Advanced: 2010 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup

This year the World Cup, the third most prestigious international meet for rhythmic gymnastics (besides the Olympics and the World Championships) is held in Montreal, Canada.

I checked the results on gymnasticsresults.com, a great site for quickly finding out how your favorite meets turned out. I was relieved because I initially thought Evgeniya Kanaeva [RUS] would sweep the Cup like she did at 2009 Worlds (and cheated Anna Bessonova [UKR] in the process).

The competition ends today, so the Ribbon event has not yet been posted, but the top three results for the other events are as follows:

Rope


Gold -- Melitina Staniouta
Silver -- Daria Dmitrieva
Bronze -- Evgeniya Kanaeva

Hoop


Gold -- Daria Kondakova
Silver -- Evgeniya Kanaeva
Bronze -- Melitina Staniouta

Ball


Gold -- Evgeniya Kanaeva
Silver -- Daria Dmitrieva
Bronze -- Melitina Staniouta

(Clubs was left out, as is traditional to leave one apparatus out)

You'll probably notice several names popping up again and again. Unfortunately, rhythmic gymnastics has yet to see the kind of diversity in who mounts the podium as artistic has, and Russia is still heavily favored. And especially Kanaeva.

Now, I have watched her perform, and I realize that as a die-hard Bessonova fan, I am very biased. But I watched her supposedly gold-medal routines from 2009 Worlds and the word that came to mind was...boring. Yes, she can do the required elite skills. Yes, she is quite pretty and graceful. But she seems to have an unfortunate addiction to slow, safe music involving lots of piano and pastel-colored costumes. It might complement what rhythmics is trying to achieve (beauty and aesthetics), but to me it just puts a routine on the road to being utterly boring.

All of that aside, hooray for USA's Julie Zetlin! America's most awesome rhythmic gymnast placed 5th in both ball and hoop despite obviously having some really stiff competition. I really like her ribbon routine and hope she'll do even better in that event.

UPDATE 2/1/10: The ribbon results are up, and Kanaeva took her second gold in this event. Julie Zetlin, sadly, placed 7th. Ah well, I'm sure you did great, Julie!

Congratulations to all of the athletes who competed and I'll see you all next time to talk about the uneven bars!

Beginner: Women's Artistic Events--Vault

Although the 2010 gymnastics season officially began at the start of this month, the first elite event (the Winter Cup Challenge for junior and senior men) isn't until February 4th. Therefore, I will spend the time in between by going over all of the events in WAG in detail. We'll go in Olympic order (vault, bars, beam, floor), so of course we start with vault.

Vault is one of the two events that WAG and MAG have in common, with a few differences. Along with floor, it is also considered a "power" event that is best suited for gymnasts with lots of physical strength.

History of the Vault

Like all of the events, vault has evolved over time. It began with an apparatus that resembled the men's pommel horse, minus the handles on top:

Jokiel Dorota of Poland vaulting at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia

It was mostly known as the "vaulting horse." Vaults were pretty simple (only a basic handspring with maybe a twist thrown in) until the late 70's or so, when many innovations were made.

However, these new bigger acrobatics have caused some problems. Because the gymnast is running at full speed towards a hard, immovable object, if she makes a single mistake it can be catastrophic. Such examples include Julissa Gomez, whose foot slipped off the springboard and caused her head to hit the horse at high speed. She fell into a coma and died of an infection three years later.

The final straw for the vaulting horse came during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, in the All-Around for the women. The vault was set 5 centimeters too low, not much, but enough to throw off the split-second timing needed for the world-class vaults being performed. Nearly all of the gymnasts fell or had shaky landings, but no one figured it out until later. The mistake was corrected, but everyone knew that had the gymnasts not compensated for the difference, they could have been seriously hurt or killed.

Following the Games, the FIG re-evaluated the apparatus and came up with a brand-new one, now called the vaulting "table." It was traditionally used for practice to give the gymnast a greater margin of error in hand placement, but now it is the only type of vault apparatus allowed in competition. It has a greater surface area than the horse and is more padded, with a unique curved shape:

A gymnast vaulting using the vault table at the 2005 American Cup

The first major international meet to use the table was the 2001 World Championships.

Types of Vaults

When choosing the vault he or she wants to perform, there is no excuse for a gymnast not to be original. They can combine different types of entries (the point in the vault where the gymnast has bounced off of the springboard but hasn't yet touched the apparatus, also called "pre-flight"), body positions, twists, and saltos to create a dizzying array of options. All vaults, however, fall into one of the following categories:

Vaults Without Saltos -- As the name suggests, no somersaults in the air for these types of vaults. A jump (twisting during entry is also optional) onto the horse/table and then the body stays straight. Any number of twists can be added for variety.

Handspring Vaults -- In order to be in this category, the vault must have no twists on entry; just a simple straight jump. However, anything can be done after that.

