raised a record $201,203 in 2008 as part of their celebrations for National Gymnastics Day through the Tyson Fitness Challenge, a joint initiative of USA Gymnastics and Tyson Foods that helps today’s kids get more physically fit through fun activities and raises money to help kids who are fighting illness at Children’s Miracle Network hospitals around the country. …

The three clubs and three individuals who raised the most money for Children’s Miracle Network in 2008 are listed below.

Clubs
1. Gymnastics World, Broadview Heights, Ohio, $32,000, taking its six-year total to $122,951
2. Massachusetts Gymnastics Center, Boston, Mass., $30,066
3. John Macready’s and John Roethlisberger’s Flip Fest of Lake Frances, Tenn., $14,000

Individuals
1. Emma Timblin, Northern Elite, Flanders, N.J., $4,425
2. Michelle Mook, Gymnastics World, Broadview Heights, Ohio, $4,000
3. Mary Kate Cacchione, Northern Elite, Flanders, N.J., $3,700

Four other individuals raised more than $2,500: Lauren Wise, Sonshine Academy, Conway, Ark., $3,228; Lauren Briskey, The Flip Zone, Plainfield, Ind., $3,174; Andrew Wise, Sonshine Academy, Conway, Ark., $2,925; and Abby Vienneaue, Gymnastics World, Broadview Heights, Ohio, $2,851. …

GYMNASTICS: USA Gymnastics exceeds $1 million total for Children’s Miracle Network

GymnasticsRecruiting.com is a site providing information for gymnasts, parents and coaches considering making application to compete in the NCAA.

Check it out: GymnasticsRecruiting.com

They have products for sale, as well, priced from $10 – $99.

Andrea Barnes, author of those materials, posted a good article on College Gym Fans:

Top Ten Things You Should Know About College Recruiting

#1 Athletic Preparation

#2 Academic Preparation

#3 Relationship with Your Club Coach

#4 College Research

#5 Know What Types of Scholarships are Available

#6 Record-Keeping

#7 The Recruiting Timeline/NCAA Rules for Recruiting

#8 The Marketing Process

#9 Questions Every Gymnast Should Ask

#10 Physical Fitness and Your Health

Top Ten Things You Should Know About College Recruiting

You become an official prospect for college recruiting in the 9th grade. Gymnasts need to start planning EARLY.

There are 86 women’s gymnastics teams in the country. 65 are Division I teams and 21 are Division II and III teams. Not all offer scholarships.

Better, though likely more expensive, is the personalized service offered by Victory Recruiting.

Florida gymnast Melanie Sinclair finishes her floor routine with a chomp – Alligator

So says Oleg Ostapenko who left Brazil to return to the Ukrainian women’s national team.

International Gymnast confirms it.

Ostapenko was the head coach of the Ukrainian women at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, as well as the personal coach of Ukrainian standouts Tatiana Lysenko, Natalia Kalinina and Viktoria Karpenko.

He also worked with Lilia Podkopayeva, the 1995 World and 1996 Olympic all-around champion.

Ostapenko and his wife, Nadia Ostapenko, moved to Brazil in 2001. They worked at the national training center in Curitiba, and helped oversee a strong improvement in the Brazilian women’s team.

…

The Ukrainian women finished 11th in Beijing, their worst team performance in history. The team finished fourth at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Ostapenko Back in Ukraine

Good news for Ukraine. Bad news for Brazil. What will they do now?

So many problems in Brazil!

With Daiane dos Santos – GLOBOESPORTE.COM

The 2005 World Champion has postponed his previously announced retirement since he qualified for the World Cup Final in Pommels and Horizontal Bar.

We get one last chance to honour one of the best gymnasts of the decade.

original – flickr – hturtdekan

… His exciting gymnastics with its elegant execution, and great resistance to be the most complete gymnasts in the world have become one of the most valued gymnasts on the international scene.

Ana Gulica’s Weblog

Jason Burnett, the Silver medalist in Beijing, is the world record holder for Degree of Difficulty with 17.5 on April 2, 2007, at the Lake Placid Trampoline World Cup.

But back in 2004 he put together an 18.5 routine — likely the highest DD ever on a regulation tramp — in training:

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Here’s that same 18.5 duplicated in Walabers Trampoline, a video game. Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Search YouTube for “Jason Burnett” for more extreme feats of trampoline genius.

related post: trampoline – Thriller, Turgeon, Killer, Polyarush

China is ordering its basketball players to stop faking their birth dates, local media reported Friday, turning the spotlight back on allegations of systematic altering of athlete’s ages.

Sports authorities have sometimes been accused of altering players’ ages to show them as being younger, mainly to qualify them for youth tournaments. Those false ages stay with athletes and can result in embarrassment and regulatory sanctions when athletes move on to greater success.

While that practice, known as ‘age shaving,’ is considered widespread in sports such as basketball and football, the opposite was suspected in the controversy surrounding the women’s gymnastics competition at the Beijing Olympics. …

China warns basketball players to be honest about their ages – The Canadian Press

So, China has admitted to age shaving.

This was forced mainly because of the Yi Jianlian age controversy. He plays for the New Jersey Nets.

This must be pressuring those in China who falsified the ages of Olympic gymnasts.

… The International Gymnastics Federation eventually cleared the Chinese women’s Olympic gold medal gymnasts of amending birth records to appear older than they were, but continues to investigate the ages of Chinese gymnasts who competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Female gymnasts are required to have attained a minimum age of 16 during an Olympic year to be eligible for competition. …

Chinese tighten age rules

One day the truth will out.

It’s simply a matter of time.

AP Photo by AMY SANCETTA

Chinese gymnasts Yang Yun, left, and Dong Fangxiao wave flowers after recieving the bronze medal in the women’s gymnastic team finals at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney. – Daylife