Inside Gymnastics Magazine is improving

Another cool interactive feature on their website:

The January/February 2008 issue features a “Kicking Off the Olympic Year” theme. To celebrate the countdown to Beijing 2008, we’re including a poster of national and world champion Nastia Liukin that will be poly-bagged with the January/February issue for subscribers only. And your vote will determine which picture of the gymnastics superstar will become the poster.

I voted for this one:

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See which one you like best:

Inside Gymnastics Magazine – VOTE for NASTIA’S POSTER

NEW – air inflated safety mat for climbers

Air inflated mats are the future. Foam is simply getting too expensive.

The mountain climbing community is catching on:

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The producer is HGB in Göteborg, Sweden, who is also the owner of the patent. … They started producing indoor bouldering mattresses three years ago.

Main advantages of the 8A AIR PAD: 210 * 125 * 20 cm …

  • Safety – Reduced risk for injuries when landing
  • Transportation – Reduced package volume (in your car, public transportation or airplane)
  • Storage – Under your bed instead of in the hallway
  • Cleaning – Put it in a bag in your apartment or car
  • Sleeping – You can use it in your tent or as a extra bed at home
  • Play – use it for fun in the ocean, sliding on snow,or high jumping in your backyard
  • Adjustable – Air pressure can be adjusted based on weight and height
  • Jump – You can bounce to reach high starting holds !
  • No bounce – High pressure valves release air on high impact

    • 10_633306799141250000_paddanpaaxeln.JPG

    … it takes 30 – 40 seconds to inflate.

    Team Geared Up Blog » Who needs ropes? – talking about outdoor adventure, gear & expeditions.

    For gymnastics and tumbling, check out the inflatable mats distributed by TumblTrak.

    tumbling – progressions for the Flyspring

    From Meg Warren’s excellent article. Love the illustrations.

    … The handspring on the floor is a prerequisite. The gymnast also needs to be able to spring from the hands.

    spring-from-hands.gif

    Beginners normally drop down from a low elevation on this next drill. And have a target for the hands. (e.g. folding mat placed sideways)

    flyspring.gif

    Read the entire article – USA Gymnastics Online: Technique: Flyspring

    Steven Legendre – Jr Pan Am Champ

    Oklahoma’s Steven Legendre (from WOGA) took the gold medal in the all-around competition Friday at the Junior Pan-American Gymnastics Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Team USA swept the top four spots in the all-around to capture the team gold as well. …

    1411211.jpegTeam Results:
    1. USA – 262.933
    2. Brazil – 252.566
    3. Argentina – 240.832
    4. Colombia – 236.734
    5. Mexico – 231.634
    6. Peru – 217.703

    All-Around Results:
    1. USA – Steven Legendre – 87.032
    2. USA – Glen Ishino – 86.967
    3. USA – Alexy Bilozertchev – 86.534

    read more – Sooner’s Sport

    Legendre got on my radar when he impressed at USA Championships 2007, especially on Floor and Vault.

    Inside Gymnastics – 2007 photos

    Inside Gymnastics magazine posted 83 retrospective highlight photos from the past year. Here are a few examples:

    Shayla1.jpg
    Who else? Shayla.

    Natasha.jpg
    Tyson American Cup, Natasha Kelley (USA)

    Randy.jpg
    2007 Gymnix, Randy Stageberg (USA)

    78.jpg
    Pan American Games, Justin Spring

    See them all – Gallery: A Look Back at 2007 – Inside Gymnastics

    rope swing over the Nam Song River

    OK, this is not exactly gymnastics.

    But you can flip and twist after releasing near the top of your swing.

    rope-swing.jpg

    … At the top was a trapeze-like rope-swing with a platform perched 30 feet above the water. “Wicked!” I called out to Jarv before excitedly setting ashore.

    When I reached the swing, a sign said, “Price of admission one Beer Lao.” …

    Rick Gunn Photography

    Iowa signs Jessa Hansen

    I’ve read dozens of NCAA athlete signings over the past week.

    There’s something special about this one:

    … For nine years, the 17-year-old senior from Clive has trained day in and day out in the gymnasium she shares with world champion Shawn Johnson. But as Johnson moves forward to the Olympics, Hansen will take another route: one that is taking her to Iowa City and the University of Iowa.

