Gymnastics Coaching.com

difficulty plus execution posted the team:

Pauline Morel
Marine Petit
Laëtitia Dugain
Cassy Véricel
Marine Debauve
Katheleen Lindor
Rose-Eliandre Bellemare is the alternate.

The French men will be represented in Beijing by Pierre-Yves Beny, Benoît Caranobe, Yann Cucherat, Gael da Silva, Dmitry Karbanenko and Danny Rodrigues. Thomas Bouhail is the alternate.

Beny and Caranobe were members of France’s ninth-place team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, while Cucherat and Karbanenko will be making their third straight Olympic appearance.

Looks pretty good. But is it open double pike? Or layout?

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

This was the skill Kyle Shewfelt was doing when injured at Worlds 2007. (Tamayo)

(via Gymnicestics)

Related post: Brazil – Nationals 2008 gymnastics results

As expected, the British Olympic Association selected two male athletes to compete in artistic gymnastics at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games:

Daniel Keatings

Louis Smith

Both are coached by Paul Hall at Huntingdon Gymnastics Club.

Daniel Keatings – Jr. European Champion 2008

Louis praises his Mom.

Related posts:

Daniel Keatings – British champion 2007

video – Advanced Gymnastics with Paul Hall

Photos of the Singapore Women’s Artistic Gymnastics National Team.

see more – Stacy Peh photographer

Everything is on YouTube. Good and bad.

… “Everybody in the world is doing it. Everyone’s using it,” said Al Fong, a longtime gymnastics coach who works with Ivana Hong, a member of the U.S. team that won gold at last year’s world championships.

“It has,” Fong added, “transformed everybody’s training plans.” …

“It’s actually pretty interesting how much you can find,” said Dennis McIntyre, men’s program director for USA Gymnastics. “It’s really easy to share and get things. It’s made coaching and analysis a lot easier.”

…

When Olympic high bar champion Igor Cassina developed a new skill, he not only put it on his Web site, he asked people for comments. …

Gymnasts flipping for YouTube videos – NBC

Balance out of whack without coach
‘It’s going to be a totally different experience without her there,’ says gymnast Hopfner-Hibbs

by Randy Starkman

Whenever Toronto gymnast Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs imagined the Beijing Olympics, she pictured long-time coach Carol-Angela Orchard right beside her every step of the way.

Now, it looks like Hopfner-Hibbs might be going it alone at the most important event of her life. Hopfner-Hibbs is Canada’s only hope for a medal in women’s gymnastics, having become the country’s first women’s world championship medallist two years ago on balance beam, and collecting six World Cup medals in the past 14 months.

But she placed second behind Nansy Damianova of Montreal in the women’s Olympic points selection race that wrapped up at the Canadian championships in Calgary on Saturday. So, the one women’s coaching accreditation pass available to Canada goes to Damianova’s coach Katerine Dussault, meaning Orchard will have trouble getting access to Hopfner-Hibbs in Beijing.

“It’s so important to me that she was there with me because she’s the reason that I’m there,” said Hopfner-Hibbs yesterday. “So, it’s just really upsetting.”

Gymnastics Canada will pay Orchard’s way to Beijing and she can stay at the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) high performance centre, but the veteran coach said she’s not sure yet if it makes sense for her to go to China.

“To be the Olympic coach and be able to have access to your athlete and help her be the best she can be is one thing,” said Orchard. “But to go as a tourist is not something I’m interested in. That would drive me crazy, to not be able to get in the gym. I’d have no access to the competition floor at all.”

Hopfner-Hibbs has worked with Orchard for nearly a decade, her biggest achievement coming when she finally broke the barrier for Canadian women with a bronze medal on the beam at the 2006 world championships.

“She’s always, always believed in me all the time,” said the 18-year-old gymnast. “No matter what’s going on or how rough of a competition or training I’ve had, she’s always there. It’s going to be a totally different experience without her there. I always pictured my Olympic experience with her there so it just makes it that much harder.”

Gymnastics Canada director Jean-Paul Caron said they’re trying to get Orchard access to Hopfner-Hibbs for training sessions. He said he’s confident the COC can get the accreditation needed, and that it might be possible to change the coach’s accreditation if Hopfner-Hibbs were to reach a final.

Toronto Star

There’s still hope for Carol-Angela to get to the Olympic. And possibly even on to the competition floor if Elyse makes the final on beam.

I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed.

Click PLAY or watch Elyse on YouTube.

I expect the Olympic “points system” blunder will be on the agenda of the Gymnastics Canada AGM this coming weekend.

BTW, one of Elyse’s future coaches from UCLA, Chris Waller, attended Canadian Championships and even got in a bit of a holiday with his wife Cindy while visiting the Great White North.

