A very dear friend of mine is just getting interested in gymnastics by reading this (and maybe other?) blog(s). That’s why I would like to answer some basic questions about gymnastics he mailed me yesterday. I do it here because some other readers who also aren’t involved in the sport of gymnastics might be interested too.
VT, UB, FX, BB – These are shortcuts for the four women’s apparatus (it’s easier & faster not to write the long term): Vault (Sprung/Sprungtisch), Uneven Bars (Barren/Stufenbarren), Floor Exercise (Boden), Balance Beam (Balken/Schwebebalken); the correct order of these apparatus is: VT, UB, BB, FX (In a competition, normally the first eight gymnasts who had the best qualification results are allowed to start at the vault. The next eight gymnast on the UB etc.)
What’s a triple twisting double back and a double front dismount? – I think I mentioned the triple twisting double back in the post about the unbelievable Kohei Uchimura. Twisting (schrauben/drehen) is a turn around the roll axis (Laengsachse). So Uchimura twists three times. But at the same time he turns twice around his cross axis (Querachse) as well. He does the turn backwards. That’s why it’s (shortcut again) a triple twisting + double somersault backwards = triple twisting double back. Some gymnasts aren’t even capable doing a double twisting double back (YouTube). And if the gymnast doesn’t tuck his body you will add “layout” (gestreckt), which is a lot more difficult. Oh yes, that would be interesting to see a layout triple twisting double back! A double front dismount (here on UB) is performed on BB, UB or FX (on floor the last tumbling is named the “dismount”). The gymnast turns twice around his cross axis forwards (double salto forward).
What’s a doubletwisting-Yurchenko, a somersault and a round-off layout? - These terms sound as if I used them in a report about a VT-EF report (Event Final (Geraetfinale) - the best eight qualifiers of each apparatus do the “event final”; AA = All Around (Mehrkampf) - the best (mostly 24) qualifiers do all four apparatus). Well, a doubletwisting-Yurchenko. A Yurchenko (named after Natalia Yurchenko) is a vault in which the gymnast does a round-off on the springboard followed by a back handspring on the vaulting table followed by a salto and a hopefully good landing. The “doubletwisting” refers to this salto. The gymnast does a layout salto backwards while he twists twice around his roll axis. Here’s a good example done by Samantha Peszek at the US Classic. A somersault is a simple salto (backwards or forwards) and a round-off layout is a round-off (Radwende/Rondat) and as soon as the feet hit the floor or the springboard or the beam, the gymnast does a somersault backwards in a streched position.
Click through the categorie “clips for now and then” to see what else is possible in the big world of gymnastics. That’s it for the moment, but I’m sure there will be more questions – I’ll keep this post up-to-date!
Did I use/explain an English term in a wrong way? More questions? – Please leave a comment!
After Ulla Koch, the women’s headcoach announced the goals for 2010, Andreas Hirsch (head coach German National team) did it on the men’s side.
And here’s a translated summary of the big goals they want to achieve (and not only Hambuechen ) – I added some extra thoughts of mine, so not everything you read comes from Hirsch:
The European (senior & junior), World Championships and the Olympic Youth Games (click here for an event overview) are the most important competitions and highlights of the gymnastics year on which the whole team will focus (the year of only individual competitions is over now!). Main principle for 2010 concerning the CoP: Do not perform a higher difficulty if you aren’t capable!
Some bad news: Though the Champions Trophy 2009 was a huge success (even the German television reported live! and that’s really unbelievable in a country which mostly cares about football (soccer)), it probably won’t be continued in 2010 because of the filled calender (but maybe there’s another reason? the tv didn’t want to sign a new contract? or the sponsoring companies lost interest?)
Another main goal: Concentrate on the all-around; Hirsch doesn’t look out for event specialists, but good all-arounders.
The German team is still very young. Some athletes have to finish school, others are supported by the Bundeswehr (army) or have to study. And as education is more important than gymnastics, not every athlete will be able to attend every competitions. Some new faces will join the “old” ones.
Important dates for 2010
06.03.2010 | Tyson American Cup in Worcester (USA)
06.03.2010 | National Team Cup in Buttenwiesen (GER)
12. – 14.03.2010 | Tournament of Masters in Cottbus (GER)
21.04. – 02.05.2010 | European Championships in Birmingham (GBR)
17. – 24.10.2010 | 42. World Championships in Rotterdam (NED)
12. – 14.11.2010 | EnBW-World Cup/DTB-Pokal in Stuttgart
+ several World Cups
Unfortunately Hirsch didn’t give us a list of the complete team but I will update as soon as it comes.