    This month, Hansen signed to compete with the women’s gymnastics team on a full scholarship. She is women’s coach Larissa Libby’s first in-state recruit and Chow’s first student to move on to the college level.

    “We feel like she has the opportunity to resurrect Iowans’ love for gymnastics,” Libby said. “She’s that total package. Academically she’s stellar. … But she also brings a poise and artistry in gymnastics. We couldn’t be more excited about bringing Jessa here.”

    …

    It wasn’t until high school that Hansen realized gymnastics could be her door into college. As she approached her senior year as an honor student at Waukee High School, scouts began to make offers. …

    While Johnson is a role model for many of the girls at the gym who dream of going to the Olympics, Hansen is a role model for those who want to go to college, Coach Liang Chow said.

    DesMoinesRegister.com

    DMR.jpg

    Li Xiaoshuang Gymnastics School, China

    Rick McCharles

    Valentin, editor of The Gym Press, notified us of a documentary on the Li Xiaoshuang gymnastics school. It’s pretty intense.

    The first 10min video features a father bringing his 5-year-old son to “try out”. If accepted, the father will take the train 9hrs home. And leave the boy in the care of the school.

    To see what happens, click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

  • documentary part 2
  • documentary part 3
  • documentary part 4
  • documentary part 5

    • Valentin asks what people think of this documentary. Leave a comment below.

    I am trying to be sympathetic of a nation in transition from third world to superpower. Yet these truths are self-evident:

  • boarding school at age 4-5 is far too young
  • parents / family need to be in daily contact with chilidren
  • the toughest coach (Zheng) is borderline sadistic. He should be fired instantly.
  • corporal punishment does not work, long-term.

    • Summing up, the focus of the Chinese system (parents, children, coaches) on “winning” is illogical. Only one can “win” the Olympics. If that’s the goal for all, everyone loses — except that one.

    Living this lie cannot persist. As China gains confidence as a nation, as affluence and education increase, parents will not tolerate boarding schools like this. Their children will have better options.

    Free enterprise will bring change for the better.

    Most surprising of all to me is how poor is the coaching of the young boys. The technical training is very old fashioned. Inefficient. Most of the top coaches in the “West” are better, in my opinion, than the coaches at the Li Xiaoshuang Gymnastics School.

    We should be educating them, not the other way round.

    Email thegympress @ gmail.com to subscribe to Valentin’s technical newsletter.

    UPDATE: A more damning exposé, and more unfairly edited, was the CNN documentary on Parkettes in Pennsylvania.

    Shi Cha Hai Gymnastics Sports School – Beijing

    Jennifer Isbister of Gymn.ca recommended a National Geographic Channel documentary called Taboo II: Child Rearing .

    wolymp041.jpgThe segment examines child rearing around the world. One section looks at 6-year-old gymnasts living away from their families at Shi Cha Hai Gymnastics Sports School.

    From what was shown on TV, the cruelest thing I saw was making these poor boys train in underwear. (Can someone please send that School a few hundred pairs of cheap shorts?)

    The translation of coaching comments were very harsh, too, though it is difficult to translate exactly how harsh from another language.

    photo – Li Xiaoshuang Gymnastics School in Xiantao

    The big issue — how much can we criticize other cultures who do not meet our own standards? It’s a dilemma when we see people from other countries behave in ways that would be unethical or illegal in our own.

    IOC President Jacques Rogge no doubt has dealt with this question many times. To a journalist from England:

    … The routine beatings allegedly given to child gymnasts in China are no different to the corporal punishment that was once part of daily life in English public schools, according to the head of the Olympic movement. …

    In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, commented on concerns aired recently on the BBC by Sir Matthew Pinsent. Sir Matthew said he had witnessed young children in China being physically abused by their gymnastics supervisors.

    … they had to be put into a cultural context, insisting the issue should not be “exaggerated” or “blown up”. …

    China’s abuse of its athletes is no different to Britain’s public schools, says Olympics chief

    Things are changing rapidly in China. But if you think they are changing too slowly, Rogge too forgiving, leave a comment.