Gymnastics Coaching.com

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Or you can download the software from WordPress.org and post a blog on your own host.

The Gymblog linked to this “theme” (template) which would give you an impressive look.

Free WordPress Theme – Gymnastics

This theme cannot be used on WordPress.com, but can be used with self-hosted blogs.

(If this is all confusing, get a geek in your neighbourhood to explain it to you. Once set-up, blogs are not much more complicated than a diary.)

introducing giants to flyaway

One of the goals of the Funtastics Summer Gymnastics Camp is to do new skills and sequences for the first time.

A secondary goal is for coaches to practice spotting new elements.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

What a luxury to have so many coaches on bars!

(via HPTCamp.com)

China beats USA in virtual Olympics

Andrew Thornton is making my prediction that the USA will win the Beijing Olympics look dubious:

The first â€œvirtual gymnastics meetâ€ is now over, and the best girls from China have beaten the best from the USA.

Vault, Bars, Beam, Floor, Team (3-up, 3-count Team Finals)

… Iâ€™m sure you can see that this competition was won on uneven bars!!! Does this make it more clear exactly why the U.S. is still in need of improvement here? It does for me at least. Chellsie Memmelâ€™s bar routine has certainly helped close the gap a little, but we still have a long way to go to catch this team that not only has a 1.4 advantage in start values on bars over us, but clearly has superior execution as well. …

I would have a hard time believing the Romanians or Russians can challenge these two teams, but you never know. Romania could show up again with another incredibly well-prepared team that is ready to nail every routine in the team finals like they did four years ago. Combine another performance like that with some mistakes from the U.S. and China, and maybe there could be some surprises. As of right now, though, I clearly see the U.S. and China as the ones to beat, and I would expect Romania and Russia to battle for the bronze.

Is the 1.45 difference I came up with in this virtual meet too much for the U.S. to make up? Absolutely not, but it definitely shows where we could potentially get beat by China if we donâ€™t do something about it fast. I hope Martha Karolyi gets a chance to watch this virtual meet so she doesnâ€™t toss out a gymnast like Bridget Sloan, who could potentially score a 16.0 on bars. Though itâ€™s still going to take a team effort to make the improvements necessary to catch China on this event, this game has emphasized to me even more the need for the U.S. to find that elusive third bars score. …

Gymnast.com

Bridget – AP Photo by Mary Schwalm

elite gymnastics training video

At summer gymnastic camp right now, my overriding feeling is the sense of awe I get just to be in the same facility with so many fit females.

Gymnasts are by far the most impressive athletes.

But why?

It’s the training, obviously. We hardly ever compete in comparison with other women’s sport. Gymnastics is all about what kids can do during workout.

cccam spent time putting together this serious clip.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via WIDLES)

USA better than China on Beam?

Who da thunk it?

Projection for the Olympics:

China: 48.0
USA: 49.3

That’s the guesstimate by Andrew Thornton on Gymnast.com.

… The U.S. girls, on the other hand, do tend to get credit for everything, and in fact have shown much more consistency on beam this year than China. Iâ€™ve seen Cheng Fei, Xiao Sha, and Li Shanshan all fall this year, while Shawn, Nastia, and Chellsie have hit every routine Iâ€™ve seen them compete. My point here is that looking at hit percentages and the chance of actually getting the â€œexpectedâ€ start values, I would say that the U.S. is probably a little stronger on beam than China. If China nailed three perfect routines with all connections, it might be a different story, but it is VERY rare to find routines where they actually do this. …

details and video routines: Virtual Meet – USA vs China Balance Beam

Andy has previously run virtual meets between the two top Olympic teams on Vault and Bars.

Three Event Totals Thus Far:

China: 146.45
USA: 144.6

Final event yet to come is Floor.

It doesn’t look good for the USA. The difference between the two teams on Bars is HUGE.

CollectPins.com

coaches get PIE IN THE FACE

One of the highlights of the Funtastics Summer Gymnastics Camp in Idaho is the “firing squad”.

All week gymnasts can win whip cream pies. Then gift them to any coach at the end of week.

Here are the winning coaches for 2008:

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I will be uploading more videos and photos to the official camp website over the coming days: HPTCamp.com

explaining Olympic gymnastics scores

UPDATE: Some think the Panel A-score assessment is wrong. Check the comments.

Dominique Dawes on Yahoo! Sports uses Shawn Johnson’s Floor routine at the 2008 U.S. VISA championships as a sample:

Johnsonâ€™s total score was determined by adding her difficulty score of 6.6 and her execution score of 9.6 for a 16.2. Her high difficulty skills and solid performance allowed her to capture another national title on the floor.