Tsukahara Vaults -- Created by a male Japanese gymnast, these vaults have a distinctive half-twist during the pre-flight.

Yurchenko Vaults -- Created by Natalia Yurchenko (who else?) of the USSR, this vault is a favorite because of how elegant it looks. The gymnast leans into a round-off just before the springboard and pushes off of it facing away from the table, coming into contact with it backwards and then pushing off. Yurchenkos are hard to describe until you see them for yourselves, so check out this superb vault with 1.5 twists performed by Nastia Liukin at the 2008 Olympic All-Around:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTbPH3nYqXs

It also shows the vault (including the entry) in slow-motion so you can see what I'm describing above. Yurchenko vaults can also be performed with a half or full twist in the pre-flight and still be considered Yurchenkos (they are simply called a Yurchenko half-on or full-on; they are not in a separate group).

The current trend in the vault is a double-twisting Yurchenko (often abbreviated as a DTY), which is a "safe" vault for the gymnast who isn't so great at this event but still fulfills difficulty requirements. Add another half twist and you get the 2.5 Yurchenko, aka the "Amanar" vault (for Simona Amanar, the first gymnast to perform it). It's a very difficult vault and seems to be the benchmark in difficulty for telling if a gymnast is "good" at the vault.

There are a couple of differences for women and men regarding this event:

1. Men must perform two vaults no matter what, while women must do two only if they wish to qualify for the event finals in the apparatus.

2. If a female gymnast "balks" or stops running before touching the vault, she is allowed 30 seconds to return to the end of the runway and try again without penalty. Whereas if a male gymnast balked, the vault would be deemed void and given a score of 0.

Things to Look for in a Strong Vault:

-Strong push off of the springboard and horse/table

-Legs together in the air, toes pointed

-If a vault involving twists, no crossed ankles

-Clears the apparatus with room to spare (plenty of height)

-Shows control

-Stuck landing (no steps or hops)

-Lands within the boundaries specified on the landing mat or as close to the center of said mat as possible

Strong Vaulters By Country, Past and Present:

Alicia Sacramone (USA)

Cheng Fei (CHN)

Yelena Shushunova (USSR)

Henrietta Onodi (HUN)

There are, of course, many others, but these are just a few examples.

So, I hope you have a better idea of the vault as an event!

Advanced: England--The New USA?

So what countries do you think of when I say: "great at gymnastics?"

Russia and Romania topped the list in the old days. Still do, but on a lesser scale. Nowadays, it's all about China and the USA.

But now the buzz has mostly been about good old Brittania. And it's not just because they are set to host the 2012 Olympics. It seems to be the place to be, darling, for elite gymnastics nowadays. First it was the 2009 World Championships at the O2 Arena, which were quite a success, barring Jessica Gil Ortez's injury in the floor final. Now it's been decided they will be hosting the 2010 European Championships in Birmingham from April 21st to May 2nd. Europeans is super exciting because you get to see the Russian and Romanian ladies as well as lovely talent from other smaller but no less entertaining gymnastics countries like France and Italy.

Tweddle celebrating her floor gold at the 2009 World Championships

Plus their athletes! If you haven't heard of Elizabeth (Beth) Tweddle, you are hiding under a rock under a layer of concrete in the remote Himalayas, as she is a great uneven bars and floor specialist and current darling of British women's gymnastics. Among her many accomplishments, she is the 2009 World Floor Champion and 2007 Uneven Bars Champion. She narrowly missed a bars bronze in Beijing, which was really disappointing, because she put in a great performance.

Keatings at the 2008 Olympic Games

The men aren't too shabby either. Daniel Keatings is a European All-Around Silver Medalist and made history by being the first British gymnast, male or female, to medal in the AA at a World Championship (he took silver in 2009).

Not bad for a little island off the west coast of Europe, right?

Some other up-and-coming nations in the world of gymnastics: Japan and Italy. Look for them at this years Worlds and beyond!

Beginner: My Recreational Gymnastics Career

Yup, I may actually get to practice the sport I love! Ever since I saw the 2000 Olympics (before I learned all about the controversy and so on), gymnastics' huge skills have appealed to my love of difficult acrobatics and the technical in-and-outs have appealed to my obsessive need to analyze things. And now for the first time, I'll get to dive onto the mats myself, hopefully starting this spring.

Yes, technically I was a gymnast when I was little, but by that, I mean that I got to mess around on a beam and bars for a few hours after school. Being nearly 18 means I'm way too old to start competition, but recreational gymnastics sounds like a fun way to get back into shape after much time off from athletics.

I'm looking at a gym called the St. Louis Gym Centre in Webster Groves. Apparently it's been in operations since 1972, and the facilities look great. And I don't mind being new to a sport, I've done the same thing with lacrosse and volleyball, and I ended up being a Junior Varsity starter for my high school volleyball team.

