tumbling, tramp, diving, acrobatics, circus, cheer, dance, martial arts, X sports … and more
The Behind the Team channel on AT&T blue room posed a few professional photos of the American Cup Champion.
Nastia Lunkin at practice – flickr
Nastia on Bars – flickr
The new judging regulations have “improved” Bars for the best few gymnasts in the world more than any other apparatus, I would say. There is no way Nastia would be starting with a 7.6 routine if we still had the code from 2004.
Check the new video profile on Nastia, as well.
An actress playing a 16-year-old elite gymnast — who was abused by her gymnastics coach — is getting good reviews:
A young actress from Australia with no formal acting training is delivering the finest performance you’ll see anywhere on TV this season.
She’s 18-year-old Mia Wasikowska, who plays a 16-year-old emotionally damaged gymnast on “In Treatment,” HBO’s nightly series, now in its sixth week (out of nine), about the relationship between a therapist (Gabriel Byrne) and his patients.
Wasikowska’s character, Sophie, is the featured patient on Wednesday nights (at 9:30). Whenever the topic of “In Treatment” are raised with people who’s watching the series, they nearly always cite Sophie, an Olympic hopeful who broke both her arms in a suicide attempt, as the one who intrigues them most. …
read the review – SOPHIE’S FLIPPED OUT TALE – New York Post
There’s not much gymnastics shown. The “elite gymnast” is simply a back story for a very disturbed but charismatic young woman.
HBO posted the full premiere episode on YouTube.
What is your score for this somersault?
It’s the signature victory backflip Carl Edwards performs after a win, something he did twice lately with victories in California and Las Vegas. (He’s the defending Nationwide Series Champion in case you know as much about NASCAR as I do.)
9.35 out of 10 – Suzanne Yoculan, Georgia Coach
9.5 out of 10 – Kevin Mazeika, USA Olympic Coach
9.6 out of 10 – D-D Breaux, LSU Coach
Edwards gets high marks for his post-victory backflip – ESPN
The campaign for Aljaz Pegan to be selected as the last competitor for the Beijing Olympics is well known. Though there are several other strong candidates.
What about the single spot available for a woman?
Dwight Normile of International Gymnast has convinced me that Elsa Garcia should be the pick. Problem is, her teammate Marisela Cantu has already qualified.
… Garcia is a worthy exception to any rule that suggests Mexico shouldn’t have two gymnasts in Beijing. She deserves to compete in the Olympics because she’s a medal contender in more than one event. Her presence would make a positive difference in the competition. …
Says Garcia: “I am supposed to get an answer between March and May. I really hope they grant me a place in the Olympics.”
So do I. Elsa Garcia deserves the chance to make the 2008 Olympics, because she’ll make them even better.
IG – Stretching Out
(AP Photo/Gregory Bull) – ESPN
One of my gymnasts from long ago, Mark A. Cordingley, decided (for some reason) he’d learn to drop from handstand on pommel horse to “stick” a handstand on the pommel mats.
I was impressed.
The fall from this similar trick is a little longer:
… An acrobat, balancing upside down, piles two parallel rows of wooden blocks on a bench while establishing various poses along the way. The performance in which the acrobat pushes away the piled blocks and drops himself onto the bench is particulary impressive …
Adult gymnasts in the Atlanta area.
original – flickr – brookenovak
How long can Chusovitina continue to compete at the highest level?
Indefinitely, it would seem.
She won in Doha:
It was a great competition for the veterans, with 32-year-old Oksana Chusovitina smoking the field for the vault win. Chusovitina topped second place Anna Pavlova, 13 years her junior, by more than two and a half tenths.
“It’s a great start to the season. I couldn’t have asked for anything more from here,†Chusovitina told the Gulf Times. “My aim is to win a medal for Germany at the Olympics. There has always been a keen rivalry between me and the Chinese girls and they will really test me. I have kept myself in better shape so far and will keep up the good show.†…
The most interesting competition this weekend. Georgia without Courtney Kupets will try to fend off unexpectedly strong UM.
The Michigan women’s gymnastics team has never won a national championship in its 32 years as a varsity program.
Georgia has won eight titles in the last 21 years. …
But tonight, it’ll be a surprise if the Wolverines lose by more than a slim margin.
The fourth-ranked Wolverines (5-0 Big Ten, 14-0 overall) come into the showdown with something that’s been missing in recent years – confidence.
Michigan coach Bev Plocki said this is the first time in six years that Michigan feels confident it can compete with the nation’s top-ranked team. …
Even after recently posting a season-high 197.125 score against N.C. State on Feb. 22, Curtis said the team still hasn’t strung together its best performances on every event in the same meet. The Wolverines need to put everything together, because Georgia averages 197.075 a meet. …
Wolverines up to the task against No. 1 Bulldogs – Michigan Daily
UPDATE: OK, perhaps I’d rather be at Stanford v Nebraska v Alabama. What a show!
Georgia might “rest” some of their top competitors in Michigan. I get the feeling UM will win.
=== UPDATE – Predictable, you might say:
Michigan Wolverines a season high 197.600 – 196.950 upset win over #1 ranked University of Georgia.
Boys have no choice.
We put them into expensive horizontal bar and ring grips at quite a young age. Certainly before they start doing giants on horizontal bar.
But we’ve seen women win World and Olympic championships without grips.
Every coach must make the decision if and when to put grips on their competitive artistic gymnasts.
original – flickr – Sarah_Hawkins
original – flickr – Sarah_Hawkins
If coaches are patient and persistent, most girls can learn to use them. I typically ask the kids only to put them on near the end of the workout when first getting used to them.
For comparison, here are some advanced gymnasts swinging without grips. Including Tkachev. (She misses in the video but caught in the last competition.)
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
related: Picking the Best Grips for You – About.com Gymnastics
There are many well-respected brands of grips. Some of the most popular are:
Ten. 0 Grips: Well-known for their durability, Ten. 0 grips are sometimes a little harder to “break in.” They last and last though, and many gymnasts are very loyal to this brand.
Bailie Grips: Similar in many ways to Ten. 0 grips, these are often characterized as long-lasting and heavier.
Reisport Grips: These grips are in the middle — they are usually softer and easier to “break in,” but don’t last as long.
U.S. Glove Grips: These grips are generally the lightest and easiest to “break in.”
i’ve raved about Beth Gardner in the past. She’s one of the preschool experts with the Gymnastics Educational Workshops team.
Beth Gardner, owner of Heart of Texas Gymnastics located in Temple, Texas has an extensive background specializing in preschool gymnastics. In addition to experience as a Preschool Director, coach and gym owner, she is a co-author and director for the Instructor Training Program (ITP) for the Gymnastics Association of Texas (GAT) and serves as a GAT board member. ..
Beth was extremely honored to received the 2003 and 2007 Distinguished Service Awards from Gymnastics Association of Texas and one of the 2005 Remarkable Woman Awards from ABC Television “The View†for her dedication and contributions to the development of the sport of gymnastics.
read the rest of Beth’s impressive bio – GymSmarts
Due to popular demand, GymSmarts has produced a BIG collection of her presentations:
Check the sample warm-up video linked from the GymSmarts home page.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 