This post is dedicated to the sometimes unbelievable combination of flexibility and strength in the body of a gymnast. Is there another sport besides (acrobatic, aerobic & artistic) gymnastics which demands both abilities? I don´t think so. Well, maybe figure skating? Thinking of the Biellmann spin…
The Italians love to perform “real” beam mounts and that´s why I love them.
paola galante
Here it is: The famous sheep jump. And you can see exactly why it´s worth 0.4 (D).
ethiene franco
Okay, this one is more about the flexibility and toe-point, but I couldn´t resist to put it in.
mercedes alcaide
A basic skill in gymnastics: The split leap demands height & 180°+x.
ksenia afanasyeva
Not the best facial expression but considering her position…
FIG informs us about this gymnastics event held in Canada:
“Gymnasts of all ages will getting an upside-down look at the world on Saturday, January 23rd, when they share the experience of performing a handstand at precisely 2 PM, wherever they live in Canada, as part of National Gymnastics Week which runs from January 18-24.
From recreational gymnastics programmes all the way up to national teams in Artistic Gymnastics, Rhythmic Gymnastics and Trampoline, Gymnastics Canada has over 200,000 individual members, including 20,000 competitive gymnasts and 7,500 certified coaches. An astounding 30 million people are members of their country’s gymnastics federation, making the sport one of the most popular in the world.
“There is room for everyone in this sport, from the recreational gymnast who participates just for fun, to the high performance international competitor who is drawn by the allure of a Gold medal,” says Gymnastics Canada CEO, Jean-Paul Caron of Ottawa.“
Will you join them?
By the way, I´m moving to Canada, Vancouver, in four days and not only for the Olympics… I´ll stay there for a longer time. But as I´m still able to read German and write English everything will be the same here on Gymnicetic (maybe some extra posts about the Winter Olympic Games?). I´ll still report about gymnastics in Germany as well as the international gymnastics scene. But unfortunately I won´t be able to attend the German Championships in artistic gymnastics (just when I leave the city they will be in Berlin) & the Berlin Master (rhythmic gymnastic) this year.
I´m happy about any gymnastics-in-Vancouver or only-Vancouver related tip or advise you have for me. It will be my first time in Canada.
Or these self-made Russian high-bar champions on the playground (YouTube):
“We’ve all seen videos that flow from parkour to free-running to tricking, but what about the Gymnasts? Where do they fit in if they want to break all the rules? Clearly Damien Walters has shown that free-running is suitable for Gymnasts, but check this video…”
German head coach, Ulla Koch, announced the goals for 2010. The members of the national team are: Oksana Chusovitina, Kim Bui, Anja Brinker, Marie-Sophie Hindermann, Joeline Möbius, Elisabeth Seitz and Maike Roll. New seniors Pia Tolle, Giulia Hindermann, Lisa-Katharina Hill and Ruby van Dijk will join the squad.
They will work on higher D-scores but especially on the execution of the routines. New choreographies for the floor exercises as well as an improvement of the girl´s condition are two of the tasks for the beginning of the year.
In order to prepare for the European Championships in Birmingham (GBR) in April and the Worlds in Rotterdam (NED) in October, the team will join the British gymnasts in Lilleshall (GBR) in the early April as well as the US-girls in a training center in Houston in October. One German junior will compete at the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapur in August (only one junior gymnast per nation!).
Important Dates for 2010 06.03. – 1. JEC- und EC-qualification in Kienbaum
12.-14.03. – Turnier der Meister (Worldcup) in Cottbus
27.03. – 2. JEC- und EC-qualification in Cologne
10./11.04. – competition GBR – GER in Lilleshall
28.04. – 02.05. – EC in Birmingham
26.06. – junior competition (age 12/13) in France
27.06. – 07.07. – training camp in USA
15. – 26.08. – Youth Olympic Games in Singapur
28.08. – 1. WC-qualification
11./12.09. – German Championships in Berlin (2. WC-quali)
25.09. – international competition in Schaffhausen
17. – 24.10. – WC in Rotterdam
12. – 14.11. - EnBW-Worldcup/ DTB-Pokal in Stuttgart
) – I added some extra thoughts of mine, so not everything you read comes from Hirsch:
I won´t be able to attend the German Championships in artistic gymnastics (just when I leave the city they will be in Berlin) & the Berlin Master (rhythmic gymnastic) this year.