Wish me luck!

Advanced: One of a Kind--Daniela Silivas

If you all don't know by now that I value originality even over power or grace in a gymnast, you haven't been reading this blog very closely (if at all). That's why for  most gymnastics fans, our favorite era ever is: The 80's. Yes, it wasn't a fabulous decade for clothes or hair, but elite gymnastics was positively brimming with athletes representing the very best combination of strength, artistry, and uniqueness the sport had to offer. It was the era where the focus was just beginning to shift to powerful tricks but artistry still lingered in compulsories and fantastic Eastern bloc floor routines.

And the undisputed icon of this decade, the ultimate package, was Romanian Daniela Silivas. Having begun gymnastics at 6 and become one of Romania's most promising talents by the time she was 13, Silivas was destined for greatness from the beginning.

What do Shawn Johnson (USA), Cheng Fei (China), and Vanessa Ferrari (Italy) all have in common? They are all modern gymnasts who have performed the Double Twisting Double Salto, or the Silivas, on floor. That's right, she showed a skill that is still around today. But back when she was doing it, a double-double wasn't just extremely difficult, it was mind-blowing. The women's gymnastics world had never seen anything like it until then. Full twisting double backs were growing in popularity, but Daniela, that little overachiever, had to throw in an extra twist. Just for kicks, it seems.

Despite her impressive strength, Daniela was still known primarily as a stickler for good form and an expressive dancer. Trust me, she's a joy to watch, and has earned her share of perfect 10's for floor. My favorite part of her '88 routine was the cute little double spin on her ankles. Original and fun.

The fantastic mount mentioned below

Speaking of originality, you want to see it at its finest? Three words: Her beam mount. Officially, it is described in the Code of Points as a "Jump with 1/2 turn to neckstand, 1/2 turn to cheststand." She jumps up as she half turns with her weight on her shoulders, gripping the beam with her arms, and turns again so that her head faces the beam, then gracefully lets herself down into a sitting position. Watch it on video and you will not be disappointed. Even in this highly unique and innovative era, it's a standout.

All of this, and it's no surprise she was considered a great example of an all-around gymnast, with no weak event. Maybe vault, since she didn't have quite the strength to pull a solid one off, but she still managed to snag a bronze Olympic medal, so she's still a jack-of-all-trades.

One thing's for sure: I love this era, and I love this gymnast.

Beginner: Levels of Gymnastics

In gymnastics, if you want to get to the Olympics, you have to go through a lot. Many hours in the gym, constant threats of injury, burnout and exhaustion. Oh, and you have to master ten levels' (plus elite) worth of skills, work them to perfection, and perform them in front of cameras with 1 million plus people watching you.

But let's start where every gymnast does: Level 1. Because I don't care if you're Nadia Comaneci, you weren't born scoring perfect 10s, and you had to start somewhere. I'll explain the American system of levels. Other English-speaking countries mostly use ten levels, but they may mean different things in terms of the gymnast's abilities.

A level 4 gymnast competing on beam

So you start with Level 1. Levels 1-6 are called the compulsory levels, when the focus is on introducing the athlete to the sport and safely learning skills. So USA Gymnastics has compiled compulsory routines that are all alike for these levels. In order to advance, a gymnast must perform her current level's compulsory routines to satisfaction. There are compulsory routines for every apparatus except vault, which has a single vault to perform that is deemed appropriate for their level. Competition for most gymnasts starts around level 4, though some regions of the US have competitions for Levels 1-3, usually at their home gym.

In the old days (as in, pre-1996), compulsory routines were performed even at the Olympics. Every gymnast performed the same routine. Today you're considered a hard-core gym fan if you have both the patience to watch old compulsories over and over and the technical know-how to pick out the differences between each gymnast! Because they were the same, heavy emphasis was placed on artistry and form (as in, toes pointed at all times, legs perfectly straight on tumbling, etc). Every Olympic cycle, a different country was chosen to choreograph the routines. Naturally, the country would create routines heavily in favor of their gymnasts' strengths. Because judges were so picky about form, many athletes considered compulsories to be very hard, despite their lower level of difficulty.

Level 10 gymnast Briana Yankie preparing to perform on uneven bars

So what about when you pass Level 6 and move on to Level 7? Well, this is when you start playing with the big girls in the optional levels. Levels 7-10 no longer require compulsories and the gymnast can create their own routines with their coach that adhere to USAG standards for their level. For example, for a level 8 bars routine, the rules state they must move between the the two bars at least once, but they can do it however they'd like, whereas a compulsory routine would also say how they must do it. The expectation of optional levels is that the gymnast has mastered the basics and can move on to getting the harder skills she'll need to possibly be elite or professional.

