Gymnastics Coaching.com

The Wall Street Journal published an amusing article describing the unusual problems faced by Cirque talent scouts:

… As Cirque du Soleil rolls through its 23rd year and prepares to expand to 22 shows by the end of 2010, from 14 today, it has become one of Canada’s marquee cultural exports and a $620 million-a-year business. Cirque du Soleil shows will appear in 24 countries this year, drawing nearly 10 million people.

Scouts like Ms. Giasson will travel the world, scour the Internet and vet thousands of unsolicited applications to fill 500 new roles. In their quest, they have created a database of 20,000 potential performers.

Among them: 24 giants (including a Ukrainian who is 8 foot 2), 23 whistlers, 466 contortionists, 14 pickpockets, 35 skateboarders, 1,278 clowns, eight dislocation artists and 73 people classified simply as small.

But a problem arises when talent is truly unique and either difficult or impossible to replace. If, for example, one enters the words “giant” and “opera” into the database, only one name pops up: Victorino Antonio Lujan, a 39-year-old Argentinian who stands just shy of seven feet and weighs about 400 pounds. …

25-year-old Alan J. Silva, the acrobat from Brazil, who stands 3-feet-10 inches tall. Mr. Silva first came to the attention of Cirque scouts in December 2000 at an audition in Saõ Paulo. “He walked as if he were a prime minister or the president of the United States,” Ms. Giasson said.

… read more – Talent Scouts For Cirque du Soleil Walk a Tightrope – WSJ.com

(Thanks Tom Mangan.)

Casting – Cirque du Soleil

After reading a detailed and insightful post (see below) raving for Alicia Sacramone (What’s not to love? She’s wonderful!) I’ve subscribed to the GymBlog: “News and analysis of men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics”.

But it’s Sacramone who is being widely touted as the force behind the U.S.’s recapturing the world team title, which it wrought back from a young Chinese team 184.4-183.45. The Chinese women won its first world team championship in 2006 over a seemingly stupified group of Americans, who won it from an equally stunned group of Romanians back in 2003.

At this world championships, Romania displayed its usual consistency to take a distant third with 178.1. The surprise exception to all that consistency came from all-around leader Steliana Nistor, who reportedly fell on balance beam (14.8) and had severe problems on floor exercise (13.95, the second-lowest Romanian score of the day).

Back to the real story here. As a gymnast, Sacramone falls somewhere between graceful Liukin and powerful Johnson. Her tumbling is on par with Johnson’s, but she moves far more fluidly than the short, muscular 15-year-old from Iowa and has enough sass to ignite a building with a single look.

Sacramone, like Svetlana Khorkina, doesn’t just do a floor routine — she performs. But for the first time at a world championships, she showed the steadiness of a team leader. She nailed balance beam on both days, fighting not to give small tenths away with wobbles (her front pike mount on day one could have been a much bigger problem than she let it be) and being first in line to cheer and congratulate her teammates.

This is pretty typical Alicia Sacramone, actually. The difference is that this is arguably the biggest competiton before next summer’s Olympic Games, and she remained rock solid while everyone else was a little, well, rocky. …

The evolution of Alicia Sacramone « WordPress Gymblog

Here’s the Floor routine that sealed the deal, securing the win for the USA in Team competition.

Click PLAY or watch Alicia rock her Floor routine in Team Finals on YouTube.

Another great post from Scott Bird:

At least in the ability-to-climb-walls department.

A team of Italian scientists is currently looking at ways to use carbon nanotubes (just think of really, really small drinking straws made of carbon) to create a suit which will allow the wearer to climb vertical walls. The nanotubes are bent into hooks, much like a microscopic version of velcro.

Very cool indeed. …

Straight to the Bar: Spiderman suit may not be that far away

Click PLAY or watch Spiderpig on YouTube.

World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 2007 – Women’s Final Results

World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 2007 – Men’s Final Results

The Christchurch School of Gymnastics, has a vacancy for a full time senior trampoline coach.

The club currently has trampoline gymnasts up to World Open and World Age level and has the largest and most successful trampoline programme in New Zealand. And an excellent facility.

Contact avril @ chchgymnastics.co.nz

Christchurch School of Gymnastics

Some were not convinced that Ksenia Semenova should have won Bars at Worlds 2007 over Nastia Liukin (2nd).

Watch both routines and decide for yourself.

Click PLAY or watch Ksenia Semenova’s Finals Bars routine on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch Liukin’s Finals Bars routine on YouTube.

I like Nastia’s routine far better. Her selection of skills and amplitude are superior.

But judges must also deduct errors. It’s a tough call for the officials.

UPDATE:

A breakdown of the women’s uneven bars results

Ksenia Semenova: 7.20 A score
B scores: 9.1, 9.1, 9.2, 9.2, 9.2, 9.0 (9.150 average)
Total score: 16.350

Nastia Liukin: 7.10 A score
B scores: 9.1, 9.1, 9.5, 9.3, 8.8, 9.2 (9.200 average)
Total score: 16.300

NBC

UK Coach Paul Hall trains Louis Smith, Daniel Keatings, Luke Folwell and Marissa King at Huntingdon Gymnastics Club, all who qualified for the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart. In fact, Paul blogged that event:

Blogging with the champion gymnasts – BBC

Paul is charismatic, media savvy … and obviously a great coach. Smith and Keatings BOTH qualified for Pommel Finals.

