Rec gymnastics lesson plans

I’m the website editor for Ruschkin Publishing who provide the best lesson plans in the world for schools. (Many gym clubs use them, as well.)

What are the Up Down All Around lesson plans?

60 lesson plans divided into three Series (A, B, C) of 20 lessons:

* Series A for children in Grades 1 and 2
* Series B for children in Grades 3 and 4
* Series C for children in Grades 5 and 6

I’ve included a document on that site which can be republished anywhere — your club website or newsletter, for example. It’s linked on the bottom of this page:

Up Down All Around lesson plans

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European Individual Championships 2007

Saturday, April 28 = All-Around Finals
Sunday, April 29 = Apparatus Finals

250 gymnasts from 37 countries will participate at the 2nd European Individual Championships 2007, which will held from April 26 to 29 in Amsterdam.

93 women (32 countries) and 157 men (38 federations; – out of 47 UEG members) have sent their definitive registration for this event….

GymFamily.Com

official website

World Champion Ferrari will be there.

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AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF
larger version – flickr

Christina Ghani – USA Gymnastics Collegiate Champion

There is a flood of information available on the upcoming NCAA Women’s Championships. It is superbly marketed.

In contrast, it is difficult to find details on the College Championship sponsored by USA Gymnastics.

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Towson University’s Christina Ghani added two more titles to her all-around and team crowns by winning vault and tying for first on floor exercise during Saturday’s individual event finals at the 2007 USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate Championships at Seattle Pacific University’s Royal Brougham Pavilion in Seattle. Ghani finished with a total of five medals, four gold and one silver. …

The annual athlete and coach of the year awards were presented at the meet. The winners were: Ghani, Senior Athlete of the Year; Cornell’s Paul Beckwith, Head Coach of the Year; Cornell’s Melanie Dillaplane, Assistant Coach of the Year; and TWU’s Catherine Schnoes, Mari-Rae Sopper Award.

Results – USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate Championships

More on the Seattle Pacific University website.

Christchurch School of Gymnastics, New Zealand

Has the leader of your country ever visited your club?

The Prime Minister of New Zealand opened an extension at my former gym.

Christchurch School of Gymnastics, the largest club in New Zealand (1600 members) built an 880sqm extension. CSG was Top Club (gymnastics and trampoline) in the country in 2006.

Avril.jpgI give much of the credit to Executive Officer Avril Enslow. She built up this club from a church basement to one of the premier facilities in the Southern Hemisphere.

Avril is ultra-efficient, totally dedicated. And as one of the top FIG judges in the world, very well connected. Congratulations to the entire Flipping Brilliant team!

I started a club website back in 2002. But I see it has been upgraded significantly. Nice job. It’s one of the best club sites I’ve seen.

Christchurch School of Gymnastics – website

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Incidentally, foreign coaches regularly travel to New Zealand to work for the club. In fact, Sheena Steacy from Altadore will be there for 3 months starting in May.

interview with President of the NCAA

James Madison University is cutting 10 teams including Mens and Womens Gymnastics.

I’m trying to understand why.

Is the NCAA administration to blame? What are they doing to support Gymnastics and other acrobatic sports?

Mbrand.jpgEach Monday, the Double A Zone website interviews NCAA President Myles Brand.

Here’s what the interviewer had to say:

I’m pretty vocal about my displeasure when athletics programs cut teams. I was a student-athlete in a Division III program that didn’t generate any money and I am eternally grateful that I was able to have that experience. If my program had been cut, I don’t know what I would have done.

Recently, the athletics programs at Rutgers, Ohio and Butler have cut a number of sports teams and it has infuriated a number of people …

There are hundreds of affected student-athletes who have had their college experience forever altered and I think it’s an absolute shame. What bothers me most is when athletics departments make these financial decisions to cut programs, but still pour more money into football. It’s not right.

On today’s edition of Mondays With Myles, I speak with NCAA President Myles Brand about this disturbing trend and the role the NCAA plays in helping institutions find a way to keep their program intact. While we don’t address the specifics of any one institution, Dr. Brand expresses his frustrations with the trend and speaks about the displaced student-athletes.

Double-A Zone

Listen to the interview with Myles Brand

train like the men of SPARTA

At a recent gymnastics meet, with a few hour free for a move before our plane, half the men’s judges went to 300 and half went to Blades of Glory .

Which would you have chosen?

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I went for 300. Gory, but brilliant, I thought.

Now I want to know, how do you get abs like Gerald Butler?

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You train with extreme alpinist Mark Twight. The founder of Gym Jones.

Mark Twight used a combination of weight training, gymnastics and cardio in order to get the cast and crew into incredible shape. The workouts he constructed involved using functional movements, assembled into brutal combinations and executed at high intensity. …

The Elite Rings were used to add extra challenge to pushups, pullups and provide a variety of ab work. According to Twight, “the rings demand a really high level of core tension”. Gymnasts are famous for their upper body and core strength. Training on the rings is one major secret behind their incredible definition and strength.

RingTraining.com

Click PLAY or watch the intense conditioning on YouTube.

handstand – Moab, Utah

Jack Olsen does extreme unicycle touring.

He took a break on a trip near Moab to do a handstand above Castle Valley.

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larger version of photo on Jack’s blog: Read What I’ve Got to Say

attending the 2008 Olympics?

Beijing-logo.jpgI was happy for China getting the Olympics. It will transform the country.

Do you want to attend?

Some will boycott, critical of China’s human rights record and lack of sufficient environmental policies.

The first round of ticket sales for next year’s Beijing Olympics will kick off this coming Sunday. …

Chinese citizens can book tickets via the official ticketing website at www.tickets.beijing2008.cn

People outside China will be able to purchase tickets through designated ticketing offices in their countries. …

Any tickets left-over after the first round of sales and all remaining tickets for competitive events will go on sale during the second round, from October to December this year. The tickets will be sold on a “first come, first served” basis.

The third round will last from April 2008 until the end of the Games. Tickets sold during this time will have definite seat numbers and event times.)

english.cri.cn

The Olympic Committees in each nation have an allotment of tickets to sell as they wish. (Check with your own national Olympic committee.)

About 75% of the tickets will be sold in China, 25% to the rest of the world.

Beijing Olympics tickets on sale – BBC

(via Gadling)

summer camp – Idaho – new website

We just put live a website / blog for Dave Adlard’s great summer event in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

This is his 10th Annual High Performance Training Camp.

Check out HPTCamp.com

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NCAA diving scholarships

be-recruited.jpgbeRecruited.com is a good place for coaches looking for diving scholarships.

Unfortunately none of the other acrobatic sports are included yet.

The Largest College Recruiting Service on the Web

Register with beRecruited.com for FREE and join the Internet’s largest college recruiting service and athletic scholarship network.

Simply put: it works! We have been the choice for 10,000s of users from all 50 states and 30 different countries. You are able to connect with over 25,000 NCAA coaches from divisions I, II, and III of which 6,000 are registered active users of our service.

* Gain instant exposure to our network of registered NCAA & college coaches.

* Search among all the colleges in the US by location, size, major, etc.

* Connect instantly with NCAA coaches using our exclusive recruiting tools.

* Get recruited, play at the NCAA level & earn your athletic scholarship.

beRecruited.com: Free College Recruiting Service and NCAA Athletic Scholarships Network

They also offer news feeds:

Men’s Gymnastics NCAA News

Women’s Gymnastics NCAA News