American Cup Partial Roster
Wednesday January 14, 2009
The US has named half of its athletes for the upcoming American Cup in Chicago, IL. On the women's side, 2008 Olympian
Bridget Sloan and
2008 US Junior National Champion Jordyn Wieber will compete, while the men will send 2008 Olympian Joey Hagerty and
2008 US National Champ David Sender. Two additional women and two men will be named in February.
The men's roster also features some top-notch international competitors: Benoit Caranobe (France),
Fabian Hambuechen (Germany), and Flavius Koczi (Romania). The women's field is a bit weaker, but includes 2008 Olympians Ksenia Afanasyeva (Russia), Rebecca Downie (Great Britain), and Koko Tsurumi (Japan). Two more international competitors (one man, one woman) have yet to be announced.
Who would you like to see represent the US in the four open spots?
Brush Up On the 2009 Code
Tuesday January 13, 2009
After every Olympics, the
FIG puts together a new
Code of Points for the next four years, and this year is no exception.
The new Code will be adopted this year, and will keep the
open-ended scoring system first introduced in 2005. One of the key parts of each Code is that every skill is given a value from A-G depending on its difficulty level (A is the easiest). Wondering what you favorite skills are rated? You could download the 194-page document off of the FIG website (and that's just the
women's artistic Code), or you could check out these amazing skill montages created by MostepanovaFan on YouTube:
There's others too if you click around a bit, and these videos are also very helpful if you'd like to learn skill names. (I also have a
glossary I'm working on which can help you there too).
Hollie Vise Talks About Her Return to the Gym
Monday January 12, 2009
Hollie Vise Photo © Jed Jacobsohn / Getty Images
|
ESPN has posted
a great article about two-time World Champion Hollie Vise. Vise was part of the 2003 World team that won an historic gold for the women's program, but, hindered by a back injury, she wasn't selected for the 2004 Olympic squad. Meanwhile, Vise's training partner
Carly Patterson went on to win all-around gold that same year.
Vise talks candidly in this piece about her disappointment, saying:
In my eyes, [gymnastics] wasn't the same," Vise said. "I just needed a break… I wanted to try new things and live life a little.
She signed with the University of Oklahoma, but arrived at school able to do very little in the way of gymnastics. She's said in the past that she couldn't even perform a
kip. Now, two years later, she is one of the top bars and beam workers on the squad, and has regained her love for the sport. She's a great inspiration, and certainly one to watch
this NCAA season. She could very easily add an NCAA title to the World title she holds on bars.
Friday January 9, 2009
Tell us which new gymnasts you're looking forward to watching this quad (2009-2012) -- in our
gymnastics forum.
One of the top picks so far? Olympic Trials competitor Mattie Larson from Los Angeles, CA. Who do you think will be the next star for the US?