Related post: gymnast Hopfner-Hibbs on Olympic Selection

From Bernardo of Gymblog Brasil fame:

These are the results from the Qualifications of Brazilian Nationals 2008

Women’s Results
Team
1. Associação do Pessoal da Caixa Econômica Federal
2. Clube de Regatas do Flamengo
3. Esporte Clube Pinheiros

All Around
1. Jade Barbosa (CRF/RJ) – 60,367
2. Daniele Hypolito (CFR/RJ) – 59,233
3. Ana Cláudia Silva (APCEF/PR) – 58,133

Vault
1. Jade Barbosa (CRF/RJ) – 14,917
2. Joselane Santos (ECP/SP) – 14,133
3. Letícia da Costa (CRF/RJ) – 13,833

Uneven Bars
1. Jade Barbosa (CRF/RJ) – 14,833
2. Milena Miranda (APCEF/PR) – 14,800
3. Bruna Leal (APCEF/PR) – 14,467

Balance Beam
1. Daniele Hypolito (CRF/RJ) – 15,700
2. Jade Barbosa (CRF/RJ) – 14,867
3. Laís Souza (ECP/SP) – 14,733

Floor Exercise
1. Jade Barbosa (CRF/RJ) – 15,300
2. Ana Cláudia Silva (APCEF/PR) – 14,900
2. Daniele Hypolito (CRF/RJ) – 14,900
4. Daiane dos Santos (ECP/SP) – 14,667

Men’s Artistic Gymnastics

Team
1. SERC Santa Maria/SP – 254,467
2. Esporte Clube Pinheiros/SP – 252,633
3. Clube de Regatas do Flamengo/RJ – 249,733

All Around
1. Diego Hypolito (CRF/RJ) – 85,067
2. Péricles Silva (ECP/SP) – 84,233
3. Francisco Barreto (SERC/SP) – 83,967

Vault
1. Diego Hypolito (CRF/RJ) – 15,667
2. Renato Oliveira (AABB/SP) – 15,367
3. Jefferson Negrão (ECP/SP) – 15,300

Parallel Bars
1. Mosiah Rodrigues (UNIÃO/RS) – 14,467
2. Felipe Polato (ECP/SP) – 14,200
3. Raudison de Souza (BFC/SP) – 14,067

High Bar
1. Luiz Augusto dos Anjos (ECP/SP) – 14,367
2. P̩ricles Silva (ECP/SP) Р14,333
3. Mosiah Rodrigues (UNIÃO/RS) – 14,200

Floor Exercise
1. Diego Hypolito (CRF/RJ) – 15,900
2. Henrique Motta (CRF/RJ) – 14,700
3. João Paulo Souza (ECP/SP) – 14,467

Still Rings
1. Arthur Zanetti (SERC/SP) – 15,367
2. Henrique Flores (SERC/SP) – 14, 467
3. Francisco Barreto (SERC/SP) – 14,300

Pommel Horse
1. Sérgio Eras (SERC/SP) – 13,667
2. Danilo Nogueira (BFC/SP) – 13,533
3. Francisco Barreto (SERC/SP) – 13,500

If your gym is covered in hand painted, somewhat amateur gymnastics graphics (I’m looking at you Altadore) consider this alternative.

Professional wall displays, wallpaper, decals, window treatments, sponsorship walls, window signage and much, much more. Prices look very reasonable, I thought. (Wall coverings about US$6-10 / square foot.)

Here’s a sample “wallpaper”

see more

Sample “wallpaper border”:

see more

Plenty of choices of colours and themes. You can personalize it with your club “look”. For example, here’s a personalized banner:

see more

(I’m not sure I want to get underneath that Big Ass Fan, though.)

ArtisticCoverings.com

Join the community, upload your videos, show off your skills, and win a $100 gift certificate from American Gymnast.

Take a video of yourself on any apparatus, and stick it on Gymnast.com. Tell all your friends to rate your skills. July 1st, one winner will be selected and determined by a combination of views, ratings, and expert judging. Winner will be notified by email and awarded a $100 gift certificate to the American-Gymnast.com Shopping Mall, offering a full range of gymnastics equipment, mats, grips, wrist supports and more!

details – Gymnast.com

Coaches and gymnastics purists would be happy to see this well-trained, very artistic gymnast make the U.S. team to Beijing.

Though a fluff piece, it’s an excellent profile. I had no idea Bridget was so mature and well-spoken. I see her kind of confidence as a psychological plus.

In the final team selection Marta and the committee will chose those young women who they most believe can handle the pressure of 3-up, 3-count, in the lion’s den, Beijing.

Click PLAY or watch Bridget on YouTube.

(via Live.Breath.Love.Gymnastics)

Gymnast.com is projecting that “if Shayla makes it back for Trials next week, she may literally be going head to head with Bridget Sloan for the last spot on the Olympic team.” That two of these three will compete in Beijing: Peszek, Sloan and Worley.

Bridget’s routines on Bars and Beam from VISA Championships:

Click PLAY or watch them on YouTube.

INTERVIEW: Bridget Sloan – Inside Gymnastics