Gymnastics Coaching.com

1. China 277.775

2. Russia 275.400

3. Japan 274.800

4. Romania 272.225

5. Belarus 272.050

6. Canada 270.350

7. Germany 270.025

8. Switzerland 268.025

UPDATE:

1. USA – 243,325; 2. CHN – 239,525; 3. UKR – 235,025;
4. RUS – 234,900; 5. ROM – 232,600; 6. AUS – 231,325;
7. BRA – 230,475; 8. ESP – 229,775

The 8 teams qualified for the TEAM Final 2006, Wednesday 18., from 7 p.m. local time.

The best site I’ve found for Worlds results updates is GYMmedia.

The women’s qualification at the World Championshps in Aarhus

GYMmedia- reporting – directly from Aarhus- supported by Janssen-Fritsen (NED)Dieter HOFMANN (SUI), Hans TEKLENBURG (NED)und Eckhard HERHOLZ (GER)Photos: Volker MINKUS (GER)

This is one well-crafted homage to the beauty of Rhythmic gymnastics. Beginners right up to the Olympics. If anyone knows who edited this elegant video please let me know with a comment at the bottom of the post.

Click PLAY or watch the video on YouTube.

Now — I feel Rhythmic girls are far too restricted by competitive rules. I remember how impressed I was when Toller Cranston did a back somersault in flagrant violation of the competitive rules of figure skating. That was cool!

When is Rhythmic going to open up the sport to skills like aerial walkover and aerial cartwheel?

I would love to travel to GAGE (Great American Gymnastics Express) in Blue Springs, Missouri to see just how Armine & controversial coach Al Fong develop such fantastic gymnasts.

Al published an article in the Tumbl Trak monthly magazine which gives a glimpse into his methodology:

By using the Tumbl Trak … (to) start the workout for 10 to 15 girls I can condense the amount of time needed to “get the athletes going”. It can involve total body movements from the obvious lower body groups to the not so obvious upper body groups by using arm swings to accompany the bounces down the tramp. After every pass down the trak I have the kids dynamically stretch their legs, wrists, and shoulders while waiting for their turn. Within a relatively short period of time (10 minutes) I can progress to actual tumbling passes from the basic back handsprings and fly springs to the big skills like double fronts and backward double layouts. It’s a perfect opportunity to reinforce tumbling basics and body positions. At the end of a 30 to 45 minute session I am able to provide warm ups, stretching, and tumbling in the same amount of time that usually takes 1 ½ hours.

Since I have a big 8 ft x 15 ft crash pad at the end of the Tumbl Trak, I often times instruct the athletes to roll forward, sideways, and even backward after landing… without the use of their hands to incorporate “falling drills”. I believe it is extremely important to teach kids how to fall properly. I provide ample opportunities during workout for them to practice so it becomes instinctive. This minimizes the chance that someone will over rotate and hurt her arm because she stuck her arm out to catch herself instead of rolling out.

Here’s a thought. Next time you have a group tumbling on the Tumbl Trak, have the kids line up next to the landing area at the end of the Tumbl Trak instead of the beginning. (This is where I stand to watch them tumble.) Have only 2 or 3 kids at the beginning of the Tumbl Trak. This allows the rest of the group to watch and see what I see and can hear the instructions I give. They understand better by watching each other. It also prevents them from talking in line while waiting for their turn. …

Al Fong – “Using the Tumbl Trak to Speed Warm Ups”

A highly touted new website says salaries average about US$46,000 with a range from $25-50k.

That’s for a hypothetical coach with 10-years experience and a University degree in Physical Education working in Las Vegas.

To get a specific answer for you in your region, fill in the questionnaire on PayScale.com — it’s free.

Leave a comment below if that result seems ridiculous to you.

confusion over the new judging system being used for the first time at a global competition dominated the action.

Confusion over judging system

Russia is back. Switzerland looking good. And congratulations to the Canucks on finishing 5th in prelims. (Their best finish in the past was ninth in 2003.)

Anything can happen in the Team final under the current rules. China has by no means got a lock on the championship.

Canadians – Gymnastics Canada

I asked an artist in the new Cirque du Soleil show LOVE how he learned the air flare. It’s by far the best “floor exercise” I know.

A break dancer, he told me that he worked as hard as possible every day for 6 months before swinging out of his first air flare. After that point, learning the flares in series got easier.

Regular flares and windmills are prerequisite.

Many top gymnasts have tried and failed to add it to their Floor routine.

Click PLAY to see Bboy Ducky from Drifters/Expressions fly the flare as well as I’ve ever seen it done — or watch the clip on YouTube.

It is easy to comment on any post via the link at the bottom of each.

But if you have a story, a website, an idea, a point of view — click “suggest a story” in the top right navigation. It will bring you to a simple fill-in-the-blank suggestion box.

That’s the way Dieter Hofmann calls it after reporting on podium training.

Hofmann I’ve often called the second most successful coach in history. (After Arkaev.) He was long-time Head Coach of both Men’s and Women’s National Teams in East Germany.

At the end of the podium training it certainly can be said that the following teams will qualify for the World Championships 2007: Italy, North Korea, France, Spain, Brazil, Japan, Canada, USA, Australia, Romania, Germany, South Korea, Russia, Great Britain, Ukraine, China and the Netherlands.

– Further 10 teams will have to make it into the top 24 with improved performances in the competition.

– It is hard to name one favorite for the women’s team competition. Probably about five teams would have the chance to win the event.

– Considering their technical abilities and the content of their routines the team from China probably is the favorite for the gold medal. However, they still have to prove that with stability during the competition. With the new judging regulations major errors are deducted with 0.5 and falls with 0.8. So for the teams mistakes don’t anymore mean loosing tenths, it might very well mean loosing whole points.

It definitely will be an exciting event and everyone is looking forward to the start of the competition!

Reporting for GYMmedia from Aarhus: Dieter Hofmann