Once a gymnast has reached level 10, she has a couple of options. Since it requires on average one year to complete a level and move on (especially as she moves into optionals), she may be old enough to compete for a while at level 10 and then stop gymnastics for a normal high school or college life.

Or she can keep training hard, and identify as a level 10 who is "pre-elite." This means the gymnast is preparing for an elite qualifications meet, or "zone" meet. If she does well enough at this meet, she officially qualifies for Elite International status, which enables her to try for National Championships, World Championships, or other international competitions, even the Olympics.

Senior Elite gymnast Nicole Harris performing on beam for Arizona State

The Elite level is sub-divided into two sections: Junior and Senior. It has nothing to do with the gymnasts' capabilities, instead it marks the gymnast as either too young for the Olympics (15 or under) or old enough for the Olympics (16+). Again, the two groups compete the same skills, but because of the Senior gymnasts' greater experience and maturity, there are usually separate meets for the two groups. There is a Junior National Championship and a Senior National Championship, for example. However, there are occasional exceptions, such as the Tyson American Cup. Because these gymnasts are competing in other countries as well as their own, they follow the rules and regulations of the FIG (Federation Internationale de Gymnastique), the international governing body of gymnastics. For the Olympics, the FIG and the International Olympic Committee collaborate, however the IOC tends to bow to the FIG's decisions when it comes to dealing directly with the sport.

Well, I lied, there is a third option. if an Elite does not make the Olympic team, she can always go into the pretty awesome world of college gymnastics. As far as I know, a gymnast is considered an amateur athlete (no matter that they are at the top of their sport) until or unless they go to the Olympics. I could be wrong, however, because there are former Olympic athletes who have had successful college careers (Courtney Kupets  and Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, to name a few).

Anyway, there are the levels broken down for you. I personally would rather stick to recreational gymnastics, which still has levels but without all of the pressure!

Advanced: Training Center Spotlight--WOGA

WOGA (aka World Olympic Gymnastics Academy) could not have a more fitting name. Not only is it the home gym of not one, but two Olympic All-Around Champions (Carly Patterson and Nastia Liukin), but this unprecedented success has attracted gymnasts from all over the US, hoping that WOGA could work the same magic with them that it has with its past 30+ National Team members. Its pull is so strong that 2008 Olympic Team alternate Ivana Hong left the coach she trained with since the beginning of her career to train at the gym. Yes, there was a falling-out between her and her ex-coach Al Fong, but she could go anywhere in the US. And this move showed us what she had on her mind before she even told us: She wants to try for the 2012 Games. Because, as the record shows, that's where WOGA sometimes takes you. And in the cutthroat world of elite gymnastics, "sometimes" is irresistible compared to the "slim to none" other gyms can offer.

Founded in 1994 by Valeri Liukin (1988 Olympic All-Around Silver medalist and High Bar Gold medalist) and Yevgeny Marchenko (5-time World Champion in Acrobatic Gymnastics), it has become less of a gym and more of an empire, with locations in Dallas, Plano, and Frisco (Texas, where everything is bigger--even its sports. Maybe especially their sports).

In fact, WOGA is so big (just to put this into perspective), they are the first gym (that I know of, correct me if I'm wrong) that doesn't just settle for having its name announced along with the gymnast's. Nope, just in case we weren't already aware of the big name behind their athlete, it's spelled out in sparkly rhinestones on the sleeve of their leotard:

Trust me, I went through Google with a fine-toothed comb trying to find a good, full-on picture of it, but this was the best I could get. Anyway, this is Ivana Hong at the Covergirl Classic. You can just see the logo on her left shoulder. I've watched a lot of gymnastics, but I've never seen a gym advertise themselves so blatantly on their leotards. Sure, certain gyms, even whole countries, are known for consistently picking the same color leo. For example, Parkettes (another US national training center), prefers to stick to red, white, and blue, while up until the last Olympics, Australia competed in purple. You know what I mean: It's subtle. This isn't subtle. The name of the gym is reserved for the warm-up jackets the gymnasts wear before competition and after during the medal ceremony, not during.

But (and you can see how undecided I am about how I feel about this gym, just by that little concession), then again, why wouldn't they shout out their name to the world every chance they get? I mean, they earned it. Even if you don't make the Olympics with WOGA, chances are excellent  you will collect accolades similar to the following alumni:

Holly Vise -- 2003 World Uneven Bars Champion

Ivana Hong -- 2009 World Balance Beam Bronze medalist (and that's just her first year at WOGA!)

Rebecca Bross -- 2007 Pan American Games Floor Champion, 2009 World All-Around Silver medalist

So, I'll admit it, I'm excited to see what future gymnasts WOGA will pump out. And I'll leave it at that. It's a great gym with great coaches and great gymnasts.

Let's just hope it doesn't get too big of a head.