Key Skills in Advanced Gymnastics for Girls and Boys with Paul Hall is the title of a 2-disc DVD instructional video set available from expert videographer coach Charles Minster from Australia. He’s been producing superb video Down Under for decades. (We’ve raved about Charles’ videos before.)

Running time is over 3 hours !! (180min) for the two disks.

Charles gave me permission to excerpt the DVD to show you a sample. I chose two drills I had never seen before. (Paul includes many interesting, unusual drills on the video. I’m definitely going to try his method of introducing “tilt” twisting to beginners.)

Click PLAY or watch a sample of Paul Hall’s instructional video on YouTube.

Charles has a number of other Paul Hall video previews on his official website.

COST:
Australia – AUS $120 + tax
UK = UK £46
USA = GymSmarts $75
Contact Charles Minster by email if you have any questions:

sales @ CharlesMinsterProductions.com

Mitja Petkovsek ties to win Parallel Bars and qualifies for the Olympics. Congratulations!

For a handful of gymnasts (event specialists whose countries have not qualified spots through team competition), the individual event finals provide allowed an Leszek Blanik to qualify directly to the Olympic Games. But here’s the catch – you have to win.

Poland’s Leszek Blanik did exactly that on vault, the event on which he is the 2000 Olympic bronze medalist. The last vaulter of the day, Blanik performed two 7.0 start value vaults, landing each with just a small step, to win his first world title and book his ticket to Beijing.

Ri Se-Gwang and Ro Jong-Song, both from North Korea, were attempting the same feat on vault, but finished third and fourth.

Slovenia’s Mitja Petkovsek, the 2005 world champion on parallel bars, tied for first on that event to earn an Olympic spot, but his teammate Aljaz Pegan, the 2005 world champion on high bar, fell one spot short, matching his silver medal high bar showing from last year.

Pegan was leading that event until the final gymnast, home country hero Fabian Hambuechen, displaced him for gold. Though disappointing for Pegan, Hambuechen’s win provided a fitting end to these World Championships.

NBC Olympics | Stuttgart Notebook: Worlds Review

Slovenia’s gold medalist Mitja Petkovsek competes during the men’s parallel bars final of the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007. Petkovsek shares the gold medal with Korean Kim Dae Eun. The 40th Gymnastics World Championships take place in Stuttgart from Sept. 1 to Sept. 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

ESPN

Korea’s Kim Dae Eun is seen in action to win the gold medal in the men’s parallel bars final at the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, southern Germany, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007. Dae Eun shared the gold medal with Mitja Petkovsek from Slovenia. Anton Fokin from Uzbekistan won the bronze medal. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

ESPN

I was very happy to see Blanik, the 2000 Olympic Bronze medallist, win Vault. This means Leszek qualifies for the 2008 Olympics as Poland had not earlier qualified any athletes.

Blanik was not allowed to compete in 2004 even though he was one of the very best vaulters in the World. Only the #1 gymnast on each apparatus at this competition gets a ticket to Beijing.

Poland’s Leszek Blanik wins men’s vault gold

STUTTGART, Germany, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Leszek Blanik grabbed gold on the vault on Sunday to give Poland their first medal of these world gymnastics championships.
His explosive somersaults and solid landings allowed him to beat Romania’s Ilie Daniel Popescu by just 0.012 points with an average score of 16.512 for his two vaults.

North Korea’s Ri Se-gwang took the bronze.

Defending champion Marian Dragulescu of Romania was forced to miss the championships because of a back injury.

Guardian

Poland’s Leszek Blanik celebrates after his vault exercise on his way to win the gold medal during the men’s vault final of the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Daniel Maurer)

ESPN – Gymnastics Photo Wire

Fabian dominated this event. Throughout the competition. He is a sports superstar in Germany. And now the World.

(I don’t understand why there are not more superb High Bar specialists as there are on every other apparatus. )

Fabian Hambuechen’s set of medals is complete.

The German star capped off a stellar week at the world gymnastics championships with his biggest prize yet Sunday, a gold on the high bar. He adds that to a silver from the all-around and a bronze from the team competition.

“I just felt awesome today,” Hambuechen said. “I knew I had a good chance on the high bar, and I showed it. With the team, I never expected that we’d get third. All-around, I also expected three or lower places. Not second.”

Hambuechen and Alicia Sacramone of the United States were the only gymnasts to win a gold, silver and bronze at worlds.

“In Beijing, there will be another level than here,” he said. “The Chinese will be much stronger — they are very strong, but they’ll be much stronger than here. It will be very hard to get the same results like here there. We can just try to do our best and prepare and be in the best shape there.”

Regardless of what he does in Beijing, it will be tough to top the stir Hambuechen caused here.

He’s had rock star status in sports-mad Germany since winning the all-around bronze last year. Autograph seekers follow him wherever he goes, and even the volunteers at worlds lined up to get him to autograph their shirts. The tabloids breathlessly report on the latest developments with his girlfriend, and his mere appearance on the podium Sunday was enough to cause a thunderous ovation.

And Hambuechen loved it.

IHT

German Fabian Hambuechen celebrates after winning the gold medal in the horizontal bar final at the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, southern Germany, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

ESPN – Gymnastics Photo Wire